The Wall Street Journal Article: Not Your Father's Peace Corps

By CLAIRE ST. AMANT
Tysmentsya, Ukraine

After graduating from college in 2008, I joined the Peace Corps and was sent to Ukraine. I'm not sure where I meet more people who know less about what exactly the Peace Corps is—here or back home. In Ukraine, people I meet either think that I'm a secret agent (our language-training classes now include the phrase "I am not a spy") or that I was forced to come here, as if in some sort of mandatory military service. When I tell Ukrainians I actually chose this job, they are unconvinced. The idea that a college-educated, single female with no relatives in Eastern Europe would willingly give up two years of her life to teach English in the former Soviet Union is hard for them to fathom.


You might think that Americans would know more about the program, but they are familiar with the Peace Corps only nominally. For many, it conjures up memories of John F. Kennedy asking America's youth to put aside their selfish ways and serve global humanity, not to mention images of earnest college graduates helping to dig wells in Africa. In fact, Africa is the default site of most Peace Corps iconography. Of course, the Peace Corps still operates there. But it has changed a great deal from the days of the New Frontier, even if its core mission remains the same: to provide skills where they were needed, to educate other cultures about America, and to educate Americans about other cultures.


Earlier this summer, President Barack Obama nominated Aaron Williams to be the corps' new director. Mr. Williams, who was a volunteer in the Dominican Republic from 1967 to 1970, has been tasked with doubling the size of the corps from its current 7,876 volunteers by 2011. Mr. Obama's proposed $373.4 million budget is a $33.4 million increase from last year.


In 1965, when missionaries and soldiers were practically the only developing-world travelers, the Peace Corps was twice today's size. Other things have changed too. The fall of the Iron Curtain and the advent of the Internet have propelled the program in a new direction.


To learn more about the roots of the corps, I phoned Jim Sheahan, a Sierra Leone volunteer from 1961 to 1963 who now lives in Atlanta. "You're calling me from Ukraine?" he asked incredulously. "The Peace Corps sure has changed since I was there," he noted, recalling the isolation from the rest of the world that volunteers used to experience. Mr. Sheahan had to make an advance appointment at the post office to telephone anyone abroad. "The charges were horrendous," he said, particularly "on a Peace Corps salary."


While most people associate the corps with, say, Uganda, Ukraine is now home to the largest Peace Corps contingent. These days, in fact, Morocco, Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic and Guatemala all host more volunteers than any sub-Saharan African country. As the industries of the corps have gradually expanded to include business development and information technology, so has the scope of countries served. After declaring independence in 1991, Ukraine was the first former Soviet republic to invite the corps into its country. Currently there are 247 members here, 17% of whom are older than 50. Instead of the stereotype of 20-somethings living in grass huts, volunteers are of all ages now. And Ron Tschetter, the director under the Bush administration, had his own ideas about how to encourage more applicants. His recruiting plan targeted the 50-plus demographic through the AARP and retired teachers' associations with a goal to increase the proportion of older volunteers to 15% from 5%. While he didn't succeed in shifting numbers program-wide, many of my colleagues in Ukraine could be my grandparents; they include academics and former business executives.


Volunteers often live in apartments while teaching English or working in business development. But indoor plumbing does not make a developed country. In Ukraine, water supplies routinely break down and central heating is a rarity. Double-digit inflation, gas shortages and poisoned presidential candidates are just a sampling of the woes of this teenage democracy. "This is not the end," my Ukrainian friend Svitlana reminds me while baking an elaborate meal for family and friends or planting rows of onions. Ukraine is definitely a work in progress. But things are improving in fits and starts.


In between hand-washing clothes and dishes and making meals from scratch, I teach fifth through 10th grade at the local school. While we have a computer lab that theoretically has Internet access, I spend most lessons without electricity. I teach new vocabulary through charades and practice spelling with Hangman tournaments. A great deal of my work is outside the classroom, talking with neighbors about American history over a cup of tea or helping friends gather potatoes from their kitchen gardens.


