Jon standing in front of the old Soviet government buidling. Looking serious of course. Now there is a Ukrainian flag hanging to the right - kind of a slap in the face we were told. Huge building though!
A couple of weeks ago outside the Opera House. We do have the schedule of events that take place there now. We are going to have to make it a point to go to a couple of operas!
A glimps into Ukrainian. This is a metro sign. Our metro stop is up there. In English is sounds like Svitoshin. But in Ukrainian it looks like "Cybertown". That is how we remember it at a quick glance at least.
Jon in a little house that is set up to resemble the "old days".
Pirogova man playing a tune for us.
Old wooden church standing in Pirogova.
Probably the signature sight of the Open Air Museam - the windmills.
Traditional garb.
Great clothes for sale. Young, old, and everything in between.
Great crafts and ladies selling them.
Another shot of the windmills with a nearly cloudless sky.
One of the many traditional houses with thatched roofs and beautiful wild flowers out front.
A few from a few steps back.
Our "Shashlik" in the forest close to our apartment.
I get to hold Rawly, the Chapman's boy. He looks a little nervous, but don't worry - he likes me! :)
Our dinner!
Monday, September 6thHappy Labor Day!
While all of you are not laboring in celebration, we labor in celebration. Ukraine has a labor day at a later date, so we look forward to that.
First full week of school, check! Things are going well. Jon and I both love the administrative roles that we have. Jon is busy, busy during the day. Running from one building to the other, checking on uniforms, late bus schedules, practices, pumping up balls for the soccer coaches, gathering deposits from kids that want to go on CEESA trips, talking with administrators about getting the field finished, etc. He sets up extra-curricular events for staff like basketball, swimming, ultimate Frisbee, etc. He e-mails other QSI schools to get their input on tournaments they want to host or events they want to attend. He is busy, busy. But doing a great job! Everyone is thankful that he is so organized and seems to be level-headed and in control. I think that he likes the change of pace and looks forward to making his own schedule each day and crossing his list off as he goes.
Things are starting to pick up in the counseling office as well. I have a couple scheduled meetings with kids this week that have been referred by their teachers. Today was my first day doing a guidance lesson with the 5 year olds. We read, “Have you Filled a Bucket Today?” and then played a little game, did some actions, and practiced filling each others buckets. The hard part was that not everyone speaks English in the Kindergarten classes. So, I don’t know if they got as much out of it as I think they did… but oh well! J I finish with 5 year olds tomorrow and then move on to 6 year olds later in the week. So, it should only get easier... hopefully! They are cute though and it is fun to get back in the classroom. So that was great! I am getting toy donations from people throughout the school, so finally things are filling up a little in my “office”. Maybe we will be able to start with the sand tray next week. All great fun things to try! J
The weekend was busy with activity as well. On Friday night we had Rachel and Holly over for BURGERS and TATER TOTS! It was great! Then we went to the Chapman’s (Alyssa and Ken and Baby Rawly) to watch Spiderman III. It is great to have such wonderful people to hang out with. Saturday was our adventure day. 9:00 we met at school and hoped on the bus to take us to Pirogova. Check it out: http://iloveua.org/article/110 or http://www.kiev.info/culture/folk_architecture.htm . The day as great: perfect weather, and a great group of us. There was a festival actually going on so there were great craft tables set up and vendors and artisans selling all types of Ukrainian art and trinkets. They had a program scheduled of singers, dancers and performers dressed in traditional dress, so that was entertaining as well. We picked up a couple Christmas presents already and some things for ourselves.
After we returned, we met up with some others for “Shashlik” (kabobs) in the forest next to our house. We had a little fire and Ira brought meat and vegetables for the kabob sticks. It was fun to pretend like we were camping… with the occasional Ukrainian deer (wild dog) coming around. Sunday we went to ICA, our church, and then out to lunch with a handful of people as well. We are really enjoying our new friends, the time we get to explore outside of school, and our work. So, things are going well here in Kiev.
A little shout-out to our new “cousin” Brigham! Welcome to the family buddy!
3 comments:
It really does like Cybertown!! You guys will be reading the language in no time! =) Glad to hear you guys are doing well, we miss you here!!
This probably isn't the best way to reach you, but I didn't know how else to find you. Your phone # doesn't work. My name is Debbie and I'm hoping you still have family in Laurel, MT? Alyssa, I live in Laurel and found something of yours - your SS card - just need to know if you want it mailed to you or destroyed. Call me when you get a chance. My work is 406-896-4210.
About that comment about "cousin" Brigham......just so you know, Erin is claiming to be an aunt!
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