Should I get Another?

Last week I got my cat, Klitchko. He's small but extremely feisty. Perhaps I shouldn't have named him after a boxer. His fur is black with dark brown streaks in it and his eyes are a blueish grey color. He is very good company. Now I'm thinking that maybe I need to get another cat to keep him company while I'm at school. Am I crazy?

The weather has fluctuated between being really nice and being down-right dreary all week. Today the weather has been pretty nice. I took my 9th form to the park for our lesson. We talked about Earth Day and about the environment. We discussed the problems of pollution in their river and all the trash in their park. The kids see the problems, and they talk about how they'd like their park to be litter free and how they'd like to be able to swim in their river, but they don't think that anything will make a difference. There really is a huge trash problem here. The streets, the parks, everywhere is full of trash.

One reason is that there are so few trash cans, but the other-- and the main reason really -- is that everyone thinks the trash is someone else's problem. Nobody thinks that things would change so they don't even try. My kids told me that even if they picked up the trash, somebody would just throw more on the ground. One of my 8th formers said, "Things will only change when the culture changes." A rather profound statement from a 13-year-old. And it's true, I can teach the kids about the dangers of polluted rivers and about clean air and about why it's bad to burn trash-- especially plastic bottles -- but my lessons aren't going to change the culture. And when it comes to environmental problems facing Ukraine, it's the culture that needs to change. As I walked to the internet cafe today, a car passed me and the driver threw a fist-full of trash out the window. Right in front of me. No shame in it at all.

This Sunday is Orthodox Easter Sunday. I am planning on going to the town of Nemiroff to visit some volunteers and to take a nice day hike. Hopefully the weather will hold up. Even if it doesn't, it's always nice to see other volunteers. On Friday, I'm going out with Yulia. Her best friend is home for Easter from the University in Kiev. We're going to go to the club 'Marafone'. The first time I went to 'Marafone', I was wearing my black pants and a black hoodie and I was horrified to find that the club was entirely lit by black lights. I was the lintiest person for miles around. I doubt I would have been more speckled if I had rolled around on a dirty carpet. I won't be making that mistake again.