In the past, Peace Corps volunteers joined up to see the world and, of course, to do good. But today a significant portion of the American population has already been abroad by the time they have graduated from college, although rarely have they spent any time in the countries where the corps members work. When Mr. Sheahan worked in the corps' public affairs division in 1963, he booked returned volunteers on the Johnny Carson "Tonight Show" to promote the experience. Recruitment today is mostly done online. Potential volunteers can learn facts and figures about countries and programs, as well as look at pictures, watch videos and read blogs from current volunteers. I bookmarked the page in high school and would routinely check the site for new programs and the latest updates from the field. By the time I attended a recruiting event on my college campus, I had already started my online application.


Despite my longtime interest, I don't think I could have predicted what my life is like now. And now I'm sharing the experience with baby boomers. At a recent birthday party, we ate on the floor with pillows and a hodgepodge of plates and cups. Volunteers enjoy celebrating together, but our housing requirements allot only two plates and two forks per person. The scene wouldn't seem that unusual for a recent college grad, but the birthday boy was turning 64. "I never imagined a birthday like this in my 60s," mused John Jensen, a former soldier, business owner and blackjack dealer. He seemed to be enjoying himself.

—Ms. St. Amant blogs at www.clairestamant.com. The contents of this article do not reflect any position of the U.S. government or the Peace Corps.

Article can be viewed at:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203946904574302330343795674.html

Love this article by Claire, a friend and colleague in Peace Corps Ukraine...

Tomorrow will be the "First Bell" celebrations. I'll be sure to post some pictures soon.
Take care,
Love Nat

Summer Camps, Summer Camps, Summer Camps, OH MY!

Well, I've finally been able to catch my breath from traveling. Last night, I was riding train number 696 (the Kyiv to Odessa train) and my scheduled time to arrive was 11:15pm. At 11:30pm, I woke up and wondered if we were running late because the providnik (1 person per boxcar who wakes you up when your stop is approaching) hadn't jolted me out of my sleep. I quickly walked to his sleeping quarters and inquired about my station. "It was the last stop, we already passed it," I gathered from his Russian. "What seat were you in?" My seat number? 19...why? "I came to your seat but I didn't see you," he replied. Hmmm... come to find out, I had been in the wrong seat. No wonder he couldn't find me! I quickly unloaded at the next train stop, went in (good thing it is a busy station), and was able to book a train ticket for 1:30am! Only an 8 hryvnia mistake (equivalent to about $1 USD)! Not too bad, if you ask me!

After finally arriving home at nearly 3am, I quickly snuggled into bed. This morning, I was able to catch up with Holly on Skype (her and Darren's wedding will be in January, so I'll be coming home again!), finish moving my things from the old apartment, catch up on some bills, and meet with teachers at school. It feels good to be at home and not be rushing around to catch the next bus or train!

Tomorrow, we will have a district-wide English teachers meeting. I'm looking forward to this because I have yet to meet other English teachers in the area. Hopefully, I'll be able to build some relationships with teachers for possible partners on projects.

Even though I arrived back in Ukraine on Saturday, July 18, I have been traveling ever since! Here are some pictures of my adventures within Ukraine.

FIRST STOP: July 20-August 7 - Camp Big Bang in Haivoron (Kirovogradska Oblast)

Camp Big Bang was a typical "summer camp" that you would picture in the states. Plenty of sunshine, many tall, green trees providing shade throughout the day, cabins scattered around camp, a river nearby to swim, a soccer field for morning exercises, and about 160 energetic kids constantly testing the camp rules. Campers had lessons daily in areas such as, Personal Development, Journalism & Photography, Dance & Music, Art & Culture, Ecological Exploration, Drama, Poetry, and Country Studies.

Here's a picture me with Samantha (top) and Dorothy...two other Peace Corps volunteers.



Rather than teaching classes, I was "team leader" of the Terminators. I would help them with team competitions, motivate, help with discipline issues, and make sure my campers were enjoying themselves. I enjoyed this role, even when I had to talk with campers who had been asked to leave the lesson... they were a fun group of students from all over Ukraine.



