Two Dollars A Day

Photos and thoughts from the past and present and dreams about the future.

Sunday, December 30, 2007

Pretty Ukrainian Field in June



Last June I went to my linkmate's site--a small town of approximately 5,000 people in Western Ukraine. It was very pretty.

Looking for a Job?

If any of you out there are also currently looking for work, I came across this today and it has some helpful advice:

Five Secrets of Successful Job Hunters


Joe Turner, for Yahoo! HotJobsPrint Email
IM Bookmark del.icio.us
Digg Completing a 26-mile marathon race shares some characteristics with a successful job search.

There is one "winner" who crosses the finish line first. There are the many who quit before they've completed the race. Finally, there are the rest of us who don't finish first, but are determined to complete the race nevertheless.

For most of us, half the battle is finishing the race, regardless of where we place among the finishers. The same goes for a job search.

The Five Secrets

1. Visualize. Marathon runners and other goal-directed athletes are great at visualization. They set a goal and see themselves achieving it. The same applies for your job search. Set a goal and see yourself achieving it. No matter how many setbacks you have, hold that vision of the job you want. Continue to hold it.

Focus on the outcome you want, and not on how you're going to achieve it. Picture it in your mind. Be specific. What is your supervisor like? How about your co-workers? What is your workspace like? What hours do you work? Including your right brain in the imagination and visualization process enhances the achievement of your goal.

2. Be Persistent. Just as in running a marathon, nothing worth having is ever easy to achieve. There is a lot of rejection in job search. Sometimes it seems as if you'll never get a "yes." Remember what good sales people already know: that winning a sale, a job, or any other goal is a numbers game. Commission sales people will tell you that every "no" is one step closer to a "yes." When you can see your process from a more objective viewpoint, knowing that you're one more rejection closer to a "yes," you'll be less inclined to take the "no's" personally or get discouraged.

3. Replenish Yourself. The job search process, like a marathon race, can be an endurance test with a lot of disappointments and setbacks. It can also go on for weeks, months, and for some people, even a year or more. If you're going to outlast this process and prevail, you have to take care of yourself. This means taking time to relax to take your mind off the challenges, frustrations and rejections. Work hard on your job search, then take time out to exercise and pursue activities that bring you joy and replenish you.

4. Inoculate Yourself Against Negative Messages. Succeeding at a job search is a mental process, and negative input from anywhere can poison your mental outlook and encourage fear, discouragement, anxiety, anger, and other negative emotions. Associate with positive people and protect yourself from all types of negativity.

A job search can be a big undertaking. You need all of the assets and advantages that you can possibly bring to the party. You can't afford to be exposed to the negativity of others. This includes friends, relatives, and negative articles in newspapers and magazines as well as negative TV shows. Make a point of reading books and articles that motivate, encourage, and inspire you.

5. Meditate. This can be the most important secret, yet it can be very simple. Take some time every day to be still and to get away from the "white noise" of life. Whether you are a spiritual person or not, commit to some quiet time away from the noise of TV, radio, and other distractions. Give yourself the gift of quietness to contemplate, calm down, and center yourself. Even five minutes of quiet time can make a positive difference in your life. It will ground you and make it easier to face and overcome the stresses of your job search journey ahead.

As with successful marathoners, job hunters have some secret tactics that make their success look easy to others. Winning the job search game has a mental component. Developing the above five winning secret tactics will enhance your chances of success, and make the process more pleasant and less stressful.

As a recruiter, Joe Turner has spent the past 15 years finding and placing top candidates in some of the best jobs of their careers. Known on the Internet as "The Job Search Guy", Joe has also authored 'how-to' books on interviewing and job search. Discover more insider job search secrets at his site.
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I especially liked 2 and 3. I think that instead of job searching, I'll go to Old Navy.

Thursday, December 27, 2007

Contestants for a Miss Nikolaev Contest?



Or just teachers at the University?

Slowly, But Surely...

It will take me awhile to get back on track.

I must accept this and not be so hard on myself for not having a job within the first few weeks back. It is difficult, especially for me, since I have lived at least the past 6 years knowing months in advance what I'd be doing, where I'd be going, and what I'd be making. Uncertainty never makes me happy and I'm not the sort of happy-go-lucky person who thinks that all will be okay. Especially when I've got bills and rent to pay. Yes, rent.

I will be moving shortly to the Boston area on a permanent basis, continuing the look the work and part time stuff in the meantime. Have some leads, which could be promising. I have acquired a Boston-area mobile phone, so if you are interested in the digits, drop me an e-mail. I'm still a bit shy about coming or calling around, as I feel out of sorts at times and am not yet where I want to be. I ask for patience from those of you, and trust me, in time, I'll be there. In the meantime, I will continue to post pictures and get around to telling more tales about Ukraine, which I do miss often.

