Life with Lena, trip #2

Traveling with Lena has been full of adventures, interesting conversations, and a chance to get to know Lena on a new level. Just a reminder, Lena is my counterpart - or the person in my community whom I work with most closely. I am so thankful to have an awesome counterpart that I get along with so well...

View from our hotel... I absolutely loved being at the foot of the mountains.


Another Peace Corps volunteer, Sarah, also came with us! Such a great group to travel with!

One morning, Sarah and I went for a hike. Because of the hot and humid weather, we started our hike at 5am to try and beat the heat. This was our goal:

On our hike, we came across this HUGE spider! So glad Sarah noticed it on the path before we walked through its web...

On our way back to the hotel after the hike, we came across this sweet puppy. Made me miss the family pups from home so much...

Sarah and I had to check out the local disco club scene...

We also made our way to the spa for a fabulous treatment! We had facials, massages, and an exfoliation... and of course, lots of laughs!

We spent a lot of time at the beach! Swimming, reading, sleeping... it was so relaxing. Every day, Sarah and I would swim about 20 minutes to the rope that seperated the swimming area from the sea... we would sit, jump, and relax on that rope for hours, just talking about life. It was a great chance to connect!

We were so happy to find Doritoes! And even Nacho Cheese flavor... yum, what a treat to have a taste from home!

As the summer is ending, it reminds me that I have such little time left in Ukraine. I really can't believe how fast the time has flown by! Tomorrow, I'm headed off to Camp Big Bang for a few days to see friends, students, and colleagues. It will only be a short trip because I have so much work to complete at school (sports field remodel and new English textbooks). I started going back to school on a daily basis a few days ago, so it will be nice to have this little break before school starts again in full-swing. Summer #2 has been amazing... but I'm looking forward to seeing students once again.

Wishing you a happy summer and smooth transition to autumn!

Love Nat