tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52947468228921720772024-02-23T02:45:35.743-05:00Brian and Ukraine A year of service outside my comfort zone.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15903876030434454162noreply@blogger.comBlogger170125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5294746822892172077.post-59909345458015014672018-08-07T19:20:00.000-04:002018-08-07T19:20:09.571-04:00If You Could Read My Mind...<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgldP5_We0_mg0J3r1hRtOwSP7Ux-1V-9YPU1KGgtPjN5iCWHABy0m6o7vttHykB6hk7eEaiP5J1dzv1YMISaaGoBRvWRc2wqFdEM9V8IbZmB1zjqdmxb_HKWKuAPW4RFmsTz1RPdjPsbj/s1600/IMG_20180730_212042.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgldP5_We0_mg0J3r1hRtOwSP7Ux-1V-9YPU1KGgtPjN5iCWHABy0m6o7vttHykB6hk7eEaiP5J1dzv1YMISaaGoBRvWRc2wqFdEM9V8IbZmB1zjqdmxb_HKWKuAPW4RFmsTz1RPdjPsbj/s320/IMG_20180730_212042.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The skies over Norway.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
...you'd probably be surprised about what's going to come next. (How's that for clickbait?) But let me take a minute to take care of a few other things first. I'm planning with this post to do a bit of an after-action report of the camp and how it all went for me. I want to get my thoughts down on electrons before I forget too much about what went on. I've noticed with time that I tend to forget the bad things that happened and only remember the good. So this will have a bit of both. The good, the bad and the ugly (not that there was a lot of that). So here goes.<br />
<a name='more'></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwk_m4V_hMpl6JdmM23lAigu2HgdKU9NjaBoLGWMS3tioaoUrTfjEe_0Dh_cjzpQZvah1djzXb12yUViPLnM8eorOjMTw3LLJNda82BbRew44UrjMtcRQg03tRieFF2UrzBKsMbbZVol2a/s1600/IMG_20180727_092608.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwk_m4V_hMpl6JdmM23lAigu2HgdKU9NjaBoLGWMS3tioaoUrTfjEe_0Dh_cjzpQZvah1djzXb12yUViPLnM8eorOjMTw3LLJNda82BbRew44UrjMtcRQg03tRieFF2UrzBKsMbbZVol2a/s320/IMG_20180727_092608.jpg" width="320" /></a> In reverse order, the ugly stuff first. I'm not a fan of being American in a foreign country. More specifically, I'm not a fan of being associated (i.e. in a crowd) with loud Americans. We had a great team this year. Each member was essential to the success of the camp. However, sometimes I just like to be quiet, enjoy the scenery and not stand out in the crowd. That means I like to be in a group of locals who understand the local customs and aren't intent on standing out as foreigners.<br />
Sometimes that's inevitable. I'm not trying to speak bad of my fellow team members. I'm just talking about my personal preferences. It's something I have to learn to live with. You can choose whether or not to be bothered by what is happening around you. Either do an Elsa and let it go or can it up inside and let it ruin your week. Your choice. During overseas trips, I need to make the choice to push away the annoyance and enjoy the other great things that are happening around me. Food, architecture, historical sights, friends. That sort of thing.<br />
Next up is the bad. Surprisingly there really wasn't a lot of bad this year. I could list out the little things like A/C turned off in the hotel, mosquitoes, or the occasional headache. But I was really happy with how this year went.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP2gaGQ5rmMPZe5gIaCq6gVmCtJYy_SAFotQ0i4JVuCoyWdvB2X-PHz0XpYZqnZTXSXyFb_AZeOzRLW2FZm8WEhimZHyXPnXq_mImqQ17XIgL0CI54DXwgPK59wiivUargRZcii1fHtlmr/s1600/IMG_20180726_153459.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="902" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP2gaGQ5rmMPZe5gIaCq6gVmCtJYy_SAFotQ0i4JVuCoyWdvB2X-PHz0XpYZqnZTXSXyFb_AZeOzRLW2FZm8WEhimZHyXPnXq_mImqQ17XIgL0CI54DXwgPK59wiivUargRZcii1fHtlmr/s320/IMG_20180726_153459.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
I still need to work on my lesson prep. I haven't really done a lot of it besides for camp. I think if I'm tailoring my lessons toward the intermediate group, I should have shorter reading with not a lot of vocabulary. It was frustrating to see how students started zoning out during lessons if there was too much reading. <br />
Now for the good. There's almost too much to list. I really enjoyed Ultimate Frisbee, the food, seeing old friends again, being in the country meeting new people, making new memories, sharing worship time with the Ukrainian staff and a hundred other things I can't remember at this moment. This camp was probably the best one I've been to in the years since I've started doing this.<br />
Last year after the camp, I wrote that I wanted to work on my
language skills and fitness before camp this year. I did both a little
bit. I've been mountain biking a lot this summer and it's helped to
build up my endurance. It didn't do a great deal towards the running
part of the quest. But I managed to do pretty well. <br />
I also
watched a Russian TV show called Нюхач (Sniffer). It's a typical police
procedural with a little bit of whimsy thrown in. It was filmed
predominantly in Kiev (first point of interest). But it also helped me
hear and draw out the Russian vocabulary I did remember (second point).
The first two seasons are on Youtube if you're interested. It was good
to hear the language again and remind me a bit of the flow, intonation
and grammar of Russian.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp6PfWzL4E0pfK64tR6tBZMgJlsoiUS2jJvEE3VV8c-GtGQ9_-HMh7wiZ1NYA-11CW-rBVDhkZIFlIB7v5QaVgyRJQxTMvTigsCNNH06U-eewSyY3vNXDIIo3DQWf6cwnv0Q8VEjJxmB91/s1600/IMG_20180727_123628.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp6PfWzL4E0pfK64tR6tBZMgJlsoiUS2jJvEE3VV8c-GtGQ9_-HMh7wiZ1NYA-11CW-rBVDhkZIFlIB7v5QaVgyRJQxTMvTigsCNNH06U-eewSyY3vNXDIIo3DQWf6cwnv0Q8VEjJxmB91/s320/IMG_20180727_123628.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Learning to play Spot It. </i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Alright, confession time. Before this camp started, I had been planning on taking a year off of going to Ukraine for the summer camps. There are a lot of other things I want to spend my summer vacation on like traveling, camping, and biking trips. But after this camp, I'm not so sure now.<br />
See, I've been starting to feel a little fatigued by the year-after-year teaching/traveling/cross-cultural-exchange. I've been doing this every summer since 2014 with a triple shot during the summer of 2016. That's seven camps in just a few years. It's not that I don't want to do it any more. I'd just like to have some me time. Perhaps a year off and then back at it the next.<br />
But then this camp comes along, goes extremely well and leaves me wanting to do it again. Crazy, right? I know, I'm surprised too. At the end of camp last year, it felt like the right time to end the week. However after the closing ceremonies this year, I still wanted to do more. Definitely not right away even though my friends there would have been glad for the help. It was like I was ready to start planning immediately for next year to go back. <br />
So I'm left with a conundrum. Should I stay or should I go? At this moment I'm definitely leaning more towards go. Go again and see what opportunities God creates in 2019. Besides, there are still a bunch of people from my church who haven't gone or haven't gone in a while and they might need a friendly face to share the time. If you're one of those people, corner me one day before or after church and I'd be glad to tell you all about it. It's not exactly reading my mind but I'll let you see a bit of it.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZSOBf9lR5d_vODSBRlIrr-4MnUT-iwny1dLMXlijjbjhL88QxR2l7Crr1Hy6QaYHd8BMC7jt5yoRELIkZ290vqfI6WQ9PRVD6pepgKtM1pvWKzIVOUEyGeU7Erf8g5H1M-4zKgJSJlbNc/s1600/IMG_20180728_105538.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZSOBf9lR5d_vODSBRlIrr-4MnUT-iwny1dLMXlijjbjhL88QxR2l7Crr1Hy6QaYHd8BMC7jt5yoRELIkZ290vqfI6WQ9PRVD6pepgKtM1pvWKzIVOUEyGeU7Erf8g5H1M-4zKgJSJlbNc/s320/IMG_20180728_105538.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Me in the middle doing my best impression of Brian May.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15903876030434454162noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5294746822892172077.post-61431540105184470672018-07-30T10:37:00.003-04:002018-08-03T11:39:26.060-04:00Fly Me To The Moon Let me sail directly to bed. Believe me, Frank would have sung that if he was going to have the flight we'll have in the next few minutes. I'm writing this really quick because I wanted to keep my writing streak going. One post per day. Look for another post later this week about my final thoughts from camp.<br />
For now, the flight leaves here at 6:20PM local and arrives at JFK at 9:05PM local. We've got a bit of a ride between now and then. And that doesn't even include standing in line at Customs, waiting for baggage and driving back to Reading, PA. I'll be trying to sleep on the plane and in the van. Definitely looking forward to being back home.<br />
Sunday, since we had a delayed flight, we did a bit of walking around buy the final things we wanted. I'll let the pictures do the talking. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZAMKhwj_Ojj7dmxdfDW23lJ11wkcOr68b9BokpoSM7wNbBmb46zql0Zzot2hR3xf7UgMNfE-Ru5A9n-nTEzmzXGe397Ce5i5mje7tE8Knlvyw6yzJkwnGbeuJZKc7fLvrkUbGf5uxSr29/s1600/IMG_20180730_114618.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZAMKhwj_Ojj7dmxdfDW23lJ11wkcOr68b9BokpoSM7wNbBmb46zql0Zzot2hR3xf7UgMNfE-Ru5A9n-nTEzmzXGe397Ce5i5mje7tE8Knlvyw6yzJkwnGbeuJZKc7fLvrkUbGf5uxSr29/s320/IMG_20180730_114618.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWP1DDMpFZmgxvVu2SfuBolHx3HP0BcUBJdFXT3-8uFMQUjS7wsK87E_FY1uwN7DCoc3AYHGwD3bOvW3X7fRA6XsJpi7VmHw29hNfBbVqJI-BmoU-3wREZz7RtPOBHlw7YPaKP1aEpen60/s1600/IMG_20180730_114622.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWP1DDMpFZmgxvVu2SfuBolHx3HP0BcUBJdFXT3-8uFMQUjS7wsK87E_FY1uwN7DCoc3AYHGwD3bOvW3X7fRA6XsJpi7VmHw29hNfBbVqJI-BmoU-3wREZz7RtPOBHlw7YPaKP1aEpen60/s320/IMG_20180730_114622.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkmLkyVLXnJzCjP1SPP39gRHLoTQiUIMvb9yzuqwDEpYjmdJNAOt8msch6MdwxYhGt0GD95mOGx8GtCmFaF84f0oXQfEJq7PlDcUPABtu-Emqy47DnxlkhUhERsiyMst1KDzzQqAEPVME-/s1600/IMG_20180730_114623.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkmLkyVLXnJzCjP1SPP39gRHLoTQiUIMvb9yzuqwDEpYjmdJNAOt8msch6MdwxYhGt0GD95mOGx8GtCmFaF84f0oXQfEJq7PlDcUPABtu-Emqy47DnxlkhUhERsiyMst1KDzzQqAEPVME-/s320/IMG_20180730_114623.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ_4frNV2zOmg18-b3FYQwFUs6aiyN9bBotbB2QloVDjfkk6UzYPTJSAXsicXnHaVG4VFHh4FdSKy7x45r45teWdY5-_eGJLP7Wza7QF1y-VO1eO2xwcOeSg5ujZg5PyDe9aMoev0a-9Lz/s1600/IMG_20180730_122333.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ_4frNV2zOmg18-b3FYQwFUs6aiyN9bBotbB2QloVDjfkk6UzYPTJSAXsicXnHaVG4VFHh4FdSKy7x45r45teWdY5-_eGJLP7Wza7QF1y-VO1eO2xwcOeSg5ujZg5PyDe9aMoev0a-9Lz/s320/IMG_20180730_122333.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>This is my new passport cover.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig6zW7twgMhbrhq7PhWN1oROMd9WpSpJDxPbmBIawtSBILQBhEJPD9KzhYMF1URWHhFsNQfrOcUy_lxkf8Ii5mb9mAEEB8jqi0bC8exHhHOzk6pq6is818izbXyAYbNo5vKgSVfbYfzZP2/s1600/IMG_20180730_122339.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig6zW7twgMhbrhq7PhWN1oROMd9WpSpJDxPbmBIawtSBILQBhEJPD9KzhYMF1URWHhFsNQfrOcUy_lxkf8Ii5mb9mAEEB8jqi0bC8exHhHOzk6pq6is818izbXyAYbNo5vKgSVfbYfzZP2/s320/IMG_20180730_122339.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Although this was a close contender for the spot.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTczC9y-aRPYK7idQlmc4DlFk67WUbj78zJedxFolTxh_1bhsKCld2dmSRVeAZG_ByCpRrxuNBncFfp4AmSjOYPrxmwsmMoveQGE5vhnjxhxu_Sl9qWGf9rGLELLURoPBAsdIZ4TkrUv3t/s1600/IMG_20180730_130738.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTczC9y-aRPYK7idQlmc4DlFk67WUbj78zJedxFolTxh_1bhsKCld2dmSRVeAZG_ByCpRrxuNBncFfp4AmSjOYPrxmwsmMoveQGE5vhnjxhxu_Sl9qWGf9rGLELLURoPBAsdIZ4TkrUv3t/s320/IMG_20180730_130738.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix3LfFzjZjDCpq4SwOxnoBmt5w27cuVAIrtr6NzqKlLrgrRY9AVLvyl7fYjW9zQOsTCHEmrwq3Fh0-aGXLsNegYQHh2_tD5uj1NsCmBvCfFAsCGrBocDB3wMD1kdVrOA73tnOYEZx-Ag8F/s1600/IMG_20180730_130749.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix3LfFzjZjDCpq4SwOxnoBmt5w27cuVAIrtr6NzqKlLrgrRY9AVLvyl7fYjW9zQOsTCHEmrwq3Fh0-aGXLsNegYQHh2_tD5uj1NsCmBvCfFAsCGrBocDB3wMD1kdVrOA73tnOYEZx-Ag8F/s320/IMG_20180730_130749.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX8M6WdCRXeT4oFOIThp7IcdXN4xR7kOglrdBT8djuIDCDvhGbUTup-T56zDKDoxAR96xVkmh8y9D8ynXbV4v2ndgTGbqewzixbmHRG2O7kXZJa7AKDunc38D2IYD6S9sgSdEeOqDA8E6B/s1600/IMG_20180730_135550.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX8M6WdCRXeT4oFOIThp7IcdXN4xR7kOglrdBT8djuIDCDvhGbUTup-T56zDKDoxAR96xVkmh8y9D8ynXbV4v2ndgTGbqewzixbmHRG2O7kXZJa7AKDunc38D2IYD6S9sgSdEeOqDA8E6B/s320/IMG_20180730_135550.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The best way to describe this is a tubular grilled cheese.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15903876030434454162noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5294746822892172077.post-33999155923180115432018-07-29T16:53:00.001-04:002018-08-03T11:40:51.710-04:00I Turn My Camera On Since this day was a lot of sightseeing and walking around. I'll just let the pictures do the talking. But the basics are that we went to church in the morning. One student came from camp. Afterwards, most came and met up with us while we walking around the city. The Sunday after camp is always a sightseeing day to share some more time with the students. The short and sweet of it was that it was awesome. We had a wonderful time with the students who came. Unfortunately not all could be here. Some had to go home to other cities. But those that were there were great walking companions. It's sad to leave them.<br />
So without further ado, enjoy these photos. Tomorrow's a travel day so I hope to have something written before we board our plane. <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi40HI_MbwsnAoTduqJhdLDUmfL6E4hYju_L3Dq1xVTbWn7_DHdkF7MO0x6HfOG3Y9sTqBXLQ8pNaj6NRIKlFXc4XI0dZxVTCnaMolbE-mbHrc3VuxGGnL9RDafqdPwb-XHPpZLC555p2-Z/s1600/IMG_20180729_142817.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi40HI_MbwsnAoTduqJhdLDUmfL6E4hYju_L3Dq1xVTbWn7_DHdkF7MO0x6HfOG3Y9sTqBXLQ8pNaj6NRIKlFXc4XI0dZxVTCnaMolbE-mbHrc3VuxGGnL9RDafqdPwb-XHPpZLC555p2-Z/s320/IMG_20180729_142817.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Chocolate cake with mini eclairs inside.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<a name='more'></a><div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_V_ulbZg71eEiPIk6-q_4P79aui6wL7nJKS_CUZFIi9LjMcifmzM5ehtYIxbn5wpcFZ6TcSbGgPmxGx1Rnh62IFpL-TlqIe2gYmQ4MizI8JDhuYDiCazJlfUzvvR5U61mbGxjp36VZIUh/s1600/IMG_20180729_143432.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_V_ulbZg71eEiPIk6-q_4P79aui6wL7nJKS_CUZFIi9LjMcifmzM5ehtYIxbn5wpcFZ6TcSbGgPmxGx1Rnh62IFpL-TlqIe2gYmQ4MizI8JDhuYDiCazJlfUzvvR5U61mbGxjp36VZIUh/s320/IMG_20180729_143432.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtg9LMDi5owttTYoDQ-BcPFtTPf2o7OSbrdGYbI2KbbcRhQD1oUK6InfUEmgrJ3YA7aunw9frbq79qYviVUIwQpEMpC8uT6SXs-dvOZk6C9GRI1xHKmRuvzZ8pzr4D1-T7Kfv3WRDBIqGx/s1600/IMG_20180729_143429.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtg9LMDi5owttTYoDQ-BcPFtTPf2o7OSbrdGYbI2KbbcRhQD1oUK6InfUEmgrJ3YA7aunw9frbq79qYviVUIwQpEMpC8uT6SXs-dvOZk6C9GRI1xHKmRuvzZ8pzr4D1-T7Kfv3WRDBIqGx/s320/IMG_20180729_143429.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3El2yCfeDzhISjtUYftyGKG7Oo0R1aPRZ68C_WlfZtqj5Ke7ks8_7Za-f5ztomFw9DcfWJ_8uNyTSp58V38Zq27K_FNyjr2okoaZufYqbyXENEwO34JGbjYPeHJoaWWHlZ5Erm5eWTDoO/s1600/IMG_20180729_150004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3El2yCfeDzhISjtUYftyGKG7Oo0R1aPRZ68C_WlfZtqj5Ke7ks8_7Za-f5ztomFw9DcfWJ_8uNyTSp58V38Zq27K_FNyjr2okoaZufYqbyXENEwO34JGbjYPeHJoaWWHlZ5Erm5eWTDoO/s320/IMG_20180729_150004.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYmorJtrXfs6QBBZHpAfeDEDAliiKA7OWfYSlii3D6ngiTkCXHAWpCohiBcrCJhAN8HkXy25B59nh1wxckt-PJHnM490uQ7T78zzkivArm4xz0ySJ36Y3t7VOITL0iCKjvGoi4VYfh5U6S/s1600/IMG_20180729_151214.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="902" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYmorJtrXfs6QBBZHpAfeDEDAliiKA7OWfYSlii3D6ngiTkCXHAWpCohiBcrCJhAN8HkXy25B59nh1wxckt-PJHnM490uQ7T78zzkivArm4xz0ySJ36Y3t7VOITL0iCKjvGoi4VYfh5U6S/s320/IMG_20180729_151214.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMWv_-nZAUqjmjVX9D536Ixu6B5O9jLgpdeJsenNB8JAEtxkRqXuHst6xAcVLrVskzX97xNPKwjtQ7Plhnal20XXMVpePdUDO0ZG-qSSANMra9M1eI_TxyBHRsSI5p3Ahlb-f2TluW7Kx-/s1600/IMG_20180729_151651.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMWv_-nZAUqjmjVX9D536Ixu6B5O9jLgpdeJsenNB8JAEtxkRqXuHst6xAcVLrVskzX97xNPKwjtQ7Plhnal20XXMVpePdUDO0ZG-qSSANMra9M1eI_TxyBHRsSI5p3Ahlb-f2TluW7Kx-/s320/IMG_20180729_151651.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkjB8JfsigELfhIq2jYzJlMzPCjcp6Vt9ikmxrvdZGbYxVBZ3emCoGus3BJEbJgdVxaVA98-ZU2enZFNOLm6jeATrzSOo145TqEQuhj1OttXXgr1_Cbb9G-qCjZcCYJD2z0aGlrPKcaPFF/s1600/IMG_20180729_151658.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkjB8JfsigELfhIq2jYzJlMzPCjcp6Vt9ikmxrvdZGbYxVBZ3emCoGus3BJEbJgdVxaVA98-ZU2enZFNOLm6jeATrzSOo145TqEQuhj1OttXXgr1_Cbb9G-qCjZcCYJD2z0aGlrPKcaPFF/s320/IMG_20180729_151658.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilIfqYCbBBYGnRbrLDlnMrrr-6zJiLzr9lxwwV2NBO74PO3kV_v8jn533LHfQQ6Ec1B3sGFw3Up8L0F6g-wX7z9z5jtOiuLfyPZFqgEhxkXuzE5NGFZK31tCtaEs65h3ExDx7kGYDumVZk/s1600/IMG_20180729_152101.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilIfqYCbBBYGnRbrLDlnMrrr-6zJiLzr9lxwwV2NBO74PO3kV_v8jn533LHfQQ6Ec1B3sGFw3Up8L0F6g-wX7z9z5jtOiuLfyPZFqgEhxkXuzE5NGFZK31tCtaEs65h3ExDx7kGYDumVZk/s320/IMG_20180729_152101.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEtjgPNmzBgtbRIVXd9ya5VVUre5ui4YoDgxR0-THYB7k2ErRFGCoWyPSkRWkYOAxg7BNwGeEweGfyStiQipEj6EQLlQn5hrUGppqipdMmeiKTIgg8HAoSOPfh0xeC_ht34LnfTKu7faa1/s1600/IMG_20180729_153230.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEtjgPNmzBgtbRIVXd9ya5VVUre5ui4YoDgxR0-THYB7k2ErRFGCoWyPSkRWkYOAxg7BNwGeEweGfyStiQipEj6EQLlQn5hrUGppqipdMmeiKTIgg8HAoSOPfh0xeC_ht34LnfTKu7faa1/s320/IMG_20180729_153230.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicyhTykcD5_EQlLTVRDHnkyyID07d7InLu9rZ2R2kcY_3dVrkiZGYoLdxa6lSYq70pUGT0lYuVDPsN_6SgfZRBgnKHeWBbmRkAnjvRgtjjyy8MF3sTKgI7PoQbuoGEvTPFN9kbn6pAamtt/s1600/IMG_20180729_160444.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="902" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicyhTykcD5_EQlLTVRDHnkyyID07d7InLu9rZ2R2kcY_3dVrkiZGYoLdxa6lSYq70pUGT0lYuVDPsN_6SgfZRBgnKHeWBbmRkAnjvRgtjjyy8MF3sTKgI7PoQbuoGEvTPFN9kbn6pAamtt/s320/IMG_20180729_160444.