An Update in Photos

It's been awhile, and life has been moving! Here's a quick update on the last few weeks in photos. Enjoy!

The sun brought warmth and beautiful blooms!


Mini-moo!


My favorite Lada. I will import this and drive it in California.


Tulips overtook the town!


Softball weekend and a great show from the orphanage we visit!


Then a great weekend at Natty B's! We played Ultimate with her kids and had a good time on the football field.


Props to the lovely Natty B and her incredibly photogenic student, Nazar. LOVE this pic!


Lovely lilacs.


Then the circus came to town, replete with a bear, poor thing.


Did I mention the glory that is the Ukrainian spring?


Concourse for people in the medical profession. This competition was a race to get dressed for a nuclear disaster. Chernobyl really wasn't so long ago...


After the concourse was a picnic with Olga and her family. That's her mom with the blond bangs and denim jacket.


FOOD!


I got to be an auntie for the day!


A trip to Obolon to celebrate Tanya's bday!


Wonderful times in Kiev with a dear friend!


Natty's sister was hero for the day, importing the best of American food to Ukraine; REAL Californian avocados and everything! SOOOOOOOOO GOOOOOOOOOD!!!


Bliss.


Kiev weekend kept getting better...visited Tanya (friend from my town) at her new job!


Summertime lunch. Bliss gets better.


Thanks for coming along for the ride! Blessings to you as you make your own memories!

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.

FLEX in ToT for PDO!

Despite the numerous languages and backgrounds, a mixed bunch comprised of Georgians, Moldavians, Armenians, Macedonians, Serbians, Ukrainians and Americans grouped up with the same goal. This was the Training of Teachers I participated in March 24th-29th in a sanitorium near Kiev. It's for a program called the Future Leaders Exchange Program (FLEX), which sends high-school aged students from former Soviet countries to the USA to live with host families, study in American schools and to become active citizens through volunteer and project work.

Before the students go, however, they attend a Pre-Departure Orientation (PDO), which is conducted by staff from American Councils, teachers and FLEX alumni. The ToT was where teachers (all PCVs) and Teacher Assistants (TAs, comprised of alumni) met and began to prepare for this summer’s PDOs. My partner was Taras, a 20-something future lawyer (in his introduction, he mentioned that he's the person we're all going to hate in a few years!), with whom I worked quite well. The following four days were spent learning the process of PDOs, preparing in working pairs for sessions, teaching practice sessions, and observing and critiquing others’ work.

PCVs and alumni had to apply and interview to be considered for participation in ToT and PDOs. As varied as the backgrounds may have been, the reasons for getting involved are similar. I was so impressed by the Volunteers from other countries, and it was really fun to compare notes about our countries and services. I now have some summer destinations: Georgia and re-Moldova!

The ToT focused on practicing teaching things like assimilation, flexibility and practical matters like budgeting and getting along with a host family. It also featured an alumni panel, a catered social and a comical portrayal of a student’s arrival in country.

This is Natasha during an activity in which she was wearing colored lenses, representing her original world view and adding that of another.


The FLEX program is so crucial to Ukraine because it affords kids of any socio-economic level a truly golden opportunity. These kids come back changed, with expanded world views and a greater sense of responsibility for Ukraine. They are, actually, the future leaders. They enter fields like politics, law, teaching, translators, doctors, etc.

The man who organizes Ukraine's FLEX program, Peter, said this about it: “FLEX sends a lot of students to the US, and has a special component for disabled students. Last year we had a disabled alumna from L’viv come for the [alumni] panel. She gave an amazing speech about what it means to be disabled in the US, about the power of positive thinking and not giving up during difficult times. In the end everyone in the room gave her a standing ovation. For me that moment was a testament to the way the FLEX can empower a group of people who are, at best, marginalized in Ukrainian society.”

Another huge takeaway from the PDOs specifically is that they unite students who wouldn't otherwise ever learn about each other. Ukraine is about the size of Texas, but is pretty clearly divided East and West. The Easterners tend to be more "Russian," and the Westerners are a bit more nationalistic. When kids from all over the country are thrown together, they don't even really speak the same language. But they grow in understanding of each other and therefore their country, and the hope is that they won't see regionalism as a necessary way of dealing with the world.

FLEX testing and acceptance is highly competitive within Ukraine and is therefore difficult. Students must have a relatively high level of English to make it past the first testing round, and must show exemplary character and independence in their interviews. Students depart for the USA in the fall (usually August) and return in the spring (May-June). Host families are selected by an American-based contingent of the American Councils and receive no financial compensation. All expenses and a small stipend are paid for by the US Government for each student selected.

I can't wait for PDOs this summer, and am hoping that I'll get to host a FLEX kid when I'm all grown up and settled. :) Let me know if you are interested in hosting now!

All of us!

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!

[contented sigh]

No corner was safe during a recent Spring Cleaning attack, and this of course, included the pechka. NOW it's done. :)

Ultimate Pechka!

Done and DONE! Wooo hooo!!!

P-minus two!

The penultimate pechka day!

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.

It's that time of year

The sky has been a sodden gray for weeks. The weather is all at once snowing, raining, misting, foggy, windy and bitterly cold. Puddles abound with their treachery and boot-soaking abilities or patches of ice throw arms wide and force unwilling shrieks of surprise. I'M OVER WINTER. Thus, here are the things I wish were acceptable school attire.

Wardrobe:


Footwear:


Comfort/Warmth:


My teachers have no idea what a huge favor I am doing by actually getting dressed for school. NO MORE WINTER!

That's all. :)

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!