Peace Corps volunteers relaxing during a town hall meeting: Gretchen, Alia, me, and Sarah

TEAM TERMINATORS!

PCVs After Hours: The volunteers all lived in one house together...think: Real World - Peace Corps Volunteer Style. Here's a group of us posing during our "Pirates vs. Ninjas" party.


We also hosted a haunted house for the campers...



After the haunted house, we had to take a Kirovogradska Oblast picture (everyone in my oblast)! Greg, Christy, Gretchen, Ben, Alia, Jessica, and me


For many campers, it was their first time playing baseball - the classic American game!


Campers making friendship bracelets during free time:

Or playing volleyball...

In this picture, we were acting as a train for the "Mr. and Ms. Camp" Contest...

In a lesson...

Hey, it's the same group of counselors: Gretchen, Alia, me, and Sarah

Every night we hosted a disco (dance party) for the campers. Here I am, one of the last nights, with some of my Terminators, Yuri and Artur.

And with Jess, my kgrad buddy...

PCVs like to dance, too! Shaun, me, Seth, and Jess tearing up the dance floor! (In all honesty, this probably lasted fifteen minutes before some of us headed back to our volunteer house. We had "disco patrol" each night, where volunteers would dance with the campers. I was a huge fan of this job and often volunteered for it... in exchange for avoiding "washing dishes" duty. Can you believe there were many volunteers who would rather wash dishes as opposed to dance?!)

With some of my campers from the Terminators: Masha, Vlada, Ira, Ania, and Nastia

With Kostya (a student of mine from Novoukrainka) and Dennis (a Terminator).

With Yana, my Ukrainian counterpart to help with the Terminators...

Some other PCVs, Tenzin and Kelly...

SECOND STOP: August 8 - August 16 - Camp I Know in Alushta (Autonomous Republic of Crimea)

Now this was some real camping! I picked up two of my students in Novoukrainka and we drove to Kirovograd to pick up one more student, meet Jessica (along with her students), and catch our train. At 5:30pm, I boarded my first overnight train headed to Simferopol! After realizing we didn't have any cards, I ripped out some paper from my notebook and proceeded to make them (the students were surprised, but quickly joined in the effort). After some cards and introductions to Jessica's students, I slept well for the twelve hour train ride. Once in Simferopol, we guided our students to a bus destined for Alushta. After a two hour ride followed by a two hour walk with all of our belongings, we finally arrived to our campsite in the "Valley of the Ghosts." To give you an idea about the type of camping we were in for... we had to dig a hole for an outhouse, fetch water in buckets from a nearby horse farm multiple times a day, cook on an open fire, and walk forty minutes to the nearest transportation. My students had never even slept in sleeping bags before, let alone camping! They were in for a treat!

This camp focused on the environment, in particular, how we can design and implement projects to educate and make a difference in our communities. My students and I will likely create an afterschool club in Novoukrainka to develop a project and carry it out (at least I'm hoping the students will still want to start this). Overall, it was awesome to see my students' leadership capabilities grow and become more aware of how our actions now will influence our world. Both sets of parents have told (today actually, I spoke with both of them) how much their children enjoyed the camp and that now they are living differently as a result. This was probably my most rewarding work thus far as a Peace Corps Volunteer...

Here we are climbing the mountain near our campsite...

Sasha and Zhenya had ran ahead and you can see the Black Sea in the background...

Here are the students I spent the entire week with (yes, even in the same tent): Sasha (9th grade), Lena (11th grade), and Zhenya (10th grade from Kirovograd). They thought they were so cool with their beer-like bottles, but filled with lemonade...nice try, kids!

One night, the girls and I had a night filled with capturing crazy pictures! Here's one of those with Sasha being goofy in her sleeping bag.

Before we went to the sea, we completed a zoo clean up! It was a lot of work and we were exhausted from the heat and hiking to scour the hillside for garbage. We ended up filling over fifty bags of garbage...and there was a television news crew to record the event!

Looking down from the zoo...

Taking a water break...

My hardworking team!

After our hard work, we enjoyed relaxing on the Black Sea...