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif01tq_dmI08elgx-zHqFeXQ72Pzkbt86gCaLvjmIa7LNqHfjyFSKdTCVkcvEbIXZb-MP0Fr_kzkELnfPlUcj1rxGIkcSyn7enOAjQV9FgCl6QRn8La7F0MzjFBiPbaJwGBNUnaVeWCzo1/s1600/IMG_20180729_160759.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="902" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif01tq_dmI08elgx-zHqFeXQ72Pzkbt86gCaLvjmIa7LNqHfjyFSKdTCVkcvEbIXZb-MP0Fr_kzkELnfPlUcj1rxGIkcSyn7enOAjQV9FgCl6QRn8La7F0MzjFBiPbaJwGBNUnaVeWCzo1/s320/IMG_20180729_160759.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY7JEcaK675s76rrIGQumYu1OmOyHYtgWAnqm_hM5m0qbBR8qil60ok85FS8WEk_tUnzpA5ESLvCDXvTRZfYhceX2Bk2OJEHIxWivGJdufBMuDbmpcBT_wGI3C2OYHdFfwr6KFJWuCM6eR/s1600/IMG_20180729_160750.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="902" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY7JEcaK675s76rrIGQumYu1OmOyHYtgWAnqm_hM5m0qbBR8qil60ok85FS8WEk_tUnzpA5ESLvCDXvTRZfYhceX2Bk2OJEHIxWivGJdufBMuDbmpcBT_wGI3C2OYHdFfwr6KFJWuCM6eR/s320/IMG_20180729_160750.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZy6240CrUQNBzHsPqSYO0wo9abCeugHLjyZV_ymvnnKNR0_HSrJNxlFoKUAiw96JojJB_cwojjWxVaz97_exo18Ywo6TOhWb7dx8mK7r7ixmxvV0vZNbQck-k7TPeAFlZw3lFLCmqKwJ-/s1600/IMG_20180729_161508.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZy6240CrUQNBzHsPqSYO0wo9abCeugHLjyZV_ymvnnKNR0_HSrJNxlFoKUAiw96JojJB_cwojjWxVaz97_exo18Ywo6TOhWb7dx8mK7r7ixmxvV0vZNbQck-k7TPeAFlZw3lFLCmqKwJ-/s320/IMG_20180729_161508.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4t9OqIdaDxhS4FfX45bK6LI8pIcJOrterFRRAuSVj23FjizXI4ffmFVq1E4bHMz-wEM1Iw5f_nZVjmuq-9h3dZ5KroJdL-M4Am2TPEWcQfW8y5t3D4B0zMFtZC-xHJSlgslVyg3OTYGu8/s1600/IMG_20180729_163437.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4t9OqIdaDxhS4FfX45bK6LI8pIcJOrterFRRAuSVj23FjizXI4ffmFVq1E4bHMz-wEM1Iw5f_nZVjmuq-9h3dZ5KroJdL-M4Am2TPEWcQfW8y5t3D4B0zMFtZC-xHJSlgslVyg3OTYGu8/s320/IMG_20180729_163437.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDzlerOC1F-Li8D5AzF6BswrQ90QM47rAYxHtI8J029y6DScuHJfu0YVSBJkHhxHSw7TczdYsIxGycUrTu7VOMQsOlV_QpJonjogTS8SyoUjUWKjwcSchCT6qfXt15gfkrlDCpgkmfMBx6/s1600/IMG_20180729_164047.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="902" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDzlerOC1F-Li8D5AzF6BswrQ90QM47rAYxHtI8J029y6DScuHJfu0YVSBJkHhxHSw7TczdYsIxGycUrTu7VOMQsOlV_QpJonjogTS8SyoUjUWKjwcSchCT6qfXt15gfkrlDCpgkmfMBx6/s320/IMG_20180729_164047.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAExTU7XLKdCaU_aN1jJZfj_OyImNMuHd1d1qd2PYVvy-jvxsUUiZNfrHP57tbPbAsGKfRPM5t8NZwoNikYDGjXpXImi3aUr1Fgwm1JrN7GVIRIq4ovdplOlwSxnYB7fmJnVRl2Q5MiwAE/s1600/IMG_20180729_164759.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="902" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAExTU7XLKdCaU_aN1jJZfj_OyImNMuHd1d1qd2PYVvy-jvxsUUiZNfrHP57tbPbAsGKfRPM5t8NZwoNikYDGjXpXImi3aUr1Fgwm1JrN7GVIRIq4ovdplOlwSxnYB7fmJnVRl2Q5MiwAE/s320/IMG_20180729_164759.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQl5qtpbbps7WjmBUDcDmGvHwA9JY7z21HAxhiR3NKdcIG5OQNqfuLGMDygE_zwxE7QRBm2YPMZbiQ-iAhTY54-7VuvdJPj53A7M2q5P0v8QDdYgkutcrQbL-hrzuD4J-2hNJKmqJOUSQH/s1600/IMG_20180729_165915.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQl5qtpbbps7WjmBUDcDmGvHwA9JY7z21HAxhiR3NKdcIG5OQNqfuLGMDygE_zwxE7QRBm2YPMZbiQ-iAhTY54-7VuvdJPj53A7M2q5P0v8QDdYgkutcrQbL-hrzuD4J-2hNJKmqJOUSQH/s320/IMG_20180729_165915.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSRvAmpagcyQl0JD5aXo4QpIhkg0GuNCLamyN4em65ojry1ku4XQSbGPDdWMKEjutB5TimpuMj9B3MdrtAEGHzLGWXvweuRiHJtC_gWlZLdSRaiJGNq5sb7jRfIDCf5edVDbpEpr5Nn9h0/s1600/IMG_20180729_170756.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSRvAmpagcyQl0JD5aXo4QpIhkg0GuNCLamyN4em65ojry1ku4XQSbGPDdWMKEjutB5TimpuMj9B3MdrtAEGHzLGWXvweuRiHJtC_gWlZLdSRaiJGNq5sb7jRfIDCf5edVDbpEpr5Nn9h0/s320/IMG_20180729_170756.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The monastery is on the money.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZig-Hhyf9AuqDVFCWY_65pxyNdNU8EBjXNfHkXleFMZDo74DGK87YHkWOBVIalB2kU0TOgPZNfKOTdc2BJyDCAMpBWZPwPRhslKcMI6KRT6EMoJav84L-wYdS1W6sJodDpXzzdPmTKtwd/s1600/IMG_20180729_170841.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="902" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZig-Hhyf9AuqDVFCWY_65pxyNdNU8EBjXNfHkXleFMZDo74DGK87YHkWOBVIalB2kU0TOgPZNfKOTdc2BJyDCAMpBWZPwPRhslKcMI6KRT6EMoJav84L-wYdS1W6sJodDpXzzdPmTKtwd/s320/IMG_20180729_170841.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirSoDgTPxIQ8kiusvGq4S-9IOgg9CrRaSI9bc4wbCafncA_QCle5pvh4O28oJUXuSFW-G58iYFdWL1CZEgpBSdqnzINeZW0YAUiCkvXDUWaVI6ShwKrlnp1oduxLM_-ht22MAqC2p1B4Mj/s1600/IMG_20180729_170919.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirSoDgTPxIQ8kiusvGq4S-9IOgg9CrRaSI9bc4wbCafncA_QCle5pvh4O28oJUXuSFW-G58iYFdWL1CZEgpBSdqnzINeZW0YAUiCkvXDUWaVI6ShwKrlnp1oduxLM_-ht22MAqC2p1B4Mj/s320/IMG_20180729_170919.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeMdmnA9Z4gvG2IukaB24MUf3EgeuD31CiOFTZ-UaQvVgG8rpD4aZvq-CrxBL1A7DWRG-qqNwhr775qgRv9QViOeOXAPsjVL67LZmor4mhS4-X-sQE62s-yAG8Ku9nsjwtbsMOGgEfp8VR/s1600/IMG_20180729_172529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeMdmnA9Z4gvG2IukaB24MUf3EgeuD31CiOFTZ-UaQvVgG8rpD4aZvq-CrxBL1A7DWRG-qqNwhr775qgRv9QViOeOXAPsjVL67LZmor4mhS4-X-sQE62s-yAG8Ku9nsjwtbsMOGgEfp8VR/s320/IMG_20180729_172529.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUbtn8RWtf73Scc9UyxAzTZtnSCKrSuYz5z9Cn5xa5qw7MquwXEfOMfYTPNuI3G9Jg5DqAjLolyLGzzJ1zIe_PEGc0I8XJi0zJ58BUjamp0s9j8ZpQK0Ze40H0MevcTiRJPBYy-CyLaEbO/s1600/IMG_20180729_173811.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="902" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUbtn8RWtf73Scc9UyxAzTZtnSCKrSuYz5z9Cn5xa5qw7MquwXEfOMfYTPNuI3G9Jg5DqAjLolyLGzzJ1zIe_PEGc0I8XJi0zJ58BUjamp0s9j8ZpQK0Ze40H0MevcTiRJPBYy-CyLaEbO/s320/IMG_20180729_173811.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxXvgZAYVVfnmELBQZqIRFWnIJ18iJJKoND-R25A8f2gwg3NVDSnOEu_S_gZ-7dL435crQ1uAu__ZzHIadndzatVluYOh6wpGR2BXvQLwQykgG5rPDKaH1cfPdc14Khvg9_L3OkkZp-iAy/s1600/IMG_20180729_174128.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="902" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxXvgZAYVVfnmELBQZqIRFWnIJ18iJJKoND-R25A8f2gwg3NVDSnOEu_S_gZ-7dL435crQ1uAu__ZzHIadndzatVluYOh6wpGR2BXvQLwQykgG5rPDKaH1cfPdc14Khvg9_L3OkkZp-iAy/s320/IMG_20180729_174128.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOVLiDVcypU3UetOHo8qKo3ULXB3YqLgdVjrflsSMfhxQwsO_h2Des3buZZflhTWsWRhj3Gbp-FgycEthKvQCo0DQjXrJDRonSt63Xg2UqaLIC6U8iO9Gt9daJ9sxl8h4RM55VzYA4tQcQ/s1600/IMG_20180729_183646.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOVLiDVcypU3UetOHo8qKo3ULXB3YqLgdVjrflsSMfhxQwsO_h2Des3buZZflhTWsWRhj3Gbp-FgycEthKvQCo0DQjXrJDRonSt63Xg2UqaLIC6U8iO9Gt9daJ9sxl8h4RM55VzYA4tQcQ/s320/IMG_20180729_183646.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9fSpJH3qSwHBbfdXRpSZbuyl2YFpbR07EYfBqX7ge-JWozV-Ki5hPcN-n9438OGARSZGl72_Ci1q2Wq0I9hEsabyIJEifGMZDReDy2A9YGrA2RHzwgO0a9bbfWCSkbA8syI5ca_eTNjtB/s1600/IMG_20180729_185831.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9fSpJH3qSwHBbfdXRpSZbuyl2YFpbR07EYfBqX7ge-JWozV-Ki5hPcN-n9438OGARSZGl72_Ci1q2Wq0I9hEsabyIJEifGMZDReDy2A9YGrA2RHzwgO0a9bbfWCSkbA8syI5ca_eTNjtB/s320/IMG_20180729_185831.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnAAfUYQT_mueRws4haugA8JSvLPpb48XrKvZ0evGuniYNyGDE8LXuZ-Pz3EdDw1siU1Z3c7k-ngTbOvXKPF6-sambKT_lyjEvFRKkdNV-D4IZoZbkSEL0o26VMM4JBJrNI_BlgzsLPuQT/s1600/IMG_20180729_185845.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnAAfUYQT_mueRws4haugA8JSvLPpb48XrKvZ0evGuniYNyGDE8LXuZ-Pz3EdDw1siU1Z3c7k-ngTbOvXKPF6-sambKT_lyjEvFRKkdNV-D4IZoZbkSEL0o26VMM4JBJrNI_BlgzsLPuQT/s320/IMG_20180729_185845.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih1YymMHwlXj_wOaod7fkKw7xo-GdljZnUFZdCltIy2XEPG3qBYZI-D9Vm2xMByuSP8yZOrR8eohlJ8I0TouV0aS0zoC_37JU2MDPB-tUWKL2A-srZJbo-NfFSGHK0btFEvaNGrI0RTbL4/s1600/IMG_20180729_192409.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih1YymMHwlXj_wOaod7fkKw7xo-GdljZnUFZdCltIy2XEPG3qBYZI-D9Vm2xMByuSP8yZOrR8eohlJ8I0TouV0aS0zoC_37JU2MDPB-tUWKL2A-srZJbo-NfFSGHK0btFEvaNGrI0RTbL4/s320/IMG_20180729_192409.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn4NIXTXEW3RU0SQVvxyPseejYx20fI6HQUBRSGPeEn9XitlVpMgULGX0ueq7Nc9t87-HdNR_P3kj5JcwipX6owPAErM5BYUTSw9fNG1tpaoyQZVq0wmFyCTpP1QlAfTAhMyb15vAvBfBL/s1600/IMG_20180729_192415.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="902" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn4NIXTXEW3RU0SQVvxyPseejYx20fI6HQUBRSGPeEn9XitlVpMgULGX0ueq7Nc9t87-HdNR_P3kj5JcwipX6owPAErM5BYUTSw9fNG1tpaoyQZVq0wmFyCTpP1QlAfTAhMyb15vAvBfBL/s320/IMG_20180729_192415.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Jesse giving "the Rock" eye.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwkFwGAdpwTx0zhRRj7DhsdBaCB7IYSAaY9YCWxTNUluZrjryBR8iJWC1pt6rRscrIjR3JPld0Gkmr-p_ZIXK1BnMu-_8RREJsCdaGdRsqg7oWoH3cRmPL_-5FCp7z0dnmzMPvP-DYZoSs/s1600/IMG_20180729_192521.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="902" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwkFwGAdpwTx0zhRRj7DhsdBaCB7IYSAaY9YCWxTNUluZrjryBR8iJWC1pt6rRscrIjR3JPld0Gkmr-p_ZIXK1BnMu-_8RREJsCdaGdRsqg7oWoH3cRmPL_-5FCp7z0dnmzMPvP-DYZoSs/s320/IMG_20180729_192521.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhziumNLrDDK8_xaBLhR-qSDlPW-bU_4F6cm1nH4Zqpj5s90F3PgBBylS60fu9kLxUfJUQlrqQK5eM4bLRToD7LDWaHQyH33f-cpq9v3reEzetTZf8ISVGrccpyrjdmLxlrB8AHCHzTgCCA/s1600/IMG_20180729_194043.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhziumNLrDDK8_xaBLhR-qSDlPW-bU_4F6cm1nH4Zqpj5s90F3PgBBylS60fu9kLxUfJUQlrqQK5eM4bLRToD7LDWaHQyH33f-cpq9v3reEzetTZf8ISVGrccpyrjdmLxlrB8AHCHzTgCCA/s320/IMG_20180729_194043.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv_NnnUc5UAwD9D4VnL9aTXJj57SXbE3zTvJjvO7CbbgDvmadU7C9L03tKaxD47Duz2CmXe865-85-_yBd0Naz1ZSBV5nn8IeFOgrobTZRx9XMlodq-inQsuCxVQZIfyPbHVsUpbKMN7jo/s1600/IMG_20180729_201635.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv_NnnUc5UAwD9D4VnL9aTXJj57SXbE3zTvJjvO7CbbgDvmadU7C9L03tKaxD47Duz2CmXe865-85-_yBd0Naz1ZSBV5nn8IeFOgrobTZRx9XMlodq-inQsuCxVQZIfyPbHVsUpbKMN7jo/s320/IMG_20180729_201635.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiENv787DbJiSpov9Y6-tyUtEKJRNmKmVoayQK0l4mA32S8QdfHBidlUNmod-y31GrOe1BnA_3Rkg-2rv5nHbLQlfZo2jwB29PPzhZieD1M_O1IcCz76TzuR6SZEUYi_h2ccvxrs3DuxtxT/s1600/IMG_20180729_205045.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiENv787DbJiSpov9Y6-tyUtEKJRNmKmVoayQK0l4mA32S8QdfHBidlUNmod-y31GrOe1BnA_3Rkg-2rv5nHbLQlfZo2jwB29PPzhZieD1M_O1IcCz76TzuR6SZEUYi_h2ccvxrs3DuxtxT/s320/IMG_20180729_205045.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPEqjmneM8b4zlsmdi977yPB1fKOFElYjIwFLTMhchTOZmC_71M1OgIotZOYLYC6MTILAEiGn51Lohw9js8nYgL67dH18_2vuIHT0sf1X2Qh72UbHwiJxCGKD93OSVVtBPZEYAYIx46wRg/s1600/IMG_20180729_210903.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPEqjmneM8b4zlsmdi977yPB1fKOFElYjIwFLTMhchTOZmC_71M1OgIotZOYLYC6MTILAEiGn51Lohw9js8nYgL67dH18_2vuIHT0sf1X2Qh72UbHwiJxCGKD93OSVVtBPZEYAYIx46wRg/s320/IMG_20180729_210903.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn199kaD0p3SoTNV6jpQW3TgaGj9uwlgZ91AuL6zaKp8PrLowDHVPObspxz42WS99xYja-91wKYd9izHYCCxV8nQTucJalM0Sg5U6H6m6-YYo9UjQqb3aphAlqPApK4veAr0PvMkKMbw39/s1600/IMG_20180729_211824.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn199kaD0p3SoTNV6jpQW3TgaGj9uwlgZ91AuL6zaKp8PrLowDHVPObspxz42WS99xYja-91wKYd9izHYCCxV8nQTucJalM0Sg5U6H6m6-YYo9UjQqb3aphAlqPApK4veAr0PvMkKMbw39/s320/IMG_20180729_211824.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9eXxndutf0cc8uOyOQrbPvTjQyjJ7Hn7-sokzG6s5jTEeeeR3XhPPFVeInWDlldBFCKxQHnGCnEbVFjY4kzlO3w2LFWKThRJIp8UukX1SW6eiLAsUD4sn6kcQK52Mn4RRs5EyEdCqq3vd/s1600/IMG_20180729_212529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9eXxndutf0cc8uOyOQrbPvTjQyjJ7Hn7-sokzG6s5jTEeeeR3XhPPFVeInWDlldBFCKxQHnGCnEbVFjY4kzlO3w2LFWKThRJIp8UukX1SW6eiLAsUD4sn6kcQK52Mn4RRs5EyEdCqq3vd/s320/IMG_20180729_212529.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
This last photo wasn't even the end of the night. It was just the last one where we had enough light. That's all I have for tonight. I need some sleep.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15903876030434454162noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5294746822892172077.post-4891248752146720512018-07-28T16:32:00.001-04:002018-08-03T11:37:57.703-04:00Calm After the Storm<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXOZYkI1Cxrbwfpvbd-R2gbZjf2z2ehW1j3DzCE_k0bJnjsr_U1ZjtmX6qdgdALl_JRwcP83QNmE2PjlPt22zk-RWD25i8zxYGLaRHZf0zwdmP3CcJGy3AmIC69BjaotfGozz530GYN2Tf/s1600/IMG_20180728_114705.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXOZYkI1Cxrbwfpvbd-R2gbZjf2z2ehW1j3DzCE_k0bJnjsr_U1ZjtmX6qdgdALl_JRwcP83QNmE2PjlPt22zk-RWD25i8zxYGLaRHZf0zwdmP3CcJGy3AmIC69BjaotfGozz530GYN2Tf/s320/IMG_20180728_114705.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Natasha and Zhenya playing with static electricity.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
We did it. We finally made it to the end of the week. Just like any massive undertaking, it took doing each step one thing at a time. And now here we are. In the calm after the storm. Time to rest for a bit before the sightseeing on Sunday afternoon. As they say, "it's all over but the crying."<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEJEBzANt1NdDXldXXdRigjEeayyonMSpcQ9h7peXco9wGGjWgQ5oE8gKqFB_l4jm4JHdDTNJAiSVgQHDAxD-IrU83cFYaF-Q6lKSX6QVZPRRNmSUJkHztDcWdb4kZv5PYMiyQv6slrTie/s1600/IMG_20180727_234446.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEJEBzANt1NdDXldXXdRigjEeayyonMSpcQ9h7peXco9wGGjWgQ5oE8gKqFB_l4jm4JHdDTNJAiSVgQHDAxD-IrU83cFYaF-Q6lKSX6QVZPRRNmSUJkHztDcWdb4kZv5PYMiyQv6slrTie/s320/IMG_20180727_234446.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<a name='more'></a> I need to go back a bit since I didn't get to write about what happened after the closing ceremony. It was a busy night. Even by the time the ceremony was done, it was well after 10PM. While the disco was in full swing (graced by Giulio's dance moves including The Worm) I was doing other things. As the title of the last post says, I can't dance. So instead, I played Uno and Risk (getting wiped off the board by some tenacious Ukrainians) and finished up yesterday's blog post. For Risk and the post, I retreated to the relative quiet and cool of the lecture hall. Once we heard the thumping bass stop, the crowd piled into the hall to tell us it was time to move on to the bonfire.<br />
It wasn't so much a bonfire as two grills loaded with logs and us standing around them to cook sausages, bread, and marshmallows. Unfortunately, by that time, the rain had started and was coming down pretty hard. So the cooking involved getting wet a bit. It was still fun.<br />
That time last year, I was wishing for more time and more activities. I had just come out of being sick and was finally feeling better. But last night I was able to enjoy myself and think that I didn't wish for more time. It's a weird feeling. There I was having a lot of fun but also feeling OK that it's finished. I guess I'm weird like that. I enjoy sad stories as long as they have a purpose or meaning. So it follows that'd I'd enjoy the melancholy of finality. <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgstCRl826kNVP97nF2G8MsiMGxUq2t2Atgzt6HQ8DmS8jtHsgnTQioWYzPnPAxSgsr4c-Kroc3rPyJCUR9RRqWjHBuOzWN1cmg1zd8OTh2NTTPyFphEGtxybxEBiFUn7lDpKGWx-4wgI2q/s1600/IMG_20180728_015428.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgstCRl826kNVP97nF2G8MsiMGxUq2t2Atgzt6HQ8DmS8jtHsgnTQioWYzPnPAxSgsr4c-Kroc3rPyJCUR9RRqWjHBuOzWN1cmg1zd8OTh2NTTPyFphEGtxybxEBiFUn7lDpKGWx-4wgI2q/s320/IMG_20180728_015428.jpg" width="320" /></a> I capped off my night with a mini Foosball tournament with some of the staff. I did do well enough to be a good challenge. I even one two or three games. I was just glad to spend time with friends.<br />
Now, Saturday morning. Since I stayed up until the unearthly hour of 2:30, I didn't feel like making the trudge to breakfast. I knew however the food would help wake me up. So I made the last walk to meal time for the week. I didn't have much, just a half-sandwich and yogurt. But it was good to spend those few moments there for the last time this week.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS2WscKmjeFHVD3boIzyLU5bnbu7MXbnihU76Hksb9w2N84JYo_Te37vvAKMGg0yT4DISmJev4ZXxLLT_OJmcJVo0BFgS_nB2TAzzTwd3RvBSe4oqUIOqxZcwKkKXVkvh3o8XEr_FYtI8L/s1600/IMG_20180728_114747.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS2WscKmjeFHVD3boIzyLU5bnbu7MXbnihU76Hksb9w2N84JYo_Te37vvAKMGg0yT4DISmJev4ZXxLLT_OJmcJVo0BFgS_nB2TAzzTwd3RvBSe4oqUIOqxZcwKkKXVkvh3o8XEr_FYtI8L/s320/IMG_20180728_114747.jpg" width="320" /></a> I could have titled this post as "The Final Countdown." It felt like a lot of finalities during Saturday. The last meal, the last team time, the last photos, the final goodbyes. But as the cliche goes, "All good things....blah, blah, blah." Not yet. We still have some things yet for tomorrow. During team time the students were invited to come to church and to go sightseeing with us afterwards. Not everyone will show up for the service. But usually there are quite a few who come with us to see the city.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM-ztOLBZhffKAcbkEWdj6F8_ioGfWOogy87cj-dJsOJUx0cEtbREuoKY3cccf8V3VtIOnlMgwkPQLNXXuT2ltJrIJuZKBXyOHigRRjHdBICMYo2UShsa-RinpQfZzeUWZuQmH3CvB7hIT/s1600/IMG_20180728_124055.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM-ztOLBZhffKAcbkEWdj6F8_ioGfWOogy87cj-dJsOJUx0cEtbREuoKY3cccf8V3VtIOnlMgwkPQLNXXuT2ltJrIJuZKBXyOHigRRjHdBICMYo2UShsa-RinpQfZzeUWZuQmH3CvB7hIT/s320/IMG_20180728_124055.jpg" width="320" /></a> We made the trip back to the city safely and with much conversation, singing, and, yes, laughing. I see that's now a theme of what we've been doing here. And for good reason too, I guess. It's one of the most basic shared experiences. Sharing in humor and enjoyment is a great way of bringing people together. <br />
I had planned on coming back to the room to relax, possibly nap and then get ready for the debrief in the evening. Instead, we decided to eat lunch at the hotel restaurant and then embark on a journey to the famed Novus. It was my favorite grocery store while I was living here. However, they didn't have them when Kristen lived here. So she needed to see it. We ended up taking most of the team. I was only planning on two or three. But the pied piper led his cohort through the city to the green grocery store. We ended up picking out a bunch of little things we wanted to eat, take home or share at the meeting. Speaking of the meeting, it was a good chance to sit down and share a meal and our thoughts with each other. It was Domino's pizza by the way. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEislub3m2et1jLHk4y8UlnPdANbxkE1Zjcb-T2NdgdEn99BVZpnQpeM063N1V3-Orsp83yr6MKglMrgSrKulBet-27tYXN2grLZ_cEeGMHofMkf4NPPROX7tuaK0MHnCV7-4Cj0OJmCGrDC/s1600/IMG_20180728_192305.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEislub3m2et1jLHk4y8UlnPdANbxkE1Zjcb-T2NdgdEn99BVZpnQpeM063N1V3-Orsp83yr6MKglMrgSrKulBet-27tYXN2grLZ_cEeGMHofMkf4NPPROX7tuaK0MHnCV7-4Cj0OJmCGrDC/s320/IMG_20180728_192305.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV0W2vAUW0Gec8i1ChZ4OcqR7nB-Ukxc7nYh386K4vdkoX9kqltDK0A-e46suAdNlFuusGO0ldL4EeqjLhMOUHAqUxn4KWQYtfmEdS2RHw8Tkkd4-30ml6ZryXunfNUryE4xCEdPlaYh8T/s1600/IMG_20180728_204920.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV0W2vAUW0Gec8i1ChZ4OcqR7nB-Ukxc7nYh386K4vdkoX9kqltDK0A-e46suAdNlFuusGO0ldL4EeqjLhMOUHAqUxn4KWQYtfmEdS2RHw8Tkkd4-30ml6ZryXunfNUryE4xCEdPlaYh8T/s320/IMG_20180728_204920.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Three-cheese, pepperoni, sausage and barbecue sauce</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I think it was Joan who, earlier in the week, mentioned how she likes listening to students talk back and forth in Russian without a translator. I too have forgotten how much I enjoy it. Especially if you know they are having fun and joking around. The students have such an easy comradery by the middle of the week. It's infectious in that it makes you want to joke and laugh with them as well.<br />