Also, if you have moved in the last several years, you may want to send me your address, as I am currently trying to update all the information that I may have about you.

Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Tiles, Tiles, and more Tiles

In Istanbul, we went to see the Harem of a palace. Inside we saw beautiful rooms covered in gorgeous and colorful tiles that left us breathless. Here are some shots that my linkmate took, as I still have yet to begin developing my film.





Last Christmas



Christmas Day, 2006, Kolomiya, Ukraine.

I spent most of the day on the train heading to Odessa (over 19 hours) after having spent Christmas Eve in a log cabin with about 20 PCVs. These nice folks (Christa and Matt) walked me to the train station.

Friday, December 21, 2007

America 0, Ukraine 3

While in Ukraine, volunteers would cheer each other up when times were tough or when frustrating transactions took place with the words, "that would never happen in America." Oh yeah?

In the first week of my arrival home I had to take a bucket bath (after heating up the water on the stove, just like in days of yore in Korostyshiv) and watched the internet/cable/phone go out for no apparent reason. Things like that ALWAYS happened in Ukraine and it never fazed me, but here, it just seems ludicrious that something inconvenient would or could happen at all.

In addition, the price of certain things in America seems bloated or just plain ridiculous. I had to go to Kinko's to use an internet with a printer and fill out some application form and then fax it in addition to getting resume paper and making copies of my resume and references on that resume paper. The total cost of doing all of these things was easily $20. In Ukraine to do all of those things would have not even cost me 20 UAH, or $4.

So, basically, Ukraine has it on America--3 to 0.

Sunday, December 16, 2007

In Soviet Russia, all Comrades are Treated Equally, Even if they Don't Smoke or Drink Coffee.



My photo, Yalta, June? 2007. Translation: No so much 'time out' as 'technical break'.

que heura es?



I didn't learn Spanish, but these kids did last June 2007 in Melitopol.

Dubrovnik, Croatia



View from walking the fortress walls.

Dubrovnik, Croatia



Croatia very well might be the most beautiful country in the world. July 2007. Eric's photo? Or mine?

Dubrovnik, Croatia

The Cluster-Link that COSes Together....



Taken at one of our most joyous occasions as a PCV, our Close of Service Conference in Slavske, Western Ukraine August 2007. The gang was not all there, as our cluster-link was a total of 9 people. Most of us were there for COS and here are 3 of the people I adore the most: from left to right: Christa, Sean, Taya, and me.

The Belly Dancing Lesson





Attempting to learn the art of the ancient dance from a shop keeper in Istanbul.

Pics from Trips



This comes courtesy of Christa, Hagia Sofia, Istanbul Turkey, August 2007

Thursday, December 13, 2007

Home Again Home Again. Now What?

Yesterday I arrived home in the evening after spending most of my morning in various airports up the east coast. I was welcomed home by flowers in Boston. I was upstaged by Latvian children in Philadelphia. But hey, I guess that is okay. They were orphans.

So now it is time to start getting a life back in order. If I have not called yet, which is, well, everyone currently, don't fret. I've been busy and will continue to be so until after I hit up Boston this upcoming week and start pounding the pavement. I've got a lot to do before I can relax and enjoy the holidays back in PA, which I will do, just after I get a solid week of looking for apartments and jobs in, so stay tuned.

In regards to this, the blog, the life I want it to have as my post-PC experience, I want to now use this to post pictures that I will now be developing or have been unable to post prior and share experiences that I before did not for a variety of reasons. I am sure that it will also become a transitioning zone for me as well, as I am seeing how difficult it can be. It's not the culture shock as it is a complete rerouting of my life, which I suppose I should be more excited and upbeat about than I am currently.

Anyway, I'll call/be in touch when I have the chance and more importantly, have something to report. Which could be, uh, months. Unless you have a couch in Boston.
Then I'll be calling you tomorrow.

Ireland in a Nutshell

It rained.

It was windy.

It was surreal.

It was expensive.

It was, perhaps, more than anything else, too late. I had been travelling for such a long time (for me) that I was tired. It did provide something that I had been looking forward to, as I got to visit with my college roommate and her husband for a few days and they took me touring around, but because of the rainy and windy bit (oh, also not to mention the whole "you don't look like people who book ahead" comment made when we came to see Santa, who apparently, only sees people who book ahead) it was weather-wise not as wonderful as it could be.

Because of it being off season, I spent most of my time in cities (I would loved to have gone hiking, but it just wasn't the time of year to do so) so I mostly window shopped.

