Wow! We've come so far!
From this:
To this:
And now, incredibly, to the next stage:
This is my 435th post, which means about 2,000 hours have gone into the writing of this blog. That's 1/5 of the way to expert level, right? We've got over 1,000 comments on here which is AWESOME : ) I love hearing from you guys!! The Facebook page has become my go-to site on the days I'm not posting here and a very cool and engaged community is slowly growing there. It's safe to say that I've very much fallen in love with blogging ♥. It's like coffee for early morning commuters or sunshine for plants; taking pictures and arranging words has become a vital ingredient of my day.
Looking back at all those posts, here are the ones that people visit the most...
#1. What it's like to work at American English Center
Everyone wants to know what it's like to work here, probably because the school hires non-stop and doesn't put out much of its own information. Even though I'm no longer employed with AEC, it's been interesting to hear from / meet some of the people applying at this company.
#2. Goodbye Facebook, Hello VKontakte
If you blog, you know this scenario- you write something totally ordinary and oddly enough it gets viewed and viewed and viewed because (without meaning to) you stumbled upon SEO jackpot. Then you get this little nagging voice reminding you to update it or at least add some pictures but you never seem to get around to it. Yep.
Anyway, as I look at this post now, I realize it's almost been exactly 2 years since I signed up for this Russian social network. Although I have yet to actually change from an English to a Russian interface, it's been a lot of fun checking out the sometimes ludicrous posts from Такое возможно только в России! (It's only possible in Russia!).
#3. Studying Spanish in Kharkov
Because sí, it's a lot harder than you'd imagine to find a non-beginner class in this town. After studying at El Sol, though, I've run into other people who also studied here. I haven't dedicated much (any) time to Spanish since taking this class, but did finally meet a native-Spanish speaker who lives here, hooray :)
#4. The Week of Too Much
A bad week at work, lots of depressing pictures. Not sure why this has been so popular. Perhaps people like reading about terrible work weeks?
#5. Leaving Pripyat
An interview with Roman, who was just a child when he and his family were evacuated from their home on April 27,1986, a day after the nuclear disaster at Chernobyl. This post got picked up on reddit for a while.
#6. 11 Things I'm Still Getting Used to in Ukraine
The comments here are as entertaining as the post! I'm now working on a second list, since most of these things don't faze me anymore ; )
But it's not just about the big numbers. Below are the posts that have a special place in my heart...
Much admiration for Odin's trilogy on visiting Siberia because of the adventure factor, the incredible photographs, and because Odin is one of my all-out favorite writers.
Sharing these 5 tips about teaching English in Ukraine. Although I'm pretty deeply-entrenched in my work as a teacher, what I'd like to do in the future is train teachers in addition to teaching students.
It's been a year and a half, but I still keep an eye out for these things.
Kharkov Like a Local was such a blast to write. It was fun to relive my
brother's visit to Ukraine and, thanks to him playing the dumb tourist card, finally get pictures at places like Central
Market and the outdoor Book Market.
Talking about taking sneaky pictures at markets, there's always that one time at the Horse Market where an attempt at being super-stealthy failed completely.
Occasionally it's nice to take a trip down memory lane and remember:
I'd like to say- whether you're a new reader or have been along for the ride from day one, thanks for being there!
: )
With love from Ukraine,
Katherine (& D too, of course)
From this:
 |
| on the brink of 10,000 views |
To this:
 |
| the big 5-0! |
And now, incredibly, to the next stage:
 |
| Almost 100,000!! : ) |
This is my 435th post, which means about 2,000 hours have gone into the writing of this blog. That's 1/5 of the way to expert level, right? We've got over 1,000 comments on here which is AWESOME : ) I love hearing from you guys!! The Facebook page has become my go-to site on the days I'm not posting here and a very cool and engaged community is slowly growing there. It's safe to say that I've very much fallen in love with blogging ♥. It's like coffee for early morning commuters or sunshine for plants; taking pictures and arranging words has become a vital ingredient of my day.
Looking back at all those posts, here are the ones that people visit the most...
