I came across this website (http://1000awesomethings.com) a few days ago and have found it to be a great place for a little joy! A guy made a video for his "1000 Awesome Things" girl, incorporating a few of the images along with their story. I've placed it here for your convenience. :)
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Blessings to you as you find your Awesome things!
Showing posts with label Life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Life. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Foreign In-Country Foray
The train covering no greater a distance than Galveston to El Paso took 28 hours to navigate its way from Odessa to Western Ukraine, which made me all the more grateful for having my friend Ally as my companion. We were on our way to a half marathon event in Berehove, 6 km from the Hungarian border and in the pre-foothills of the beautiful Carpathian Mountains. After so many hours on the train, it really felt as if we'd arrived in a foreign country, not to mention the fact that Hungarian is the primary language in that area. Good thing running is non-verbal!
A fellow PCV, Erin, had organized this event from the ground up last year, making it the Second Annual race. She coordinated it to start in conjunction with the local wine festival. Another PCV, Roberta Eleazer, had her camera out, and so all photo credits go to her! Here is a booth at the festival:
The run itself was spectacular, if also exceedingly difficult from all the hills (my region is not only sea-level, it is FLAT FLAT FLAT).
Starting photo:
Here's a shot of what the course (a.k.a. road between villages) looked like most of the time:
Grinning through the sweat and pain:
One of the most significant things about this event is how "weird" it is. The locals stood outside to watch us go by, some cheering, some just staring. A few children ran alongside us, which was entertaining! Here's another common view:
That night we had our celebration dinner and awards ceremony. Here is my lovely friend Erin, the master of this event.
Sometimes we work, and we don't always see changes. This event was Erin's doing, and she worked really hard to involve as many members of her community as she could. We were even introduced on stage by the mayor! For me, physically, it was a tough day, but the pride I have in completing each of those painful steps is doubled by seeing the work she did to make it happen. And the realization that we are doing such things is worth the invisible sweat.
Blessings to you as you work toward a goal, seen or not. And one last image: all participants.
A fellow PCV, Erin, had organized this event from the ground up last year, making it the Second Annual race. She coordinated it to start in conjunction with the local wine festival. Another PCV, Roberta Eleazer, had her camera out, and so all photo credits go to her! Here is a booth at the festival:
The run itself was spectacular, if also exceedingly difficult from all the hills (my region is not only sea-level, it is FLAT FLAT FLAT).
Starting photo:
Here's a shot of what the course (a.k.a. road between villages) looked like most of the time:
Grinning through the sweat and pain:
One of the most significant things about this event is how "weird" it is. The locals stood outside to watch us go by, some cheering, some just staring. A few children ran alongside us, which was entertaining! Here's another common view:
That night we had our celebration dinner and awards ceremony. Here is my lovely friend Erin, the master of this event.
Sometimes we work, and we don't always see changes. This event was Erin's doing, and she worked really hard to involve as many members of her community as she could. We were even introduced on stage by the mayor! For me, physically, it was a tough day, but the pride I have in completing each of those painful steps is doubled by seeing the work she did to make it happen. And the realization that we are doing such things is worth the invisible sweat.
Blessings to you as you work toward a goal, seen or not. And one last image: all participants.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
A Tisket, a Taskit, a Purple Paska—bucket?
Xristos Vaskres! Christ is risen! Velisiyou Vaskres! Truly he's risen!
Like the flower buds on the trees, this exchange of greetings has been hankering to burst from every winter-weary Ukrainian, and they’ve been doing so with abandon! Spring is fully here, and while it’s still chilly (some regrets about my hard and fast 31st of March rule), the daffodils are popping up, there is an expanse of still-yellow dandelions on my way to school, the stray dogs are rotating like a sundial to feel the warmth in their coats, the ducks and geese are preening, the children are louder and more energetic in the halls, and the bazaar is erupting with color and flavor. There is much to be thankful for!