I'm gonna finish this here with some photos from Saturday's photo gallery. Inna and Dima the photographers did a fantastic job during the week capturing many of the great memories from camp. I hope you enjoy their work. We all certainly did.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmkOe2oFI85qELjWw5DbtIvJoKpU9uBFtfpicK2ys8OWzCMU02YftsEvRWkO-8ekX_PLbtK8UqobRCwGCpJEJ9Myfmt8kADTPr8GFCPVRNIvrDEw-Mogj4QirHxbo4whSaLlgVFxLIWLID/s1600/IMG_20180728_105611.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmkOe2oFI85qELjWw5DbtIvJoKpU9uBFtfpicK2ys8OWzCMU02YftsEvRWkO-8ekX_PLbtK8UqobRCwGCpJEJ9Myfmt8kADTPr8GFCPVRNIvrDEw-Mogj4QirHxbo4whSaLlgVFxLIWLID/s320/IMG_20180728_105611.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS-c28hn-nzVDlOBNeRRkknr9G-EeswcV12QCgTZuhYhYA_ZpUQANn4QU2CD6WY70yhH6lJ0eN2FVUK7TbeIVduDPsPlVmzSscW1ognNR6U42RW9pyo0i8xPV9yzcOONNVyf7abqWpY-hP/s1600/IMG_20180728_105508.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS-c28hn-nzVDlOBNeRRkknr9G-EeswcV12QCgTZuhYhYA_ZpUQANn4QU2CD6WY70yhH6lJ0eN2FVUK7TbeIVduDPsPlVmzSscW1ognNR6U42RW9pyo0i8xPV9yzcOONNVyf7abqWpY-hP/s320/IMG_20180728_105508.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Joan getting a little help from her friends.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXKP41LSBBJNqJPO_RU0bh5PBr8dcRgEhrITFcHdxM9NMg8QmZEZ110jOGru1xu4Ds7yom-2_2dB6TbfxzBACneeUigFY8-s0KPul1gn4RFSxICTzSlvEBa0xDhEDupcEJ_uPD59XIdDMa/s1600/IMG_20180728_105527.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXKP41LSBBJNqJPO_RU0bh5PBr8dcRgEhrITFcHdxM9NMg8QmZEZ110jOGru1xu4Ds7yom-2_2dB6TbfxzBACneeUigFY8-s0KPul1gn4RFSxICTzSlvEBa0xDhEDupcEJ_uPD59XIdDMa/s320/IMG_20180728_105527.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjYmXmgSPZnlrUrkoHZ-PbTKTLlGcTHc-NvNDTlsd9AlSPdEeo4DvaqalEvU8mPTWhG3zmRKH5MY_ncYU8JaCfrGCQIV6JayJomaeedUfeiIFw2BDSY84xDidnAQ9twElHmzBI8THp6WsZ/s1600/IMG_20180728_105714.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjYmXmgSPZnlrUrkoHZ-PbTKTLlGcTHc-NvNDTlsd9AlSPdEeo4DvaqalEvU8mPTWhG3zmRKH5MY_ncYU8JaCfrGCQIV6JayJomaeedUfeiIFw2BDSY84xDidnAQ9twElHmzBI8THp6WsZ/s320/IMG_20180728_105714.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Sliding "like a boss."</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzW2GWLCFVbnazkdDbbt5yUVyeUmNk-jSGtCQt_ZKDklIS_m1lJmMESNbbcfp_9SaMzc-h00S-OrIO5VObzWiPURrkGV-BPYodt4wgXbRKIRHprvjfwNgt_LU3WYPbC9xTeCJBEAYAVk61/s1600/IMG_20180728_105834.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzW2GWLCFVbnazkdDbbt5yUVyeUmNk-jSGtCQt_ZKDklIS_m1lJmMESNbbcfp_9SaMzc-h00S-OrIO5VObzWiPURrkGV-BPYodt4wgXbRKIRHprvjfwNgt_LU3WYPbC9xTeCJBEAYAVk61/s320/IMG_20180728_105834.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg34akOpTlLixKcXnpr7spTdaChYl9qU0Mg1wqpBqrBJEUDQ7hKHHVJCx45Kmx7Ubfgt7gfXXDsviA9yuyG2xX1CGcv-cMSeguQHWwHFFoIRpduOuj0VAD2GMDv1kynWQ6ECY292pSghKET/s1600/IMG_20180728_105628.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg34akOpTlLixKcXnpr7spTdaChYl9qU0Mg1wqpBqrBJEUDQ7hKHHVJCx45Kmx7Ubfgt7gfXXDsviA9yuyG2xX1CGcv-cMSeguQHWwHFFoIRpduOuj0VAD2GMDv1kynWQ6ECY292pSghKET/s320/IMG_20180728_105628.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The MVP's from Wednesday's tournament</i></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I wanted to add this one too. We were walking to Novus and saw a Jeep drive by. I think it was a turbo diesel. I saw a Cherokee after getting off the bus too. I always find the Jeeps. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjakqlMm6kDy_jzH8j4OG0gN_PpLAWYFHjvb2OTzkvIP1jWVdU0Olu1-Iqok04AGSMJK9IR-tRytUoqMM8r8UunUfzT32N5XPdBzhs7Tf0QCQj2OsS2BmUrmIKCiAmRcv0yiInY5-u_cJSQ/s1600/IMG_20180728_173446.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="902" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjakqlMm6kDy_jzH8j4OG0gN_PpLAWYFHjvb2OTzkvIP1jWVdU0Olu1-Iqok04AGSMJK9IR-tRytUoqMM8r8UunUfzT32N5XPdBzhs7Tf0QCQj2OsS2BmUrmIKCiAmRcv0yiInY5-u_cJSQ/s320/IMG_20180728_173446.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15903876030434454162noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5294746822892172077.post-70001524336883722142018-07-27T16:13:00.002-04:002018-07-27T16:13:48.063-04:00I Can't Dance<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHTBu-CABwTn0wHN1bFwcRgnkj8b2Tdh_GVcLgEfgJKVGJdhK91W2MlSLCMNXWKHjaPT1eiA9tFzG27u_ZDjFkjEi72obX31vOg3dlv7ebdOGynfd4aaJWTAde7wxXkV2rf7aD9G60gqsD/s1600/IMG_20180726_100658.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHTBu-CABwTn0wHN1bFwcRgnkj8b2Tdh_GVcLgEfgJKVGJdhK91W2MlSLCMNXWKHjaPT1eiA9tFzG27u_ZDjFkjEi72obX31vOg3dlv7ebdOGynfd4aaJWTAde7wxXkV2rf7aD9G60gqsD/s320/IMG_20180726_100658.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>A dramatic reenactment of my waking movements this morning.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Thus the last day of camp dawned; with yawns like caverns and skies like slate. Is it really Friday? I suppose it is. A friend asked me if this camp was going fast for me. Throughout this whole week, I've only had this concept of Friday in my head as a distant thing. I've been trying to take the events of the week one thing at a time. When I start thinking too far ahead, I begin to get overwhelmed by the number of things on my plate.<br />
<a name='more'></a> If you want to do anything like this, the key is to take things one step at a time. Don't rush ahead and focus on one big task while neglecting the others in between now and then. Don't think too much about the difficulties. You have enough to think about today and even this hour.<span class="text Matt-6-34" id="en-NLT-23293"><i><sup class="versenum"> </sup></i></span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span class="text Matt-6-34" id="en-NLT-23293"><i><sup class="versenum">34 </sup></i><span class="woj"><i>“So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today. Matthew 6:34</i></span></span></blockquote>
You might be wondering by now about that title. Dancing and worrying aren't usually in the same thought process. What it is related to was Friday night's disco tech. But let me back up.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF1ZNp9KiRnDwG8n9-o1v2Mll2u1lRMpfdC7NeChoyikpIxltPFLJ-8stkaWpUfg-4EbXGbHihG7LTxObGvhJiRG5oPCOAGflnFMj19933T5Bh6Myi4DrmLXj5UvZDccCvqpg7RkS6TOzy/s1600/IMG_20180727_074420.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF1ZNp9KiRnDwG8n9-o1v2Mll2u1lRMpfdC7NeChoyikpIxltPFLJ-8stkaWpUfg-4EbXGbHihG7LTxObGvhJiRG5oPCOAGflnFMj19933T5Bh6Myi4DrmLXj5UvZDccCvqpg7RkS6TOzy/s320/IMG_20180727_074420.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Jesse leading Friday's devotion.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Morning came way too early. I finally rolled out of the team gathering around 1:15AM. I felt like I wanted to stay. But I knew if I was there any longer, I might not be able to function for a long time in the morning. It was a lot of fun spending time like that with fellow believers, both Ukrainian and American.<br />
Jesse led the morning devotional during the team meeting. Did I mention those before? The whole staff meets at 7:30 from Tuesday to Friday to discuss a few details about the day and to share some quiet time before the craziness of the day takes over our concentration. It's a good time to wake up slowly. I like to have one or two cups of tea during that time to usher me out of my nightly stupor and into full cognitive abilities. A good black tea with some sugar. Add some milk to bring the color to a light brown. It gives it a creamy, earthy flavor with just enough sweetness to smooth things out.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixiDFYn-pSA4jSa_4sd9Hg273klq4pxI5ah3nvaoSkMItE9kOnyZXsUyOzpm2vld_CRRTTr4Ra5iTMRjKbUEzqlzRYf3Euuw4mb9beF96nCXaYzyA5o_lGWjhfUSYTtXg_rZW4BryinUKB/s1600/IMG_20180727_085107.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="924" data-original-width="520" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixiDFYn-pSA4jSa_4sd9Hg273klq4pxI5ah3nvaoSkMItE9kOnyZXsUyOzpm2vld_CRRTTr4Ra5iTMRjKbUEzqlzRYf3Euuw4mb9beF96nCXaYzyA5o_lGWjhfUSYTtXg_rZW4BryinUKB/s320/IMG_20180727_085107.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Мой чай с молоком (tea with milk)</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The staff meeting was followed up by morning exercises and breakfast. I usually skip exercises to work on the blog and to continue waking up in my own way. That nectar pictured to the right is a big help on tired mornings after a long day. <br />
Today on the schedule was a time labeled "worship." Over the week, we've been showing bits a pieces of who we are as Christians to the students. After the performance last night, the next step was showing how we worship on Sunday. The worship time today was a truncated version of the standard Sunday format. Big City's worship team led three songs and Rich gave a short message. Looking around, I think I counted six students who joined us. Unlike every other event this week, worship was not mandatory. The staff didn't want to force their faith on anyone. Yeah, I know. But what about the Way Home lectures? Way Home isn't preaching. It's a logical presentation of faults and fallacies while presenting a faith-based alternative. <br />
Immediately following worship was our final English lesson. I did this last year with my group and wanted to try it again. For the first half, we just talked. I asked questions designed to get them to converse and express their opinions. Mainly it was an interview about their feelings from camp. Interestingly, every student vigorously answered yes to the question, "Would you recommend this camp to your friends who are learning English?" Things like that make me feel a lot better about the energy expended in pursuit of this camp. My main goal on the last day was to gauge their improvement (largely due to increased comfort with speaking) as well as encourage them to continue their learning.<br />
For the second half, I taught them how to play Spot It. That drew a lot of laughs and enjoyment. The games this week during the active part of English seemed to be more interesting. In the future, I'll have to figure out more ways to integrate the active and instructional parts.<br />
It was kind of a bittersweet moment. I knew it was the end of class and was glad. But at the same time, I wouldn't have minded a few more lessons. Particularly if I could have helped them with their reading comprehension a little more. There is almost always more we could do. In the end though, we do our best and then have to move on.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinatGKDBwQ27KAO-r3DrcB-MOwZ1gqrjqifRdMXzxX8sHeyBGPgf8Vv9OLZwN-X-VkcdteQp61Q-xzTUlyB5_1GwLGiufDNHhZsxbl42UOccLTyIzFlbhkBd6OhlzgdIVjZN6u-rqx7KGj/s1600/IMG_20180727_125347.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinatGKDBwQ27KAO-r3DrcB-MOwZ1gqrjqifRdMXzxX8sHeyBGPgf8Vv9OLZwN-X-VkcdteQp61Q-xzTUlyB5_1GwLGiufDNHhZsxbl42UOccLTyIzFlbhkBd6OhlzgdIVjZN6u-rqx7KGj/s320/IMG_20180727_125347.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Bryson, Max, Dasha, Nastia, Sergei, Austin, Misha, Tanya, me and Yulia</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
But move on we did. The rest of the afternoon passed relatively quietly. Too quietly it seems because I almost fell asleep twice. Lunch, dance lessons, Way Home, and then dinner. I did start zoning out hard during the pre-Way Home discussion. And then came the closing ceremony.<br />
Wow, was that fun and interesting. The camp photographers put together a video of the first 4 days of camp that was awesome. They even caught my knee slide on the quest and me juggling frisbees. We also gave the students their gifts. It was a backpack that held their diplomas, a Pez dispenser, a notebook and a few other little things. Plus we had an open mic time for people to express their thanks to staff and students alike. Most of the Americans who spoke said something in Russian. Although I messed up and said "I want to sleep" instead of "I want to say." Oh well. I blame the lack of sleep and being put on the spot. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh8-os0A0e5ncnB4m6LqqJhoSTaT77qXxq8PuTAljS51zAcWUfhE8w86EUjnvNOQxKrdaDnNAtR9n5QbyYJ2ldwKFHk-7X2V-C7i6SR-KNXOPfPaXl87XNCPvZVFAb8vBwByaIJEKhuL9Z/s1600/IMG_20180727_214409.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh8-os0A0e5ncnB4m6LqqJhoSTaT77qXxq8PuTAljS51zAcWUfhE8w86EUjnvNOQxKrdaDnNAtR9n5QbyYJ2ldwKFHk-7X2V-C7i6SR-KNXOPfPaXl87XNCPvZVFAb8vBwByaIJEKhuL9Z/s320/IMG_20180727_214409.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKwdpsImKOM0eRqFmoZ4suYot0RqP5w1b-7VSQY6YsfrP2sDe2L1DUIxvVZmdNP3b0zNhrWTXBCt9N-kYxvDPnC9yQkHufESBJotmH7XdR5VcjGMHke3MbrntGtaQed_FR17EU5eg0aMNg/s1600/IMG_20180727_214650.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKwdpsImKOM0eRqFmoZ4suYot0RqP5w1b-7VSQY6YsfrP2sDe2L1DUIxvVZmdNP3b0zNhrWTXBCt9N-kYxvDPnC9yQkHufESBJotmH7XdR5VcjGMHke3MbrntGtaQed_FR17EU5eg0aMNg/s320/IMG_20180727_214650.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Preceding and following the closing ceremony was a chance for people to take pictures in their disco getup. Even though I didn't dress up, I did get in on the fun. There are probably going to be some awkward photos floating around. If you see one with me in it....umm, it was the delirium from not sleeping much last night.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWsZn_aOZjUeTszL_HNuGUM0Zn36xKANnmDVX70yLq3SzT7FGh3wTgt5oIjPOrM1QM92AYWmBXnxhWe2W7Den4UDvVXYh30x16RKoLXy_OToj3plPX04pNV3pd1iTBttPbGMG6x1sSJZHA/s1600/IMG_20180727_205724.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWsZn_aOZjUeTszL_HNuGUM0Zn36xKANnmDVX70yLq3SzT7FGh3wTgt5oIjPOrM1QM92AYWmBXnxhWe2W7Den4UDvVXYh30x16RKoLXy_OToj3plPX04pNV3pd1iTBttPbGMG6x1sSJZHA/s320/IMG_20180727_205724.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span id="goog_1520556153"> Speaking of disco getup, Kristen and Joan spent probably an hour helping people do their hair and get done up for the dance. The fruits of their labor are displayed above, including Giulio's fro. Joan was kind enough to wash and clean my comb that she borrowed. There were untold layers of hair spray and other cosmological chemicals on it before the cleaning. </span><br />
<span id="goog_1520556153"> It's been my goal this trip to write and publish one blog post every day. So far I've be successful. Although tonight I think I'll have to finish this one off tomorrow. This has been a packed day and it's still going at 11:10 PM. The schedule still has a bonfire on it so I think that'll be going late too. Without the hard lights out, it'll be a late night. I'll talk to you tomorrow. For now, enjoy these funny pictures.</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0TfeGc79ro_ppkZnvTfW0Ei5D3WTHXiThRq6YpZf8JY8sicAozpSBIuiWlGzU2FdvqoZbqC2vnvEDXgl_kaZvIcGgBv7nWfwR9SksGOz7t0wRdjjVAhawQEWussSHESE02W-KYBydBQJf/s1600/IMG_20180727_211443.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0TfeGc79ro_ppkZnvTfW0Ei5D3WTHXiThRq6YpZf8JY8sicAozpSBIuiWlGzU2FdvqoZbqC2vnvEDXgl_kaZvIcGgBv7nWfwR9SksGOz7t0wRdjjVAhawQEWussSHESE02W-KYBydBQJf/s320/IMG_20180727_211443.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Zhenya, Phil, and Sasha</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3ZNFVuKangZ4-w9AbCstVGWR5WiGEurRJbuJINfrtOPTflndxUH1q88VB_E8GHqr1hk-vopPB90ytRoA203zmrYHMFDrWqJOkBdlvUvmRxBPHQ_koC9u_oFBH4l4nfd0q3Ibw5T2aJUkY/s1600/IMG_20180727_211556.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3ZNFVuKangZ4-w9AbCstVGWR5WiGEurRJbuJINfrtOPTflndxUH1q88VB_E8GHqr1hk-vopPB90ytRoA203zmrYHMFDrWqJOkBdlvUvmRxBPHQ_koC9u_oFBH4l4nfd0q3Ibw5T2aJUkY/s320/IMG_20180727_211556.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Detective Natasha</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivmzdrMdbh7EtQNxC8KoNWvDXbO8xDTZvtLhbKfLbnt6K-fu7wq2jfzDKHYrjVQ-NOnBGLnAP6n_yZRGmqj23I7WSqZOdmRoKhDLo7yDQyAYHnRXe6cX90ZH1yvZTfG-uMY2oA4lU5c7V1/s1600/IMG_20180727_211907.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivmzdrMdbh7EtQNxC8KoNWvDXbO8xDTZvtLhbKfLbnt6K-fu7wq2jfzDKHYrjVQ-NOnBGLnAP6n_yZRGmqj23I7WSqZOdmRoKhDLo7yDQyAYHnRXe6cX90ZH1yvZTfG-uMY2oA4lU5c7V1/s320/IMG_20180727_211907.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Jesse getting his shoes tied together.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span id="goog_1520556153"><br /></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15903876030434454162noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5294746822892172077.post-6815933504215768762018-07-26T18:13:00.001-04:002018-07-26T18:14:00.410-04:00Band on the Run Yes, we, the weary band of travelers, had to run...yet again. <i>So. Much. Running. </i>But such is the cost of the quest. At least we had fun. <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYJwbgj-8pjF5eMeND2JX2F22hS5tskXw7wGlSWHar4W6AGMQEtNq0eh9VvIqZUCxGNSg7AxKyvF-rtmmDeJQ3Rws6olNR93P9oB8P3uPOteGW2O-eLJuLZe0_2WKmcr-QTWL3wvj-SJQN/s1600/IMG_20180726_101731.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYJwbgj-8pjF5eMeND2JX2F22hS5tskXw7wGlSWHar4W6AGMQEtNq0eh9VvIqZUCxGNSg7AxKyvF-rtmmDeJQ3Rws6olNR93P9oB8P3uPOteGW2O-eLJuLZe0_2WKmcr-QTWL3wvj-SJQN/s320/IMG_20180726_101731.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>L-R: Katya, Yulia, Dasha, me, Nastia, Kolya, Yulia, Max, Nastia, Misha, Joan, Jesse, Marusya, Natasha</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<a name='more'></a> Thursday morning was the quest. Thanks to the unusually rainy weather this week (here, not at home) we had to modify the schedule a bit this week. Capture the flag was canceled on Tuesday night. We also had to swap the quest from yesterday to today in trade for the Ultimate Frisbee tournament. But it worked out well. Both days were dry. Although I think the running through the sand would have been a bit easier if it had been wet. Oh well. We're done with it now.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQjyuCUbDJxMayeWMdAi1VemNlisMUSav9t3MFqXMa3jDvDCNEBhr6GvOT9SCwOybS-FpnFzx0UdftUXPOjkVBtKlFDYKb4PmPXGwSLLGKsrrTHnVQnJJX5GHQqUtOMHUX7aQLQu7N_OTS/s1600/IMG_20180726_124433.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQjyuCUbDJxMayeWMdAi1VemNlisMUSav9t3MFqXMa3jDvDCNEBhr6GvOT9SCwOybS-FpnFzx0UdftUXPOjkVBtKlFDYKb4PmPXGwSLLGKsrrTHnVQnJJX5GHQqUtOMHUX7aQLQu7N_OTS/s320/IMG_20180726_124433.jpg" width="320" /></a> The quest came in three parts; a search for "strange things," a running course with different challenges along the way, and a mental challenge in the dark. They were linked together as part of one big challenge. Following clues, solving puzzles, and physical training. The main theme was that it prepared us to search for a missing scientist. I'm a little fuzzy on the details but he tried to make a cure for his comatose wife, she didn't wake up right away so he ran away, she wakes up and needs help finding him. So our "training" helped put us on the way for the search.<br />
