Hello!
I am back in the United States...though it was saddening to leave. It has been a wonderful summer.
I know I didn't talk much more about my experience in Gorlovka, but if you want to hear about it, there is a WSC presentation on Thursday Aug 6th at the Temple in Theatre 1. You can come hear about my experience, and the other world service corps volunteers.
Thank you for all your support and encouragment. My trip wouldn't have been possible without you. Thank you for giving me an incredible summer. I hope the people in Ukraine feel the same way.
Thank you.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Gorlovka!
Hello!
I am now in Gorlovka. The city of black snow and high percentage of lung cancer! (although the locals have denied the black snow part). We got here by train yesterday. This train was quite different from our previous one from Kiev to Odessa….in a bad way. Similarly to our first train, we were in a compartment room with 4 beds. Allie, Volodya, and I were in a room (we had bought 4 tickets so no stranger would be with us). The beds were alright…although the mattress was a bit lumpy…but it was the temperature which was most unsettling. At first it was extremely hot, then the AC came on and it got super cold, then they turned the AC off at night and it was exceedingly hot all night. Not very pleasant to sleep in. The bathroom was older than the first train so there was just a smelly toilet in which one would go to the bathroom then flush it by pressing a pedal down on the ground. The toilet would then open up right onto the tracks where all your messes would go. I would hope that would not build up on the tracks over time…I can see the news…’Train derailed by crap’…not good. This was most unfortunate for Allie, who became sick during the night. Ephim claims it was from the food we ate on the train (which was quite nice, and no one else got sick…so I’m not so sure that’s what it’s from) or from her chips and chocolate. Whatever the cause, Allie woke up at 1am and vomited into her chip bag. I woke up and saw it….honestly, it was gross, but I helped her out with a light and a towel. But then she was up the rest of the night in the bathroom…not a good place for her to be sick.
We made it through the night though, and made it the next day (17 hours later) to Donetsk. Ephim and his son Kuzma met us at the station and drove us 30 minutes to Gorlovka. We rested for a while and freshened up, then went to Ephim’s house and met his wife Ludmilla and ate a very tasty lunch. Then we went to the church and met some other people there. Our mission here is to help the church people speak English better and encourage the boys to bring more girls to church. So Ephim arranged for us to have sessions twice a day for two hours each and talk about a variety of topics – from war, to philosophy, to history, to our families. So we met some of the people yesterday: Maxime, Slava, Andre, and another Volodya. We had some small talk and then went home two hours later (and Volodya took a train back to Odessa).
So then today, Allie and I went back to the church and met again and we talked about feminism and our families….interesting topics… We had lunch, and will go again this evening to talk more. They promised there will be many people this evening, including some girls…haha…so that will be nice to have some more input on whatever we discuss.
Gorlovka is nice so far (with one and half days impression), Allie and I are in a one room hotel…the smallest place we’ve been so far…but it’s clean and cold…but I must admit it sucks that it lacks security so we have to carry our computers and passports with us everywhere.
I’ll tell you more once we do more! Thanks for reading!
(Oh, and if anyone in the KC area has a futon or a couch they want to give away or sell, let me know! Zenaylor@gmail.com I became HP of Sariah and need more couches! Thanks!)
Til next time!
I am now in Gorlovka. The city of black snow and high percentage of lung cancer! (although the locals have denied the black snow part). We got here by train yesterday. This train was quite different from our previous one from Kiev to Odessa….in a bad way. Similarly to our first train, we were in a compartment room with 4 beds. Allie, Volodya, and I were in a room (we had bought 4 tickets so no stranger would be with us). The beds were alright…although the mattress was a bit lumpy…but it was the temperature which was most unsettling. At first it was extremely hot, then the AC came on and it got super cold, then they turned the AC off at night and it was exceedingly hot all night. Not very pleasant to sleep in. The bathroom was older than the first train so there was just a smelly toilet in which one would go to the bathroom then flush it by pressing a pedal down on the ground. The toilet would then open up right onto the tracks where all your messes would go. I would hope that would not build up on the tracks over time…I can see the news…’Train derailed by crap’…not good. This was most unfortunate for Allie, who became sick during the night. Ephim claims it was from the food we ate on the train (which was quite nice, and no one else got sick…so I’m not so sure that’s what it’s from) or from her chips and chocolate. Whatever the cause, Allie woke up at 1am and vomited into her chip bag. I woke up and saw it….honestly, it was gross, but I helped her out with a light and a towel. But then she was up the rest of the night in the bathroom…not a good place for her to be sick.
We made it through the night though, and made it the next day (17 hours later) to Donetsk. Ephim and his son Kuzma met us at the station and drove us 30 minutes to Gorlovka. We rested for a while and freshened up, then went to Ephim’s house and met his wife Ludmilla and ate a very tasty lunch. Then we went to the church and met some other people there. Our mission here is to help the church people speak English better and encourage the boys to bring more girls to church. So Ephim arranged for us to have sessions twice a day for two hours each and talk about a variety of topics – from war, to philosophy, to history, to our families. So we met some of the people yesterday: Maxime, Slava, Andre, and another Volodya. We had some small talk and then went home two hours later (and Volodya took a train back to Odessa).
So then today, Allie and I went back to the church and met again and we talked about feminism and our families….interesting topics… We had lunch, and will go again this evening to talk more. They promised there will be many people this evening, including some girls…haha…so that will be nice to have some more input on whatever we discuss.
