Well under an hour ago I arrived at my host home. I have to say I could not be more pleased with the conditions! I have a large room with a bed bigger than I had in the States, a desk to do my work and assignments on and plenty of storage space. One of the greatest things about my current living conditions is an inside toilet! I could not be happier about this! The El Salvadorian rule applies here: No TP in the toilet. I can live with that; I have lived with that. But faced with the strong possibility of dealing with an outhouse and/or bucket, an indoor toilet has made me very happy! The town I’m living in is a decent size. The town center has plenty of shops, stores, etc. In comparison, it’s probably slightly bigger than Rosario in El Salvador. The name of the town (in Latin characters) is Kozalets. It’s about halfway between Chernnigiv and Kyiv. My host mom is very nice. She has hosted at least 4 or 5 Peace Core Trainees and has their pictures and letters proudly displayed on the wall in my room. This little nonverbal action went a very long way in easing my fears and helping me to feel more comfortable in where I’ve been placed for the next 3 months.
There will be plenty more pictures and information to follow. But for now, I am alive, safe and pooping indoors. I am happy! 🙂
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