Exploring around Alushta...

As part of learning how to design a project, students interviewed community members to determine the environmental problems and needs of Lucheesta (the nearby village). The campers decided that a clean up of town, along with some posters to encourage community members and tourists to keep the town clean, would help with the environmental problems in this town. We only had two days to complete the project, so the campers executed a project in the short timeframe. Now that we have returned to Novoukrainka, my students will carry out the same process to determine the needs and then implement a project. I'll certainly keep you updated on their project!

After our project, we traveled by bus to a local park for a BBQ celebration!

Once at the park, we explored our area and found some waterfalls...

And we had watermelon eating contests - here are some pictures from the craziness:

At Camp I Know, we really had a fun time and I appreciated the time to get to know my students on a more personal basis. I'm looking forward to the project the students will come up with this Fall - we'll see how it goes!

THIRD, FOURTH, AND FIFTH STOPS: August 17 - August 24 - Kyiv, Baryshivka, and Nedryhayliv (Sumska Oblast)

Once back in Novoukrainka from Camp I Know, I needed to move most of my personal belongings from the apartment in the center of town to my new apartment that same day. After completing laundry and beginning to settle into my new-old apartment (it was the first one I lived in when I came to Novoukrainka), I began packing for my next destination: Kyiv. With my counterpart, Lena, we traveled to Kyiv to attend a training titled, "Volunteerism Strengthening as a Tool of Sustainable Grass-Root Development." It was so beneficial to have this planning time with Lena in order to establish project ideas for this academic year. With my mid-service mark right around the corner, it's time to buckle down, identify some needs, write some grants, and get some projects funded for Novoukrainka!

After the training, I spent some time at Tanya and Ania's house (my host family from Baryshivka). It was wonderful to catch up with them! I always feel like I'm home when I'm there...

The following day, I traveled to Nedryhayliv to visit some friends before they started a summer camp. It was energizing to spend time with volunteers with positive attitudes before beginning this next school year. Here are some of them in the picture below: Alex, Emma, Abbey, and Grace.

What happened to summer?! I'm not quite sure how the time slipped away from me so easily. Thanks for following my blog and hope to talk soon!

Love Nat.

Theme Song: "Moving, All The People Moving"

WARNING: This is the longest blog I have ever posted. Please be warned, it could take you an hour to make your way through all the pictures, videos, and senseless ramblings that I've posted here. You can't say you weren't warned... :)

Before I launch into an account of my traveling adventures, I want to give you a housing update. I met with two teachers from school the day after I returned to Novoukrainka, and we agreed that it would be best for me to move (whether or not my landlord is selling the place, we have lost trust in my landlord). I arrived in Novoukrainka at 8:30am this morning and was packing my belongings by 9am. I am now in my new-old apartment (Yes, I moved back into the original apartment I was living in). The family that owns this apartment is wonderful and I don't want to risk another housing situation not working out. Feels good to be home again!

Now, on to the excitement! For my flight from Portland to Amsterdam, I was upgraded to business class! Talk about flying in style - for ten hours I felt like a queen (well, as much as you can feel like a queen in an airplane). I loved the reclining chair with footrest, down comforter, and I sat next to Yemi, a friendly man living in Portland (but he grew up in England and is originally from Nigeria). We had interesting conversations and he taught me the social norms of flying in business class (hehe).

ANDORRA and SPAIN

After I arrived to Barcelona, I caught a bus headed for Andorra La Vella (the capital of Andorra), where I met Liz, Kelsey, Liz's sister, Alisa (who lives in Spain) and Alisa's husband, Manel. I first met Liz and Kelsey while working at WSU, but they became dear friends to me. Alisa and Manel were fabulous hosts! While we traveled around Spain and Andorra together, we had a theme song titled, "Moving, All The People Moving"...here we are singing it in the car (sorry, the video option on my camera did not capture our voices like I hoped, but you get the idea). I thought this would be a good start to this post!

