Highlights of the Week: “One Year At Site” Edition

• One year ago today I swore-in as a full-fledged Peace Corps Volunteer.
• On Saturday, December 10th I will have been at my site, Sniatyn, for one year.
  • That means I have less than a year left in Ukraine.
• One of my 10th-form pupils, Tanya, made it to the 3rd round of FLEX Testing. FLEX is a program that gives high-schoolers from Ukraine and other post-USSR countries a chance to study for a year in the US. Last year Tanya made it to the 2nd round but not the 3rd. I am so proud of and excited for her.
• A girl (Nastia) from a nearby village who came to my FLEX Preparation sessions also made it to the 3rd round!
• This week in English Club we made snowflakes (thanks to my mama for teaching me how to make them over Skype — ah, the wonders of technology).

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• I leave you with a poem I wrote in English club this week. We did three minutes of word association beginning with the word “winter,” and then took five minutes to write a short story or poem, trying to use as many of our words as possible:

In winter violins play

As the snow falls outside.

Candles flicker with sacred light —

We celebrate light when the

Nights are long and dark.

Family gather around the fire and

Christmas tree —

Or menorah.

Tossing oranges back and forth —

Dogs catch snowflakes on their tongues.