What happened to June?!

Really? Only five days until Mom and Dad pick me up at PDX? Even though I'm nervous about coming home, my packed suitcase is next to the door. Yeah, you might say I'm excited to see everyone I love...

But before I'm swept up into my three week trip outside of Ukraine, I wanted to share my summer schedule and a few pictures.

Summer in Ukraine is fabulous! I look forward to shopping at the market to pick up fresh fruits and veggies (and, believe it or not, I am a huge tomato fan now!...yes, I've crossed over). I finally understand why PCVs in Ukraine feel so rewarded after surviving the bitter winter. The summer really is refreshing, in so many ways!

This month, I made two trips to Kyiv. The first trip was to pitch the mentor program to the country director and staff, which did receive approval and our first meeting is this Friday (right before I depart). I have been thankful for current PCVs support and response to the mentor program idea...over 40 volunteers have expressed a willingness to help!

My second trip to Kyiv was for "warden" training. In case of an emergency, I will communicate with the PC office and PCVs will either evacuate to my site (depending on the circumstance) or I will lead the PCVs in my oblast to safety. Hopefully, I will never need to use this training...

So, while I was in Kyiv, some friends and I turned it into a girls' weekend! We went out to pizza, got a little shopping in, and had our fair share of "girl talk". In the picture below is (from left to right): Sarah, Miranda, Molly, and Christie.

On Saturday, Molly, Miranda, and I spent some time in the Chernobyl Museum. In April 1986, the largest ever nuclear accident occurred near Chernobyl, Ukraine. The immediate result was about 30 deaths and over 100,000 people had to be evacuated to avoid radiation exposure. The horrific thing about this is that the accident was kept a secret from citizens of the then-Soviet Union until radiation particles were detected in Sweden. Eventually, over 300,000 people needed to be resettled to avoid exposure and the area continues to be mostly uninhabited. The museum itself had powerful images, but with little explanation about what the images represented. Here are some pictures from the museum:

Here are some pictures from towns and villages nearby. I think it is fascinating to see nature reclaim the man-made structures.

Last week I spent time in Cherkasy at a soccer camp. With about three hours of soccer camp each day, the other volunteers and I spent a lot of time at the river, cooking delicious meals, and just spending time together. I was so tired after camp!

Then, last weekend I went into Kirovograd to spend time with other volunteers. Here's a picture of Alia, me, and Sarah. Alia and Sarah are both TEFL volunteers from Group 33, so they will be leaving Ukraine this fall. I will be sad to see them go, but we were discussing a possible trip to India this fall...we'll see what happens...

And here it is, the picture you've been waiting for - my red cruiser! Yes, complete with a basket and a bell! I bought this bike a few weeks ago and have spent plenty of time riding on the tractor trails around town.

Tomorrow (Tuesday) I'll be meeting my friend Grace in Kirovograd...I love visitors! She'll come stay at my place through Thursday. I have so many plans for her including, an all-night graduation celebration with my 11th graders, a breakfast with a teacher, and dinner with Volva and Oksana. Then, we'll begin the journey to Kyiv on Thursday, have the mentor meeting on Friday, and I'll fly out Saturday morning - Portland-bound!

June 27-July 6: at home for the big wedding!

July 7-July 11: Spain with Liz and Kelsey

July 12-July 14: Paris with Liz and Kelsey

July 14-July 17: Krakow on my own (which reminds me, I need to book a hostel!)

I'll fly into Kyiv on July 17 and make my way to Camp Big Bang (July 19-August 6)

August 7-August 15: Camp I Know in Crimea (I'm taking three of my students to an environmental camp + camping...WHOO HOO!)

August 17-August 21: in Kyiv for an "In Service Training" Topic: Promoting Volunteerism for Grass-Roots Development (my counterpart, Lena, will also attend)

August 21-August 24: Travel to Lviv (western Ukraine) to visit friends

August 25-August 28: Leadership Camp at my friend Christie's site (just north of Kyiv)

September 1: First Day of School!

Wow, this summer is going to speed by! I don't know if I'm ready...

I'll try to upload pictures along the way, but I can't make any promises because I'm not sure when I'll have access to Internet.

Thanks for your support and take care,

Natalie