Gorlovka is nice so far (with one and half days impression), Allie and I are in a one room hotel…the smallest place we’ve been so far…but it’s clean and cold…but I must admit it sucks that it lacks security so we have to carry our computers and passports with us everywhere.
I’ll tell you more once we do more! Thanks for reading!
(Oh, and if anyone in the KC area has a futon or a couch they want to give away or sell, let me know! Zenaylor@gmail.com I became HP of Sariah and need more couches! Thanks!)
Til next time!
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Pictures of Our Friends!!!
This is Allie and I after the 'Dead Sea' adventure.
This is Victor (Volodya's son), his friend Ilya, and me!
This is Bogdon (anatoliy's son) and me
And this is all of us after an intense soccer game in Kiev. Me, Allie, Daniel, Maxime, Bogdon, and Sophie
This is Maria, the oldest member of the family in Kiev.
This is Nadia and I. Nadia is Maria's younger sister. She lives with the family in Kiev
This is Volodya and his family. Natash, Volodya, and Amina (the little girl)
This is Maria and her daughter Sophie.
This is Anatoliy and Luda (Ludmilla) in Kiev.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
The 'Dead Sea'
I'll be honest, this is actually an email I sent to someone else, but I thought it was an interesting tale (well not so much tale, but a good day), so you can all read it too...and this is all my random thoughts and long drawnout way of telling about my day.
So today we went to the Ukrainian version of the Dead Sea..it's a part of the Black Sea that was cut off many years ago...like hundreds of years...and exists very saltily on it's own. It was by Ludmilla’s house…Natasha’s friend with the baby who we visited last week. So we took a taxi…which really means we hitch hiked and paid some random guy…to the sea. I think they call it like Limon something…I’ll have to get Volodya to spell it later. It was cool. There weren’t that many people there…at least where we went…because we were meeting Natasha, their other friend. (There are 2 Natashas….Volodya’s wife and their friend). So Allie, Natasha (V’s wife), and I went out about 50 feet or so…and the water was still barely up to our knees. It was super salty. And there was a layer of salt across the ground so every step in the water, your foot cracked through the layer. (Turns out this actually cut me (and everyone else) up a bit and I have a bunch of little cuts on my legs). Then under the hard salt was really thick black mud. Sometimes there would be deep spots of it and my leg sunk in up to my knee in mud! When we got out as far as we wanted (still only knee deep), we plunged our hands into the mud and began coating ourselves with it. Natasha said it was good for the skin…so I covered my legs, stomach, lower back, and cheeks with it. It was actually really cool…figuratively and literally. The mud was cooler than the water and it felt awesome to squeeze in my fingers. It coated on really easily and I looked like an African…perhaps. But it definitely was the blackest mud I’ve ever seen. Then we went to the beach and took he pictures then went back into the water, this time with both Natashas. We rubbed the mud off then just lay in the water. It was nice at first…but if any water got in your eye, it was like fire. The water was so salty it burned for a really long time. And when I rinsed my face off, I got water on my lips…so I tasted it and it was awful. Super salty and dried my lips out. The salt just wouldn’t go away. But we stayed in the water for a while…time means nothing here so I don’t know actually how long…and put more mud on while lying, and floating, and trying not to get anything in our eyes or mouth. Still, even though we went out further, the water was hardly more than knee deep. A big splash came up and got me in the eye…so I headed back eventually to rinse it out. And we’d been out there a while so I was satisfied with my experience out there.
Everyone followed after a little while and we rinsed out faces and feet and ate some little baked things. Then after a while longer we walked to Ludmilla’s house. We had to walk up like 200 steps to get there because she lives on the top of a hill overlooking the lake. (The lake, btw, was like 1 mile by 2 miles…maybe). So we finally got to Ludmillas. When we got there, the salt had dried on our bodies…and we were caked in salt. Like, it frosted my arm hairs and provided a second skin all over my body. I ran my fingers through my hair and giant chunks of salt were under my nails. It was sort of cool but gross. So we took showers at Ludmilla’s to rinse off the salt. Then we had tea (which they call Chai…I asked them if they had Chai tea here….it’d be interesting to see what they call that…but they didn’t think they did). We visited for a while, then walked a bit down the hill and ‘taxied’ home. And here I am. I washed my hair and it’s so much better now…salt free. But my skin is super smooth and lovely. When I rinsed out my hair and bathing suit, I looked down and the bath tub had a big ring of salt and mud around the drain. It was gross! But such is the life of swimming in a very salty sea.
So today we went to the Ukrainian version of the Dead Sea..it's a part of the Black Sea that was cut off many years ago...like hundreds of years...and exists very saltily on it's own. It was by Ludmilla’s house…Natasha’s friend with the baby who we visited last week. So we took a taxi…which really means we hitch hiked and paid some random guy…to the sea. I think they call it like Limon something…I’ll have to get Volodya to spell it later. It was cool. There weren’t that many people there…at least where we went…because we were meeting Natasha, their other friend. (There are 2 Natashas….Volodya’s wife and their friend). So Allie, Natasha (V’s wife), and I went out about 50 feet or so…and the water was still barely up to our knees. It was super salty. And there was a layer of salt across the ground so every step in the water, your foot cracked through the layer. (Turns out this actually cut me (and everyone else) up a bit and I have a bunch of little cuts on my legs). Then under the hard salt was really thick black mud. Sometimes there would be deep spots of it and my leg sunk in up to my knee in mud! When we got out as far as we wanted (still only knee deep), we plunged our hands into the mud and began coating ourselves with it. Natasha said it was good for the skin…so I covered my legs, stomach, lower back, and cheeks with it. It was actually really cool…figuratively and literally. The mud was cooler than the water and it felt awesome to squeeze in my fingers. It coated on really easily and I looked like an African…perhaps. But it definitely was the blackest mud I’ve ever seen. Then we went to the beach and took he pictures then went back into the water, this time with both Natashas. We rubbed the mud off then just lay in the water. It was nice at first…but if any water got in your eye, it was like fire. The water was so salty it burned for a really long time. And when I rinsed my face off, I got water on my lips…so I tasted it and it was awful. Super salty and dried my lips out. The salt just wouldn’t go away. But we stayed in the water for a while…time means nothing here so I don’t know actually how long…and put more mud on while lying, and floating, and trying not to get anything in our eyes or mouth. Still, even though we went out further, the water was hardly more than knee deep. A big splash came up and got me in the eye…so I headed back eventually to rinse it out. And we’d been out there a while so I was satisfied with my experience out there.
