18 April 2005

i was right

Apparently, I was correct. When the guess said Bass Pro shoes, he meant shoes from the Bass Pro Shop (www.bassproshop.com). Those are definitely some fishing shoes.

Elsa wrote again, saying, "I recommend 'The Orange Revolution' by Timothy Garton Ash and Timothy Snyder, New York Review of Books, vol 52, No 7, 28 April ’05." I'm interested in Ukrainian recent history, so I'm sure I'll scout out this book. For now, I'm reading Harvest of Sorrow. It's a slow go, but I'm trying to power through it. I forgot how dry people can make history. Maybe I'm not far enough in the book yet for the juice.

Everyone we talk to about our assignment says, "Pray for the West." Apparently Ukraine is split into the East and the West. The East leans towards Russia, history, Russian and all that jazz. The West--well, towards the West, America, Ukrainian and all that jazz. My feeling is, either way. Six in one hand, half a dozen in the other, etc....

Karen and I sent off our visa applications and our DS-82s (for a passport renewal to get the nifty no-fee designation). It was nice to send that off because it's another step forward instead of all those backward steps we were taken about a month ago. We've also set to updating our resume and writing our aspiration statements for Ukraine. We have to write what we expect, what our goals are, how we will serve our post, etc.... It's quite fun. When these documents are sent, this will be the first time people within our country get a good look at our skills.

Crazy. No?

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