Castles in our area

June is almost here......

June is almost here and it definitely feels like summer! The trees have bloomed, there are flowers everywhere, and the sun wakes us up at 5 am and doesn’t set until 9 pm. We spent Easter in Dolyna with our Peace Corps friends Charlotte, Michael, and Edwin. We made it a weekend event with home cooked meals, drinks, walks, and games. In Ukraine Easter is a major holiday with celebrations lasting three days. When we returned from Dolyna on Monday we had a light meal at the house of a teacher from Beth’s school. The celebration did not end until Tuesday when we had a fabulous long meal at the director of Scott’s school with some of Scott’s fellow teachers. Dinner lasted 5 hours and included: cheeses, sliced meats, a variety of salads, salo (pure pig fat), pickled apples, holubtsi (stuffed cabbage), bread, olives, fish, chocolates, cookies, wine, and vodka. Beth really enjoyed the pickled apples and was delighted when the host gave her a bag to take home.
Scott attended a training seminar on HIV/AIDS in Kyiv. There is a program called PEPFAR (the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) that sponsors trainings and grants developed by Peace Corps Volunteers. He went with his coordinator Olena and they learned much about the effects, transmission, and situtation of HIV/AIDS in Ukraine . Ukraine has the fastest rate of infection of all the countries in Europe and the age bracket of that is most at risk is 18-25 years. PC offers 3 training sessions a year so that volunteers and community counterparts can actively help to promote education and understanding throughout all Ukraine .
Towards the end of May we went on a 6 day vacation to Istanbul , Turkey with two other volunteers, Charlotte and Andi. We rented an apartment off of Taksim Square which was ideal for walking to all the great sites and convenient for eating at a variety of restaurants. We had Thai, Chinese, Turkish, Thai fusion, and seafood while we were there and loved all the different flavors and spices. While there, we saw Aya Sofia, the Blue Mosque, some Catholic churches, the Grand Bazaar, the Spice Bazaar, the Basilica Cistern (underground reservoir built by the Romans in the 500’s) and also the Sultans Palace ( Tokapi Palace ). On our ride into the city from the airport, we realized that Istanbul is a vast city with rolling hills that just seemed to go on forever. Everyday, we walked 4-7 hours which really was great because we were able to see so many different places, people, and things. Walking down the main street, Iskitar Cadii, that starts at Taksim Square and continues down a hill toward one of the waterways, we could wander all the side streets and find neat little shops and cafes. Istanbul is a great city that is very navigable and great for all ages. We highly recommend it!!
We visited on host mother, Oksana, this week and were pleasantly surprised to leave her house with cherries, strawberries, lettuce, and spinach that she encouraged us to pick. Her garden is amazing and she takes such great care of all the fruits and vegetables every spring and summer. Oksana is planning to go to Portugal in June to spend sometime with her husband who is employed with a Mercedes factory doing landscaping. Oksana is super excited because she gets to spend time with her husband who has worked out of the country for more than 8 years.
This is the last week of school and everyone is preparing for tests, exams, and celebrations. Both of our schools have 2 weeks on mandatory camps in Zalischyky which we plan to help out with. We hope to teach some kids the basics of baseball with Scott’s expertise. Wish us well! We love and miss everyone!

March Update

It is the middle of March and it feels as though spring has arrived in Ukraine. There is the chance that there may be another snowfall, but we are hoping that this does not occur. The birds are chirping, buds are appearing, and flowers are emerging. We expect that spring in Zalischyky will be lovely because of its location on the Dniester in the west.

January and February were not bitterly cold months, but for some reason the days seemed to be long and overcast. In January we attended a Ukrainian language refresher training in Kyiv. Our language skills are okay, but not fantastic. After the language refresher, we visited a PC friend, Mitch, in the resort/rest city of Mirgorod, literally translated means “peaceful town.” It was great to get the perspective of being in a different city in Ukraine where a volunteer lives. After 2 nights, we were back to Kyiv for a meeting to review grants from fellow volunteers. The committee is called SPA which stands for Small Project Assistance. These small grants help volunteers to encourage sustainable projects in their communities.