Everyone followed after a little while and we rinsed out faces and feet and ate some little baked things. Then after a while longer we walked to Ludmilla’s house. We had to walk up like 200 steps to get there because she lives on the top of a hill overlooking the lake. (The lake, btw, was like 1 mile by 2 miles…maybe). So we finally got to Ludmillas. When we got there, the salt had dried on our bodies…and we were caked in salt. Like, it frosted my arm hairs and provided a second skin all over my body. I ran my fingers through my hair and giant chunks of salt were under my nails. It was sort of cool but gross. So we took showers at Ludmilla’s to rinse off the salt. Then we had tea (which they call Chai…I asked them if they had Chai tea here….it’d be interesting to see what they call that…but they didn’t think they did). We visited for a while, then walked a bit down the hill and ‘taxied’ home. And here I am. I washed my hair and it’s so much better now…salt free. But my skin is super smooth and lovely. When I rinsed out my hair and bathing suit, I looked down and the bath tub had a big ring of salt and mud around the drain. It was gross! But such is the life of swimming in a very salty sea.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Hello friends!
I am recuperating from a day of sickness, so you get to hear from me! I had a temperature of 102 last night, and chills and a headache, all alone in an apartment in Eastern Europe….the life of a World Service Corp volunteer. But fear not, I am fever free today.
We are still in Odessa. It is a nice area of the country, although the weather is very unpredictable. It will look sunny and nice in the morning, but by the time the afternoon hits, it is overcast and windy. For some strange reason, we only go swimming in the afternoon when the weather is like this though…and the beach is still always crowded.
We have spent many afternoons at that Black Sea. Church friends or school friends often drop by and sit with us on the shelly sand and chat for a while before moving on. About every second or third day, we go visit someone or someone comes and visits us. One day we went to Natasha’s best friends’ house in her home village. Her friend had just had a baby so we got to see him and sit around and talk and eat cake. It was a wonderful visit as the friend was a cheerful, bubbly person who could play the guitar well and proved to be great company. Another day, Victor’s friend Ilya came with his mum, Ilena, and we had a small party. More cake of course, and some funny sausages and noodles. They were wonderful company as well. Since then, we have had many visits from Ilena and Ilya at the beach and church. Last Sunday we talked about baptism as Amina (Volodya’s daughter) is getting baptized next Sunday. Volodya told us that Ilena talked to him about perhaps herself and Ilya getting baptized as well next Sunday. He seemed to think that it was perhaps because of our interaction with them. I’m not totally sure that 100% true because Victor and Ilya have been friends for a while and maybe it’s just the right timing now for them, but it is great to see that maybe we had some impact on them during our interactions. Allie will probably baptize one of them. Lucky thing being a priest. I usually don’t really care, but it sort of sucks to be over here and not be able to serve communion or baptize someone…just because I don’t have the card and prayer that officially makes it so. Especially when there are so few ministers over here right now. Oh well.
Hmm…I’m actually not sure what else I can write right now. We have seen many beautiful parts of Odessa and been swimming in the Black Sea many times. We have played with the kids a lot. We have visited with friends and spent time talking and laughing with the adults. Odessa has been great thus far. We have less than a week here now then on to Donetsk.
I intended to put some pictures of the family up so you can see the faces of the names...but alas it did not work at this time. So here's one of Allie and I instead. I'll add the others next time.
Thanks for reading.
Til next time...
I am recuperating from a day of sickness, so you get to hear from me! I had a temperature of 102 last night, and chills and a headache, all alone in an apartment in Eastern Europe….the life of a World Service Corp volunteer. But fear not, I am fever free today.
We are still in Odessa. It is a nice area of the country, although the weather is very unpredictable. It will look sunny and nice in the morning, but by the time the afternoon hits, it is overcast and windy. For some strange reason, we only go swimming in the afternoon when the weather is like this though…and the beach is still always crowded.
We have spent many afternoons at that Black Sea. Church friends or school friends often drop by and sit with us on the shelly sand and chat for a while before moving on. About every second or third day, we go visit someone or someone comes and visits us. One day we went to Natasha’s best friends’ house in her home village. Her friend had just had a baby so we got to see him and sit around and talk and eat cake. It was a wonderful visit as the friend was a cheerful, bubbly person who could play the guitar well and proved to be great company. Another day, Victor’s friend Ilya came with his mum, Ilena, and we had a small party. More cake of course, and some funny sausages and noodles. They were wonderful company as well. Since then, we have had many visits from Ilena and Ilya at the beach and church. Last Sunday we talked about baptism as Amina (Volodya’s daughter) is getting baptized next Sunday. Volodya told us that Ilena talked to him about perhaps herself and Ilya getting baptized as well next Sunday. He seemed to think that it was perhaps because of our interaction with them. I’m not totally sure that 100% true because Victor and Ilya have been friends for a while and maybe it’s just the right timing now for them, but it is great to see that maybe we had some impact on them during our interactions. Allie will probably baptize one of them. Lucky thing being a priest. I usually don’t really care, but it sort of sucks to be over here and not be able to serve communion or baptize someone…just because I don’t have the card and prayer that officially makes it so. Especially when there are so few ministers over here right now. Oh well.