Overall I think this year's quest was easier than the last. I talked with Ocean team leader Sasha about it and he said they tried to make it a little easier so everyone could do it. I also really enjoyed the mental part as well as the search. I wasn't big on the running since half of it was through sand. But the obstacle parts (climbing wall, rope ladder, log crossing) were a good challenge.<br />
We finished up a bit early so I had time to shower before lunch. Boy, did I need it. Sand everywhere, dirt, sweat. It felt good to sluice it all off and not stink for a bit. Of course I started sweating again as soon as I sat down for lunch. Such is camp life. I'm currently writing this while sitting down under an air conditioner vent.<br />
So the next thing after lunch was again English. I'm convinced my class just prefers to talk rather than read and study vocabulary. We tried the reading again today but it didn't go that well. It seems the individual reading comprehension levels vary greatly among the students in my group.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy7m50PlH9ZA9gBc3Xm1ofBqNsB54sxBly1izR_njlK7dAIxTb_P0aA3fYlcAbQEPpUHp7GONM9JhaQ1rJv6IPXzQ1UJi53ev0r1dOuI-5iQNZXBARBmBi-Tl0cPG5jQnbFABPqKjgWIhf/s1600/IMG_20180726_153459.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="902" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy7m50PlH9ZA9gBc3Xm1ofBqNsB54sxBly1izR_njlK7dAIxTb_P0aA3fYlcAbQEPpUHp7GONM9JhaQ1rJv6IPXzQ1UJi53ev0r1dOuI-5iQNZXBARBmBi-Tl0cPG5jQnbFABPqKjgWIhf/s320/IMG_20180726_153459.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCJomJPDYR_ARkujZjKsFwqqE-11bxCtk28a3UWKO6gfoxBx84weLPccI40b3lcYjNWCQB988aDUpIEMSJ06JATmp1xc0kaCBS3T0sq6CSUt__qTX4f56XnC4GdpNrFTEFD9GcaAEPEva3/s1600/IMG_20180726_154341.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCJomJPDYR_ARkujZjKsFwqqE-11bxCtk28a3UWKO6gfoxBx84weLPccI40b3lcYjNWCQB988aDUpIEMSJ06JATmp1xc0kaCBS3T0sq6CSUt__qTX4f56XnC4GdpNrFTEFD9GcaAEPEva3/s320/IMG_20180726_154341.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWaA9YN6W_i34qXxzfA4ov95I3bLZKQLLcWyVMTY1bYH3EtBIJVUbrTYaHEp1HFp1U2M1b9AnT_KhvK1VBiR8whv14N-Td6U03qFW7TcZGuCbT8UhFNhkY12xX6ieQG9gfwptlQ2ohPQRG/s1600/IMG_20180726_150456.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWaA9YN6W_i34qXxzfA4ov95I3bLZKQLLcWyVMTY1bYH3EtBIJVUbrTYaHEp1HFp1U2M1b9AnT_KhvK1VBiR8whv14N-Td6U03qFW7TcZGuCbT8UhFNhkY12xX6ieQG9gfwptlQ2ohPQRG/s320/IMG_20180726_150456.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Intermediate is always one of the more interesting groups. Some years you will have the most talkative group. During others, you'll have to drag out every answer. It changes all the time too. They will sometimes even get more and more talkative as the week goes on. You never know. Hence our need to be flexible.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijAzICn-q98I_xRC1XHph5gn5ehfAfGSW3l9_IMqwQhkqTrTPfjgbvJM9B0v-vdFbdhnTrPxKvggGjxhIZghGnoz9ppfe-k6R31_aGAF-sJe4yD349yzbcYH0ZsewOjzImIn7CixhBuayO/s1600/IMG_20180726_140607.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijAzICn-q98I_xRC1XHph5gn5ehfAfGSW3l9_IMqwQhkqTrTPfjgbvJM9B0v-vdFbdhnTrPxKvggGjxhIZghGnoz9ppfe-k6R31_aGAF-sJe4yD349yzbcYH0ZsewOjzImIn7CixhBuayO/s320/IMG_20180726_140607.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The intermediate group minus one (she's behind the camera).</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
During the American team meetings, we like to focus on three topics. (How's that for a topical course change?) How we're each doing, spiritual conversations we've had, and the plan for the day's English lesson. In general, we're still doing well. Rich is getting over his upset stomach. Kristen and I are sleeping well again. And acceptable food is slowly coming along for Bryson's discerning tastes. We each are tired in our own way but still moving.<br />
Personally, this time last year I was laying down for a 14-hour near-comatose sleep. I was told they tried to wake me up but were unsuccessful. I think my body just said, "That's it, we're done. We need sleep." Now this year, I'm doing really well. I do have slightly sore muscles from the running and quest. But I'm really having a lot of fun. Today after the quest, I was surprised at how good I was feeling. It's such a massive change compared to last year that I almost don't know what to do with the new-found energy.<br />
Most of the team has had chances to talk about spiritual things with different students. It comes out most in the team time when we are free to share opinions and thoughts on questions related to the Way Home lectures. <br />
WARNING! I'm jumping thought trains again. Thursday night was the talent show. What can I say? It was awesome. The American team did a lip-synced rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody using chins. I even had an epic air guitar solo and I can't play guitar. There were more laughs than can be counted, more cheers than laughs, and even a few tears too. What we didn't expect was for the staff to pull out their creation/fall/salvation act. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpddT7IiAN4ugdRMMvTvyCtTjY65rBgql3FxvidJjcXso1nropX1waAyQX9vs9vgs6ejsWNVmLo8qCPIYs_yQlSwY5RC_T6P1aV3ghFgeeK0UsdwAHK1LJqzSZMkMuOcn3A_ZY8bI4_PmP/s1600/IMG_20180726_220050.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpddT7IiAN4ugdRMMvTvyCtTjY65rBgql3FxvidJjcXso1nropX1waAyQX9vs9vgs6ejsWNVmLo8qCPIYs_yQlSwY5RC_T6P1aV3ghFgeeK0UsdwAHK1LJqzSZMkMuOcn3A_ZY8bI4_PmP/s320/IMG_20180726_220050.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkJGzjetjtKxTvy9JcBHF1pqLuO2fD8k_NsB15Y4d4FPNeuYfTZAtIUV0WqqGCmmWY1337yNUSFB08AVWxxmRelEfssTt44epy84POYpnahW2KemxXGEpYJIhM6gRiX-fZaFRPUSqcdIUY/s1600/IMG_20180726_221642.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkJGzjetjtKxTvy9JcBHF1pqLuO2fD8k_NsB15Y4d4FPNeuYfTZAtIUV0WqqGCmmWY1337yNUSFB08AVWxxmRelEfssTt44epy84POYpnahW2KemxXGEpYJIhM6gRiX-fZaFRPUSqcdIUY/s320/IMG_20180726_221642.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Guilio had an awesome rendition of </i>Hallelujah <i>by Leonard Cohen.</i><br />
<i></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBAi8p7XF2wZvh6c5-j1zjp00P8P8ICadH_-hOxAxYk4lJDM4NfGSe70ub5yL-tHHJceQAClfEXi6wR22tpkdUr04JHQ5mYdafMM5UOZuLuUfT5Vu5CyrB0PY8iD3yKOiGaoOXUJBU9bfN/s1600/IMG_20180726_221755.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBAi8p7XF2wZvh6c5-j1zjp00P8P8ICadH_-hOxAxYk4lJDM4NfGSe70ub5yL-tHHJceQAClfEXi6wR22tpkdUr04JHQ5mYdafMM5UOZuLuUfT5Vu5CyrB0PY8iD3yKOiGaoOXUJBU9bfN/s320/IMG_20180726_221755.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The crowd loved it. </i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
For the Believers, it was an eye-opening reminder of the cost of our sin and salvation. For the students who we are trying to reach, I think there was a massive impact. It's an emotional roller coaster combined with a spiritual gut punch. I know, not exactly a glowing recommendation. But If you're in need of conviction of you're failures, this skit is a perfect place to start and is best seen in person.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt1TKrsy9GbjPHvdhwoVoTZA_FsJcpfBGwwGWaJf8eNXyeJWoihk72pbwAoChCCCQGFx3NfpLJsCv-0Iomy3eRx3beAPmTwCAXfdmVFCTGh-GW-2kak4hlmT75KZAj5p2_SSsYWPfva1t1/s1600/IMG_20180727_002727.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt1TKrsy9GbjPHvdhwoVoTZA_FsJcpfBGwwGWaJf8eNXyeJWoihk72pbwAoChCCCQGFx3NfpLJsCv-0Iomy3eRx3beAPmTwCAXfdmVFCTGh-GW-2kak4hlmT75KZAj5p2_SSsYWPfva1t1/s320/IMG_20180727_002727.jpg" width="320" /></a> I'm finishing this up around 1AM. The Ukrainian staff invited the Americans to join them for their "good time" gathering that they have every night. It was a beautiful opportunity to join our languages and cultures for several praise songs and great fellowship with our siblings in faith. Phil is a great worship leader and led us in several songs. I was surprised how many lyrics I remembered.<br />
OK, I've got to go now. Sleep is calling and I've still got some emails to take care of. Plus we've still got a full day of activities tomorrow. It'll be a long day. I foresee not much sleep tomorrow night since it's the bonfire and disco. I'll try to do another photo post tomorrow of various things including the skits. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15903876030434454162noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5294746822892172077.post-64824044635222577372018-07-26T02:55:00.000-04:002018-07-26T18:14:27.972-04:00Photograph I did one of these posts last year and it was an easy way of getting more detail out there. This is just a photo collection that didn't exactly fit in anywhere else. Random things that I thought were good by themselves. Enjoy.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL2U7228v0DzKnXnmvK98eWZidfHAmFWeHHUnAuJNnAjVFY1mf4tMTiSgKB6R3aCZ2qT6Fi596Tq4QyyBKjv75O5bfdbLXT4uoSW8uJ-0-pdSCp_oxAwpU7cl9vk0WuNdkzVGnU00HIOWK/s1600/IMG_20180721_133752.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL2U7228v0DzKnXnmvK98eWZidfHAmFWeHHUnAuJNnAjVFY1mf4tMTiSgKB6R3aCZ2qT6Fi596Tq4QyyBKjv75O5bfdbLXT4uoSW8uJ-0-pdSCp_oxAwpU7cl9vk0WuNdkzVGnU00HIOWK/s320/IMG_20180721_133752.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Bridge of Love.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkNFuYewHd3wqEL_cFJ6JQPLmEcPdLT30ieNghdd8pFm7EPfqT_70W39Z6uBYlZS_2whO0umfnIhDltbmEuYE1hAYYleYBnCnmMjjamB9kvPB3-36hUdmjTjAEESBUGaYBx0_SOAm6x8v-/s1600/IMG_20180721_134721.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkNFuYewHd3wqEL_cFJ6JQPLmEcPdLT30ieNghdd8pFm7EPfqT_70W39Z6uBYlZS_2whO0umfnIhDltbmEuYE1hAYYleYBnCnmMjjamB9kvPB3-36hUdmjTjAEESBUGaYBx0_SOAm6x8v-/s320/IMG_20180721_134721.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHNVMjaaYMj1j1MO_fHEXVVV2ptGZxShIhBqX_4pA833hqoA9LKmGpQKxY6kKyDMAWm_CF6c_riOKZW1YA2Kh5H9UcbmatHFPHlK7ptGI216GoQ3DkfIa7BlB8rhPEtCIvgvm8dOmDIk5O/s1600/IMG_20180721_134810.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHNVMjaaYMj1j1MO_fHEXVVV2ptGZxShIhBqX_4pA833hqoA9LKmGpQKxY6kKyDMAWm_CF6c_riOKZW1YA2Kh5H9UcbmatHFPHlK7ptGI216GoQ3DkfIa7BlB8rhPEtCIvgvm8dOmDIk5O/s320/IMG_20180721_134810.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>A giant valve at the water museum.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimHooe0JlKRSgyNdW423pHh-E0ZumpjDLT9Bb5xNVQkXsySoL4KsvGUA0KWTmc7Mf13G5mVLhjOuqer6LBROmSCfehUenMmr0geDopxTW8bOOchpFpZTgLFORJ0XA0RhHWPfgBnj0u7785/s1600/IMG_20180721_140145.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimHooe0JlKRSgyNdW423pHh-E0ZumpjDLT9Bb5xNVQkXsySoL4KsvGUA0KWTmc7Mf13G5mVLhjOuqer6LBROmSCfehUenMmr0geDopxTW8bOOchpFpZTgLFORJ0XA0RhHWPfgBnj0u7785/s320/IMG_20180721_140145.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The team at the Arc of Friendship.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1GM9OCoHrUB5IRn7505sKHMNCrtdlL3J1U6Ek8TGemZySMl6wF_naEl1JOWg8tWpoUEcgJ7B7QA2ZcZG71M-MvzXB1O2RsisQZiNbbjFEqZkKKkazCVB2E99iQD3MigmNCHjAGa54gAWC/s1600/IMG_20180721_140220.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1GM9OCoHrUB5IRn7505sKHMNCrtdlL3J1U6Ek8TGemZySMl6wF_naEl1JOWg8tWpoUEcgJ7B7QA2ZcZG71M-MvzXB1O2RsisQZiNbbjFEqZkKKkazCVB2E99iQD3MigmNCHjAGa54gAWC/s320/IMG_20180721_140220.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>David (a member of the Ukrainian team) does great selfies thanks to his long arms.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_-cxEZ1VG2ya97cZQDb81moIPD6AAaSpWNPXg1CaBq32wWEp5mPOeA27dk7tZ4VL9-VK6JW5Gd44z3HQNNzrUKPunaldbCHw3ebqJkPyAuPXgjaldyg-hlYrpJNM3Q98rKrao-putX0Ti/s1600/IMG_20180721_150513.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="902" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_-cxEZ1VG2ya97cZQDb81moIPD6AAaSpWNPXg1CaBq32wWEp5mPOeA27dk7tZ4VL9-VK6JW5Gd44z3HQNNzrUKPunaldbCHw3ebqJkPyAuPXgjaldyg-hlYrpJNM3Q98rKrao-putX0Ti/s320/IMG_20180721_150513.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>An interesting fountain at Maidan Nezolezhnosty.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiESafCcds_Tgennf1hKVX11nkZ2L_pcQYDJuMbZvn6wk-HTsW_XyvSeTsQSYPxq7EfdX7f8Lc3xLhyb_ozyNWjEnWv1Qt5k3yG0uG7-niQeyf_NMWsdXf6X8nOXnReOGwNab3Q5zRwquN5/s1600/IMG_20180721_144614.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiESafCcds_Tgennf1hKVX11nkZ2L_pcQYDJuMbZvn6wk-HTsW_XyvSeTsQSYPxq7EfdX7f8Lc3xLhyb_ozyNWjEnWv1Qt5k3yG0uG7-niQeyf_NMWsdXf6X8nOXnReOGwNab3Q5zRwquN5/s320/IMG_20180721_144614.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCsmofeG1VO8i936jSA6zbQOXeWRvIJEeNlJ3v2fOZRdyPu-fvRnDW3WDJouMjVEm2diVplXl0gYDuSUL2NEsP2MXYPJ6OWjRumtRzkD4-3xnqRWf_5Uv_TiEiucpTfF0P6VJaYoBpbDV3/s1600/IMG_20180721_142749.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCsmofeG1VO8i936jSA6zbQOXeWRvIJEeNlJ3v2fOZRdyPu-fvRnDW3WDJouMjVEm2diVplXl0gYDuSUL2NEsP2MXYPJ6OWjRumtRzkD4-3xnqRWf_5Uv_TiEiucpTfF0P6VJaYoBpbDV3/s320/IMG_20180721_142749.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>I always find the Jeeps in Kiev.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBRBjwiScbx4hg9x0-vpkcSjJmWwOYMIFnUDYog0Eb-UQkdMxwtEDAFaeXRFbe7Y1xpCHykPO0eWoMJgDdRrFZN4INxDjUNa_3Xgn2Vng4-CM6SEjrtnQsG2uj5JeK6WOKVuu-Uj2QW6-y/s1600/IMG_20180721_150759.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBRBjwiScbx4hg9x0-vpkcSjJmWwOYMIFnUDYog0Eb-UQkdMxwtEDAFaeXRFbe7Y1xpCHykPO0eWoMJgDdRrFZN4INxDjUNa_3Xgn2Vng4-CM6SEjrtnQsG2uj5JeK6WOKVuu-Uj2QW6-y/s320/IMG_20180721_150759.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPXyZXA8Z7ZHv3Mh0wlzzdXvFLBAzlvfhU7f9aZwlczPIBhl0pg_P696kPVRMHwzFxS7ytRJ_OZZxa4QRL5hS1MGukTcaakVB_fruyLxknheUrIRo6rIcL70dMPT43fYYrgc6gBcETcXtW/s1600/IMG_20180721_150836.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPXyZXA8Z7ZHv3Mh0wlzzdXvFLBAzlvfhU7f9aZwlczPIBhl0pg_P696kPVRMHwzFxS7ytRJ_OZZxa4QRL5hS1MGukTcaakVB_fruyLxknheUrIRo6rIcL70dMPT43fYYrgc6gBcETcXtW/s320/IMG_20180721_150836.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLSiZBheY_LUAhiLiLEX0f10LZNcRlOwgLDOKPK0YezAW3YJrONTCBsAb5ox36MirggO7p0eZs8SqA8WbkxXbXGkGZQM1LyUoznKwjcaACPh__39BPQfob1e1v4BtjlpZFL5f9dD-N_FLO/s1600/IMG_20180723_091811.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLSiZBheY_LUAhiLiLEX0f10LZNcRlOwgLDOKPK0YezAW3YJrONTCBsAb5ox36MirggO7p0eZs8SqA8WbkxXbXGkGZQM1LyUoznKwjcaACPh__39BPQfob1e1v4BtjlpZFL5f9dD-N_FLO/s320/IMG_20180723_091811.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Kolya, Bryson, and Dima.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDd3JNaBrvJzEkNdADF06AnYHn8Svk1Nt04HuzF7vA0Dk9uBcnrc_bORYCbRFX8KuwlMlrh54jpreK5T6MAAvJiXCU4_Dm2MrO6-ZR6pfb7Laj_2Z4ZwoqXEf87i1BxvZL6mYl7T8RzsSK/s1600/IMG_20180723_091815.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDd3JNaBrvJzEkNdADF06AnYHn8Svk1Nt04HuzF7vA0Dk9uBcnrc_bORYCbRFX8KuwlMlrh54jpreK5T6MAAvJiXCU4_Dm2MrO6-ZR6pfb7Laj_2Z4ZwoqXEf87i1BxvZL6mYl7T8RzsSK/s320/IMG_20180723_091815.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Games before leaving for camp.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoIEi-6kgLK7vuEyyo6muNBOvO4DhS_2L2l-B8aBJs34KEGswSQzh4yBxKFm0IUTwWhsV9q0Dh-1LW4kONjJC6xy4fM0Y2nsgHoJneT1-O3oXvXv7nTdZKzUR7V5RxdGC8NB1uZf3WqTDY/s1600/IMG_20180723_100627.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoIEi-6kgLK7vuEyyo6muNBOvO4DhS_2L2l-B8aBJs34KEGswSQzh4yBxKFm0IUTwWhsV9q0Dh-1LW4kONjJC6xy4fM0Y2nsgHoJneT1-O3oXvXv7nTdZKzUR7V5RxdGC8NB1uZf3WqTDY/s320/IMG_20180723_100627.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Loading the baggage.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim56so_qe2QvVS0-ICJI_FumoS_cm86YRK3A3UNKckX-tpL5JlWfUdqLElN-ZLMS3P2Nx05SVViJrd9qVCIoKr0zZT5P-sST6mq2OKVBtEqGghRLHN4HijBd7I5-9tkXdsQ0Ld221v1DxN/s1600/IMG_20180723_100738.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim56so_qe2QvVS0-ICJI_FumoS_cm86YRK3A3UNKckX-tpL5JlWfUdqLElN-ZLMS3P2Nx05SVViJrd9qVCIoKr0zZT5P-sST6mq2OKVBtEqGghRLHN4HijBd7I5-9tkXdsQ0Ld221v1DxN/s320/IMG_20180723_100738.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixQBPRv5jAlV3YqRaXQNPtXp3hoTUtWw7VC4Yc4yUK3oouc5F9yqBS9Z0dNby4dKhiLQXP1ZNAqIxvLGTBWx85oFJSHWfylQAqg6s5febhspTCIaVQ48Mc2IunmPxGmyAnVD4ghlVHJj4W/s1600/IMG_20180723_120405.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="902" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixQBPRv5jAlV3YqRaXQNPtXp3hoTUtWw7VC4Yc4yUK3oouc5F9yqBS9Z0dNby4dKhiLQXP1ZNAqIxvLGTBWx85oFJSHWfylQAqg6s5febhspTCIaVQ48Mc2IunmPxGmyAnVD4ghlVHJj4W/s320/IMG_20180723_120405.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO-n_4qtUNkn5sSbIGdlx1fkGM89RJyLXd9w9V7me53-Kh_sm3pyu3Fe2KYKrpS6nlXZce3WEU25alX9V_9nYTuLu2uInaE0NJl7Tb1J4OxOFhGS5MdcL1BRDU5zvZOqiVg6OxdRcTVJqR/s1600/IMG_20180723_122859.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO-n_4qtUNkn5sSbIGdlx1fkGM89RJyLXd9w9V7me53-Kh_sm3pyu3Fe2KYKrpS6nlXZce3WEU25alX9V_9nYTuLu2uInaE0NJl7Tb1J4OxOFhGS5MdcL1BRDU5zvZOqiVg6OxdRcTVJqR/s320/IMG_20180723_122859.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Forest (green) team in team time.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjXJ7yj-WH6MSrpB0MaBWm6TtTo6gYMVtNxqRoSxLRbh_7O9Wc3laeXeEfNfgaKaSTIhoB4ZbRjtqN9nNKJkXvy1ZB9BVBzxqT7VkFE6ZeMyZzK18tG6R4wF-OzWAhMQljH1NyS6IiXhQq/s1600/IMG_20180723_123435.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjXJ7yj-WH6MSrpB0MaBWm6TtTo6gYMVtNxqRoSxLRbh_7O9Wc3laeXeEfNfgaKaSTIhoB4ZbRjtqN9nNKJkXvy1ZB9BVBzxqT7VkFE6ZeMyZzK18tG6R4wF-OzWAhMQljH1NyS6IiXhQq/s320/IMG_20180723_123435.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Ice breakers for Ocean (blue) team.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimzaYxWpa9yP7ev6iqQZ3BCQYzkwsWJatJclVgDY7e8BtQ7voqMoEx6QOkrCS-wMFIW_IBYIpaaUq0NKovq9P3XpkczdKHwMxHdlnR_yids0Ct-PRTIda0m2YPjKLEIKQWG40ndcmiP0Ef/s1600/IMG_20180723_131148.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimzaYxWpa9yP7ev6iqQZ3BCQYzkwsWJatJclVgDY7e8BtQ7voqMoEx6QOkrCS-wMFIW_IBYIpaaUq0NKovq9P3XpkczdKHwMxHdlnR_yids0Ct-PRTIda0m2YPjKLEIKQWG40ndcmiP0Ef/s320/IMG_20180723_131148.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Some excellent chicken noodle soup.