Below is a picture of beautiful Andorra La Vella! Apparently, their busy tourism time is in the winter for all the winter sports (I think I need to return to be sure). Alisa and Manel both work in Andorra La Vella, but live in a border town in Spain. I was exhausted when I arrived (from a combination of being jet-lagged and my visit in the states). The first night in Andorra, I slept for 14 hours! That's so unusual for me, but apparently I needed it!

This old church overlooked Andorra La Vella. I feel horrible, but I can't remember when it was built (I need to write this stuff down or I forget!)...I apologize, but it's really old!

We went for a nice walk around a man-made lake. There were two little cafes on the lake, so we stopped and had some delicious hot chocolate (it was a little chilly because we were in the mountains).

Downtown La Seu, Spain (where Alisa and Manel live).

Alisa, Liz, Kelsey, and I went for a walk around town. Alisa showed us where some of the events took place for the 1992 Olympics:

Wish this was me!

Here are the views from Alisa and Manel's apartment...just gorgeous!

We went back to Andorra La Vella for a night tour through a Casa Cristo, an Andorran home of the 19th century. Most of the original furnishings were still intact, so we were able to see the small details of everyday life.

Here is a picture of Casa Cristo. We were even served homemade wine and chocolate - YUM! I was also impressed with the hospitality of the tour guides. It was a small tour group of about ten people, and the tour guide would stop and allow Manel and Alisa to translate from Catalan to English for us.

Here we are walking through the narrow alleys. Cars would also use these roads. In fact, Alisa mentioned that many cars have scrapes on the sides because they are constantly navigating through these narrow roads.

I snapped these pictures around Andorra La Vella...

BARCELONA, SPAIN

Kelsey, Liz, and I went to Barcelona and caught a tour bus that drove us around Barcelona showing us the most popular sights. It was a relaxing time as we sat on the upper-deck listening to the information from our headphones set to the English channel.

One of the first places we drove by was Gaudi's La Sagrada Familia, a giant temple designed by the famous architect, Antoni Gaudi (1852-1926). Gaudi is known as having an extremely unique style, which is influenced by forms of nature. Construction on this temple began in 1882 and is expected to continue for 30 to 80 years (different opinions about how long it will take to complete Gaudi's design). When construction is completed, there will be eighteen towers in all! Just take a look at the pictures...it is even more impressive in person!

Another piece of architecture by Gaudi (in a different area in Barcelona)...a dragon in a wrought-iron fence.

I just liked this picture..

Liz and Kelsey with their headphones!

I was so impressed with the number of mopeds and motorcycles throughout Barcelona. It seemed to be the preferred method of transportation.

Of course, Starbucks are EVERYWHERE! No, I never stopped.

The National Museum of Art of Catalunya:

At the Olympic and Sport Museum...

Downtown Barcelona:

Right along the water...just beautiful.

"And now we are entering Gothic Barcelona,"....hmmmm, really? Domino's Pizza in Gothic Barcelona? Yep, picture to prove it. Oh, chain restaurants!

St. Mary of the Sea Cathedral, built in the 14th century.

TARRAGONA, SPAIN

We went to Alisa and Manel's beach house in Tarragona, which is about a two-hour drive from Barcelona. Here is the view from the complex where they have a condo:

Walked down to the beach to test out the water. I was surprised by how warm the water was!

Yeah, I'm that annoying travel companion that takes pictures when they don't know it. I'm on the shore, looking back at Liz, Kelsey, and Alisa.

Then, we went to Manel's parents house for lunch. What a lunch they served! For appetizers, we had shrimp, octopus, olives, delicious cheese, and I'm sure there was more, but my mind is completely blank. All I know is, I would have been happy with only the appetizers for my meal, but then they brought out some delicious pasta, followed by grilled chicken and lamb, fresh fruit, and finally, cream puffs for dessert! It was so wonderful! Here is a picture of Manel's dad, Paco:

And Manel's mom, Trine:

Group picture!

Alisa and Manel, our generous hosts!

Driving around Tarragona...

The crazy people who happened to be sitting next to me...

We drove to a small town nearby to find the Human Castle Competition! Here is a random picture I took while walking through the streets, but I like it.

