Caroline–RPCV Ukraine 2010-2012

Hello Everyone,

I am very very proud today.  I have completed my Peace Corps service!  All the paperwork is processed and Caroline is an RPCV

It has been a very very emotional week saying goodbye to my Ukrainian family; there is a new lake in Luhansk because of all my tears!

2012_0502 003  2012_0503 002  2012_0503 003

1) Olya, Director of School #1 in Molodogvardeyst 2) Lyudmilla, my tutor, and Alosha her son 3)Alosha, Lyudmilla and Caroline

2012_0429 Crystal 012 2012_0509 001 2012_0509 006 

1) Kurt, Anya, Elena, Cary, CLM, Maria, Adil

2) May 9 (VE Day) FRIENDS: Will, CLM, Artiom, Wyoming, Maxim, Amy  

3)  Dr. Yuri- having fun being the Shashlik chef

2012_0512 001 2012_0512 002 2012_0512 005

The farewell party at the Train station (the Train station police were VERY upset that we had champagne!)

1) L to R:  Tayana, Lena, Marina, CLM, Natalya, Irina, Vera   2) L to R: Irina, Christina, Vera, Alosha, Dim, Alexey, Pasha, Vicki, Valya 3) ClM, Natalya, Irina

2012_0512 006 2012_0512 008 2012_0512 011

1) Artiom, CLM, Nina (my cooking club pals)  2) Valya and Amy Woodstock (PCV pal) 3) Valya, CLM and Gala – my first three students for English tutoring!

2012_0512 015 2012_0512 017

1) CLM and Nina  2) Artiom and CLM    My cooking club pals!!

2012_0512 021

My office colleagues (really my Ukrainian family) and Amy (who often helped me with my colleagues)

Back row:  L to R  Gala, Natalya, Alosha, Irina, Christina, Vera

Kneeling or seated:  L to R:  Dim, Valya, Amy, Alexey, CLM, Tatyana, Marina Lena

Children:  Pasha and Vicki

Thanks to my Ukrainian friends, I had an unbelievable and wonderful experience in Ukraine. 

And so…..

My PCV pal, Amy and I took one last Ukrainian train – Luhansk to Kiev - and had one last train picnic…..it was 105F (41C) when we left Luhansk. 

The train was a trifle hot for a while!  The air con eventually worked!

2012_0512 023 2012_0512 024 

AND then… I turned over the keys to my wonderful flat, to Will Granger, PCV, who will take over the Luhansk Bed and Breakfast.

2012_0513 003

I know the transition / coming home is going to be difficult, but I am pretty sure I can handle public toilets that supply toilet paper, clothes dryers, and refrigerators that have ICE and COLD WATER TAPS! 

And what amazing facts have I added to my wealth of knowledge and travel and living overseas….

1)  I know that the shelf life of a zip lock bag is about two years.

2)  Duct tape really does hold lots of things together!

3) You cannot beat fresh fruits and vegetables – all summer long….

4) Family bonds grow deeper.

 Zo and Dick (klord v1)

My Mom (4/1919-1/2012) and my Dad (4/1920 – 2/2009) – both very proud that I became a Peace Corps volunteer

2011_0605 060.jpg  2011_0605 061.jpg 2012_0203 023

1 & 2) My siblings with Mom- June 2011 2) My son-in-law Josh Rees, Frances Mackenzie and Ian Mackenzie - January 2012

5)  Friendships never die, they just get stronger!

P1000516 

John Theroux and Pat Holmes – my travel pals- who came all the way to Ukraine!

See everyone back home!

THANK YOU for reading all about my Peace Corps Service for the last two+ years!

All the best to everyone!

Caroline

MY LAST DAYS IN LUHANSK

2012_0422 001

 

It’s hard to believe that as I type, I have three days left in Luhansk, which means my worthwhile adventure is coming to an end!

Since my last posting, the weather has taken a full turn to summer!  The trees are green, the tulips have bloomed, the lilacs are in full bloom everywhere and the temperature is a warm 82F.

