Fall Update

Congratulations and our thanks to you if you are reading this! You’d be within your rights to have given up on us, as we’ve been seriously negligent about keeping current. Once school got underway, time really started flying. We’ve settled into full routines here that keep us healthy and sane. Additionally, your primary correspondent has been spending way too much time following (obsessing over?) the upcoming Presidential election by reading various Internet news and blog sites.

Our school year began on September 1. We’re both teaching the same classes we did last fall, so can rely on that experience now, which of course is much easier. Peter is teaching even more sessions each week of his American Studies and Entrepreneurship courses than last year, and enjoying it that much more. I am teaching International Marketing and Ethics & Culture classes, as well as a new course – for which I am especially qualified – in Ukraine’s Foreign Relations(!). I’ve also been invited to help teach at Peter’s university a couple of classes each week, which has been a nice addition to the schedule. We try to get to a local gym that we like a couple of times each week for a weight workout, and also still have our weekly English Club at the local library, which is attended by a dedicated group of enjoyable individuals with a strong interest in improving their English.

We received our absentee ballots a few days ago, and have enjoyed sharing them with our English Club and classes. They’re impressed with the overall process, as well as the quality of the information, and even the computer-readable ballot itself. (Elections here rely on hand-counted paper ballots, a labor-intensive process that is now likely to be used for the third time in three years here for a controversial Parliamentary election next month.) We even printed copies of the League of Women Voters one-page statements from each Presidential candidate to share, and then held mock elections in each setting. It’s generally been running about 75%-25% Obama-McCain.

The economic issues are definitely being felt here. Inflation has been high all year, and the local exchange rate has been on a roller coaster ride lately. For the duration of our first year here, the exchange rate stayed consistent at about 5 UAH (the local currency called the Ukrainian grivna) to the US dollar.. It started dropping in the spring, and reached its nadir in June at a rate of about 4.60 UAH to the dollar. Then the rate started rising, and yesterday it was just shy of 6 UAH to the US$. This means that $100 exchanged in June yielded 460 UAH, and today it gets 600 UAH – a huge swing.

We’re starting to be aware of how limited our remaining time here is: we expect to be home for good in time for our sons’ college graduations in May. After more than eighteen months in Ukraine, numerous local sights and experiences that initially seemed strange now go virtually unnoticed. We’re feeling more and more connected with a growing circle of local friends, who’ve extended gracious invitations to dinner, to music performances, and to outings. Peace Corps has said that most volunteers make their most significant contributions in their second year of service. Don’t know about our significance, but there’s definitely a level of comfort now in our second year that we’re happy to discover.

Thanks for your patience and persistence!

P.S. A special hello to George C. Thanks for the comment this summer. We enjoyed hearing from you, and look forward to hearing more. Take care!