Yes, we finally arrived to the human castle competition...


Teams would compete to build, well, it's probably better for you to look at the pictures and watch the video, as opposed to me trying to explain it.

Higher and higher...

You can still see people climbing up the tower.

Here's a video that I shot of the event. It was a great atmosphere!

Had to get a picture of everyone watching! Liz can't take her eyes off the competition...

Then, we walked downtown Tarragona to wait for the Firework Display Competition! Yum, I had some delicious orange gelato while we waited. I'm getting hungry just thinking about it!

Roman remains in Tarragona:

It's getting darker...almost time for fireworks! You can see all the boats ready for the show, too.

Ok, let's get this fireworks show started! Apparently, there were nine of the world's best firework display artists participating in this week long event. We were able to catch one night of the excitement! We sat on the beach and enjoyed...

Yes, I took a rather long video. The good part is at about the three minute mark in the video (feel free to skip ahead), but the fireworks blast off just about the water. It really was amazing!



After the fireworks, we picked up some pizza and headed back to the condo. Story behind the picture below: I was standing on the corner waiting to flag Manel in the car, and Alisa quickly walked over to me and warned that someone may think I'm a prostitute! So, she joined me on the corner and we had to snap a pic.

In the morning, Liz, Kelsey, and I flew to Paris, France (seperate airplanes flying to seperate airports in Paris, I might add). Here is the picture I took from the airplane:

PARIS, FRANCE

I snapped this photo from the airplane...you can see the Eiffel Tower in the background. Now, before we were able to see any sights in Paris, Kelsey and Liz had to wait about three hours for me to arrive at the hotel. My plane came in only a half-hour after their plane, to a different airport, so we decided to meet at the hotel. But, I got lost! I asked for help at the information table at the airport and ended up catching the wrong bus which took me to a different airport, then catching the metro back into town, only to finally arrive at the wrong hotel! Anyway, three hours later with a heavy suitcase and backpack, I was exhausted and cranky (I'm sorry Liz and Kelsey!).

We did manage to walk to the Eiffel Tower...

And, I appear to be in a good mood in these pictures, but I was not helpful. Kelsey and Liz were gracious and patient with me (thankfully!).

Now, for some Eiffel Tower facts: built in 1889 for the Universal Exhibition, it is 1,050 feet high!

We also visited the Bois de Boulogne park. It actually rained on us in the park, so we quickly decided to head back into town. I like this picture of Kelsey and Liz trying to figure out the map. Normally, I'm helpful with the navigation and decision-making processes, but at this point the three weeks of traveling had started to wear me down and I asked if I could be excused from this process while in Paris. Liz and Kelsey graciously agreed and put up with me for the rest of the trip.

Arc de Triomphe, which began being built in 1806 under Napoleon. I appreciated the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, which is in the center of the arc. There is an eternal flame that flickers for the unknown soldier, who was a victim from World War I and buried here on November 11, 1920.

Me with Notre-Dame in the background and the Seine river below.

Construction began on the Cathedral of Notre-Dame in 1163, but it took 170 years for it to be completed! It was almost destoryed during the French Revolution. The towers that you can see in this picture are 226 feet high!

Viollet le-Duc placed these gargoyles on the cathedral to ward off evil.

I thought this was an interesting statue on the outside...

Just magnificent inside...we had to sit inside for awhile and take it all in.

Sign under Joan of Arc read:

St. Joan of Arc (1412-1421): born in Lorraine, burned alive as a heretic and witch. The decision to rehabilitate her reputation was made in this Cathedral.

This is one of my favorite pictures from the entire trip:

The Sacre-Coeur was built as a memorial for the 58,000 French soldiers killed during the French-Prussian war (1870-71). Prayer occurs here 24 hours a day by the priests. The views from this church were amazing (you can see some pictures below).

Here is one of the church's most important statues, it is of Christ giving a blessing and it overlooks the beautiful Paris skyline.

View from the church:

Here's a short video from when we were at the church. The music in the background is someone playing on the steps (I enjoyed the music, so I shot this video).

