One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer

     Or rather, in my case it was a shot of vodka and two of whiskey. Believe me, I regret it now. I went back to my apartment on Friday with a dizzy head and promptly slept for two and a half hours. Now I can't sleep and it's after 2AM on Saturday. So I figured I'd start writing this so I can publish it later when normal people are usually awake.
     So what was it that induced me to drink collectively more alcohol than I've had since I left the States? Two very insistent Ukrainian parents. But I wasn't alone in the celebratory libations. I believe the uncorking of those bottles was in thanks to all the teachers from the States who participated in the camp. They all got a taste of it too. I managed to stay out of it as long as I could. As the "newbies" to the country, I thought they were the focus of the thanks. But I got roped in. Lets just say I don't need any more alcoholic drinks for a very long time. Perhaps years.

     Let me rewind a bit to the part before all the drinking. Friday marked the last day of camp. That's right, we're finally done. After five days of lessons, games, skits, activities, meals, and learning we are finally finished. It's been a long, hard slog but in the end I think it was worth it. I found, during the last English camp, that worthwhile things are usually difficult. The same goes for this camp. I really have no idea how much of what I said and taught actually stuck in the heads of my students. But if even a few of them use English in their lives, it'll have been worth it.
     The past few days since I wrote last have been thoroughly eventful. Wednesday was a normal teaching day plus a Liberty meeting in the evening. I could also feel the beginnings of a cold coming on. I had been hoping it was just a sore throat brought on by the chemicals they were using to clean/strip/paint the walls in the school. It wasn't to be. It turned into full-blown congestion by Thursday and draining/clogged sinuses on Friday. The alcohol didn't even have the common courtesy to clean out my sinuses. It just made me dizzy. I'll get back to that.
     If you looked at the schedules I posted from the past two posts, we had a full day of classes and activities every day. Fortunately, the hard part was all in the morning. At least, it was until Friday. Then the whole day became a challenge of kid-wrangling and nose unstuffing.
     Friday we had a slight change of pace as it was the final day. The morning started off with lessons but rolled into final practice for the kids' skits. They were working all week to prepare skits to demonstrate some of the things they had learned during the week. My group of kids seemed to need their hands held during the whole time.
     Throughout the week, it was a constant battle of wills with the boys of my group. I had a group of five girls and four boys. Each of the boys was their own particular challenge to me. One didn't focus on the lesson. One wanted to play games on his cell phone. Another alternated between listening to the lesson and annoying the other boys. The other just did whatever, including talking after I told them multiple times in one lesson to "shut up" or "stop talking." At one time I even broke out the Russian vocabulary and said "тиха" (the polite form of "shut up"). Each of those instances was good for about three minutes of focus before they started getting distracted.
     I'll admit freely right now, before the world, that I don't like working with kids. They are simultaneously difficult and fun, focused and flighty. I much prefer working with students who want to learn and listen. But at the same time, I'm glad I did this camp and that I was able to help out.
     We finally got through the final skit practice and were able to move on to more fun things (lunch, a white elephant gift exchange, the actual skits, closing ceremonies, and the final dinner). But with the cold I was rocking, it wasn't exactly easy to keep focused. I had been planning to make a quiet exit sometime during the evening dinner. But there was so much good food (including turkey and stuffing!) that I had to stay and help decimate it. And I mean that in the truest sense of the word. There was so much food left over that we may as well only have touched one tenth of it. It was then, after most of the students had left and things were finally quiet for a moment, that I go roped into trying the vodka and whiskey.
     Back before I left the US, the group of friends I normally hung out with on Friday evenings said it was their goal to get me used to drinking vodka. Former Soviet country, everyone drinks vodka right? Not the greatest of logic. It doesn't help that I don't like to drink alcohol. Therefore I've managed to avoid alcoholic beverages (other than Communion wine) since last July.
     So to show my gratitude for the parent's support, I tried the drinks the offered. I don't think I'll be trying those drinks again. Or at least, not while I'm sick. I excused myself after the third drink to blow my nose and got "distracted" talking to some other people. I think I managed a graceful exit. At least I wasn't stumbling down the street to the bus stop. I got there safe and onto my ride without a problem. Didn't even need to wait long for it to come. I made it back to my place and, like I said earlier, laid down for a nap and woke up two and half hours later. I didn't feel totally fine so I went to bed not long after. But I laid in bed until almost 2AM before getting up to do something useful for a while.
     It was good getting to know this group of Americans. Some of them will be taking a vacation in Greece before heading home. But a few of the team will be going to Bulgaria next for another English camp. That's the purpose of Transform English Academy. They do this sort of thing all over the world. Not just here in Ukraine.
     Alright, it's getting late. I should try and go to sleep at a normal time tonight. I want to get into a normal sort of schedule again with some good sleep and good health too. I'll talk to you later.