Hmm…I’m actually not sure what else I can write right now. We have seen many beautiful parts of Odessa and been swimming in the Black Sea many times. We have played with the kids a lot. We have visited with friends and spent time talking and laughing with the adults. Odessa has been great thus far. We have less than a week here now then on to Donetsk.
I intended to put some pictures of the family up so you can see the faces of the names...but alas it did not work at this time. So here's one of Allie and I instead. I'll add the others next time.
Thanks for reading.
Til next time...
Monday, July 6, 2009
Odessa! (Фдессф)
Hello friends!
I am writing you from Odessa, the city on the Black Sea. We left Malaya Alexandrovka on Friday, saying goodbye to the village and Kiev and headed out on a night train. Maria and her daughters Sophia and Angela accompanied us. Allie and I shared a room on the train with the girls while Maria slept with strangers next door. I have been on one night train before, in Thailand, and this was a very different experience. In Thailand, you walked down the aisle of the train and the beds were on either side of walking down…there was a giant silverfish in my bed…and the light was on the whole time. On this Ukrainian train, we were in our own cabin, we could control all lights and windows, it was air conditioned and no bugs (that I know of). However, there is always ups and downs…our train was supposed to arrive in Odessa at 6am, so Maria told us to get up at 5am and get dressed and ready for when we got off the train. So she came to our cabin around 5:30am and looked out the window and said she didn’t think we were in Odessa…so she called her brother Volodya. He was waiting for us at the train station. He informed Maria that our train had been delayed. There was an oil spill or something on the tracks and all trains had to take a detour. He said our train would not arrive until 3pm….let me remind you it was supposed to arrive at 6am. So we slept more and read and talked…and ended up arriving around 11am. Not as bad as 3pm, but not 6am either.
When we arrived, Volodya took us to our apartment. Allie and I have rented a two bedroom apartment with a living room area and kitchen for two weeks. It’s really nice actually…especially for the price. It’s in a safe building and has air conditioning and two comfy beds. We’ve bought groceries since so we can exist on our own sometimes and it is nice to have a bit more of our own space after living at the house with the family for so long. Don’t get me wrong, it was great staying with the family, but it is really nice to have our own space and not have to worry about the kids peeping in the window or knocking for another game of cards.
Then we went to Volodya’s apartment, conveniently located in the building adjacent to ours. We met his wife, Natasha and his kids, Victor (10) and Amina (8). Oh, and the adorable 3 month old kitten, Lola. They are a lovely, welcoming family and Natasha and Volodya speak a bit of English, so we were able to converse with them easier than in Kiev because Maria didn’t need to do all the translating. That afternoon, we went for a swim in the Black Sea. The water was cloudier than I imagined, and there were no waves, and it was cold (the wind and the water)….but apart from that…it was really humbling sort of to be swimming in it and thinking about the history it has. Istanbul is on the other side of the Sea…directly across from Odessa they say…and it’s crazy to think of all the people who have swum or sailed on the Sea.
On Sunday, we had church at night. The church building is a little apartment in downtown Odessa. We sat our chairs in a circle and had mainly discussion, and music. It was different than Kiev in that instead of the children performing the music, the people sang together…and everyone knew the songs (except Allie and I). I think I liked it better in that aspect here. There were probably 16 people (including the kids) at church by the end. We shared stories of faith and of people who wanted to join the church. They asked Allie and me questions about our beginnings in the church and why we did world service corps and asked us to share a testimony. I felt more involved in the church here because they were asking us to share ourselves…that hadn’t been done in the same way in Kiev. I don’t want to be comparing Kiev and Odessa here, because each has it’s own elements to share and both have talented people, but there were some differences in the way people share in Odessa…that could just come down to numbers…but it was nice all the same.
So church was good and done…and Allie and I came back to our place and talked and slept etc… So in the mornings, Allie has decided to run up and down the stairs for exercise while I sleep in, then she comes back and we do ab workouts together. So when she wanted to go out on Sunday, she couldn’t open the door. When I got up she told me and I unlocked it easy. So when she couldn’t open the door again today, she came and woke me up (don’t worry, I gave her permission to). So I went to unlock it like yesterday…thinking no problem, then I can go back to bed. But it wouldn’t budge. We have like a peg lock…like in a bathroom stall but a lot thicker where you pick up the bolt and move it across…that unlocks no problem. Then there’s a three bolt lock where you turn a vertical bit of metal to lock them. That vertical bit of metal will not open…it will not turn. So I went back to bed and we turned the air conditioner on hoping some temperature shift might be the answer. That was three hours ago….and both of us have tried with all our might. Pushing and pulling the door….both of us at the same time…and nothing but sore hands. It seems sort of crazy…but we’re locked inside our apartment. If I post this, then have no fear because it means I got out as we must use the internet at Volodya’s….but right now…we’re trapped.