After a reflective trip with good people, I was ready for my next stop in Poland. I would be navigating Poland on my own, so I left my crankiness in Paris for a fresh start. Making my way to the "budget" airport two hours outside of Paris was an easy task...

KRAKOW, POLAND

My airplane landed in Poland at about 10pm and I knew that I would have to catch a two hour bus into Krakow, where my hostel was booked. I asked for directions to the bus stop and made my way to the stop. There were signs for my airlines with shuttles to Krakow, so I thought I was in the right spot. I spoke with a Polaish man from Sweden who was visiting family. He was very kind and his English was excellent. We thought we were going to the same place, but when the bus came, I noticed that it had a different city then where I was planning to go. He asked the bus driver who pointed to a different stop. I hurriedly said thank you and ran over to the correct bus (I had been sitting at the wrong stop for almost an hour and was lucky to catch the bus into Krakow).

When I finally arrived to Mama's Hostel at nearly 1am, I quickly made friends with a young girl from Kentucky who was sitting in the kitchen. I asked her some questions about her experiences with Krakow thus far, but her traveling companion was sick and she hadn't been able to explore. I decided to head to bed to prepare for the next day.

The next morning, I set out to explore Krakow's city center. Right around the corner from my hostel (past the Subway sandwich shop) is the main square. Directly below is St. Mary's Basilica, which has many stories associated with it. It was rebuilt in the 13th century after the Tartar invasions. At the top of every hour, a bugle tune can be heard coming from the tower. Apparently, in 1241, a fireman spotted Tartar forces approaching and began playing his trumpet to warn people in Krakow. The fireman was quickly shot in the neck with an arrow, which abruptly cut off his tune...but he woke the town who were then able to defend themselves. In honor of this event, local fireman play the exact same tune every hour, but abruptly stop at the same note from the past event.

Then, I decided to walk towards Kazimierz, the old Jewish district that housed Jews for over 500 years. Along the way, I passed the Church of Saints Peter and Paul, the premier Jesuit church, which was built in the 1600s.

I also passed the Wawel Castle and decided to explore inside. The Wawel Castle is Poland's landmark of national pride and was built around the 14th century. However, the hill where the castle stands has more history to it. Wawel Hill was the centre of political power for Poland beginning in 1000AD! Rulers used Wawel Castle as their residence and continued to add architectural details to the property. Since Poland's capital was moved to Warsaw, Wawel Hill has been used for many reasons, including an Austrian hospital and the headquarters of Nazi Generals during WWII.

There is also a Cathedral on Wawel Hill, which has 18 chapels. The Cathedral was first built around 1020, but was destroyed by a fire (it was made of wood). The second cathedral was also burned. The current cathedral was built in 1364 under order from Poland's first king.

Walking along Wawel Hill gave me a great overview of the city. As I was walking, a man came up to me speaking Polish. The only phrase I understood was, "Do you understand?" in Polish because it is the same verb in Ukrainian. I responded in Ukrainian, which happens to be the same in Polish, that no, I didn't understand. He laughed and said something like, "What do you mean you don't understand? It sounds like you understand to me." We quickly established that English was my first language and then I realized he was trying to sell me tickets for a boat ride along the river. I said no thank you and continued on my way. I spoke more Ukrainian in Poland than I do in Ukraine (in Ukraine, I am usually speaking Russian). Makes a lot of sense, right?

On my way to Kazimierz, I stopped at a tour company and booked two tours. One for later that same afternoon to the Salt Mines and the second for the following morning to Aushwitz.

In Kazimierz, there was a completely different feel from the other parts of the city that I had experienced. The history of Kazimierz can be traced back to 1335 and was largely populated by Poles (whereas Krakow was populated by Germans). In 1495, when Jews were ordered to leave Krakow and that is when Kazimierz became a center for Jewish life. During the 17th century, many synagogues were constructed. In 1910, the Jewish population in Kazimierz was about 32,000, but this quickly changed during WWII. Only about 5,000 of Krakow's Jewish population survived, and this was mainly due to Oskar Schindler's factory (which is located in Kazimierz). Since the fall of communism, Jewich culture has been reintroduced and Kazimierz has a unique artistic feel.

