Sabbatical

To All My Faithful Readers,


I wanted to write a quick note stating what I think has already become quite clear: I'm not going to be posting to this blog at all regularly. I thought I would have more time after training was done, but I've been at site 2 months already and I find that I have even less time.


One thing that I have been able to keep up with is pictures. Check out these photo albums on facebook for a peek at what I've been up to:


Apartment and English Club


Christening Day (a Ukrainian tradition blessing the town and its people):


First Weeks in Kupyansk (the town where I live):


Sincerely,


Tiago

At Home in Ukraine

Hey everyone!

I am finally at my training site, a little town of 11,000 called Baryshivka about an hour east of Kyiv, the capital. I am living with a Ukrainian grandmother named Natasha and undergoing intense training until Christmas in preparation for my permanent assignment.

I'm not able to publish real posts for now but just wanted to let everyone know that I'm okay. As soon as I am able to I will post more information and pictures. Sorry if I am slow to respond to messages, as internet access is infrequent and unreliable.

Tiago

The South American Adventure

Here is a collection of some of the most memorable moments from my year and a half in South America.

My Next Vacation

So apparently they do tours of Chernobyl, the site of the largest nuclear meltdown in history, in northern Ukraine. It's totally safe, you just can't touch plants or buildings or stand downwind of the reactor core or breathe too deeply.

Chernobyl Offers a Holiday in Hell, Times Online

Colombia's Hippos Killed

Ethnic cleansing, massacres of whole towns, narcotrafficking, leftist guerrila attacks on government buildings... these are all fine and good. But when a country comes for the hippos, you know it can go no lower...

Cocaine King's Hippo Gunned Down in Colombia, Reuters

Two Brothers Living "Past the Edge"

Here's an article on two brothers in Rio who are literally living 30 feet in the air, having rigged up a hammock, table and chairs on a vertical wall. I have a feeling they're just doing it to be able to tell the favelados that they're spoiled and don't know what real hardship is. No actually they're part of an art exhibit, but actually now that I think about it it's kind of a neat idea. I'm starting to mull a lifestyle change...

Going Vertical: Brothers Live on Building's Wall

Brazil Sets the Pace

The Barra de Tijuca neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro is set to build a series of solar-powered electric vehicle charging stations, as part of a campaign to promote environmental awareness. Pretty cool.

Brazil Getting Network of Solar EV Charging Stations