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMV59A3hg_eDZ8VyERUJnYGL6bsRh02rTn3J7l1IXi0aXuyEl71iHVNnm_EkL4MEU6W8dDv-zQBJqc1uZT-FWwxyrC3o3VdaUP3Unx9JVF-2zPqeAwQWhsbf4x48fCuuc-evymc1g7jnls/s1600/IMG_20180723_130547.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMV59A3hg_eDZ8VyERUJnYGL6bsRh02rTn3J7l1IXi0aXuyEl71iHVNnm_EkL4MEU6W8dDv-zQBJqc1uZT-FWwxyrC3o3VdaUP3Unx9JVF-2zPqeAwQWhsbf4x48fCuuc-evymc1g7jnls/s320/IMG_20180723_130547.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The dining hall.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglG0ejoBJG3dCzxaIgoDMGa4-2oyOw02mzBwPtmoOLsSt-XlfYKk6crNytIy0HonJdkmREO96tLKRHJnWCS-jev793OOOitgkMztHeK6zKj-XdoDpUEwj2caUZYqazZZinrP6gJp7Zkr01/s1600/IMG_20180723_162513.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="902" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglG0ejoBJG3dCzxaIgoDMGa4-2oyOw02mzBwPtmoOLsSt-XlfYKk6crNytIy0HonJdkmREO96tLKRHJnWCS-jev793OOOitgkMztHeK6zKj-XdoDpUEwj2caUZYqazZZinrP6gJp7Zkr01/s320/IMG_20180723_162513.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Instruction for Ultimate Frisbee on Monday.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPuvXSLdPpHjuLkyVlj4ghiBmIe3AKtdFxrcdXNL_b3n_0R5ltt2LD9RvA7NT-TUGr8Lt4SX2-nQFj8XfcsEmsA4SLQ8OwYN0OtyljJ6hc6QPkpxeuEwGretQqgI9SpDB4akypRRHq4JHI/s1600/IMG_20180725_103529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="902" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPuvXSLdPpHjuLkyVlj4ghiBmIe3AKtdFxrcdXNL_b3n_0R5ltt2LD9RvA7NT-TUGr8Lt4SX2-nQFj8XfcsEmsA4SLQ8OwYN0OtyljJ6hc6QPkpxeuEwGretQqgI9SpDB4akypRRHq4JHI/s320/IMG_20180725_103529.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The cheer squad during the Ultimate Frisbee tournament. </i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI52VZwNqsiRaqKyj6udkJUsmV7K_0B1yCrLoscZy21bHzyorMRBBUQVJ7UK0ABxq9cP0pevMStVR2-bLXBBa3hSIKHuxf0jjObZZr6ppeKY5ziouwYZv6OpbBZsK_54eJLC997OvNQh4_/s1600/IMG_20180725_133217.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="902" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI52VZwNqsiRaqKyj6udkJUsmV7K_0B1yCrLoscZy21bHzyorMRBBUQVJ7UK0ABxq9cP0pevMStVR2-bLXBBa3hSIKHuxf0jjObZZr6ppeKY5ziouwYZv6OpbBZsK_54eJLC997OvNQh4_/s320/IMG_20180725_133217.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Phil, Austin, and Kolya.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1b598NxiH1sXhif22oWfJFPtMC1BsVwD-YcXh3rYoQqnImN5ofaiHvrRzJjTwD2oKKxs_34e6_9f42s_iCc0cAGyGhopAG80eP_ZtwUYgYlnA8wYXNCXlogH5klej6x2S-TTw7mAkPLyB/s1600/IMG_20180725_070921.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1b598NxiH1sXhif22oWfJFPtMC1BsVwD-YcXh3rYoQqnImN5ofaiHvrRzJjTwD2oKKxs_34e6_9f42s_iCc0cAGyGhopAG80eP_ZtwUYgYlnA8wYXNCXlogH5klej6x2S-TTw7mAkPLyB/s320/IMG_20180725_070921.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Our sleeping accomodations.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXuD0eHkT9hC_-aASiiM2VN_nWQtz-VRZDI6UPnefRB8ZR1SkagGnMOXRJ3BrurYv4xyng6BqZgY3SX_jPc21wctJFxf3Y8ts9fK4IfdYeW58RrPRFM92FlpMAWx5lxhGutYDJDwIuWfwY/s1600/IMG_20180725_070923.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXuD0eHkT9hC_-aASiiM2VN_nWQtz-VRZDI6UPnefRB8ZR1SkagGnMOXRJ3BrurYv4xyng6BqZgY3SX_jPc21wctJFxf3Y8ts9fK4IfdYeW58RrPRFM92FlpMAWx5lxhGutYDJDwIuWfwY/s320/IMG_20180725_070923.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15903876030434454162noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5294746822892172077.post-85395414983301558512018-07-25T11:54:00.001-04:002018-07-26T00:17:58.692-04:00500 Miles<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNuxtBa1z1EcAsJtODYUZybh6YRgDIzRIDEzoX9y0QXMMEb4YQtU8MENzHCdbju9l5JM7vOSPyylck-e-0KguWGJFmp5fGTgQicQExPbM-uM8T38Ab2VmMw3wZ8PUShopjf-w2rTtb9IXF/s1600/IMG_20180725_104000_01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="902" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNuxtBa1z1EcAsJtODYUZybh6YRgDIzRIDEzoX9y0QXMMEb4YQtU8MENzHCdbju9l5JM7vOSPyylck-e-0KguWGJFmp5fGTgQicQExPbM-uM8T38Ab2VmMw3wZ8PUShopjf-w2rTtb9IXF/s320/IMG_20180725_104000_01.jpg" width="320" /></a> There was a lot of running today. Not quite 500 miles. But it was still. <i>So. Much. Running.</i> We had a bit of a mix up of the schedule today. Wednesday is traditionally the day of the Quest. However, due to the rain this week, we moved things around a bit. Basically, they swapped the Quest with the Ultimate Frisbee tournament.<br />
I've been riding my bike a lot this summer. So the running was better than I thought. But it was still the most I've run at one time probably since last year. Surprisingly, I felt really good at the end. Tired but good. <br />
<a name='more'></a> So what was this whole thing about? The idea was to set up the tournament to resemble the international championships that Natash and Dasha go to with the Ukrainian national team. I was a little fuzzy on the details of the bracket and how it worked. But work it did. The staff divided the students and staff into four teams. Each team played at least five times against the other teams. Ultimately (pun not intended), we did a lot of running and laughing. It also helped the students learn how important good sportsmanship is in competition.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUOdoEq4xoU1i5hnvU4jCfzpCC_DqJ_4wvkW_FF3kwIOPUeuKxMlhaeyvW3knEhj8VicqzobMqw9hMdOWpE0_HpYJFfqD8tufrcEDnBdWw5oSdMdTdKNvldzO1_PFjSVZVQaX_7FCS9Eml/s1600/IMG_20180725_103536.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUOdoEq4xoU1i5hnvU4jCfzpCC_DqJ_4wvkW_FF3kwIOPUeuKxMlhaeyvW3knEhj8VicqzobMqw9hMdOWpE0_HpYJFfqD8tufrcEDnBdWw5oSdMdTdKNvldzO1_PFjSVZVQaX_7FCS9Eml/s320/IMG_20180725_103536.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Zhenya (far right) and the cheer squad</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
After each game, the two teams would get together to talk about the game, the highlights and what they didn't like. It was essential to make sure there weren't any hard feelings toward each other. Zhenya the camp leader even tied the rules and sportsmanship into his Way Home talk (spiritual development lecture). <br />
The downsides of the tournament is that I got a little sunburned a a headache out of the deal. Plus I'm feeling really worn out. But that's to be expected from all the running that I did. It was a really hot day. Not a lot of clouds while we were out playing. At lunch you could tell who had played. Almost everyone was dragging. I'm writing this over 5 hours after we finished and I'm still tired. I might have to drink a couple cup of tea. <br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidvbbdYQm4LDT-XbvBQPFSxk_xMUppKpdXb3uGCiI0On-ouo_c3iHpV1VNK1A8sOZ6rGVPgmfj9wU3JD-i6jkdw7wBJyNXKoNmyhwuV_O1V0xuEFj08mWxiiSnXAD-a5hPTMy-8TCS9QQ_/s1600/IMG_20180725_133916.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="902" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidvbbdYQm4LDT-XbvBQPFSxk_xMUppKpdXb3uGCiI0On-ouo_c3iHpV1VNK1A8sOZ6rGVPgmfj9wU3JD-i6jkdw7wBJyNXKoNmyhwuV_O1V0xuEFj08mWxiiSnXAD-a5hPTMy-8TCS9QQ_/s320/IMG_20180725_133916.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Dennis, Phil, Nastia, Anya, David, Austin, Kolya</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
So what did we get out of this? The winning team, Austin's Wolverines, came out victorious. For their efforts, they won frisbees with the camp logo. They staff also handed out an award for the team with the best spirit of the game. There were also two MVP awards; one for the best guy and one for the best girl. Lucky me, I got the guy's MVP award. <br />
If you'd have seen me after the tournament, you'd think someone dumped a bucket of water on me. That might have felt better. I probably more than doubled the weight of my shirt with sweat. It was that hot and I was running that much. It's also my family curse to sweat a lot. Fortunately, I had time after lunch before English to shower and cool off a bit.<br />
Speaking of English, I feel like the whole process is going a lot better than last year. Every year is different. But for some reason, this year is going well. Austin, Bryson and I are leading Intermediate. This group of six seems to like games more than reading lessons. We tried reading yesterday but they started to zone out about half way through the definitions section. So I called a break and then taught them to play hangman. That went over a lot better.<br />
The rest of the day was pretty standard. The night finished off with a movie called Freedom Riders and team time. I'm gonna leave this here so I can get to bed a little early. <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikqw-g9X4kDIycrdnweRtN55pjpMe-F9TE88xGwYVqws3YN0MutTXWsbJ58P7MeAyky_-3vor_XahrGiaA4kqEW5eb0hmIdk1AF5UzLpMMSlBzPMi1_bDjviGNFFTzlkeKA4pF4QpWoQBr/s1600/IMG_20180725_133114.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikqw-g9X4kDIycrdnweRtN55pjpMe-F9TE88xGwYVqws3YN0MutTXWsbJ58P7MeAyky_-3vor_XahrGiaA4kqEW5eb0hmIdk1AF5UzLpMMSlBzPMi1_bDjviGNFFTzlkeKA4pF4QpWoQBr/s320/IMG_20180725_133114.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Essential members of my team, Kristen and Joan</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
As a bonus, I have some spy video (shot on Austin's potato) of the dance moves the camp is preparing for their "flash mob" dance for the disco on Friday.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/dj8sEwPTzns/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dj8sEwPTzns?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15903876030434454162noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5294746822892172077.post-71655203703576720882018-07-24T16:33:00.000-04:002018-07-24T16:36:45.639-04:00Who Can It Be Now? That was the question today in the big event; the Living Library. But, unlike the story in the song, it wasn't a bad thing today. For those who don't remember or who don't want to dig through my backlog of posts, the Living Library is an event to encourage relationship growth between students and staff (both American and Ukrainian).<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjptJgmz7-ArN2_kKOpZnuReHNON04CeNd6pG-PEM9jc0JiU2glbClu1PronpllNajc-SYij6itm3wBHbzqToVrfIB29BFqXNgMDC_MvkpP-6d38ikew1xoAfBgPyEEjbki566nc5WxMdJp/s1600/IMG_20180723_120623.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="902" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjptJgmz7-ArN2_kKOpZnuReHNON04CeNd6pG-PEM9jc0JiU2glbClu1PronpllNajc-SYij6itm3wBHbzqToVrfIB29BFqXNgMDC_MvkpP-6d38ikew1xoAfBgPyEEjbki566nc5WxMdJp/s320/IMG_20180723_120623.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
After the morning's festivities (exercises, 2.5 hours of English, and lunch), we were given our directions for the two hour event labeled on the schedule as "Fun." There would be three stations. The first was table games, the second was the American staff, and the third was the Ukrainian staff. The color teams would rotate among the different stations every 45 minutes. And in both staff stations, the students would rotate among the staff for a chance to talk to whomever they wanted. With a total of 19 students this year, the ratio was really good for students to get a chance to talk.<br />
<a name='more'></a> So the question, "Who can it be now," was just asking, "Who do I get to talk to next?" As we went through, I noticed a few common themes. Joan absolutely loved talking with the ladies. I heard plenty of giggling coming from her side of the room. Giulio loved talking about funny or embarrassing situations. I liked making my "reader" do most of the talking. Overall, it was fun. According to Zhenya, "it was really, really, fun."<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKet9AWLMyzpWTABDFCi7lW28sVwGyQDxXEtQMjQXbU5RbvlSLmzPn9IV_a5fHXeaELe60EK1ub7Mnnslpe6ZnLLTPmZHukcL0XhzQtLeRB68fx8rXj55kYTKOJn9dlV4HbG9Iaz5XQzcA/s1600/IMG_20180724_160613.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKet9AWLMyzpWTABDFCi7lW28sVwGyQDxXEtQMjQXbU5RbvlSLmzPn9IV_a5fHXeaELe60EK1ub7Mnnslpe6ZnLLTPmZHukcL0XhzQtLeRB68fx8rXj55kYTKOJn9dlV4HbG9Iaz5XQzcA/s320/IMG_20180724_160613.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Giulio holding court in the Living Library</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The rest of the day, besides English, was typical camp. Team time in the morning, meals, more evening team time, capture the flag and games.<br />
I want to interject, if it ever feels like this might be interesting to you, get in contact with one of us from the team and we can give you more information about joining the team next year.<br />
Speaking of the team, in general, we're all doing well. This morning, after the staff meeting, the American team had our own meeting. We went around the circle to talk about how we were feeling. The consensus seemed to be that we're tired but otherwise good. We all have individual challenges. But by the Grace of God, we seem to be handling it well so far. I'll keep you apprised as the week goes on.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggXj2sEME0d3kTj-oIIFjHbce1Vv2BXzfw8wkakMibKqFyifXS0vfpWLNsYrdozLw8Kg8ZD3_eNNlWm2jGHIOTgxmAKylih4lpVoC7wF_nvvON5NPOjs_hLDJqsH4rhbLlYFqHC6mrXU0g/s1600/IMG_20180723_120635.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="902" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggXj2sEME0d3kTj-oIIFjHbce1Vv2BXzfw8wkakMibKqFyifXS0vfpWLNsYrdozLw8Kg8ZD3_eNNlWm2jGHIOTgxmAKylih4lpVoC7wF_nvvON5NPOjs_hLDJqsH4rhbLlYFqHC6mrXU0g/s320/IMG_20180723_120635.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>These staff shirts are more comfortable than those from last year.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkA6gD2fExp9Kw22MHycQxMPWDDZDUASUWo-3SOo_4WRmv7xuNlBlzh5ajVOE9xa3WSNVtvILlC1-EhDnr1ghCekZTVAYODQ-RqyJzSyNBYf9zPMvQgzDf07g6LUd5c-MePBzJ-tQE0M3h/s1600/IMG_20180724_165101.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkA6gD2fExp9Kw22MHycQxMPWDDZDUASUWo-3SOo_4WRmv7xuNlBlzh5ajVOE9xa3WSNVtvILlC1-EhDnr1ghCekZTVAYODQ-RqyJzSyNBYf9zPMvQgzDf07g6LUd5c-MePBzJ-tQE0M3h/s320/IMG_20180724_165101.jpg" width="320" /></a> Personally, I got more than 5 hours of sleep last night which I think is more than I had each night over the weekend. I was tired when I woke up but was feeling a lot better. I've learned over the years that if I get tired, I become short tempered and extremely sarcastic. The best thing I can do then is be alone and get some sleep. That's not always possible here at camp considering the intense schedule. Thankfully, I slept fairly well last night. It may not have been as much as I needed. But it was enough. That and the 6 cups of tea I've had today. <i>Addendum, I thought I had 6. While I was typing this, my 6th disappeared. Later, I managed to drink a 6th around dinner time. </i>Oddly enough, I felt like I got more energy as the day went on. Writing this now right before bed time, I feel wired like I won't be able to sleep right away. <br />
So with all that in mind, I have a couple of prayer requests from the team:<br />
<ul>
<li>Continuing strength, health and good sleep</li>
<li>Mental fortitude to endure the challenges of camp</li>
<li>Openness for students whom we talk to</li>
<li>The right words for any conversations we have with students </li>
</ul>
Back to the camp activities. Yesterday we were assigned a "secret friend" upon whom we have to bestow gifts and kindness. The only catch is that they can't know who it is. I already did one thing for mine. But I'll have to get creative to keep it going.<br />
It rained today. Like yesterday and every day this trip so far. Today was more of a soaker. It put the capture-the-flag field out of commission due to high sand content mixing with the rain. In lieu of that we played table games for a while. I got sucked into a Ukrainian version of Uno. It includes all sorts of extra rules that make for lots of laughing and mock hurt feelings. We played for almost 2 hours before getting kicked out to go to bed.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxnISO6xfyCfDZm0maZi9U78STzUOeXtdgQE20UhN26w8tPwbljaEEw0nrrQb3sRHFytt88wocNEAdilBy361RJf2w4K7aZu7BUNg6zZGG50-MU-VUczTJaHz20g80KfFCaqoJhQnvDtAO/s1600/IMG_20180724_220113.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxnISO6xfyCfDZm0maZi9U78STzUOeXtdgQE20UhN26w8tPwbljaEEw0nrrQb3sRHFytt88wocNEAdilBy361RJf2w4K7aZu7BUNg6zZGG50-MU-VUczTJaHz20g80KfFCaqoJhQnvDtAO/s320/IMG_20180724_220113.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Dutch Blitz was a noisy game tonight.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVaU1gsPmCHPoWjKNK8FWnbVkHBwT3ckyfzrgRMNDAFO1JodtxUZKrntsPuq_mLC_sFDW8hn7SptxCz_7YIE1VwyWXqaylk95K99TG0HNjWzVG4ywINJOLhXs6hVokS-v2bfL8tx5lysDr/s1600/IMG_20180724_220121_01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVaU1gsPmCHPoWjKNK8FWnbVkHBwT3ckyfzrgRMNDAFO1JodtxUZKrntsPuq_mLC_sFDW8hn7SptxCz_7YIE1VwyWXqaylk95K99TG0HNjWzVG4ywINJOLhXs6hVokS-v2bfL8tx5lysDr/s320/IMG_20180724_220121_01.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>That's Marusya my team leader with her tongue out.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg33glRYJn7cNvjFN_sqNGq1n-QAJ21Y6mCtbtHRkaARoRgLpa5TR4-Iw6LOfg3zDiT53woweoPPwUgDPiNP-fo-zWPVPHgCJGjdkutLmnD-WWIzocH8YI9cL7d80yQS5S-Xyj3pY00aXpi/s1600/IMG_20180724_214046.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg33glRYJn7cNvjFN_sqNGq1n-QAJ21Y6mCtbtHRkaARoRgLpa5TR4-Iw6LOfg3zDiT53woweoPPwUgDPiNP-fo-zWPVPHgCJGjdkutLmnD-WWIzocH8YI9cL7d80yQS5S-Xyj3pY00aXpi/s320/IMG_20180724_214046.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
I'm finishing this off now so I can try and get a reasonable amount of sleep. It's 11:27 by the clock on my laptop and I still have an email to write and photos to upload. I'll see you tomorrow. <br />
<ul>
</ul>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15903876030434454162noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5294746822892172077.post-59796739985663277352018-07-23T14:55:00.001-04:002018-07-24T11:46:31.115-04:00Young Blood Is this what it feels like to grow old? To see the younger generation come up through and take over the program? Without getting the input of the older members of the team, I'd have to say yes. But, in this case, it's good to have young blood in the driver's seat. Allow me to explain.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKushI2S_0Pu2-M3G7YFsjuscUV2GaZt1WZraaC_fjcZBxqmS_H-RGc9ra018KJKo1HiAq6VxxmnxFHuwchyX3_garr_IMtINvFl5O6N3mRsQTbWlr2TeFPTfErSZL-GSdb7h-QtaVg8nV/s1600/IMG_20180723_113450.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKushI2S_0Pu2-M3G7YFsjuscUV2GaZt1WZraaC_fjcZBxqmS_H-RGc9ra018KJKo1HiAq6VxxmnxFHuwchyX3_garr_IMtINvFl5O6N3mRsQTbWlr2TeFPTfErSZL-GSdb7h-QtaVg8nV/s320/IMG_20180723_113450.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Zhenya bestowing instructions to the camp.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<a name='more'></a> My home church has partnered with Big City Church in Kiev since 2014. In that time, I've seen several students come through the program and become leaders in the camp. From photographer to team leader, from assistant to team leader, from team leader to camp director. In each case, it's the younger generation moving up to take over for someone older who moves on to different duties. <br />