Easter in Ukraine is a BIG holiday. Last year, I attended church at 10:30 PM and stood until about 4:30 AM, when the congregation went outside for the blessing by the priest. He flings holy water from a brush onto their faces and Easter baskets, all the while calling out the greeting, Xristos Vaskres! Last year, ignorant of the tradition, I didn’t bring a basket. Now, being a seasoned pro, I was ready. Almost.
Feeling that I’d already put in my share of standing and not understanding time, I decided to go with friends at 3:30 AM, armed with not a basket, but a bucket. The traditional Ukrainian Easter basket is a beautiful affair: a woven basket lined with a hand-stitched Easter towel and filled with colored eggs, Easter cheesecake, Easter bread (decorated with frosting and sprinkles), salt, usually some meats, and is illuminated by a tall beeswax candle. I wish I had brought my camera to church, because the line of baskets stretched all along the church, and the faces looking down at them were humbly beautiful in the candles’ soft glow.
Here's a pic of some bread, eggs, and a candle:
This is the best product of a Google Images search, showing sausage, cheese (the square with the cross on it), eggs, flour (I guess instead of bread?), salt, etc.
And an example of an embroidered towel:
My “basket” was less traditional. I searched my house for a basket, but could only come up with a purple sparkly bucket. Inspiration stemmed from there. This was one of the buckets I filled with snow when my water was out for two of the winter’s coldest weeks, and I remembered how joyfully I danced when my water returned. I decided to use this bucket as a container for things for which I am grateful and a reminder of their blessed value in my life.
I lined it with a tea towel given to me by one of the departing volunteers from my oblast, who had a huge influence on my adjustment here. I started with a loaf of Paska bread that I received from a woman who makes and sells buns in the bazaar and who is forever looking out for me and giving to me. Then came my address book, filled with names of people I will know for always and with spaces for more. Next was my journal, which has long been a treasured object. Finally, I put in a small mirror in appreciation and gratitude of beauty as a way of seeing the world.
My bucket didn’t look “right” amongst the others, but it felt right to be bringing these objects, these treasures, to church for a blessing. This life gives us so many simple things from which we are enriched and given the opportunity to return to others.
Blessings to you as you fill your own blessings bucket.
Here's my bucket!
Like the flower buds on the trees, this exchange of greetings has been hankering to burst from every winter-weary Ukrainian, and they’ve been doing so with abandon! Spring is fully here, and while it’s still chilly (some regrets about my hard and fast 31st of March rule), the daffodils are popping up, there is an expanse of still-yellow dandelions on my way to school, the stray dogs are rotating like a sundial to feel the warmth in their coats, the ducks and geese are preening, the children are louder and more energetic in the halls, and the bazaar is erupting with color and flavor. There is much to be thankful for!
Easter in Ukraine is a BIG holiday. Last year, I attended church at 10:30 PM and stood until about 4:30 AM, when the congregation went outside for the blessing by the priest. He flings holy water from a brush onto their faces and Easter baskets, all the while calling out the greeting, Xristos Vaskres! Last year, ignorant of the tradition, I didn’t bring a basket. Now, being a seasoned pro, I was ready. Almost.
Feeling that I’d already put in my share of standing and not understanding time, I decided to go with friends at 3:30 AM, armed with not a basket, but a bucket. The traditional Ukrainian Easter basket is a beautiful affair: a woven basket lined with a hand-stitched Easter towel and filled with colored eggs, Easter cheesecake, Easter bread (decorated with frosting and sprinkles), salt, usually some meats, and is illuminated by a tall beeswax candle. I wish I had brought my camera to church, because the line of baskets stretched all along the church, and the faces looking down at them were humbly beautiful in the candles’ soft glow.
Here's a pic of some bread, eggs, and a candle:
This is the best product of a Google Images search, showing sausage, cheese (the square with the cross on it), eggs, flour (I guess instead of bread?), salt, etc.
And an example of an embroidered towel:
My “basket” was less traditional. I searched my house for a basket, but could only come up with a purple sparkly bucket. Inspiration stemmed from there. This was one of the buckets I filled with snow when my water was out for two of the winter’s coldest weeks, and I remembered how joyfully I danced when my water returned. I decided to use this bucket as a container for things for which I am grateful and a reminder of their blessed value in my life.