We celebrated Valentine’s Day, which is a holiday that Ukraine has adopted from the USA. Scott’s school hosted a disco for the children in the town, which we attended. The children at the schools sent valntines, recited poetry, performed skits, and the cutest couple. In many ways, the holiday was celebrated more than we remember it being celebrated in the States. Two days later, we celebrated the 27th wedding anniversary for Scott’s coordinator Olena and her husband Anatoli. They have been very welcoming to us and are our neighbors, living in the apartment building next to ours. We hosted Dima, our first host family’s son, during the last weekend of the month. He is a great guy who is studying at the National Economic University in Kyiv and is a security guard at one of the television stations there also. Dima says hello and wishes all our family and friends at home hello and good health.

March 8th is the International Day of Women and while there are many holidays in Ukraine, this is one of the biggest. Our town had half days on Wednesday and no classes on Thursday and Friday. On Wednesday afternoon, we were invited to a lunch with teachers from Scott’s school to celebrate Women’s Day. Four hours later, after dancing and visiting, we were exhausted and were happy to be on our way home.

We just returned from another conference in Kyiv, this time focused on Citizen Participation. One of the requirements was that a counterpart from our community would attend the conference with us. Much of the instruction was about the political structure of the country and how local groups can accomplish goals with funding from the government and local sources. There was some role playing and we were put in situations to make decisions. Our counterparts were pleased with the week of work and it was good for them to see the type of information and training that is available through PC. On the Saturday following the conference, we had a get together with other volunteers that are in the area. The meeting was relaxing and we all shared stories of successes at our sites and go to know each other.

Hope all our family and friends are doing well. We miss you and love you!

Happy New Year!

Yes, it has been too long since our last entry. After celebrating Thanksgiving with our PC friends, we finished out the semester at our site. The children were busy with exams and regional academic competitions. We both assisted in facilitating exams where students were tested in their writing, speaking and listening comprehension abilities. Both of our schools did well and we are proud of those students who will be competing in the oblast competitions later this month. During our last week of the first semester at the orphanage, we gave the students small tests to see how much they have retained of the English we have been teaching. We were pleasantly surprised that several of the students showed an understanding of Basic English words. All the students received stickers which they were elated with. It is the work of the orphanage that we enjoy most, being with these students and witnessing their eagerness to learn a language they have never learned and most likely may never use. We are blessed.

We took a trip to Krakow, Poland for 2 days and then flew to Germany to spend Christmas with Martin and Karen and their family. We traveled with a PC volunteer, Michael Barnhill, who is a friend of ours. Krakow is beautiful for many reasons. First, the city center is surrounded by a walking park. Inside of this whole area leading to the central city square there are few cars that are allowed. Second, Krakow didn’t sustain much damage in WWII, so many of the buildings are very old and still intact, adding charm to the city. Wawel Castle sits on the river and overlooks the city square, giving overcharged tours of sparsely decorated rooms. It was built in the 14th century, and supposedly contained a dragon down in the dungeon. The cathedrals are all really beautiful and the Jewish section of town is really interesting to discover. Before the WWII, there were over 50,000 Jews that lived in Krakow, now there are less than 200. Lastly, we were able to treat ourselves to some different cuisines that are difficult to get in Ukraine; Indian, Mexican, Italian and Polish.

Upon arriving to Germany we realized for sure that we weren’t in Ukraine anymore. Martin, Beth’s brother, was a terrific tour guide and Karen and her mother Pat were awesome hosts. Michael, who is 16 months old, was full of excitement during our whole visit, besides cutting his first teeth. Kaitlyn, who is 6 weeks old, was absolutely beautiful and slept most of the time, no matter who was holding her. It was so nice to be around family and just enjoy each other’s company. The night arrived we were treated at military friends of Martin’s to steak, ribs, and baked potatoes; it had been nine months since eating some American grilled cuisine. While in Germany we visited Neushwanstein Castle (the fairytale castle or the idea behind Disney’s Cinderella’s Castle), The Weischurch (a church where a statue of Jesus cried in the 1870’s and there are some absolutely beautifully painted ceilings), and the cities of Garmish (in the German Alps), Wurzburg, Rottenburg, Munich, and Nurnburg. In Garmish we were able to stay at a resort that is only for use of military personnel and their families. There was no snow, but we were able to enjoy the use of an outdoor hot tub.