Ok. So now you had a moment of suspense…we got out. But not for a while. At 2:30pm, Volodya came to our apartment and Allie threw our keys out tied up in a plastic bag. They almost fell on the roof of another building, but luckily just missed. So Volodya and his son came upstairs and tried to open it from the outside for like 20 minutes. And no luck. So they called the owner and were trying to arrange other ways for us to escape…and I tried the door one more time, just as the owner had said she would come over…and it opened. At 4:30pm. So we’ve been here from 10pm Sunday night until 4:30pm Monday afternoon. Trapped. But it’s a good story. Hope you enjoyed it…and celebrate with us and our freedom. Don’t worry though, we plan to never lock te bottom part while we’re here again.
Til next time,
Zoe
I am writing you from Odessa, the city on the Black Sea. We left Malaya Alexandrovka on Friday, saying goodbye to the village and Kiev and headed out on a night train. Maria and her daughters Sophia and Angela accompanied us. Allie and I shared a room on the train with the girls while Maria slept with strangers next door. I have been on one night train before, in Thailand, and this was a very different experience. In Thailand, you walked down the aisle of the train and the beds were on either side of walking down…there was a giant silverfish in my bed…and the light was on the whole time. On this Ukrainian train, we were in our own cabin, we could control all lights and windows, it was air conditioned and no bugs (that I know of). However, there is always ups and downs…our train was supposed to arrive in Odessa at 6am, so Maria told us to get up at 5am and get dressed and ready for when we got off the train. So she came to our cabin around 5:30am and looked out the window and said she didn’t think we were in Odessa…so she called her brother Volodya. He was waiting for us at the train station. He informed Maria that our train had been delayed. There was an oil spill or something on the tracks and all trains had to take a detour. He said our train would not arrive until 3pm….let me remind you it was supposed to arrive at 6am. So we slept more and read and talked…and ended up arriving around 11am. Not as bad as 3pm, but not 6am either.
When we arrived, Volodya took us to our apartment. Allie and I have rented a two bedroom apartment with a living room area and kitchen for two weeks. It’s really nice actually…especially for the price. It’s in a safe building and has air conditioning and two comfy beds. We’ve bought groceries since so we can exist on our own sometimes and it is nice to have a bit more of our own space after living at the house with the family for so long. Don’t get me wrong, it was great staying with the family, but it is really nice to have our own space and not have to worry about the kids peeping in the window or knocking for another game of cards.
Then we went to Volodya’s apartment, conveniently located in the building adjacent to ours. We met his wife, Natasha and his kids, Victor (10) and Amina (8). Oh, and the adorable 3 month old kitten, Lola. They are a lovely, welcoming family and Natasha and Volodya speak a bit of English, so we were able to converse with them easier than in Kiev because Maria didn’t need to do all the translating. That afternoon, we went for a swim in the Black Sea. The water was cloudier than I imagined, and there were no waves, and it was cold (the wind and the water)….but apart from that…it was really humbling sort of to be swimming in it and thinking about the history it has. Istanbul is on the other side of the Sea…directly across from Odessa they say…and it’s crazy to think of all the people who have swum or sailed on the Sea.
On Sunday, we had church at night. The church building is a little apartment in downtown Odessa. We sat our chairs in a circle and had mainly discussion, and music. It was different than Kiev in that instead of the children performing the music, the people sang together…and everyone knew the songs (except Allie and I). I think I liked it better in that aspect here. There were probably 16 people (including the kids) at church by the end. We shared stories of faith and of people who wanted to join the church. They asked Allie and me questions about our beginnings in the church and why we did world service corps and asked us to share a testimony. I felt more involved in the church here because they were asking us to share ourselves…that hadn’t been done in the same way in Kiev. I don’t want to be comparing Kiev and Odessa here, because each has it’s own elements to share and both have talented people, but there were some differences in the way people share in Odessa…that could just come down to numbers…but it was nice all the same.
So church was good and done…and Allie and I came back to our place and talked and slept etc… So in the mornings, Allie has decided to run up and down the stairs for exercise while I sleep in, then she comes back and we do ab workouts together. So when she wanted to go out on Sunday, she couldn’t open the door. When I got up she told me and I unlocked it easy. So when she couldn’t open the door again today, she came and woke me up (don’t worry, I gave her permission to). So I went to unlock it like yesterday…thinking no problem, then I can go back to bed. But it wouldn’t budge. We have like a peg lock…like in a bathroom stall but a lot thicker where you pick up the bolt and move it across…that unlocks no problem. Then there’s a three bolt lock where you turn a vertical bit of metal to lock them. That vertical bit of metal will not open…it will not turn. So I went back to bed and we turned the air conditioner on hoping some temperature shift might be the answer. That was three hours ago….and both of us have tried with all our might. Pushing and pulling the door….both of us at the same time…and nothing but sore hands. It seems sort of crazy…but we’re locked inside our apartment. If I post this, then have no fear because it means I got out as we must use the internet at Volodya’s….but right now…we’re trapped.
Ok. So now you had a moment of suspense…we got out. But not for a while. At 2:30pm, Volodya came to our apartment and Allie threw our keys out tied up in a plastic bag. They almost fell on the roof of another building, but luckily just missed. So Volodya and his son came upstairs and tried to open it from the outside for like 20 minutes. And no luck. So they called the owner and were trying to arrange other ways for us to escape…and I tried the door one more time, just as the owner had said she would come over…and it opened. At 4:30pm. So we’ve been here from 10pm Sunday night until 4:30pm Monday afternoon. Trapped. But it’s a good story. Hope you enjoyed it…and celebrate with us and our freedom. Don’t worry though, we plan to never lock te bottom part while we’re here again.