Kazimierz has such a crash of feelings for me - both darkness, yet the brightness of something newly created. The perfect transition for me...

Making a pit stop in a small Jewish bookstore, I came across a traveling art exhibit dedicated to preserving pictures of Jewish-Poles who were killed during WWII.

At the Old Jewish cemetary...

Later that afternoon, I caught a tour bus to the Salt Mines in Wieliczka. From my ticket: ...a Material World Heritage Site. During the seven centureis of salt exploitation, this mine developed into an extensive underground city. Here are some pictures from this tour:

Here is the only thing I was really interested in along the tour. It is the Chapel of St. Kinga and is 330 feet underground. All of the pcitures and even the lights are made from salt! Other than the chapel, the tour was not very interesting. It seemed to resemble a bunch o yard gnomes to me. I wouldn't recommend this tour to people visiting Poland. Along the tour, I did befriend a young man who just finished up his undergraduate work and was on a tour around Europe. We had interesting discussions about his majors - Neurology and Social Economics...of course, these subjects were fascinating to discuss!

After the tour, I said goodbye to my new friend and headed back to the hostel.

That night, I ended up going to a dance club with about 15 people from the hostel. We had a great time dancing and getting to know each other. People from our group were from the states, Canada, Ireland, Australia, and England. We had a great time! Here's a picture of three girls I spent some time with (and we also shared a room at the hostel).

That same night, I met a guy named Charlie, a special-education teacher in Arkansas, in the hostel. We had booked the same tour to Aushwitz, so we agreed to meet the following morning and travel together.

The next morning, Charlie and I set out at 7:30am, picked up some breakfast, and boarded the tour bus. The ride was a mixture of emotions for me... in awe of the beautiful rolling hills, mournful in anticipation of the tour, yet excitement to talk with my new friend. On the bus, we watched a documentary about the liberation of Aushwitz. For those that don't know, in 1940 Aushwitz was built as a concentration camp for Polish political prisoners. Then, it became an extermination camp of European Jews. The Nazis killed an estimated 1.5 million people, mainly Jews, but also Poles, Romani, and Russian POWs.

Here is a picture of the main gate: "Work Makes You Free"

I cannot explain what touring these grounds felt like. I cannot find the words. However, that being said, I would highly recommend anyone who has the opportunity to visit this historic site.

Over 7,000 people were killed at this wall. We went into the building to the right and saw the holding cells for people who would later be killed.

A gas chamber... the head of this concentration camp lived about 3-4 blocks from this gas chamber, with his wife and children.

We then boarded a bus and went to Birkenau.

From the outside, this building looked like a barn. Here are the toilets that prisoners were allowed to use twice per day for a set period of time. Our tour guide said that prisoners would form gangs out of survival needs to protect each other during this time.

People were expected to sleep 8-9 people per bed (24-27 people per bunkbed).

Some of the housing was left up. But, when the Nazis were defeated, they burned down many of the houses to destory the evidence. In the picture below, you can see the chimney stacks from many of these so-called houses that were burned down.

This tour started at 8am and we boarded the bus to head back to Krakow at about 1pm. Charlie and I didn't really talk about Aushwitz, we both agreed that there was nothing to discuss. However, our discussion helped ease me back into Krakow, as we talked and shared pictures of our travels and family back home. We then went back to the hostel, met up with Dove, an Australian who had just finished his teaching commitment in Warsaw. We went to Kazimierz and found a relaxing cafe (with delicious food and good conversation). We spent the afternoon and evening talking and making our way around Krakow. Perfect night before leaving the following day... back home to Ukraine...

Goodbye Poland!

As tiring as it was, I really did enjoy my travels in Andorra, Spain, France, and Poland. With summer camps calling my name, I quickly dove into work again. I'll update my blog soon with pictures from my travels within Ukraine this past month. But, I'm headed to bed now because I have a train to Kyiv tomorrow...

Oh, traveling!

Love,

Nat