And That, As They Say...

...is that.

After reading through all the materials they sent me, sleeping on it, and waking up still smiling, I sent in my formal acceptance. I'm going to Ukraine in September!

The response from family and friends has been overwhelming, and it warms my heart to know that everyone is supporting me so completely. I am truly blessed.

Now that I'm officially an Invitee, I have lots of things to take care of within the next ten days: update my resume (which hasn't changed much in the last month so will be easy), write my Aspiration Statement (to tell the in-country people how utterly awesome I am), fill out passport and visa applications (I have to find a UPS office...), and anything else the country desk tells me I need to do. All of this on top of a thesis rough draft due at the same time. Fun times!

After all of that is done, I'll have about a month downtime before I need to start thinking about insurance, travel arrangements, and buying the things I'm going to need for this adventure (read: warm clothes). I also need to roughly plan out my 20 days at home and buy plane tickets to visit people during that time (shout out to the Seester!). I must say I'm really glad Dad is coming to spend a week with me here in England before I head home (we're going to drive around Scotland!). It'll be really good to get some him-and-me time in before the whirlwind that will be my time back home.

Some things I learned in my reading:

• I'm going to be learning either Ukrainian or Russian during training, though I won't know which one until I arrive so there isn't much pre-departure prep I can do. However, there is a language program I'm supposed to look at provided by the PC. Ukrainian is the official language of the country, but since Russian was the official language for so long, a lot of parts still mainly speak that, though both languages are heard throughout the entire country.
• I will be working at a higher eduction institution in a small to medium size town. 'Higher education institution' can mean anything from a university, an institute, or a college that may have either a teaching, technical, or business orientation.
• Depending on where you are, Ukraine has cold winters with temperatures that dip below freezing and warm summers with temperatures that can get up to the 80s. There will be a betting pool established on how long it will take for this Texan girl to start complaining about the cold.

Random end note: I just realised something -  perogies, a dish I was introduced to here in England (thanks, Melody!), is a Ukrainian dish. I about spazzed. I LOVE perogies. The next two years are going to ROCK!