Til next time,
Zoe
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Last week in Kiev!!!
Hello friends!
Goodness…I haven’t written in a while! The internet is a bit hard to come by here…but I have it right now, so no worries.
We haven’t been particularly busy with ‘church’ work as of late…but that really depends of what ‘church’ work is. I spend a lot of my time with Allie and the kids following them to their various activities, playing with the kids and their friends in the yard, and, of course, swimming at the lake. Since the weather has become warm again, we’ve swum nearly everyday at the lake in the forest. The water is freezing and incredibly deep about two metres out, but it is a cool and refreshing change from the hot sun…which strange enough makes everyone here quite tan but doesn’t even burn Allie or I. My theory is that it is not as bright as the American or Australian sun and so it doesn’t affect our skin as much…if anyone knows the real reason why, please let me know.
Richard Betts came on the weekend to do a review with us and make sure everything was going well here (and to actually meet the people we’re staying with). So we took a nice tour of
On the subject of church, while Richard was here we had a communion service under the tent. Three people from the
Back to that subject (of the kids), we go to their voice lessons a couple times a week and amuse ourselves while they sing for two hours, or we go to their tae kwon do lesson, or swimming with them, or teach them new games or English words. Neighborhood kids don’t come as often as earlier on, but they still do and we play games with them til bedtime. Back to the earlier comment, I still see this as church work though. I’ve had people tell me that they were so bored during world service corps because they had no church things to do…but I don’t see how that could have been the case if they had a bunch of kids to play with all the time. It is still a form of ministering. We are loving these kids and teaching them new things, new ways to see the world, and giving them some more fun in their lives (hopefully). It will be different in Odessa (where we go on Friday) because Allie and I will be in our own apartment and not in the same house as the family, but I still imagine we will be interacting with the church families just as much and building relationships with these lovely people. Speaking of, I don’t think we could have done all this without Maria. She is the lifeline for us here. The kids can sort of speak English…the older the better…but Maria is fluent and so translates everything for us, and provides herself as a loving and friendly person who we have come to rely on. She will come to
I know this doesn’t fully summarize my experience again!...dang…but I’ll keep trying to write more often. They say we’ll have internet in our apartment so maybe keep checking more during the next week.
Oh! And we did talk to Maria about the trash thing and she said it was a no go because no one would probably show up…ahha. Oh well. So we must concede with instead going to places about once or twice a week into
Oh! Another thing…I have been asked a couple times to pick strawberries in the yard. Last time Allie did it with me and we collected probably over a hundred strawberries. It’s really fun. I like working in the garden and picking the rewards of the sweet red berries. They also have raspberries which we don’t collect but just go pick off when the need strikes…delicious.
Until next time…
Zoe
Monday, June 15, 2009
Finally in Ukraine!!!!
My friends!
I made it to Ukraine! After a long wait at the airport (our flight was delayed to JFK for 4 hours!) Allie and I had to make a mad dash to our plane to the Ukraine. The doors were already shut, but they opened them for us and we had an uneventful flight across the ocean. Unfortunately, our luggage did not have the same luxury, and was not there when we got off the plane. This was most unfortunate and adding to the initial unpleasantness was the mean immigration people and uptight luggage ladies. Just as we began to think that all of Ukraine was like this…Maria and her grandma Nadia met us outside the gate with great big smiles and welcoming arms.
Our host family is wonderful. There are five children in the house. Sophia (10) and Angela (12) are Maria’s daughters. Daniel (12) and Bogdan (6) are Anatoliy’s sons. Antoliy is Maria’s uncle. Christy (10) is….shoot…Rah…something…I feel terrible for forgetting…but she is Maria’s mother who has moved out while Allie and I stay here. So five kids, Maria, Anatoliy and his wife Luda, Nadia the grandma of Maria, and Rah….and her husband are usually live in the house. And their dog Rex. A very full house. The house is on the edge of a forest with a lake not far in. It was wonderfully warm when we first arrived but has become freezing within the past few days. Like…I’m cold in a scarf, jeans and hoodie cold. But we have plenty of blankets around the house to keep us warm.
Today we had a church sort of meeting. Some friends or neighbours and their children came to the front yard where a sort of tent is permanently set up. Anatoliy (who is the pastor for Kiev) talked to them about Jesus and God and the inclusiveness of everyone. He had a great message as he talked about not being hateful or angry to any other Christian denomination or other religion. He did not go into deep lengths about the church but gave an overall message of hope and love and community. He did discuss Jesus and the love he gave, and how God is to us like we are to a computer. It was interesting short sermon to listen to. Then the ladies there asked Allie and I questions about Graceland (I felt like perhaps GU should be giving us some compensation for advertizing…or lessening tuition..haha). Then we had a short talent show with the kids. We had been at a farming fair the previous day and the kids and their friends had seen all sorts of acrobatic acts and dances and so they tried to copy them. They danced, and did flexibility things and fight dancing. It was really funny and actually quite decent. Then Allie and I sang Amazing Grace…which was sort of lame after the kids’ funny dancing things…but they appreciated it.
I am having a great time so far here. Allie and I will work with Maria this week and brainstorm ways to outreach into the community both for church purposes and community building purposes. We haven’t discussed it with Maria yet….but one idea is having a huge trash pick up day with the community because the forest has become a dumping ground. Maria’s strength is kids’ ministry so there are children here often and we will continue to play and work with them. Allie brought a parachute to play games with and we took it out yesterday…and they asked for it again today, so we are having a lot of fun playing lots of games. Today’s favorites were volleyball and spoons.