In Dublin, I got to fulfill something I've wanted to do for a really long time--see the medieval Book of Kells. I also was able to check out some other sites, none of which were Bono-related I happy to report. The weather was the best on the way from Cork to Dublin and while I was staying in Dublin, which may also be why I liked it the best. On the way to Dublin, the bus passed by several cute towns with castles and the charm of the place made itself more recognizable, instead of the dripping cold barren land that I had known it as.

I think that if I ever get the chance to return to the Emerald Isle, I will go in the spring or summer, along with everyone else, and will probably have a much better time as a result.

Sunday, December 09, 2007

Welcome to Ireland

I arrived in Ireland on the 5th of December, whatever day of the week that was, I have lost track.

Immediately I was overwhelmed by the sound of English being spoken everywhere. So much so, that I was unaware of any accents and still have really yet to detect any accents, I just hear English and it is strange.

I didn't think that I would miss being surrounded by a language that I never mastered or truly really understood, but I do. It's sad to think that my days of trying to explain things through small phrases and hand motions are over. It is strange to now fully understand the whining of the children around you. It makes you want to hit them even more. I hear and understand basically every conversation that is around me, whereas before I was easily able to drown them out or at least listen long enough for language practice to realize that talk about potatoes isn't really all that interesting.

I went to the luggage storage room and needed to hand over my passport, which has my beautiful Ukrainian cover that my linkmate and her husband got me for my birthday. As he handed it back to me, the young man behind the counter said, "that looks like someplace nice" sarcastically and hurt me in doing so.

Rainy and windy, I went outside and hopped on a bus heading into Dublin. As we got closer to the center of town and the Temple Bar section, I looked out the window and thought, "this is just like a Soviet town, just from the turn of the century." All of the buildings look the same, they are all of the same height, same building material, uniform. Boring.

Those were my first thoughts on this country that I have heard so many people rave about and to be honest, it hasn't really changed. In part I suppose it is because it is not the "season" and I have been limited in what I can do and see and enjoy. Dowdy. Boring. Plain. And EXPENSIVE. I realize that I am no longer an Anglophile at all. But at least they have good restaurants.

Saturday, December 08, 2007

Excitement Waning

As the time draws closer to the date when I fly home, I find myself less and less excited about the prospect.

This can be attribute to the many conflicting thoughts I have about returning to life in the United States.

In Ukraine I had a rewarding and honestly an easy job. I really enjoyed teaching, and my days, while at times taxing, where never a 9 to 5 situation. I came and went as I pleased for as long as I taught my classes or gave a good enough reason why I couldn't, they were happy.

I had a comfortable apartment that I didn't have to pay for. It even had a washing machine.

I have neither a job nor a place to live in America, and I know neither will be as ideal.

There are other important factors/differences between the two. The support network I built in Ukraine I would have to say in retrospect, was especially strong. We were the only people who could understand the situations that we found ourselves in (perhaps excluding the few visitors that we had who got a glimpse of our daily lives or those who have spent time in other developing post-Soviet countries) and we supported each others trials and triumphs. And most of us did all of this alone, no small feat. We could and did call each other at all hours, venting, celebrating, or just gabbing about nothing. I was really very fortunate.

Coming home, I have to look forward to prostrating myself on prospective employers and roommates doorsteps, begging for places to stay, and little immediate understanding of the frustrating situation I find myself in. But I suppose that that will pass in time. It just means currently that I'm not excited about coming home at all.

Bratislava, esho raz

Arriving bez problema, I got the info about the bus to the airport and headed out to the Christmas markets in town. Full of life the center of town was in full swing.

I bought what could have easily been the best apple struddle ever and killed some time online before grabbing dinner. Then I went and killed more time online (did I mention the center of Bratislava is quite small?) I then hopped on a tram and got the bust to the airport where I heard a drunken man get kicked out of the airport and hunkered down for the night. The Bratislava airport is really, really comfortable and I slept for 4 straight hours.

In the a.m. I met the friendliest passport control officer ever who asked me if I understood Slovak a little bit and I replied the affirmative.

And with that, I was off to Ireland--saying goodbye to Eastern Europe for the last time in who knows how long.

I will miss her--I do miss her. Beautiful and trying, she won my heart some time ago and she was my home. Sniff, sniff.

Wednesday, December 05, 2007

Prague

What is there to say about Prague that hasn't already been said?

It is beautiful. The Charles Bridge. The Astronomical Clock. The Castle. The Archetecture. It's all amazing and something worth seeing for yourself. This is certainly a place where photos could help, but as I don't have a digital camera, I can't share.