I realize I might have new readers (thanks for the hint mom) so I'll take a break to explain what this whole thing is about. The English camps (three this year) are a ministry of three Presbyterian churches in Kiev, Ukraine. Their express purpose is to bring young people (young blood) into the church body. There are two main options for faith in Ukraine. The Orthodox Church or nothing at all. The Orthodox church, especially to the older generation, is all there is. This camp is a chance to show the youth of Kiev that the Protestant church is not a cult. It's not trying to suck you in and destroy your life. It wants to share the Truth of the Gospel and Hope in Christ with everyone.<br />
If you want to reach young people, especially young professionals and college students, English is the way. Offer a camp with English lessons, native speakers, and fun at an extremely reduced priced and you will have a very popular program. Yes, it is slightly subversive. But the advertisements include the bullet point "spiritual development." It's right there on the flyer.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPw7LhnTwFZo2WoWessMXbzA-0fRsm651HlSuBp7JZ34EW0X1ABj9yakwQwvoI8R8AVjR9Hu2UzjWLSBPvrLFWXGrLJOpMcVKobFs0_gyidTscDLq-MHBJaxQMMGV7Tmx4bZMxEKmtYU5B/s1600/IMG_20180721_180328.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPw7LhnTwFZo2WoWessMXbzA-0fRsm651HlSuBp7JZ34EW0X1ABj9yakwQwvoI8R8AVjR9Hu2UzjWLSBPvrLFWXGrLJOpMcVKobFs0_gyidTscDLq-MHBJaxQMMGV7Tmx4bZMxEKmtYU5B/s320/IMG_20180721_180328.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Spiritual development is the 3rd bullet point.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Most of these students come to the camp not believing or only believing in loose terms. "Oh I go to church on Easter and Christmas. My grandmother prays. I believe in God." But through the program, the staff (many are the same age as the students) can help the students internalize the spiritual points and ask themselves what is really important. Yes, English is important. But the message that is shared in the "Way Home" presentation is even more so.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJcq14Z2cOeJ-T2_uZvlOJJy4XXcyi4AEcfKrYshvv95Gz5Nlu5tXW481tHArOHIrNvxjxQTPz7Snu16sj-hri-iJ1pQl1rWDNpo3n1wtZw4DAyHGHiiWFuRYOfZ8ygV16zzt5xodvO46e/s1600/IMG_20180723_091818.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJcq14Z2cOeJ-T2_uZvlOJJy4XXcyi4AEcfKrYshvv95Gz5Nlu5tXW481tHArOHIrNvxjxQTPz7Snu16sj-hri-iJ1pQl1rWDNpo3n1wtZw4DAyHGHiiWFuRYOfZ8ygV16zzt5xodvO46e/s320/IMG_20180723_091818.jpg" width="320" /></a> But we aren't just giving the lessons and then dumping a bunch of spiritual terms on them. We are building relationships. We are making friendships that could last for our whole lives. And if you are going to tell anyone about you faith, why not start with your friends? This is the most important thing they will ever hear. Building that rapport is essential to keeping them from tuning it out immediately. In some ways, it's similar to the English club program I was involved in. We use English as the "bait" and then build friendships over weeks and months. And then we share our faith and our hope.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBZkDN9ULFuVLQNHgTQQezrwtL-znjKHiXs05zZAOODg2OSZBPi7l7hsKhdeupwEptPoB5QbCw44AyB5WWO7_qvn5ThIFa2Zj9oHr3qclQRfIzkuRdJYx9sMDMUOYD0OdM6chOOgblla3i/s1600/IMG_20180723_093840.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBZkDN9ULFuVLQNHgTQQezrwtL-znjKHiXs05zZAOODg2OSZBPi7l7hsKhdeupwEptPoB5QbCw44AyB5WWO7_qvn5ThIFa2Zj9oHr3qclQRfIzkuRdJYx9sMDMUOYD0OdM6chOOgblla3i/s320/IMG_20180723_093840.jpg" width="320" /></a> If you've made it this far, I guess you're ready for an update about what actually happened. Where to start but the beginning? Morning came all too early after a restless night. We made it to the office by 8:15, just in time to start with the student evaluations. The evals are an essential part of preparations for the lessons. It helps us as teachers place students where we think they will best be served. We don't want to drop a beginner in the middle of an intense advanced lesson. We evaluate the students for about 2 or 3 minutes by just talking to them. <br />
I feel like I'm following a script in writing this. But it's much the same as previous years. After finishing the evaluations, we finalized some details, packed up and loaded into the bus. The ride was uneventful but for the construction-related traffic right after leaving.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyv8y8Od3R8WQtr526MSnwToKDOFCq75nxcVYrHBkwhcQXF6UFHP9VM9JK13yDF3EUp_egDM-0jiehtutGFBLdHSqruu96r1gxo_MDOSYTBIVMcAInuAHi8bz-UCtWx8jjudT_ZDIqeBsE/s1600/IMG_20180723_113316.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyv8y8Od3R8WQtr526MSnwToKDOFCq75nxcVYrHBkwhcQXF6UFHP9VM9JK13yDF3EUp_egDM-0jiehtutGFBLdHSqruu96r1gxo_MDOSYTBIVMcAInuAHi8bz-UCtWx8jjudT_ZDIqeBsE/s320/IMG_20180723_113316.jpg" width="320" /></a> About an hour after leaving, we found ourselves disembarking at Zazimye. Yes ladies and gents, we're at the same place as last year. Good rooms, great food, air conditioning, WIFI! It's almost like a vacation. After dispersing to rooms to drop off baggage, we met up again to divide into our teams. (GO TEAM FOREST!) We have three teams; Fire (red), Forest (green) and Ocean (blue). My team leader, Marusya, was the camp photographer my first year here. More of that young blood moving up through the program.<br />
Following a very good lunch, we found ourselves in the middle of the first English lesson of the week. By default, most first day lessons are awkward. It took a little bit to get into the swing of things. But we did it and it turned out good. For the active part, we tried a variant of Scatagories using Bananagrams tiles. I think the students really liked it.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY938F_zkFAI9iyTd9AQhEQxVT0ou0hrCTXRCBLymbzhRtv-oK24C79oeb97TchFzKHmCT8s_cN1aFWoBhnNisU7Kqlz9j13Q2bA6EERR2bSsb2I4ShkG04ttJzUf_Cxk8cScz-PRlNaYM/s1600/IMG_20180723_154049.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY938F_zkFAI9iyTd9AQhEQxVT0ou0hrCTXRCBLymbzhRtv-oK24C79oeb97TchFzKHmCT8s_cN1aFWoBhnNisU7Kqlz9j13Q2bA6EERR2bSsb2I4ShkG04ttJzUf_Cxk8cScz-PRlNaYM/s320/IMG_20180723_154049.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPbw7eqYVOUimsGfQsiA9NQnQf2IxxCLUZE38YebEF_fBJ6gndBjK53phiImzQaHHcDLGg_6VRwnmeI15KkpQomBEeIb8Qlq4Xv8tLjbASCyMdQdXCYMTTzvm8MFgeS0bmSCx1MJT2m6c0/s1600/IMG_20180723_152807.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPbw7eqYVOUimsGfQsiA9NQnQf2IxxCLUZE38YebEF_fBJ6gndBjK53phiImzQaHHcDLGg_6VRwnmeI15KkpQomBEeIb8Qlq4Xv8tLjbASCyMdQdXCYMTTzvm8MFgeS0bmSCx1MJT2m6c0/s320/IMG_20180723_152807.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
For future reference if you want to try it, divide the group into two teams and split the tiles evenly between them. They have three minutes to make as many words as possible using each tile only once. Each unique word gives them one point. Any common words between the two teams cancels the point. I think there was some trepidation at the beginning. But once the timer started, half of the noises from each group were laughing. <br />
We finished off English a little early to give the students time to prepare for two hours of Ultimate Frisbee. Boy was it fun. Like last year, it was a highlight for my Monday. Throwing, playing, laughing, learning, competing. We had it all. Even a little showing off for the cameras. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJEJAkq7xkXywjaYTHdRcpVEb8uSWUsCdWhhk114o2HYFC20IxTBPjjbgGQPN6HOqGzw0S5wLVN4yDGi3EFyOl8VBf4XqzJ0hXS6U999thmKJhhEbZmmeXd-p7HFCBl_WpQVICbyK3VWYh/s1600/IMG_20180723_162504.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJEJAkq7xkXywjaYTHdRcpVEb8uSWUsCdWhhk114o2HYFC20IxTBPjjbgGQPN6HOqGzw0S5wLVN4yDGi3EFyOl8VBf4XqzJ0hXS6U999thmKJhhEbZmmeXd-p7HFCBl_WpQVICbyK3VWYh/s320/IMG_20180723_162504.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguifBQf14gChRO5dJTXDvf-S_WS7fiMUzs9lHDW0A5HgqYjXbT1_y2rk-rp93TlxlnCwEkv78bA9ZL4ZBV5BvLwggSWlalbqOIrPly0DzmU46IAcHxOKGZWZFUGUEf01f7qZbDxmEk0Ay5/s1600/IMG_20180723_162523.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="902" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguifBQf14gChRO5dJTXDvf-S_WS7fiMUzs9lHDW0A5HgqYjXbT1_y2rk-rp93TlxlnCwEkv78bA9ZL4ZBV5BvLwggSWlalbqOIrPly0DzmU46IAcHxOKGZWZFUGUEf01f7qZbDxmEk0Ay5/s320/IMG_20180723_162523.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG4X9K43P8bfHfPrdRCT1NRHs6MStswTZccumOexVrJ5GIGMvZ25JBAcP2pRNQTuGwXBDx7-8mpu-6cKYVtRbRr8_-fjp2J4RA0Wc7XseNnujq5HZj_f80z7MwbwZk5QAsGswIUUkW7GAE/s1600/IMG_20180723_172445.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="902" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG4X9K43P8bfHfPrdRCT1NRHs6MStswTZccumOexVrJ5GIGMvZ25JBAcP2pRNQTuGwXBDx7-8mpu-6cKYVtRbRr8_-fjp2J4RA0Wc7XseNnujq5HZj_f80z7MwbwZk5QAsGswIUUkW7GAE/s320/IMG_20180723_172445.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxV69SzLWz3WDe5KdN7zh4Q9X3CIc7ccyFEZ16062w7_XyeZFXdT7A7b3NWX4IczeHffBuv2H_MrsenLuNi7HTe7bB5qs1zGN0HVwuJNiWRZtviS0v1ySVG93E02Vt4lNPDziZbWNNcsTP/s1600/IMG_20180723_173203.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="902" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxV69SzLWz3WDe5KdN7zh4Q9X3CIc7ccyFEZ16062w7_XyeZFXdT7A7b3NWX4IczeHffBuv2H_MrsenLuNi7HTe7bB5qs1zGN0HVwuJNiWRZtviS0v1ySVG93E02Vt4lNPDziZbWNNcsTP/s320/IMG_20180723_173203.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>He missed it by </i><u>that</u> <i>much.</i><br />
<i></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The post-game dinner was, again, very good. Chicken, rice and carrots with a muffin. It was followed up with the Way Home presentation. Zhenya, the camp leader this year, is the one presenting. <br />
We got about 45 minutes for a break before the open ceremonies. Yeah, I get the irony of having the opening ceremony as one of the last things on Monday night. But that's when it was scheduled. Before coming over, the team had to make an intro video for the students to know a little more about us. I think it went over well. They seemed to laugh and cheer at all the right places. <br />
I think I'll finish this now as the guest band Veedstany is playing their set. For it being the first day, the team seems to be in good spirits and holding together. I'll keep that updated as the week goes on. For now, have a good night and I'll talk to you again tomorrow.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4fr360kDJSdDKekAwwtbgt0Bb1Q8rxVTdJJbg8sKseBtwnbQEFBdI6RsROM6EIHJSTg33REFcgONaqP7R5CB3armuaU9JOiRgQ4TQvb5vw7XxBd5bUWWSJ5-eUTkOoXOBnhGv9ixl3MjS/s1600/IMG_20180723_203435.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4fr360kDJSdDKekAwwtbgt0Bb1Q8rxVTdJJbg8sKseBtwnbQEFBdI6RsROM6EIHJSTg33REFcgONaqP7R5CB3armuaU9JOiRgQ4TQvb5vw7XxBd5bUWWSJ5-eUTkOoXOBnhGv9ixl3MjS/s320/IMG_20180723_203435.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15903876030434454162noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5294746822892172077.post-32488651569335054802018-07-22T12:37:00.001-04:002018-07-24T11:45:46.331-04:00Come Together<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHIY3UCRaQhlBSnWHNkE2Binh0lijEBhRVSvyqIjj-PpUG_v3I8MBwMXUa26Vh-75lPueLC2zQa6cYNfAs6-eca6z_xP67bkKZ0LTteLKwM71kvCUEX3LtlVazQ93febsgC83KsFoZ7xVm/s1600/IMG_20180722_192125.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHIY3UCRaQhlBSnWHNkE2Binh0lijEBhRVSvyqIjj-PpUG_v3I8MBwMXUa26Vh-75lPueLC2zQa6cYNfAs6-eca6z_xP67bkKZ0LTteLKwM71kvCUEX3LtlVazQ93febsgC83KsFoZ7xVm/s320/IMG_20180722_192125.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>First weekend accommodations. Mine is the messy bed.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I'm still feeling a bit jet-lagged today so this'll be a light post again. There are challenges every year and they're starting early for me. This year it's sleep. The past two nights I've gotten barely over half my usual amount of sleep. And for some reason, it was split into two parts each night. Even with the opportunity to sleep in way past the usual time. In lieu of that, I decided to take Sunday afternoon for myself and just relax. But back to the beginning.<br />
<a name='more'></a> Sunday morning was again weird. I slept about 2 and a half hours after midnight. I then laid awake until around 7 when I slept for 2 more. For some reason, I just wasn't tired. But I got up around 9 to get ready for breakfast. I had the same thing as yesterday, three fried eggs with bacon (just thinly sliced strips of ham) with black tea. The only coherent thought I had before arriving at breakfast yesterday was "Tea, eggs." Apparently my groggy brain has good tastes. It was worth a repeat this morning. With breakfast down the hatch, we ran off to get to the marshrutka stop on time. In a bit of good news, Phil made it here safely. He arrived about half-way through breakfast ordering. He spent a mostly sleepless night in Stockholm before boarding a plane to Kiev at 4:30AM. The team is finally coming together for the first time since we decided to go.<br />
I've been out of the loop with most things here. So it came as a surprise that Big City Church moved locations. They are still on the same street, just a little south of where they were before. But it was still good to worship with old friends again. The time before and after the service was filled with many conversations between old friends. They whole team (minus newbie Guilio) got to catch up with people they haven't seen in a wile. Funnily, Rich finally got to meet David Purvis in person. They've emailed back and forth a few times, including passing along teaching materials. But today was a first for the face-to-face.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7XIHpn9gUKdfeUPvz0CI3ec2Q_6o9B3OJnEBEd7KBP0hF3MJOw1Ta_FRVTMBMdZ4LEffyIUamQWYv2KfjRd6b6IvyaoZT9NPgUHqgnmUFGCPxeoD0ysAHEUjWdDgnPj3T6ORU170KGj6i/s1600/IMG_20180722_192207.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7XIHpn9gUKdfeUPvz0CI3ec2Q_6o9B3OJnEBEd7KBP0hF3MJOw1Ta_FRVTMBMdZ4LEffyIUamQWYv2KfjRd6b6IvyaoZT9NPgUHqgnmUFGCPxeoD0ysAHEUjWdDgnPj3T6ORU170KGj6i/s320/IMG_20180722_192207.jpg" width="320" /></a> The post-worship lunch was a traditional Puzata Hatta. I skipped anything solid on account of not being hungry and just talked with the people at my table. Just a Coke and water. Don't worry mom, I did have a granola bar and some peanut butter crackers when I got back to the room. Since then, I've been trying to cool off (A/C no worky), relax, and write. The rest of the team went back out on the town to sightsee and stretch their legs. For some reason, Phil wanted to go back out despite barely sleeping in two days. <br />
As for tomorrow, it'll be an early morning (relatively). We need to be at the office by 8AM to be ready for student arrival at 9AM. It'll be a whirlwind of final preparations, testing all 21 students, packing and traveling before we even arrive. Fortunately our first English session isn't until after lunch. But that's for tomorrow to sort out. <br />
And at the beginning I said this'll be a light post. It seems I can't control my words even when I want to. I'm hitting the publish button before the team is back. But if one of them has a few minutes and wants to write about their afternoon in the city, I'll add it in here. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15903876030434454162noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5294746822892172077.post-64045439060848861872018-07-21T15:50:00.001-04:002018-07-21T15:50:13.787-04:00Before the Deluge<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSADPOOsl92bXxGMAtNJmg6ZnvnWKVfaRQ3lf01I7XkXKjTQOzAKJ7E5BowO8AXWwEWwKKytcx2SWTL0vWqlHTP9awZ-t5V53-OoEfEWGcOKq2bP1WETRUmyOCnG99y8NiYX4vppG1ZONo/s1600/IMG_20180721_124727.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSADPOOsl92bXxGMAtNJmg6ZnvnWKVfaRQ3lf01I7XkXKjTQOzAKJ7E5BowO8AXWwEWwKKytcx2SWTL0vWqlHTP9awZ-t5V53-OoEfEWGcOKq2bP1WETRUmyOCnG99y8NiYX4vppG1ZONo/s320/IMG_20180721_124727.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Dark hot chocolate from Aroma Kava</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
For those of you in the back row of the class, that title is what I like to call foreshadowing. But there was plenty of before/during/after deluges, drizzles, and "mushroom rains" today. The forecast was calling for rain off and on all day and we got it. On our sightseeing day too. That's OK. It certainly didn't dampen our spirits.<br />
<a name='more'></a> I'm going to keep this post short on the talky-talk. Running on a cumulative 5 hours of sleep from last night so I want to be done with this soon. Today was the pre-camp sightseeing day with some of the Ukrainian staff. We walked in a very circuitous route from Arsenalna metro station to Teatralna between roughly 12PM and 6PM. I got to see a few things I managed to miss during my previous visits. We ate a lot of good food (including the real-deal Chicken Kiev). We finished the day off with a full(ish) team meeting at the church office and dinner at Puzata Hatta. <br /><br />
And an update on Phil. He missed a flight and was temporarily stranded in Stockholm. Fortunately he bought his way onto a flight for 4:30AM Sunday. We'll meet up with him after church. His situation isn't the deluge. The coming week at camp is.<br />