 

And what better way to celebrate the summer-like weather than to have a barbecue.  Shashlik (Americanization of шашлик) is THE word for barbecue here and so my cooking club and our English Talk Club had one last cooking adventure before my departure!  We had excellent food and super weather.  But the best time was provided by my Peace Corps friend, Cary Bolnik, who introduced an American Water Balloon toss to our Ukrainian and Iraqi friends.  VERY SUCCESSFUL!

2012_0429 007 2012_0429 009 2012_0429 010

1 and 2) Cary giving directions about the Water Balloon toss 3) My partner Artiom- the tall guy!

2012_0429 013  2012_0429 014

The teams “tossing” and the last two two teams standing (and dry)

2012_0429 016 2012_0429 021

Shashlik and the cooks:  Andrew, Alexey and Yuri

2012_0429 022  2012_0429 025 

Enjoying the Shashlik!

 2012_0429 Crystal 004  2012_0429 Crystal 008 

1) A little bit of home with the Shashlik: KC Barbecue sauce and a Bears Football.   2) Caroline and Crystal taste testing!

2012_0429 Crystal 009

The Shashlik Gang!

I have been busy at work:  two more seminars about American Public Service Announcements!  We presented to groups of journalists (TV and print) from our Oblast and other cities and also to Journalism students.

P1020730 P1020555 P1020567

1) Alexey – blind lawyer from Kharkiv talking about responsibility of the media 2) CLM in the audience  3) CLM and the Panel of speakers

P1020672  P1020674

1) CLM and her translator 2) my presentation on the screen

I had my final tutor session with my young adult students- wonderful group.

2012_0427 students cropped

Anton, CLM, Sasha, Olga and Katya

And then I had one last visit to Sister Olga at her new orphanage.  I had donations to take to her and I wanted to see her new orphanage, which is about a kilometer from the Russian border.  Sr. Olga takes care of five orphans (all with different levels of disabilities) and now she has plenty of space and many rooms to house, to teach and to feed her children.   Yes, I have lots of information about how to help Sr. Olga when I am back home in the USA.

P1020482  P1020502

Sr. Olga showing me the “boys room – to be”  and Aloysha and Dim building the new donated bunk beds for the children

P1020486 P1020490   P1020508

1) Sophie, Sasha, and Tanya showing me the young girls room 2) Volya and Tanya  3) Volya and Sr. Olga

 P1020489 P1020496 P1020498

The finished chapel and the huge kitchen area- still being remodeled

P1020510 P1020511-001 P1020497-001

1) Sr. Olga with Misha (blind)   2) Sophie ready for naptime   3) the garden planted by the children

 

P1020514

And between work seminars, I traveled to see other Peace Corps volunteers in the area.  I went to visit my friend Amy Woodstock in the town of Staribelsk (Старибелскь) and help Amy with a one day girls’ leadership camp.

P1020452-001 P1020456

The one-day campers

P1020458 P1020472

My friend Amy – in action!

I also visited my Peace Corps friend, Hailey Spencer, in the town of Molodogvardeyst- (   )   a coal mining town south of Luhansk.   We had a great walk around her the outskirts of her town; the objective of our walk was the “Black Lake”… which really is black! 

2012_0502 006 2012_0502 008 2012_0502 022

1) The town of Molodogvardeyst and 2) the road leave “Molo” for the  next town.  3) Looking toward the Black Lake and "air pollution”

2012_0502 013 2012_0502 015

The Cemetery for the next town and a picnic table at a gravesite.  Ukrainians visit their deceased relatives on the Sunday after Easter.

2012_0502 026  2012_0502 027 2012_0502 028

1) A sink hole along our walking route  2)  Wild Flowers – wild poppies   3)  A view of our destination- The Black Lake

2012_0502 029 2012_0502 031 2012_0502 037

The Black Lake and the shore line of the Black Lake

 2012_0502 041 2012_0502 043 2012_0502 047

1 and 2) Hailey and CLM posing for the camera– something Ukrainians do for all photos!  3) the source of the black sludge….

2012_0502 050  2012_0502 051

1) The Blue Lake on the left, the Black Lake on the Right    2)  The Blue Lake

On Saturday May 5, Kentucky Derby Day, my  friend Amy Quick, her Ukrainian friend Yuri and his mother asked me to join them on a day long adventure.  We visited a church that was built on the site of a very famous spring, about an hour from Luhansk city center. 