I didn't have enough time to do everything or soak it all in, but I'm extremely happy that I went and hope to get the chance to go back one day and explore the Czech Republic more. Just another reason to love love love Slavic countries.

Vienna Day 3

The a.m. was filled with technical events--moving my huge bag from one train station storage unit to another and of course it took longer than planned, however most of the U had escalators, so it was almost painless.

I hustled back to the hostel to meet the other RPCVs who were coming into town. When they arrived, my friend realized that she had left her bag somewhere--either on the tram or on the platform and so that became out mission--to retrace all the steps and look for the bag in all trash cans. We talked to station guards, the police, the Embassy, and the Consulate (because the bag had her passport in it) but no luck anywhere.

We finally decided we did all that we could and went to St. Stephan's Cathedral and saw the Kaiser apartments and the Sissi Museum right before it closed, so we were not given an audio guide.

Afterwards we went to a Christmas market and ate Indian food, a pleasant meal for me since I've grown accustomed to being alone.

We went back to the hostel bar and hung out with the other RPCV before we decided to crash for the night while he partied on elsewhere.

It can't be said that this was a "great" day, but the company was certainly good and a ready change.

Monday, December 03, 2007

What Peace Corps Has Offered

Besides the cross cultural experience, the professional development, the life experience and so on, Peace Corps has allowed me a once in a lifetime opportunity to travel around Europe to countries that I never even realized existed, let alone think about. Here is a comparison of before and after:



create your personalized map of europe
or check out our Barcelona travel guide
BEFORE




create your personalized map of europe
or check out our Barcelona travel guide
AFTER

As you can see, I still have a long ways to go, but 15 new countries in 2 years isn't all that bad.

Vienna Day Two

On my second day I wanted to explore the larger art museum that houses some of Gustav Klimt's faous works. Off to a late start, I had extreme difficulty finding it, but came across Karlplatz and another Christmas market along the way.

I also found some Russian monument about WWII and defeating facists (in Austria, go figure). It made me nostaglic for my old home.

The museum (I am assuming) must have been some old Hapsburg hangout and the grounds themselves are imporessive before even considering the collection. Klimt's famous painting "The Kiss" is there, along with at least a dozen of his other beautiful works of art. Seraut, Picasso, Monet, Matisse, Van Gogh, Renoir, Max Oppenheimer and other famous Austrian painters all have paintings on display here.

It was getting dark by the time I left and I still had not seen St. Stephan's Cathedral, in the center of the city. Viewing its spire from the museum, I headed off into that direction passing a beautiful park and more beautiful buildings before entering the large Gothic church.

Halfway into tmy journey home, I was a bit overwhelmed by the days events and had an awful headache. I was to meet up with 2 other RPCVs that next day so decided to go home and get some rest. It was while I had my eyes closed, resting, that the Aussie came in and told me about the unexpected RPCV downstairs. It was a good ending to the day.

Vienna

Oh how happy I was my first day in Vienna. Grand and modern and clean and beautiful. The Christmas markets are up around town and everywhere houses history, gorgeous buildings and a sense of vitality. The Christmas markets sell pasteries, cakes and pretzels bigger than my head. Punch and all sorts of things that smell warm and wonderful. It is a travellers paradise.

Just walking around the city that first day I was filled with a sense of joy and excitement for what lay beyond the next corner.

Early Morning Bucharest

Arriving in the a.m. ready to catch my flight after getting little sleep in my first class wagon from Sighisoara to Bucharest I found some taxi drivers waiting. ¨To the airport, how much?¨ I asked. 100 lei was the response. I had only intended to spend 20 lei, 50 maximium. I then said that it was the closer of the two airports and the cost was halved. Still not good enough to me, I offered 20 and got no takers, so I walked away. This time the younger of the 3 drivers said ok, put my stuff in the trunk and when he reached traffic changed his mind and acted like he didn´t understand the arrangement. I was stuck. We were in traffic and I´d have no chance of finding a cab where I was. The train had arrived 45 minutes later than I had expected (Ukraine has everyone on that score--trains usually run on time and you can sleep on them comfortably) so I had even less time to change course.

This however did not sit well with me and I yelled at him and he kept saying I wasn´t clear, he didn´t understand, blah blah blah.

I started yelling in Russian because he was pissing me off so much and used some colorful English words that caught his attention. When I told him ¨you are ripping me off¨ he actually smiled. I thought maybe tears would change his mind and forced myself to cry a bit--but he only asked what the problem was, like he didn´t know.

When I did get to the airport, thankfully everything did go smoothly, but I have never been so happy to leave a place as I was that morning.

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