The 6 Most Popular Posts of All Time
#1. What it's like to work at American English Center
Everyone wants to know what it's like to work here, probably because the school hires non-stop and doesn't put out much of its own information. Even though I'm no longer employed with AEC, it's been interesting to hear from / meet some of the people applying at this company.
#2. Goodbye Facebook, Hello VKontakte
If you blog, you know this scenario- you write something totally ordinary and oddly enough it gets viewed and viewed and viewed because (without meaning to) you stumbled upon SEO jackpot. Then you get this little nagging voice reminding you to update it or at least add some pictures but you never seem to get around to it. Yep.
Anyway, as I look at this post now, I realize it's almost been exactly 2 years since I signed up for this Russian social network. Although I have yet to actually change from an English to a Russian interface, it's been a lot of fun checking out the sometimes ludicrous posts from Такое возможно только в России! (It's only possible in Russia!).
 |
| Only in Russia... |
Because sí, it's a lot harder than you'd imagine to find a non-beginner class in this town. After studying at El Sol, though, I've run into other people who also studied here. I haven't dedicated much (any) time to Spanish since taking this class, but did finally meet a native-Spanish speaker who lives here, hooray :)
#4. The Week of Too Much
A bad week at work, lots of depressing pictures. Not sure why this has been so popular. Perhaps people like reading about terrible work weeks?
#5. Leaving Pripyat
An interview with Roman, who was just a child when he and his family were evacuated from their home on April 27,1986, a day after the nuclear disaster at Chernobyl. This post got picked up on reddit for a while.
#6. 11 Things I'm Still Getting Used to in Ukraine
The comments here are as entertaining as the post! I'm now working on a second list, since most of these things don't faze me anymore ; )
But it's not just about the big numbers. Below are the posts that have a special place in my heart...
My favorites
Much admiration for Odin's trilogy on visiting Siberia because of the adventure factor, the incredible photographs, and because Odin is one of my all-out favorite writers.- Part 1: Siberian Adventures
- Part 2: On the Road in the Tuva Republic
- Part 3: Life Among the Reindeer Herders
Sharing these 5 tips about teaching English in Ukraine. Although I'm pretty deeply-entrenched in my work as a teacher, what I'd like to do in the future is train teachers in addition to teaching students. It's been a year and a half, but I still keep an eye out for these things. Kharkov Like a Local was such a blast to write. It was fun to relive my
brother's visit to Ukraine and, thanks to him playing the dumb tourist card, finally get pictures at places like Central
Market and the outdoor Book Market. Talking about taking sneaky pictures at markets, there's always that one time at the Horse Market where an attempt at being super-stealthy failed completely. Occasionally it's nice to take a trip down memory lane and remember:- autumn walks with just the two of us
- the afternoon I saw this awesome thing (you'll either get it or you won't :p)
- the freaking insanity of the Dutch running amok in Kharkov
- the peacefulness of Grigorovski Forest
- all the joys of becoming human servants to a very special cat
- picnicking to celebrate the May holidays, followed a month later by our first picnic-and-shashlik at the river. Two absolutely perfect afternoons!
- writing a poem that made our first Ukrainian plumbing incident more of a funny memory than a disaster
- visiting the glorious ruins of Khersones on a sunny but cold January day...
- ... or wandering through an empty beach in Yevpatoria
- and let's not forget eating. Who doesn't love to eat?!
I'd like to say- whether you're a new reader or have been along for the ride from day one, thanks for being there!
: )
With love from Ukraine,
Katherine (& D too, of course)
Congratulations on your milestone! I love reading about your adventures in Ukraine.
ReplyDeleteMuchas gracias, Stephanie, y gracias por seguir visitando mi blog!
DeleteCongrats! Here's to 100,000 more views and hundreds of more blog posts inspired by infinitely more adventures! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Chelsea : ) I sure like the sound of "hundreds of more blog posts"!
DeleteHuge well done Katherine - love it!!!
ReplyDeleteGraham, many thanks! You're definitely not doing too shabby yourself these days ; ) Keep it up!
DeleteSo proud of you!!!
ReplyDeleteJ, you are very special because you have been there from Day 1. I'm so grateful for that!!
Delete