We don’t have a lot of access to the internet yet, but once we do, I’ll keep this posted more frequently.
Summarized, everything is great. Ukraine is cold, but lovely.
-Zoe
I made it to Ukraine! After a long wait at the airport (our flight was delayed to JFK for 4 hours!) Allie and I had to make a mad dash to our plane to the Ukraine. The doors were already shut, but they opened them for us and we had an uneventful flight across the ocean. Unfortunately, our luggage did not have the same luxury, and was not there when we got off the plane. This was most unfortunate and adding to the initial unpleasantness was the mean immigration people and uptight luggage ladies. Just as we began to think that all of Ukraine was like this…Maria and her grandma Nadia met us outside the gate with great big smiles and welcoming arms.
Our host family is wonderful. There are five children in the house. Sophia (10) and Angela (12) are Maria’s daughters. Daniel (12) and Bogdan (6) are Anatoliy’s sons. Antoliy is Maria’s uncle. Christy (10) is….shoot…Rah…something…I feel terrible for forgetting…but she is Maria’s mother who has moved out while Allie and I stay here. So five kids, Maria, Anatoliy and his wife Luda, Nadia the grandma of Maria, and Rah….and her husband are usually live in the house. And their dog Rex. A very full house. The house is on the edge of a forest with a lake not far in. It was wonderfully warm when we first arrived but has become freezing within the past few days. Like…I’m cold in a scarf, jeans and hoodie cold. But we have plenty of blankets around the house to keep us warm.
Today we had a church sort of meeting. Some friends or neighbours and their children came to the front yard where a sort of tent is permanently set up. Anatoliy (who is the pastor for Kiev) talked to them about Jesus and God and the inclusiveness of everyone. He had a great message as he talked about not being hateful or angry to any other Christian denomination or other religion. He did not go into deep lengths about the church but gave an overall message of hope and love and community. He did discuss Jesus and the love he gave, and how God is to us like we are to a computer. It was interesting short sermon to listen to. Then the ladies there asked Allie and I questions about Graceland (I felt like perhaps GU should be giving us some compensation for advertizing…or lessening tuition..haha). Then we had a short talent show with the kids. We had been at a farming fair the previous day and the kids and their friends had seen all sorts of acrobatic acts and dances and so they tried to copy them. They danced, and did flexibility things and fight dancing. It was really funny and actually quite decent. Then Allie and I sang Amazing Grace…which was sort of lame after the kids’ funny dancing things…but they appreciated it.
I am having a great time so far here. Allie and I will work with Maria this week and brainstorm ways to outreach into the community both for church purposes and community building purposes. We haven’t discussed it with Maria yet….but one idea is having a huge trash pick up day with the community because the forest has become a dumping ground. Maria’s strength is kids’ ministry so there are children here often and we will continue to play and work with them. Allie brought a parachute to play games with and we took it out yesterday…and they asked for it again today, so we are having a lot of fun playing lots of games. Today’s favorites were volleyball and spoons.
We don’t have a lot of access to the internet yet, but once we do, I’ll keep this posted more frequently.
Summarized, everything is great. Ukraine is cold, but lovely.
-Zoe
Monday, June 8, 2009
Finally Off!
I go to the Ukraine tomorrow! It will be an exciting adventure!
We had a week of training and preparation with the World Service Corps coordinators. It was fun hanging out with the rest of the the travellers...they all already left...and it was good to know more about the program and what we're doing over in Ukraine.
Oh! And my blog has an error! So I was informed that they do not like being called 'The Ukraine'....but it's just 'Ukraine'. I'm not sure what constitutes a 'the'....because the United States has a the...but Uraguay doesn't. Oh well.
So I'm off! Keep posted and you'll soon hear word from the Ukraine!!!
We had a week of training and preparation with the World Service Corps coordinators. It was fun hanging out with the rest of the the travellers...they all already left...and it was good to know more about the program and what we're doing over in Ukraine.
Oh! And my blog has an error! So I was informed that they do not like being called 'The Ukraine'....but it's just 'Ukraine'. I'm not sure what constitutes a 'the'....because the United States has a the...but Uraguay doesn't. Oh well.
So I'm off! Keep posted and you'll soon hear word from the Ukraine!!!
Monday, April 27, 2009
Thank you!
Hello!
I have not had any travel updates this week, so I thought I would give a financial update.
First I must give thanks to all those who are helping me toward my goal. You have donated $350 so far! This service trip will cost me $750+. I know I can contribute $250 of this by raiding my savings .... my school obligations have been a lot higher than I had budgeted this year. So I need only $150 more to make this summer volunteer program a reality. This could equal out to 5 people sharing $20 and 2 people sharing $25. (Any excess will be applied to my school costs). If you can help me, I will be richly blessed. Checks can be made out to Zoe Naylor, or WorldService Corps (if you want a receipt - but mark it for Zoe Naylor in the corner spot).
Email me at zenaylor@gmail.com and I will give you my posting details.
So THANKS to all those who have shared – it is such generous support. I know I am truly lucky to have such a wonderful support group of people who want to see me do extraordinary things.
I am down to the last two weeks of classes at GU, so it will be only one more month until I begin my WSC training and then head to the Ukraine! Oh, and I almost forgot, Allie met with our contact guy in the Ukraine when he was in Independence and she learnt that they do not speak Ukranian, but Russian, so we are beginning to try to learn with some CDs! Hopefully we'll pick up a little before we go.
Thank you, thank you, thank you! You are all wonderful! Keep posted.