That's about all I've got. I'll leave you with a bunch of pictures for the road.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY0fgs24FY7lAXZF3mcHXmOiGrazYYTmTdeFjF7q2xM7jwMlSB_AaAMmtAcAyAyHKq6Uhlnl-3BN02z9DFgRZF6R1jHk3gXaQtpIOsKZID-6P92zv1sDRaohZ9-h38Jtw5C-UZs8oCPHtr/s1600/IMG_20180721_113816.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY0fgs24FY7lAXZF3mcHXmOiGrazYYTmTdeFjF7q2xM7jwMlSB_AaAMmtAcAyAyHKq6Uhlnl-3BN02z9DFgRZF6R1jHk3gXaQtpIOsKZID-6P92zv1sDRaohZ9-h38Jtw5C-UZs8oCPHtr/s320/IMG_20180721_113816.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>A bit to big to add to my work welding kit.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR0n_bfqosgD74R7o0x7rSFrlPXyF3jQ_vMvM7-hyHwrLoBqQyp0GSGG1xo3YA1q5KSjCq54go2J2p7feqTwlCbHjBrk6B3tTr2-h5cJgMBdTNG4AjH4ceuUIDaqE3cYdSVWsFs_ptfhpq/s1600/IMG_20180721_125118.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR0n_bfqosgD74R7o0x7rSFrlPXyF3jQ_vMvM7-hyHwrLoBqQyp0GSGG1xo3YA1q5KSjCq54go2J2p7feqTwlCbHjBrk6B3tTr2-h5cJgMBdTNG4AjH4ceuUIDaqE3cYdSVWsFs_ptfhpq/s320/IMG_20180721_125118.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGQidyMWPluYUmgWh3y-vqt_lhRVGUAiaHBD9WHjFEvReAzmqdkeGjwiaDm8Z_JNg9yQao6rYfmeMVg5aO55ER94GLaE1J1LfUm5vNj_h9jTPMLIaFNHX173tO4xvmPSmfKzcKJon-LQQA/s1600/IMG_20180721_125310.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="902" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGQidyMWPluYUmgWh3y-vqt_lhRVGUAiaHBD9WHjFEvReAzmqdkeGjwiaDm8Z_JNg9yQao6rYfmeMVg5aO55ER94GLaE1J1LfUm5vNj_h9jTPMLIaFNHX173tO4xvmPSmfKzcKJon-LQQA/s320/IMG_20180721_125310.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://goo.gl/maps/rTxtvgJ1sdn">The Mariinsky Park fountain</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivJ6B8IfFVZvTYUvNNexDdNHNP7T223bpOpidmEPPQX4aaTLFz-M1lTxAgAIyUkOUtom401BlsHu0zLbQQaOenAzwT_HaP_m9brP_YyTVOm34j0Ff9KJ8aiAo4jjDdholZwtnJ3BZS0Cqy/s1600/IMG_20180721_131429.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivJ6B8IfFVZvTYUvNNexDdNHNP7T223bpOpidmEPPQX4aaTLFz-M1lTxAgAIyUkOUtom401BlsHu0zLbQQaOenAzwT_HaP_m9brP_YyTVOm34j0Ff9KJ8aiAo4jjDdholZwtnJ3BZS0Cqy/s320/IMG_20180721_131429.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Mariinsky Palace</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-FzEPARHIokXKTQWYRhfvkG3IsHTVYzTjc0laBORt31cGmatolJguXEFwGe9w_Nn6aJnY_BtWHBs9jW9gmOr32VQgwz9xx8GRt4fX6MSx1EjNZRwQwwzzh_LOV9Wi79iQtd71tCi2G3ru/s1600/IMG_20180721_132633.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-FzEPARHIokXKTQWYRhfvkG3IsHTVYzTjc0laBORt31cGmatolJguXEFwGe9w_Nn6aJnY_BtWHBs9jW9gmOr32VQgwz9xx8GRt4fX6MSx1EjNZRwQwwzzh_LOV9Wi79iQtd71tCi2G3ru/s320/IMG_20180721_132633.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm47BwOBRNCTzkI9pW7L22OhdCrh06pLFSDawHqd5IS7YTEeHMxIE5bHoQi3CBYL8oYzlop8L7ujUc4a4RnIknxX5WJeRHlRqHJQ0KFFNS1iPfONDa2sOUrVj3ZO4Hhki1YPeRLeFfCIBv/s1600/IMG_20180721_134256.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm47BwOBRNCTzkI9pW7L22OhdCrh06pLFSDawHqd5IS7YTEeHMxIE5bHoQi3CBYL8oYzlop8L7ujUc4a4RnIknxX5WJeRHlRqHJQ0KFFNS1iPfONDa2sOUrVj3ZO4Hhki1YPeRLeFfCIBv/s320/IMG_20180721_134256.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh90lfM_qjWD_J0UTMvhUAwyXAQdS5DPp89YannRnlNbUKwEkRmHJsJyYGfOwMu-1Gz0FfpIRnkrlqgkXT9xVEEiq65BLLApB3N0Amr3gx98rxU_gsVwoc3bKNra6T7KFW740jleacnOnwb/s1600/IMG_20180721_140219.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh90lfM_qjWD_J0UTMvhUAwyXAQdS5DPp89YannRnlNbUKwEkRmHJsJyYGfOwMu-1Gz0FfpIRnkrlqgkXT9xVEEiq65BLLApB3N0Amr3gx98rxU_gsVwoc3bKNra6T7KFW740jleacnOnwb/s320/IMG_20180721_140219.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJDjmmOKQ-qnJ4c0NkE3vaD1K1DceDe7XnNIZG-rU-kUUJYlt-ZXSziGG6-sbvk4TPQ8ppjjCgjrhkJzEA0SzTwA4sR3HM2LpIwPqlZkh3AD7qknZCresXwgu0FUQtAM5TmWESpCP_u5u2/s1600/IMG_20180721_144614.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJDjmmOKQ-qnJ4c0NkE3vaD1K1DceDe7XnNIZG-rU-kUUJYlt-ZXSziGG6-sbvk4TPQ8ppjjCgjrhkJzEA0SzTwA4sR3HM2LpIwPqlZkh3AD7qknZCresXwgu0FUQtAM5TmWESpCP_u5u2/s320/IMG_20180721_144614.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYfdoouHk_96nCqm5vSYy1my4W7gha7IcJJ7d5FEN01Vgbw3hG1rkCGnJ5Hz0S69uRSQhYhpYoSu_k-09lKDVw1nc2dQMO7y0zQp_6ts9zZaE5XX9gIKdmQQIsz6Kux1trAkelV0J0j6Bf/s1600/IMG_20180721_150926.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYfdoouHk_96nCqm5vSYy1my4W7gha7IcJJ7d5FEN01Vgbw3hG1rkCGnJ5Hz0S69uRSQhYhpYoSu_k-09lKDVw1nc2dQMO7y0zQp_6ts9zZaE5XX9gIKdmQQIsz6Kux1trAkelV0J0j6Bf/s320/IMG_20180721_150926.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIHIaZNe2rsgVp7oMxg1GhsCKK2wGI8lG131SQ27xJU5GCCED6fZnkFNR6WfNOaHWv8D3Nq1aGnpLhf2idmcAElTZx4byZWATzlKU7K5t8iWbI8lb1aio07P-SzK3oRxPoLAJ4Yv1a-fIn/s1600/IMG_20180721_155216.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIHIaZNe2rsgVp7oMxg1GhsCKK2wGI8lG131SQ27xJU5GCCED6fZnkFNR6WfNOaHWv8D3Nq1aGnpLhf2idmcAElTZx4byZWATzlKU7K5t8iWbI8lb1aio07P-SzK3oRxPoLAJ4Yv1a-fIn/s320/IMG_20180721_155216.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The real-deal Chicken Kiev at a restaurant called Chicken Kiev.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFjNCNWmRZS5AWzsGq9cyRaYz22YsApBoWCtERCZNlws1Wf2GKXsTzHv1ZcE31fjmxGroOe3W5qWDfiFRCzj9I07eMQJInncCk_fsk_Z1OaER4sWPJEvah7DspKA62W0FZkNjDI6xl_F_s/s1600/IMG_20180721_180215.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFjNCNWmRZS5AWzsGq9cyRaYz22YsApBoWCtERCZNlws1Wf2GKXsTzHv1ZcE31fjmxGroOe3W5qWDfiFRCzj9I07eMQJInncCk_fsk_Z1OaER4sWPJEvah7DspKA62W0FZkNjDI6xl_F_s/s320/IMG_20180721_180215.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Aijalon is famous!</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRLI4jYAr2XafKy_Dx_9ICv_00Zu6Ns-6WNZeUvxHyzENR3_t3b9IzM4_DItKaejoJ8bVNvHrjQGkSKhQ-PLQWzVl8tnaxIvKxxqifyiOaCD_za11_NccV6SmcDo-HRCqHtUJbSDo99nTV/s1600/IMG_20180721_190751.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRLI4jYAr2XafKy_Dx_9ICv_00Zu6Ns-6WNZeUvxHyzENR3_t3b9IzM4_DItKaejoJ8bVNvHrjQGkSKhQ-PLQWzVl8tnaxIvKxxqifyiOaCD_za11_NccV6SmcDo-HRCqHtUJbSDo99nTV/s320/IMG_20180721_190751.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoWdl8LbzNXsdefSZGtnRe6wcvDrAhSENK0wsN2YUGFFrHXgxEeFuRdVb892JW-R-Z6_Fqedtrb7mfhsfjCf_Jdc-QvgMk7B7JAxPU21dhsWV7IeNjVEAbX6wfPdATRtSA4qM_xdDr4Mkm/s1600/IMG_20180721_184841.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoWdl8LbzNXsdefSZGtnRe6wcvDrAhSENK0wsN2YUGFFrHXgxEeFuRdVb892JW-R-Z6_Fqedtrb7mfhsfjCf_Jdc-QvgMk7B7JAxPU21dhsWV7IeNjVEAbX6wfPdATRtSA4qM_xdDr4Mkm/s320/IMG_20180721_184841.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15903876030434454162noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5294746822892172077.post-42633459776255267202018-07-20T16:17:00.002-04:002018-07-20T16:17:31.353-04:00Ramblin' Man<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4VC0a1dRuSEjce0Up42QEliZbiSwR2CSDCbbkQY9mDxpvg6YYknbhGyPZV4F3z3PgLbgtvM9ZOsddioWNjiU-CTh5mFfYE083vNWkTGGuDkSEL2Zo2YRmTH_5AKmfsSfdHT4iYgZmGN8Q/s1600/IMG_20180719_181654.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4VC0a1dRuSEjce0Up42QEliZbiSwR2CSDCbbkQY9mDxpvg6YYknbhGyPZV4F3z3PgLbgtvM9ZOsddioWNjiU-CTh5mFfYE083vNWkTGGuDkSEL2Zo2YRmTH_5AKmfsSfdHT4iYgZmGN8Q/s320/IMG_20180719_181654.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>L-R: Austin, Brian, Joan, Rich, Guilio, Kristen, Bryson, Jesse.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Yes folks, it's that time of year again. The time that I and my friends travel to the land of borsch and bobushkas for a frenetic week of English-teaching, friendship-making, culture-sharing camp in Ukraine! And yes I'll be a bit rambly (talking) while I ramble on (fly). <br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a> We've got a good team this year. Nine people total are flying across the pond for the English camp. One more than the last, actually. And all but one have been there before. Rich and Joan are the well-experienced leaders. Austin and Bryson are veterans of X-way Sandcastles last year. Jesse and Phil traveled to Ukraine for their first time in 2016. Kristen actually lived there with her husband for several years doing a similar ministry to what I was involved in. Of course, yours truly, your humble narrator, has been there many times. And the newbie of our group is Guilio. <br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmsK0CIQ1W74p0vUbx4ccWWfOUXTBfa-lwlP_cPW2PnDLZXJ562b_xhnM0Gmfo_ivryZAeaYnAUnXA6_obfIS9M5AHDrB2VxhGuEw_R6Rd554PILX1988E-rOyJHNr23POatMJxXNsL0lv/s1600/IMG_20180719_221049.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmsK0CIQ1W74p0vUbx4ccWWfOUXTBfa-lwlP_cPW2PnDLZXJ562b_xhnM0Gmfo_ivryZAeaYnAUnXA6_obfIS9M5AHDrB2VxhGuEw_R6Rd554PILX1988E-rOyJHNr23POatMJxXNsL0lv/s320/IMG_20180719_221049.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Having a last meal and game before leaving home soil.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The team gathered together (mostly) for the first time on Thursday the 19th to drive up to JFK International Airport. All but one of us are actually flying out together. Phil will meet us in Kiev on Saturday.<br />
We made it through check-in without any problems. But it seems like the TSA is intent on making air travel as unpleasant as possible. They changed the rules about the inspection procedures since I last took to the air. I had to take my snacks out of my bag and put my shoes on the belt by themselves instead of in a bin. They can't make this easy can they?<br />
The plane didn't actually leave until about 1:30AM Eastern. That put us in about an hour later that we planned. Fortunately it's all been working out alright. Our ride was right on time with a traditional Ukrainian greeting (salt and bread) and a familiar looking van and driver. For the past 5 years, it seems like we've been getting the same driver and van every time the Ukrainian team comes to pick us up. I may be mistaken but they look very familiar. <br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX176kYziJw0OMLfiLr5O4QCfTaKRSMpIZGBjrKeObCmiJCz0FcDmv5KBqse9l17NkDraCF-ZOGKRyahXBYtaPmtVRiSro-uT39t2Bn9njyhfVnukWMGXULvcCjuYVVcVslzY5pGJ0m20b/s1600/IMG_20180721_205507.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX176kYziJw0OMLfiLr5O4QCfTaKRSMpIZGBjrKeObCmiJCz0FcDmv5KBqse9l17NkDraCF-ZOGKRyahXBYtaPmtVRiSro-uT39t2Bn9njyhfVnukWMGXULvcCjuYVVcVslzY5pGJ0m20b/s320/IMG_20180721_205507.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>First supper with some of the Ukrainian staff.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
After a quick check-in and drop-off of our baggage, we set off for dinner. The team had made reservations at a Georgian restaurant in the Sviatoshin district, not far from the church office. If you're ever in the area, I highly recommend the chicken kebabs. That along with a cream soda made for a filling and great meal.<br />
I'm finally back in my room (shared with Austin) now to finish this up and get some much-needed sleep. But first a few things about camp.<br />
We have a couple of goals for this camp. Along with the English lessons, we want to use this as a time to build relationships with the students. The Ukrainian staff will use these relationships as a stepping stone to presenting the Gospel. Seeing us and the Ukrainian staff as normal people goes a long way towards dispelling myths about the Protestant church in Ukraine. We also want to be open to share the Gospel whenever we have the chance. Students will be asking us all sorts of questions of us including why we are there. Questions like that are a perfect segue into important spiritual discussions.<br />
As we go into the final weekend before camp, would you keep a couple of things in prayer? We'll all need endurance as the week progresses. Also, we all need to be ready, willing, and open to talking with the students whenever the opportunity arises. It'll be a hectic week. But taking even a few moments to talk could have eternal ramifications. Lastly, please pray for the students who will be attending the camp. For their openness and interest in what Zhenya will have to say during the "Way Home" lectures.<br />
Ok, time for me to sign off and get some rest. Tomorrow is a sightseeing day and we'll be putting on many miles (or kilometers) before the day is done.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15903876030434454162noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5294746822892172077.post-30219950816428145522017-08-07T17:49:00.000-04:002017-08-07T17:49:03.452-04:00Do You Feel Like We Do?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhusjaHihAxpjGuYGUJPl8EH435B-BMYCarPgc-BMZMcYrx7fDcBE5ktjtXQOvbwzkpYYDiFuWTp2FqcUtrEzLwlWqydF9Sa_8EYnU48BViaVIW3jasjOy3W-NLEKGedGEyJCZOV0WEAHEN/s1600/20170729_110105.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhusjaHihAxpjGuYGUJPl8EH435B-BMYCarPgc-BMZMcYrx7fDcBE5ktjtXQOvbwzkpYYDiFuWTp2FqcUtrEzLwlWqydF9Sa_8EYnU48BViaVIW3jasjOy3W-NLEKGedGEyJCZOV0WEAHEN/s320/20170729_110105.jpg" width="320" /></a> Do you feel like we do? Probably not. Reading about the trip on the blog is miles away from actually being there. Although several people have commented to me since our return that reading the blog was helpful in getting an idea of what it was like and what we were feeling. I'd agree with that. But for a true picture, you really need to come with us next time.<br />
So what's this post planned for since I'm back and not likely to return to Ukraine for a little while? Mostly, it's to collate my thoughts about this year's camp into a somewhat coherent stream of ideas and feelings. Because it's not like you can open up my head and see what I'm thinking. Stop it. Put that hacksaw away. Don't even bother trying. You might not like it if you did. Kids have visions of sugar plums dancing in their heads. Mine's full of Jeeps, mountain biking, and all sorts of other crazy things.<br />
<a name='more'></a> Alternatively, I considered titling this post "<a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwi9nPan5sPVAhUH4oMKHbiHBFsQyCkIKzAA&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DhkrF8uC92O4&usg=AFQjCNE8vk_Pe7-1XS94PyDxjSiA5j4mhA">Calm After the Storm</a>" in reference to The Common Linnets' song. However, I'd say we were all thrown into a different kind of storm upon our arrival home. Austin started a new job Tuesday of last week. David and Emmanuel Church are going into a jam-packed VBS week. Each of us has life here to work through. Calm after the storm? It's an attractive notion though not quite accurate. <br />
Anyways, I've been home for about a week and it's time to finally put my thoughts about the trip into words. Since I don't really have an outline for this, I'll try a self-interview Q&A session.<br />
<b><i>First off, what are your overall impressions of the camp?</i></b><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7A-0UxTfP49kTILEHhElJmuIavXmLYygbICdbSH1fUlUNvjPO8ENVQB5b-kbrgkjNjLOQB1c6kRi5Qbr7lNjqIoXqlWYRIlfV1fxiHWgrhfAsDLHFiPQmXeDQUcwq4fGJ6KeHntBVcrjQ/s1600/20170729_110153.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7A-0UxTfP49kTILEHhElJmuIavXmLYygbICdbSH1fUlUNvjPO8ENVQB5b-kbrgkjNjLOQB1c6kRi5Qbr7lNjqIoXqlWYRIlfV1fxiHWgrhfAsDLHFiPQmXeDQUcwq4fGJ6KeHntBVcrjQ/s320/20170729_110153.jpg" width="320" /></a> I was very impressed with how the Ukrainian staff handled themselves and the challenges of camp. It's not an easy thing planning for five and a half days of activities, lectures, logistics and a hundred other things I can't think of right now. They had nearly everything worked out for us before we even arrived. We only needed to buy the tickets and prepare the lessons. Well, not <i>only</i> that. But by comparison, our part in planning for the actual camp didn't feel so involved. The staff of camp this year all did an excellent job; everyone from the camp leader Zhenya on down to Dennis who kept us going with fresh coffee and tea.<br />
The Ukrainian staff has been working tirelessly for months to prepare for camp. Like us, many of them took time off of work to be there. They also handled themselves very professionally. And they even found the best location I've ever seen for a summer English camp. Humble brag warning: I've been to more than a few English camps. This location, the Hotel Complex Zazimie, was the most comfortable and exceptional of all the locations I've visited for camps. I would gladly return there for camp next year. <br />
<b><i>Was it really as difficult as you made it sound in your posts?</i></b><br />
That's a tough question but one worth answering. I alluded to this in my <a href="http://brianandukraine.blogspot.com/2017/08/riders-on-storm.html">last post</a> where I talked about some perceived negativity in my writing. I prefer to think of what I wrote over the course of the week as accurate, not negative. In any case, the answer is yes and no. <i>Yeah, really helpful Brian. </i>No, I mean it. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrjy4ScgGksCUPf1Q-ZZqTIU9yde1c27ARwHpbmvh7T0zyFlX3Biji0QstAffYopa47Bq8l2E5sitOd8D2pTN2Cn1FrMxLOUT4SnLwAtK_YZupaYDygR4gSGL7sDGNqCa-gSvoazS-NhoK/s1600/20170729_111129.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrjy4ScgGksCUPf1Q-ZZqTIU9yde1c27ARwHpbmvh7T0zyFlX3Biji0QstAffYopa47Bq8l2E5sitOd8D2pTN2Cn1FrMxLOUT4SnLwAtK_YZupaYDygR4gSGL7sDGNqCa-gSvoazS-NhoK/s320/20170729_111129.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Some things were difficult, yes. For me, physically, I was playing with quite a few cards missing from the deck. Health and endurance weren't on my side during the week. Those are personal failings that I need to work on for next year. If you'd have asked me about the difficulty on my first trip, I'd have given you a very different answer. My experience in 2014 was very different from this year. So much so that it'd be unfair to look at only this year and make a determination from it. Much like life, there is good and bad. You have to ask yourself if you are willing to put up with the bad, difficult portions of camp in order to live through the soaring, elating good that an experience like this offers.<br />
At the same time, no, it wasn't as difficult as it sounds. As the week progresses, you will get used to it. You will overcome challenges, not by your strength but by the support of God and your fellow Believers. Distraction, too, is a way that you get through camp. Most of the time, you're having too much fun to realize how tired you are. It's only in the quiet moments and at the end that the weight of the week's activities is apparent. But even then, I'd say it's worth it.<br />
While I'm writing all this about the trials and triumphs of camp, I want the people who are reading to get an accurate idea of what all is involved in camp. Sure, some of it is uncomfortable. But if we only did comfortable things, the world would be a much more boring place. It's better that someone who is considering going with us gets an accurate picture of the week rather than being dumped into a maelstrom with nary a map or compass. I want them to expect the unexpected and be pleasantly surprised when they discover there is more to camp than difficulties. <br />
<i><b>What went right this year? </b></i><br />
That's a long list. For me, the English lessons went very well. It took a day or so to reach my stride in teaching. But I got there and my group had a lot of fun together. By the end of the week, all of them were expressing ideas and opinions clearly in English. Even if the vocabulary I taught them doesn't stick, I think the confidence they gained will be with them for a long time.<br />