2012_0505 002 2012_0505 006

1) Yuri’s mom, Yuri and Amy at our picnic stop  2) American Gothic Ukrainian style

2012_0505 013  2012_0505 008 

1) The road and the sign for the church  2) The church in the woods famous for the water in the spring

(I was not supposed to take pictures of the site!)

After visiting the spring and collecting four  liters of the special spring water, we drove on to the horse farm built by Catherine the Great in the later 1780’s.  Absolutely fabulous site, sadly in need of lots of love (and money), but historically interesting and the current administrator and his wife are delightful people.  They gave our small group a terrific tour of the facilities.

2012_0505 019 2012_0505 021

1) The entrance to the horse farm  2)  An old oak tree and old fountain

2012_0505 022 2012_0505 028

Two views of the Administrator’s house/office – built during Catherine the Great’s reign when the farm was built

2012_0505 029 2012_0505 031

A small cottage that now houses a small museum of trophies and photos of the horses from the turn of the century 1890/1900.

2012_0505 033 2012_0505 035

1) An invitation for one of famous horses in 1960 to compete in the Washington, DC International

2) The current administrator autographing a book he wrote about the history of the horse farm.

I will be able to practice my Russian!

 

2012_0505 036  2012_0505 030  2012_0505 037

1) A model of the farm- the buildings are in the shape E I I – for Ekaterina (Russian for Catherine) II

2 and 3) the base and outside of the “E” – main stables.  The horse farm once housed 1000 horses!

2012_0505 041  2012_0505 043 

1) A view down the long part of the “E” corridor with stalls on both sides.  2) My friend Amy meeting a resident.

2012_0505 049  2012_0505 055

1) The center of the “E”- the auction and sales hall. 2) The top end of the “E” building.

2012_0505 056  2012_0505 058 

Looking at the interior courtyard—the inside area of the “E” building

2012_0505 060 2012_0505 062

1)  More residents enjoying the outside sunshine  2) the first of the “I” buildings- which houses the brood mares and foals

2012_0505 065  2012_0505 067  2012_0505 073

Moms and foals (all one month old) in the three photos above

2012_0505 075   2012_0505 081

1) A two-month old foal  2) an orphan.  Too bad my suitcase is too small.  He is cute!

2012_0505 0822012_0505 0832012_0505 088

The exhibition and training hall.  (the “.” in the EII model). The building is the original wood, from trees in Siberia.  Very cool structure.

The central core supports the entire roof.  Reminds me of the shaft of an umbrella!

2012_0505 063   2012_0505 089

Looking back at the base and mid-point of the “E” building

2012_0505 091 2012_0505 093

1) A small snack after our tour 2) Oops—forgot the vodka..which was hiding in the model of the church

2012_0505 094  2012_0505 095

1) Our hosts, the administrator and his wife  2) Amy is so happy as she has an autographed book, too!

After our wonderful tour, the administrator took us out to the countryside… literally driving  in the fields…. to go Marmot hunting and wildflower hunting.

2012_0505 097  2012_0505 098

1) We found LOTS of marmots in the field. 2) And even a lizard living in a marmot hole

2012_0505 110  2012_0505 104

  1) The car – turning around in the fields after the marmot hunt and the flower hunt.  2)  The tractor track that we drove on!

2012_0505 105  2012_0505 109

The wildflowers and a bouquet for Yuri’s mom.

Tomorrow is a holiday- VE day in Europe, Victory Day here- when the Russians beat the Germans in WWII.  It’s a huge holiday- parades, festivals, concerts- the works.  Thursday, I do my final packing and cleaning as  a new Peace Corps volunteer will be moving into my apartment.  Friday is my last day at work.  Saturday, May 12, I take my last overnight train from Luhansk to Kiev. 

It will be very hard to say good bye to my colleagues and friends.  BUT I know it isn’t really good bye, it is just “until we meet again.”

2012_0507 0016  2012_0507 003

My Ukrainian work colleagues—really my Ukrainian family

2012_0507 011  2012_0507 018

My next blog will be from CAROLINE – RETURN PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEER!!! (RPCV)

Thank you all for everything you have done to help me with this adventure!

Lots of love to everyone.

Caroline