Ukraine: The Never Ending Journey: Feels Like Today

I'm switching it up today, and want to share some words of wisdom from Irene:

"It's good to be spoiled. The more you are spoiled, the more you want to give away."

"You cannot live without trust."

"It does not matter if you know the language as long as there is warmness between people."

Well, I'm going to try to build off of Alex's blog post and not bore you too much. I would just like to say that even though Alex is more quiet, he does a lot of wonderful things behind the scenes! He has done some wonderful photography work as well as create this blog and an FCEE logo. He also has some big plans for the book that we hope to create with children's stories. I always feel like I am talking too much because I am constantly talking to anyone we meet who speaks even a little English and asking lots of questions, but I think that's what makes us such a strong team--I get to do what I love through interaction with people and Alex gets to do what he loves with all of the work he does through his technology. Everything he creates looks wonderful, and I could never do that. :)

I just wanted to share some tidbits about Wednesday and the man that we met from Moscow named Alex. He is an anchorman on the show "Culture" from the second most famous TV channel in Russia. He is doing a talk show about street children on the side in an effort to earn a little extra money. The station that he works for is run by the federal government, and it was amazing to hear about the oppression there. He can only say what the government wants him to say, and his pronunciation of words must be clear and precise. If he even just says the president's name wrong, his salary is cut in half! He also told us about the poverty in Russia. They cannot afford alcohol, so they drink lighter fluid and windshield wiper fluid instead. One time, he was forced to drink it or risk being beaten by the villagers. He learned English from watching American TV/films. It was so interesting to talk to him and learn a little about Russian culture, and it made me truly grateful to be from America where we have the freedom of speech. While on social patrol, we ran into a small boy who looked 12 or 13 years old but well kept. He lives with his grandmother and mother; both drink heavily. This drove him to the streets, where he sells journals and begs to support his family. He defends his family and says that he does not need to come to The Way Home because he has a mother. The Way Home gave him lunch, clothes, and two sack lunches and sent him on his way.

Yesterday, we gave our presentation about America, which Alex created. Dasha, the volunteer coordinator, translated for us and has helped us set up everything. She has been wonderful in making sure that our stay here has gone well. Only about 6 or 7 children showed up, but I think it went really well. Afterwards, we gave them some chocolate chip cookies. I wanted to make some homemade cookies, but Irene worried that it was too hot, so we just bought them. We also met another volunteer from Dallas, TX named Gary. I thought that he was American from the second that he walked in the door. It was probably his Tommy Hilfiger shirt or his khakis. Somehow, he reminds me of George W. Bush. Anyway, he works in real estate but since it has been so slow he volunteers during the summer. He actually came last summer and only planned on staying a couple of weeks, but he liked it so much that he stayed a couple of months. He is really nice! Yesterday, he bought the children ice cream and right now he's out with Alex at the market. We also got to meet Svitlana, the founder of FCEE, briefly over skype! Right now, she's finishing up her doctorate at Cambridge and has a new baby so we couldn't talk long, but she was excited to see us and know that we're doing well. We finished up our night by taking a walk by the sea port. It was beautiful, but my favorite part was the monument to the sailor's wife. She didn't even look sad, just resigned. There was a deepness to it, a poetic beauty, that I may never understand. I spent my night skyping with my family, which made my whole day brighter! :)

This morning, Irene woke me up at 7 a.m. to go to the beach. Unfortunately, it was overcast, but that just made it even more beautiful. The beach was pretty much abandoned, but the waves were fast and deep. I didn't go swimming, but just watched it and listened to the thunder. At around 1 p.m., we came to The Way Home for our last day of volunteer work. We spent our time at the day center, which is open to all homeless children. It provides entertainment, technology lessons, medical attention, food, and psychological services to all who enter. When we arrived, there were no children. They don't need the help very much in the summer, but it is much busier in the winter. The facilities where they are at have only been open for 2 weeks because the rent ran out at the other building. We were able to talk to a social worker there who is in her third year of college to become a math teacher. She spoke English pretty well and gave us a large tour. It was good to know that the services were available. Now, I'm sitting at The Way Home waiting for Alex and the opportunity to go sightseeing this weekend. I'm really excited for Rigoletto tonight and The Swan Lake tomorrow night at the theater!

This has been a truly amazing experience so far. Everyday, I am amazed by something new in Ukrainian culture. Everyone here is so easygoing; plans are loosely made if made at all. Neighbors and their children gather in courtyards to play, and people pass their money forward on buses and it never gets stolen. People always want to feed us! There is a friendliness here that is not found in big cities in the US, and also a quietness that is difficult to explain. Usually, I need tylenol the first few days that I'm in a big city because there is too much pollution and too much noise. Here, however, the air is clean and the traffic isn't even that bad. It can be frustrating at times because there are no English subtitles and Cryllic writing and the Russian language is hard to understand, but somehow we always find a way. I guess the only thing that disappoints me here is the fact that we haven't actually been with the children. They have their own lives so they are usually not here during the day, and it is this time that allows us to go on social patrol and learn more about the situation and center. In a way, however, the fact that the children are older is a blessing--I have been able to see so much of the problem here. It makes me feel so blessed to have what I have. I'm so excited to go to L'viv and be with younger children and have a steady schedule of things to do, though!

Well, wherever you are, I am thinking of you and hoping you have a great day. I love you, and wish you could be here!

Love always,

Alex & Chels