I lined it with a tea towel given to me by one of the departing volunteers from my oblast, who had a huge influence on my adjustment here. I started with a loaf of Paska bread that I received from a woman who makes and sells buns in the bazaar and who is forever looking out for me and giving to me. Then came my address book, filled with names of people I will know for always and with spaces for more. Next was my journal, which has long been a treasured object. Finally, I put in a small mirror in appreciation and gratitude of beauty as a way of seeing the world.
My bucket didn’t look “right” amongst the others, but it felt right to be bringing these objects, these treasures, to church for a blessing. This life gives us so many simple things from which we are enriched and given the opportunity to return to others.
Blessings to you as you fill your own blessings bucket.
Here's my bucket!
Monday, April 5, 2010
[contented sigh]
No corner was safe during a recent Spring Cleaning attack, and this of course, included the pechka. NOW it's done. :)
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Monday, March 29, 2010
P-minus 3!
On the coldest, iciest and blusteriest afternoons and evenings, after scraping the pechka and sifting out the dust and expired coal and then hauling in new coal and wood and starting the kindling and then hoping--well, on those days I clung to but one promise I'd made to myself: that March 31st, rain or snow or shine, would be my LAST PECHKA EVER. Several pechka proud friends are in on it, and I trust this day will be magical. To increase the hype, a blog with accompanying photo for your pleasure.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Love love love
Happy Valentine's Day!
Having spent most of my days as a single gal, I probably shouldn't love Valentine's Day as much as I do. And I really do, probably a little too much. I find it fabulous that we have a day (albeit a bit Hallmark-ey and perhaps materialistic) dedicated to love and remembering the love in our lives. There may not be any flowers or chocolates today, or last year, or next year, but Valentine's is wonderfully full of potential for heart-gifts. The prospect of great love is exhilerating, and I treasure the dear hearts I know.
So, love this day! Forget what you didn't get or what you did, and share words of love. Singles, feel the excitement of great love, and those who have it, enjoy! Blessings to you as you do.
Having spent most of my days as a single gal, I probably shouldn't love Valentine's Day as much as I do. And I really do, probably a little too much. I find it fabulous that we have a day (albeit a bit Hallmark-ey and perhaps materialistic) dedicated to love and remembering the love in our lives. There may not be any flowers or chocolates today, or last year, or next year, but Valentine's is wonderfully full of potential for heart-gifts. The prospect of great love is exhilerating, and I treasure the dear hearts I know.
So, love this day! Forget what you didn't get or what you did, and share words of love. Singles, feel the excitement of great love, and those who have it, enjoy! Blessings to you as you do.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Punchline
You know how when a story's not going so well, you can wrap up with "and then I found five dollars!?" Well, I didn't find five dollars, I found TEN! Real USD, too. It was folded between receipts from my trip to the States and brought back a flood of memories and happiness.
Thanks again for the wonderful trip, and blessings as you wrap up your stories with memories.
Thanks again for the wonderful trip, and blessings as you wrap up your stories with memories.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
The lengths I will go to avoid lighting my petchka...
Since I wasn't going to be in school anyway, I decided to hit the road early. My flight to the States is Monday morning from Warsaw, which means a bus to Odessa, a train to Kovel, then another bus to Warsaw Saturday night. Well, a few more days in my site meant a few more petchkas; a daunting task in these few feet of snow and with my lungs burning in the cold air. You see, we've had unprecedented amounts of snow the last few days. Literally, I woke up Tuesday morning to a white blanket at least a foot deep. It's very beautiful, and very uncommon (that one foot was more than I saw all last winter). But still, my house is cold!
