Some Friends

I know I have mentioned a few people a couple of times, and I shall now explain who they are. Amber, Alex, Bethanie, and Keith were my 'cluster mates' in Oster. They joined me on the initial three months of teacher training, language training, and the adventures that I have spoken and will speak about. They have become my best friends here in Ukraine.

Amber, the on the left (my right) in the photo, has actually been a friend of mine for a very long time. Amber an I went to grade school together in kindergarten, and were friends in jr. high and high school. The fact that both of us were sent to Ukraine with the Peace Corps was a complete surprise, as we hadn't talked since high school. What is even crazier is that we both were in Oster for training...and to continue the insanity of it all is that she is now about an hour and a half south of me in the Donets'k area. Crazy.

Alex (or Sasha in Ukraine), on my other side, is from sunny California and was my co-teacher at School 2 in Oster. I spent many evenings at her host family's house planning lessons and playing with her little Ukrainian brothers. Much fun.

Bethanie, next to Alex, is from a small town near Pittsburgh and she went to Paterno University. Bethanie's site is awesome. She is in Crimea in the town of Sevestopol. She calls me and braggs about her splendid life on the sea...it angers me every time she calls...which is every couple of days.

Keith, on the end, is from norther Indiana, near Chicago. I forget the name, but it is the town in A Christmas Story, and where Michael Jackson's family is from. That is all I can really tell you about his past. Keith is my fellow musician, he has been playing guitar for about ten years. I would go to his host fam's house and play his guitar, then borrow it on occasion. He is now well east of me, scraping the border with Russia.

There that should clear up a few questions. They will return to my tales in the future.