Family Matters
Okay, so I have a strong desire to be PC about everything, and by PC I do mean politically correct here, or at least culturally sensitive. As I have informed some of you, my second host family situation here has become less than ideal. Although I have vented privately about this matter to a large amount of people, a part of me still feels compelled to protect them in such a public space and to just simply hope that things will work out, or that I will be able to quietly vacate the premises.
But another part of me feels a certain obligation to be honest with those of you who read this and to let you know all the things that go on here, both positive and negative, especially because I don't find my circumstance to be particularly abnormal here, just that I find it difficult, and think that just about any volunteer would be bothered.
At any rate, things have been better these last few days, since through some miscommunication my host mother thought that I might be moving out. This was before she called my host father a scoundrel and told him that I would be moving out because of him. She did this in front of me, after we had had a conversation about their fighting and whether or not it influenced me. We used a dictionary and everything. There has been no physical violence, just accusations of alcoholism.
I actually like both of my host parents, each in their own way. My host mother is a delightfully vivacious woman who just wants to find love outside of her loveless marriage that it is clear she feels trapped in. They live life separately, from what I can tell, although in Ukraine, that means that they still live together and obviously fight. It has got to be tough, I sympathesize. My host mom has found a friend in Norway that she communicates with in English, and for whom I provide some translation for their exchanges. At first I was sort of... well... put off by this, but shoot, who am I to judge? My host dad is an affable guy who speaks to me using words I actually can understand and we talk about all sorts of stuff on a very elementary level. He's also an excellent cook. So, separately, these are awesome people. Together though. Well. You can only imagine.
There are two kids, who are typically not around, and again, who can blame them? The host bro seems to have a sort of disdain for me, and again, considering what the family is going through, who can blame him. The daughter, who is older and a student at the university where I will be, has been away for a few days, so we will see if things are different now around the house, and thankfully, she speaks some English. Again, we shall see.
The volunteers in town have been keeping me sane and take excellent care of me. I dare say that no other volunteer in this country has had quite the warm and generous welcome that I have had. So in that sense, things are very well.
But another part of me feels a certain obligation to be honest with those of you who read this and to let you know all the things that go on here, both positive and negative, especially because I don't find my circumstance to be particularly abnormal here, just that I find it difficult, and think that just about any volunteer would be bothered.
At any rate, things have been better these last few days, since through some miscommunication my host mother thought that I might be moving out. This was before she called my host father a scoundrel and told him that I would be moving out because of him. She did this in front of me, after we had had a conversation about their fighting and whether or not it influenced me. We used a dictionary and everything. There has been no physical violence, just accusations of alcoholism.
I actually like both of my host parents, each in their own way. My host mother is a delightfully vivacious woman who just wants to find love outside of her loveless marriage that it is clear she feels trapped in. They live life separately, from what I can tell, although in Ukraine, that means that they still live together and obviously fight. It has got to be tough, I sympathesize. My host mom has found a friend in Norway that she communicates with in English, and for whom I provide some translation for their exchanges. At first I was sort of... well... put off by this, but shoot, who am I to judge? My host dad is an affable guy who speaks to me using words I actually can understand and we talk about all sorts of stuff on a very elementary level. He's also an excellent cook. So, separately, these are awesome people. Together though. Well. You can only imagine.
There are two kids, who are typically not around, and again, who can blame them? The host bro seems to have a sort of disdain for me, and again, considering what the family is going through, who can blame him. The daughter, who is older and a student at the university where I will be, has been away for a few days, so we will see if things are different now around the house, and thankfully, she speaks some English. Again, we shall see.
The volunteers in town have been keeping me sane and take excellent care of me. I dare say that no other volunteer in this country has had quite the warm and generous welcome that I have had. So in that sense, things are very well.
posted by Molly | 8:36 AM
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