So yesterday (Wednesday) I decided to head up to Kovel early where I could stay in a centrally-heated apartment. I left my house around 11:00 am, hiring a taxi instead of trying to lug my suitcase thorough the powder for the 20-minute walk to my bus station. I hopped on a bus right away, and we were off! In the next town, however, we pulled over and waited. And waited. And waited. Two hours later, the verdict was in. There is only one road that links the southern part of the Odesska oblast to the rest of the country, and it was CLOSED. There is, however a train that goes from Ismail to Odessa every night at 11:50. I decided to try that route. So, back to Ismail, which is further south than my town (by an hour). Here's a map to clairify things:
My town is in the middle part between Ismail and Moldova.
After six hours on the bus, I arrived in Ismail to discover that they were sold out of tickets for the train. Trying not to despair, I met up with a married couple who are placed in Ismail. They fed me a delicious dinner, I had a wonderfully hot shower, and walked me back to the train station where I hoped to beg a conductor to let me on.
When we got to the station, however, it seemed that about 100 other people had the same idea as I did. NO ONE had tickets! Every now and then, though, someone would walk in announcing they had a ticket they would sell, only to be bum-rushed by those of us who were near-panic. I surprised myself at my own skills in this area, as I competed for a ticket 5-6 times in this fashion. This cold has pretty much robbed me of my voice, however, which meant that I got shouted over and didn't get the ticket each time. Then the thing I love the most about Ukraine happened: it's people.
I had been kind of hanging around with some people who had been on the bus with me to Ismail, and soon enough, my new friend Yura told me to come over; he had bought two tickets! He sold me one for the same price he paid (and the ticket value) with a smile. I was SO relieved I could have hugged him! Instead, we drank some cognac and had a mini-picnic. I took a picture, but can't find my camera cord at the moment so I will upload it later. The train didn't arrive until 3 am for us to board, but we made the best of it for sure! Today, Thursday, I arrived in Odessa at 9:45 am and will be in plenty of time for my train, bus and plane. I am blessed!
I hope the best of outcomes to you as you slog through whatever life (and storm patterns) are throwing your way!
So yesterday (Wednesday) I decided to head up to Kovel early where I could stay in a centrally-heated apartment. I left my house around 11:00 am, hiring a taxi instead of trying to lug my suitcase thorough the powder for the 20-minute walk to my bus station. I hopped on a bus right away, and we were off! In the next town, however, we pulled over and waited. And waited. And waited. Two hours later, the verdict was in. There is only one road that links the southern part of the Odesska oblast to the rest of the country, and it was CLOSED. There is, however a train that goes from Ismail to Odessa every night at 11:50. I decided to try that route. So, back to Ismail, which is further south than my town (by an hour). Here's a map to clairify things:
My town is in the middle part between Ismail and Moldova.After six hours on the bus, I arrived in Ismail to discover that they were sold out of tickets for the train. Trying not to despair, I met up with a married couple who are placed in Ismail. They fed me a delicious dinner, I had a wonderfully hot shower, and walked me back to the train station where I hoped to beg a conductor to let me on.
When we got to the station, however, it seemed that about 100 other people had the same idea as I did. NO ONE had tickets! Every now and then, though, someone would walk in announcing they had a ticket they would sell, only to be bum-rushed by those of us who were near-panic. I surprised myself at my own skills in this area, as I competed for a ticket 5-6 times in this fashion. This cold has pretty much robbed me of my voice, however, which meant that I got shouted over and didn't get the ticket each time. Then the thing I love the most about Ukraine happened: it's people.
I had been kind of hanging around with some people who had been on the bus with me to Ismail, and soon enough, my new friend Yura told me to come over; he had bought two tickets! He sold me one for the same price he paid (and the ticket value) with a smile. I was SO relieved I could have hugged him! Instead, we drank some cognac and had a mini-picnic. I took a picture, but can't find my camera cord at the moment so I will upload it later. The train didn't arrive until 3 am for us to board, but we made the best of it for sure! Today, Thursday, I arrived in Odessa at 9:45 am and will be in plenty of time for my train, bus and plane. I am blessed!
I hope the best of outcomes to you as you slog through whatever life (and storm patterns) are throwing your way!
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