I have not had any travel updates this week, so I thought I would give a financial update.
First I must give thanks to all those who are helping me toward my goal. You have donated $350 so far! This service trip will cost me $750+. I know I can contribute $250 of this by raiding my savings .... my school obligations have been a lot higher than I had budgeted this year. So I need only $150 more to make this summer volunteer program a reality. This could equal out to 5 people sharing $20 and 2 people sharing $25. (Any excess will be applied to my school costs). If you can help me, I will be richly blessed. Checks can be made out to Zoe Naylor, or WorldService Corps (if you want a receipt - but mark it for Zoe Naylor in the corner spot).
Email me at zenaylor@gmail.com and I will give you my posting details.
So THANKS to all those who have shared – it is such generous support. I know I am truly lucky to have such a wonderful support group of people who want to see me do extraordinary things.
I am down to the last two weeks of classes at GU, so it will be only one more month until I begin my WSC training and then head to the Ukraine! Oh, and I almost forgot, Allie met with our contact guy in the Ukraine when he was in Independence and she learnt that they do not speak Ukranian, but Russian, so we are beginning to try to learn with some CDs! Hopefully we'll pick up a little before we go.
Thank you, thank you, thank you! You are all wonderful! Keep posted.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
We Found Out Where We Are Going!
Hello my friends!
Only 5 weeks until WSC training begins in Indep. MO. As you know, I am travelling to the Ukraine with Allie Petrie. We recently found out where in the Ukraine we will be travelling and it is exciting!
First off- Kiev, the famous Eastern European city. We will be there for a few weeks and will get an opportunity to stay with a family there. Here, and throughout our whole trip, our assignment will be to lead worship services, minister to the local congregations and communities, and communicate with children in local villages.
Second we will go to Odessa - the sunny, all-healthy, resort-like city in the South of the country along the Black Sea. We will work with new church members, doing similar projects as in Kiev, just with a warmer background.
Third - Gorlovka, the mining city famous for it's black snow and the fact that 30% of its inhabitants have died of lung cancer...a bit concerning....But it was a HUGE mining town for the past few decades which has caused the cancer and the black snow...but they say it's a lot cleaner now.
Then we will head back to Kiev.
There you have it friends. My trip in a nutshell. Please continue to come read of our adventures - especially when we get there because that's when things will get really interesting and exciting!
Again, I must say a huge THANK YOU to my wonderful donors who are helping this trip happen for me. I don't have the full amount I need yet, but I have had a tremendous amount of help already and I am so very grateful to you all.*
Until next time!
*If you want to donate, email zenaylor@gmail.com for info*
Only 5 weeks until WSC training begins in Indep. MO. As you know, I am travelling to the Ukraine with Allie Petrie. We recently found out where in the Ukraine we will be travelling and it is exciting!
First off- Kiev, the famous Eastern European city. We will be there for a few weeks and will get an opportunity to stay with a family there. Here, and throughout our whole trip, our assignment will be to lead worship services, minister to the local congregations and communities, and communicate with children in local villages.
Second we will go to Odessa - the sunny, all-healthy, resort-like city in the South of the country along the Black Sea. We will work with new church members, doing similar projects as in Kiev, just with a warmer background.
Third - Gorlovka, the mining city famous for it's black snow and the fact that 30% of its inhabitants have died of lung cancer...a bit concerning....But it was a HUGE mining town for the past few decades which has caused the cancer and the black snow...but they say it's a lot cleaner now.
Then we will head back to Kiev.
There you have it friends. My trip in a nutshell. Please continue to come read of our adventures - especially when we get there because that's when things will get really interesting and exciting!
Again, I must say a huge THANK YOU to my wonderful donors who are helping this trip happen for me. I don't have the full amount I need yet, but I have had a tremendous amount of help already and I am so very grateful to you all.*
Until next time!
*If you want to donate, email zenaylor@gmail.com for info*
Monday, April 13, 2009
Preparing the trip.
Hello!
Welcome to my blog! (I must admit this is my first time blogging, so I hope you find this site easy to read and easy to follow.)
I am going to the Ukraine this summer! My WSC partner is Ms. Allie Petrie (from Oregon).
We will be leaving in June of this year and will be there for two months. I'm not sure what we're doing yet....but I'm sure we'll find out in the next few weeks. So stay posted!
This is Alli
e and me
I must give a huge THANK YOU!!! to those of you who are supporting my trip thus far!*
Your generous contributions are much appreciated and this trip would not be possible without you!
Stay posted to the site! If you want to email me at zenaylor@gmail.com I will let you know when I put updates up. I want to share my experience with all of you, so if I can make that easier for you, just send me a message.
Thanks for reading!
-Zoe
*If you would like to contribute, email me at the address above*
Welcome to my blog! (I must admit this is my first time blogging, so I hope you find this site easy to read and easy to follow.)
I am going to the Ukraine this summer! My WSC partner is Ms. Allie Petrie (from Oregon).
We will be leaving in June of this year and will be there for two months. I'm not sure what we're doing yet....but I'm sure we'll find out in the next few weeks. So stay posted!
This is Alli
e and meI must give a huge THANK YOU!!! to those of you who are supporting my trip thus far!*
Your generous contributions are much appreciated and this trip would not be possible without you!
Stay posted to the site! If you want to email me at zenaylor@gmail.com I will let you know when I put updates up. I want to share my experience with all of you, so if I can make that easier for you, just send me a message.
Thanks for reading!
-Zoe
*If you would like to contribute, email me at the address above*
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