In Munich, we spent the day wandering around the city and were able to see the Glockenshpeil in motion at noon. Then we made our way to the Original Hofbrau House for some German food and beer. This is the place where Germans have come to celebrate and drink their beer for many years. It’s not uncommon to see waitresses carrying 7 or 8 liters of beer in one hand. Some of Hitler’s first meetings gaining support for his party were held in the building. The next place we visited was Rottenburg and it is famous for being a walled city and great tourist attraction. You can walk around most of the city on top of the walls and enjoy some fantastic views of the city. We were also able to visit Nurnburg which has an interesting history and has been rebuilt since WWII. It was where Hitler gave many speeches and gained much of his support so the Allies basically leveled it during the war. We were able to have Starbucks coffees here, so it seems like times have definitely changed

Christmas was special. On Christmas Eve, we had an early dinner with one of the families stationed at Ipsheim. Then we all attended evening mass together. After getting to bed early, giving Santa plenty of time to come, we awoke with all the joys of Michael’s second Christmas. There is something really extraordinary seeing a young child opening presents and sitting and playing with all the wrapping paper. It makes you wonder if you need the presents or just the wrapping paper. We spent the day relaxing around the house until dinnertime, ham, potatoes, dressing, corn, and biscuits. And while there was no snow and warm temperatures, it was a very Merry Christmas. Our week in Germany flew by, but we were spoiled while we were there, and ate way more than we have been used to eating. Experiencing other cultures always opens your eyes to all that is out there in the world to discover.

Random photos

Fall photos

Summer photos

Thanksgiving in Ukraine

Being an American holiday, Thanksgiving isn’t recognized in Ukraine, but we were fortunate to be able to celebrate it with some of our fellow volunteers. We traveled to visit a friend of ours who lives in the city of Dolyna, near Ivano-Frankivsk. We spent the day with some Peace Corps friends, Charlotte (lives in Dolyna), Michael, and Margaret. On Friday we prepared an excellent traditional turkey on behalf of Michael’s connections with a friend at the US Embassy. For the most part the women took over the kitchen, while the men were sent hunting and gathering for all the necessary ingredients and last minute items. Not too bad of a deal for the guys!! We enjoyed a Butterball turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, green beans with almonds, carrots, and corn pudding. For dessert we had a pumpkin pie and a Jello No-Bake Cheesecake (Yes, we were spoiled!!!). Just thinking of it makes our mouths water!

On Saturday, we met with the representatives from the business center in Dolyna who Charlotte works with, Sasha and Vasil, who escorted us on a tour of the region. The area was quite breathtaking since the city is located near the base of the Carpathian Mountains. On the tour, we visited a monastery and also explored some really cool rock formations that were inhabited over 500 years ago. After some breathtaking views, squeezing ourselves through some rock passages, we headed back to Dolyna.

That afternoon we made our way back to Ivano-Frankivsk for another gathering, this time with a larger crowd of both Peace Corps volunteers and Ukrainian counterparts. In all, there were 26 of us to share in food and friendship. Saturday was also the day that Ukraine recognized the devastation of the famine during Soviet times. This occurred in 1932-1933.

We are now back at site finishing up the first semester at our schools. Students are preparing for examinations and also for regional competitions in various subjects. Our work in the orphanage is going well as the children are learning simple English phrases. We are still living with Oksana, our host mother, as housing is an issue in a town of our size. Hopefully we will have our own place in the New Year.

The weather has been cold throughout the month of November, and we anticipate snow any day. It only snowed a little bit, during the first few days of this month.

As Christmas approaches, we are elated that our family and friends have brought 3 precious babies into the world, Elijah, Kaitlyn, and Victoria. We wish all our family and friends a safe and happy holiday season with much joy!!! We will write more after our time in Germany with the Doperak family.

Love, Beth and Scott