бабушка

My Babushka (Mama Nadia) is an amazing women, and I think that she deserves her own blog post!

She is always the first one up in the morning and the last one to sleep at night.  Not only does she feed me, my host dad, and herself but she also makes all of the animals' food every day (and the baby pigs eat all the time!).  She works countless hours outside in the gardens.  We have one small garden right outside of the house and another larger plot of land where the family grows their potatoes, cabbage and other vegetables.  I was able to help My Babushka plant the small garden, and now every day we eat onion, cucumber, and radish all freshly picked! 

A few weeks ago we were heading out to a family member's retirement party, and she asked to borrow a headband.  I came out with a few for her to select from, and she chose one with a bow on the top.  She went to put it on and left the ends in front of her ears.  With some gestures and a few words, I explained that you are supposed to wear a headband behind your ears.  We tried for another five minutes to get the correct placement before she gave up, put on some lipstick and called it good!  

Another good Babuska story is from last weekend when I told her that I was going into town with some of my group mates. We were going to the river to relax and hangout for the afternoon.  She told me that I could go, but only if I followed her rules:

1. I could not stay out in the sun for more that 30 minutes at a time,
2. I could not go into the water past my waist, and
3. I could not stay in the water for more than 5 minuets 

As soon as I returned to the house she asked if I was alright, if I felt ill, and if I had followed her rules...of course, to ease her mind, I told her yes! 

Those are just a few of my favorite stories from my Babuska... I am sure that there will be more to come!!

I hope everyone back home is doing well! I miss you all!

Only 2 Weeks Left of Training!

It is crazy to think that in two weeks we all will be boarding a bus and heading back to Kiev for the swearing in conference and ceremony!  At the conference, we will be finding out where we will be living for the next two years and the organization that we will be working with.  I am very excited and  of course - a little nervous. Training has been great! Living and working with people who understand my mixed-up, rudimentary Russian have really made the transition to life here easy...but, now I guess it is time to face the real world!

These past few weeks have gone so fast it does not seem like I have been living in Ukraine for 10 weeks! One reason time passes quickly is because Ukraine celebrates a lot of holidays. There were three weeks in a row where there was at least one national holiday.  For Veterans' Day our cluster went into the city to watch the parade and give tulips to veterans.  It was an amazing experience and it seemed like everyone in the town participated.

The following weekend my host family's old PC volunteer came back to visit.  Together, we cooked an American dinner of macaroni and cheese and salad.  My host family loved it after they got over the shock of realizing that soup would not be served. (I have not been served a dinner that has not started with a bowl of soup or borsch).

I also spent an afternoon walking around Chernigov with Amy, who is another volunteer from Portland, OR.  We were able to meet a few times before coming to Ukraine, and it has been great to have her close! Here are a few pictures of St. Catherine's Church in Chernigov and part of the Dnepr river from a foot bridge.

Last Friday our cluster went to the closing bell ceremony at the local school.  It is customary for the graduating girls to wear brown dresses with aprons and the boys to dress in suits.  The graduating students prepare a dance and sing a song.  Then all of the teachers are given flowers from their students. The following day was the school's formal graduation, but we did not attend that event and opted instead to watch the Champions League championship soccer game together in the city.

Easter!

EASTER WEEKEND (red egg styles)

Easter weekend came and went with lots of new experiences and memories! On Saturday our cluster went on a small tour of good cafes with internet in the city. It was the first really sunny and warm weekend. Some of my cluster meet up with other Peace Corps Trainees at the local football (soccer) game. The stadium was pretty empty, but we sat beside some energetic fans!  After the game we headed back to Staryi Belious to get ready for beginning of the Easter festivities! 

Easter morning festivities began a little before 3 am with a brisk walk to the Russian Orthodox Church.  It was pitch black, but it seemed that almost all of our community had made the trek with their Easter baskets over to the Church well before sunrise.  Everyone placed their baskets in a giant circle around the outside of the church and lit a candle.  Mama Nadia and I went into the church to get two candles to hold, and I have never seen so many people in such a small space! It put the marshutkas (small busses) to shame!  There was a Church service from 12 am - 3 am, and my host mom and I watched a little bit of the service which consisted of (at least what I saw) the priest reading scripture. 


Around 4:30 am the alter boys as well as babushkas came around collecting red eggs for the Church.  The babuska in the red coat (in the above picture) is the local librarian that our cluster had met earlier!  Along with the egg gathering, there was a choir that circled the church singing hymns.  At 5 am the bells of the church started to chime, and the priest came around with a big brush and pail of water to bless all of the baskets as well as shower the individuals.  


Mama Nadia had prepared a basket which contained pieces of our Easter meal (and our meals for several days after, apparently).  Our basket had Pasca which is the bread (like a giant hot-crossed bun), eggs, salt, cheese, sausage, beef and butter.  Once we were home at 5:30 am, it was time to start the festivities! Breakfast was served with shots of Papa's home-distilled vodka! 

Some of the foods on our Easter table:

• Meat Jello - just like it sounds, unflavored jello with different types of meat (chicken, liver, pork...)
• Sala - animal fat with the skin still on it.
• Vodka - homemade by my host dad!

When I told my host family that it is an American custom for parents hide easter eggs around the house for kids, they thought it was hilarious, and they still refer back to it! The rest of the day was spent catching up on sleep and some more eating. It was great seeing different Easter traditions! 


P.S.  Here are our new piglets!

                                                                                               - Someday we will eat these??...