I was also glad to introduce five new people to Ukraine. Or at least be a part of that introduction. Aijalon, David, Megan, Gretchen and Brandon had all, to one extent or another, been outside the US. But none had been to Ukraine before. I believe each of them will remember this trip for the rest of their lives. I could see it in their eyes during the week that, likewise with me, it wasn't easy for them. However, in that discomfort, I think they were able to find their place for service. Everyone was a valuable member of the team. I was glad to have all of them along, newbies and veterans alike.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUoYGdK-rLM-nSv3Oc2IKZT_S24KukzUuqlrHHMW8cbQJAj0j7tVrILTUTmnfi27kI8S4Sp21ACFf6lK0AuVJzofy1WpgPfvjNXwoX4sduANNkAEMSxHfaDIfOubfMt-uZdrkkE6LRa4mG/s1600/20170729_110209.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUoYGdK-rLM-nSv3Oc2IKZT_S24KukzUuqlrHHMW8cbQJAj0j7tVrILTUTmnfi27kI8S4Sp21ACFf6lK0AuVJzofy1WpgPfvjNXwoX4sduANNkAEMSxHfaDIfOubfMt-uZdrkkE6LRa4mG/s320/20170729_110209.jpg" width="320" /></a> The biggest impression I had from the trip (and IMHO the best thing) was how quickly the Ukrainian and American teams bonded. I already knew most of the people on staff this year. But with 5/8 of the team coming into this not knowing anyone, it was amazing to see how quickly they became friends. Even on the bus ride into Kiev from the airport, it was readily apparent that our two teams would work well together. This also extended to the students as well. We had a few boyfriend/girlfriend pairs in camp. Though, for the most part, no one knew anyone else. Even by the middle of the week, it seemed as if most of them had known each other for years. <br />
<i><b>What would you do differently next year personally and preparation-wise?</b></i><br />
Personally, I would try to stay healthy. Tank up on Vitamin C and avoid getting sick as best as I can the entire week before the flight out. I'd also study up on my Russian skills so I can keep up better while the students and staff are talking. I'd like to be able to follow conversations better without relying on context. <br />
For preparation, I would start with my lessons a lot sooner. This year, I was finishing up my lessons in the skies over the Atlantic Ocean and Poland. It's awfully hard to do that in a crowded plane. I did discover that I can type reasonably well one-handed but it's not fun. I also need to have more thoughtful questions prepared on each lesson. I tried to emulate the lessons David Pervis prepared for the English club while I was there. It worked for me this time but I still have to put more effort into it.<br />
<i><b>Why do you keep going back year after year?</b></i><br />
Because it's so darn fun. Well, that and about a hundred other reasons. I'm certainly not doing it for my health. The real answer is that I believe in the programs that Big City and Liberty churches lead. I believe it's a valuable and successful mode of evangelism in Kiev. These are programs that have born fruit in the past and I believe it will continue to do so for many years. The other parts about seeing friends, sightseeing, the food, adventures and all the rest are just icing on an already towering cake that you can have and and completely devour too.<br />
<b><i>Are you planning on going back next year? If so, will you continue blogging about it?</i></b><br />
I've already been asked several times if I'm going back. Like in 2016 when I came home from a thirteen-month stint in Ukraine, my answer was and is "yes, I just don't know how or when." It'll likely be for camp again next year. My work schedule, once the school orders for fruit come in, won't really permit longer trips during the school year. But if the camp falls around the same time next year, you will likely see my smiling mug in pictures from a 2018 English and cultural exchange camp. In any case, keep an eye out for updates here on the blog. If/when I decide to go again, I'll definitely make an announcement here. And I'll definitely do my best to write about it daily while on the ground in Ukraine.<br />
I guess this is the last of my writing here for a little while. This was absolutely a fun and worthwhile camp. I'm glad I was able to be a part of it. <br />
So, are you ready to feel like we do? Do you want to experience what we did during the last week of July, 2017? Come find me one Sunday after church and we'll talk about it. I'd be glad to introduce you to Ukraine and my friends there. It may not be an easy journey. However, it absolutely is a worthwhile one.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2yeFScM5r6RPLsJ4BJjBhjlsH5ykBY2H3HO2y-tDz7JyM42fwUeijKvpo_X_Jm8I0uaeiyhyWaoDyOGq1aWyjq5xjws4FP9h-UZVWXWnibkcjkWJARzqaiEeqHilWv4MIIx6yfpl-obMw/s1600/20170729_110601.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2yeFScM5r6RPLsJ4BJjBhjlsH5ykBY2H3HO2y-tDz7JyM42fwUeijKvpo_X_Jm8I0uaeiyhyWaoDyOGq1aWyjq5xjws4FP9h-UZVWXWnibkcjkWJARzqaiEeqHilWv4MIIx6yfpl-obMw/s320/20170729_110601.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15903876030434454162noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5294746822892172077.post-73938090239725597242017-08-01T10:30:00.000-04:002017-08-06T19:36:57.204-04:00Riders On the Storm<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsY0BHL_BTkkdj65ysJY4BUS0aBc5DyNXv0DWRC-ljwxnCgM4abii304i2RwsHtzj-WDSUBJW0QyyjJcxuUHIMN6O_au6wb9RT-F9v37PpKt0V33uOnha3k5ka2WBfp1Tt2-nJzC6zXxZm/s1600/20170729_143327.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsY0BHL_BTkkdj65ysJY4BUS0aBc5DyNXv0DWRC-ljwxnCgM4abii304i2RwsHtzj-WDSUBJW0QyyjJcxuUHIMN6O_au6wb9RT-F9v37PpKt0V33uOnha3k5ka2WBfp1Tt2-nJzC6zXxZm/s320/20170729_143327.jpg" width="320" /></a> Thus Saturday ended camp. With rain, photos, hugs and goodbyes. It's been a long few days. As usual, it will be some time before we are all able to completely process our thoughts about the camp. I've been doing it along the way through this blog. But there's is still much more to think about. I've already been asked if I'll be coming back next year. I also need to think about my effectiveness as a team leader. But as it is, I think I can offer some preliminary ideas. And since it's the weekend now, I'm going to include Sunday into this post as well. Both were long, busy days. I guess I'll throw a little Monday into the mix as well....considering this is Tuesday and I'm typing in my kitchen at home. There are a lot of photos here so you might want a cup of coffee or tea as you read and peruse this post<br />
<a name='more'></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEV9UcklWqxXysxXAeYHqEekVJMRlfeTMfZKQDNohGlUmaFmyK6E_DFhkP84z_9ifBYajalLzF1tZxBxshE6P_CKO25Jr9CD5IWz2cpl7YVAuljV1N7sMJY6Lpvpjg2ir7S0U1BwFYKCsF/s1600/20170727_134113.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEV9UcklWqxXysxXAeYHqEekVJMRlfeTMfZKQDNohGlUmaFmyK6E_DFhkP84z_9ifBYajalLzF1tZxBxshE6P_CKO25Jr9CD5IWz2cpl7YVAuljV1N7sMJY6Lpvpjg2ir7S0U1BwFYKCsF/s320/20170727_134113.jpg" width="320" /></a> We all woke on Saturday later than normal. Thanks to a high-energy week, most of us were a little late for breakfast. We had our final team time after breakfast to find out who our Secret Friend from then past few days had been. The Secret Friend game was an assignment given on Thursday to help bring the team together. The motto was "Friendship isn't a big thing, its a million little things." <br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp95Ze2WgyNf9Lc-pHjfp9IZKp5q-2UGaEOV4lG3ydrzRq0iWCTGeQgNQaq61fhaolOx8L0Ni7l23SZI7N3qNbLuIf4QB3Zu3dQUvHYNz6vyJYmBUy2YneiliRGYIDZzYOc3tvjU_jNr7d/s1600/20170728_155723.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp95Ze2WgyNf9Lc-pHjfp9IZKp5q-2UGaEOV4lG3ydrzRq0iWCTGeQgNQaq61fhaolOx8L0Ni7l23SZI7N3qNbLuIf4QB3Zu3dQUvHYNz6vyJYmBUy2YneiliRGYIDZzYOc3tvjU_jNr7d/s320/20170728_155723.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Just a few of the gifts from my Secret Friend.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
We needed to do nice things for our assigned friend (given out at random). Give candy, make a mini quest, make a list of our plans for the future. Basically do a bunch of nice, little things. I've got to admit, I was a bad Secret Friend. I only did three things for my friend. By comparison, the person who had my name gave me candy, made two cups of mint tea, wrote a poem and two notes, and even two paper airplanes. I found out Saturday that my Secret Friend was Nastia, our team translator.<br />
For the remaining hours of the camp, the word that best describes it was photo-centric. We looked at a photo gallery taken by the camp photographer. Inna, who was in my English class, is an excellent photographer. She was able to capture hundreds of great moments from camp. And following her photo session of all the staff and campers, we made our way to the bus.<br />
The rain came down aplenty. The photos were legion. The goodbyes endless. And we almost left Brandon. He'd slipped back inside for the restroom and we started pulling out as he came running out. Someone shouted that "we forgot our American," bringing the bus to a sharp halt. Once we were on our way, the trip was relatively smooth. <br />
As an interesting aside, during my time here last year, I was able to visit a Ukrainian wedding. On the ride back to Kiev, we got to see an Orthodox funeral. Or at least the procession to the cemetery. The family and priest walked out in front with flowers and a sign. A flatbed truck followed along behind with the casket, open and displaying the deceased. Behind the truck was a long line of cars either from the funeral or stuck behind the lengthy procession. It was interesting to see it as I had never been exposed to this part of Ukrainian culture before.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaxRUt9oLdII2dhTt8WcvkVAEvks1RN3QJ0p4jSecRr9HpLd-6imrghW7yUlJJ8PQeerZyfWYLA_ymWLBGfVhna0q2BmupxwwdBYjTzAV516n28GQX5z3Jp0Q-tD7C7wvZRzjwukMjQyHg/s1600/20170729_161249.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaxRUt9oLdII2dhTt8WcvkVAEvks1RN3QJ0p4jSecRr9HpLd-6imrghW7yUlJJ8PQeerZyfWYLA_ymWLBGfVhna0q2BmupxwwdBYjTzAV516n28GQX5z3Jp0Q-tD7C7wvZRzjwukMjQyHg/s320/20170729_161249.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Chicken ravioli with spinach, tomatoes, and red sauce.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
We made it back to Kiev with no trouble. After disembarking the bus at the office, we made some final goodbyes, and then loaded into our taxis. It was supposed to be a relaxing afternoon, which we did do to some extent. But it didn't last for long. The team needed dinner. Unfortunately the place we chose was about the same distance walk as Puzata Hata from our hotel and it wasn't the fastest to be cooked. But what we did receive was excellent. <br />
Following dinner, we had to make the trip back to the office for a team debrief. Along with some interesting pizza from Dominos, it was a good time to go over some of our preliminary thoughts. While we didn't all have complete ideas, the general feeling about the camp was positive. In the coming days, we'll be able to process all our thoughts and write them down so that the staff can be able to improve the camp next year. The positive ideas tend to stick around for a while. But the
negatives and needs-addressing should be talked about as soon after as
possible. Towards the end, it was brought to my attention by Pastor Max
that my posts were too negative. And I guess so some extent they were. I
prefer to think of it as honest. <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9NABhwjDezimTIXP7IS3b25HLkT1nWNcfF0aF6icB44Dch_jie_gMuUdFzeVYrUJUzQSa8DRhgrLobduiP8UpwC3wCs7K5erf6usy-GrIssjY3-1a0aqtQTjv3tdLuG8ansqBMxnIhNN-/s1600/20170729_190228.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9NABhwjDezimTIXP7IS3b25HLkT1nWNcfF0aF6icB44Dch_jie_gMuUdFzeVYrUJUzQSa8DRhgrLobduiP8UpwC3wCs7K5erf6usy-GrIssjY3-1a0aqtQTjv3tdLuG8ansqBMxnIhNN-/s320/20170729_190228.jpg" width="320" /></a> You may have noticed
during the week that things weren't completely positive for every aspect
of camp, specifically my health. I want to add a <i>caveat emptor</i>
that what I experienced is not the normal way of camp. (Let the excuses
now fly) I was under a lot more stress than normal while I was preparing
for camp. I was buying tickets, organizing meetings, planning lessons,
dealing with life stuff. On top of that, some years are better, some not
so much.<br />
Even for the well prepared, not everything about
camp is rainbows and unicorns. There's the time change and jet lag to
get used to. There is sometimes strange food and new surroundings to
explore. And on top of that, you need to teach five classes and be an
integral part of the camp staff.<br />
That's not to say
everything is bad either. This, at the very least, is a life-changing
experience. You will be immersed in a new, exciting culture. You might
make new friends that you will have for the rest of your life. You will
have an impact on the lives of up to thirty students who are, in one way
or another trying to improve their lives. Along the way, you'll be
challenged, encouraged, stretched, inspired, uplifted, and supported.<br />
If you've been reading along with this blog, wondering if you should
consider going with us next year, you should. But don't do it for your health or for a
vacation. Do it to help improve the lives of others and to help raise up
the next generation of Ukrainian Christians.<br />
We finally all got back to our hotel around 10PM. But with my overactive mind, I didn't actually sleep until after midnight. I should have gotten to bed sooner because in what felt like no time, the sun was streaming through my window and keeping me from sleeping well past 7:30.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsp9b4VDUZ_nHTnawrMV0K7J7IxYqEd-mRF507h3HnLIvsBqIhnFU6X0YNDU5H_sL074DCoxRe19PiZGZdexunZmYSgMUT_QK2fs1zREQkosn9laH1OSZEA3g9dnB_99BmetPAVOQsB6yQ/s1600/20170730_111501.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsp9b4VDUZ_nHTnawrMV0K7J7IxYqEd-mRF507h3HnLIvsBqIhnFU6X0YNDU5H_sL074DCoxRe19PiZGZdexunZmYSgMUT_QK2fs1zREQkosn9laH1OSZEA3g9dnB_99BmetPAVOQsB6yQ/s320/20170730_111501.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
After another good breakfast at Puzata Hata (and a forgotten bottle of water by me), we got in our taxis and made it to church over an hour early. Around 11AM, things started getting really fun with reunions of friends we'd met in years past. Three of the people from the Manchester team last year, Rachel, Rachel, and Andrew returned for this year's Liberty Camp Pt 2. Jerry Rahm returned as well and delivered the sermon as well. It was great to see old friends again, both former campers who are now staff as well as Big City church members who I haven't seen so far on this trip. I wish we had more time to spend with them. Perhaps next year we'll come a day earlier or leave a day later. Something so we have some extra time to spend with friends.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_6U3vvYxKsxvvsIrCAGHYYBSb1PSaJktcV8HjoS7F29TDDBpaWFSyl35k8XIR-FNL7fQt1ObvwhErAJ5Xf8NTTtVNr37Ok7fM7IPPapv23uQ5gpqJ6SnmEijUj81tCfdw2G-9moQqY3Dq/s1600/20170730_111832.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_6U3vvYxKsxvvsIrCAGHYYBSb1PSaJktcV8HjoS7F29TDDBpaWFSyl35k8XIR-FNL7fQt1ObvwhErAJ5Xf8NTTtVNr37Ok7fM7IPPapv23uQ5gpqJ6SnmEijUj81tCfdw2G-9moQqY3Dq/s320/20170730_111832.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQRN8rBIzhY4YN4suCnvFSMU0lI0-ne5-Hb08T47pEpF9_qgx-y6eBy75aCuswZyzE1_xW-5HUksIvLYjTIzt1t18epF9giew_0EG-lnWnvkkuRFSr5F6lpaUPJZScrZoLk-2IDEgPCVxN/s1600/20170730_122210.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQRN8rBIzhY4YN4suCnvFSMU0lI0-ne5-Hb08T47pEpF9_qgx-y6eBy75aCuswZyzE1_xW-5HUksIvLYjTIzt1t18epF9giew_0EG-lnWnvkkuRFSr5F6lpaUPJZScrZoLk-2IDEgPCVxN/s320/20170730_122210.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Unfortunately, time flies to quickly when you're having fun. We departed church about 30 minutes after it ended to meet some of the students from camp for lunch and sightseeing. Well, I thought it would be some. It turned out that all of red team and 80% or so of the other students were there to hang out with us one last day. When I went to bed the night before, I said to Brandon it would be a good day tomorrow. I was wrong. It was a great day.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyFGRw-8kl1XdRRt3KtXZqDrWF0ZZl9ldvCJwD9UMEs7M84G-0drfQ5GYsiqhuO6Peo2EAzN9md_9WGmvZzpplniRWDv_vuFa0z5kMw3Vf96hq76Dw4CIhkZ1FHmOucQ_sqX8FjlUZEZOL/s1600/20170730_141652.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyFGRw-8kl1XdRRt3KtXZqDrWF0ZZl9ldvCJwD9UMEs7M84G-0drfQ5GYsiqhuO6Peo2EAzN9md_9WGmvZzpplniRWDv_vuFa0z5kMw3Vf96hq76Dw4CIhkZ1FHmOucQ_sqX8FjlUZEZOL/s320/20170730_141652.jpg" width="320" /></a> For lunch, we stopped off in the middle of Kiev at a mall not far from Maidan. I had some kind of Asian-style dish from a place called Noodle Doodle. I highly recommend it if you're ever in the area. Noodles, with beef, veggies and a slightly spicy pepper sauce. It was a little expensive but, in this case, worth the cost. Interestingly, it's one of the first restaurants in Kiev to offer free refills on drinks. Sasha, my team leader, said it was the first time in his life that he has <u>ever</u> had a free refill. Growing up in the States, I've had that since I was a kid. It's interesting the things you learn when you travel outside your comfort zone. The other Americans ate at a place that does salads and one had McDonald's. The consensus was out though on whether American or Ukrainian fries at McDonald's were better.<br />
After lunch, I got to do something I had never done before. I climbed to the top (well, as far as we could go) of the bell tower at <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/place/St.+Sophia's+Cathedral/@50.451347,30.5193737,16z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0xc63774cf5da5a434!8m2!3d50.4529094!4d30.5143064">St. Sofia's Cathedral</a>. After I don't know how many times I've been there, I finally got to go. My team leader asked if I wanted to go and with about a second of thought, I said yes. I'm glad I did. It cost 40 grivna and hundreds of narrow, winding stairs to climb up but the view is excellent. Just look at these photos.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOPojH_hriXe8xDwuzeWHgY-SrqL1M8iLnqX9L9a0uJrYK18nJW6oZbhpm1w2JvINSo99s9MSyUoein77DijGIKUzde_G8TpI1bo4wa-_-NbWprghCvPFlFEr7lmy9Kn8-NMA2a9i3RpH6/s1600/20170730_151857.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOPojH_hriXe8xDwuzeWHgY-SrqL1M8iLnqX9L9a0uJrYK18nJW6oZbhpm1w2JvINSo99s9MSyUoein77DijGIKUzde_G8TpI1bo4wa-_-NbWprghCvPFlFEr7lmy9Kn8-NMA2a9i3RpH6/s320/20170730_151857.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>A few students from the camp outside the bell tower. </i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvEib1m7R8OgnqAJx0FEjDI9HGto4KDcKAA0FAGIBzyh_ZV1WBSJ1hzbN-X_BYXsERxCmeF3tS6wpVCS2mm72GUQPT_XdqxwKS8jxUj6IZTKKlHEj_25jKUdhjNaxcysZ7MggMsLHykskO/s1600/20170730_153746.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="481" data-original-width="1600" height="96" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvEib1m7R8OgnqAJx0FEjDI9HGto4KDcKAA0FAGIBzyh_ZV1WBSJ1hzbN-X_BYXsERxCmeF3tS6wpVCS2mm72GUQPT_XdqxwKS8jxUj6IZTKKlHEj_25jKUdhjNaxcysZ7MggMsLHykskO/s320/20170730_153746.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd111wrm-yMJIAGyFFiKjfQNDems_5f-KpErZb80XKICbrpDPk3I3TRMK6mQL04JXyp6A14SNRU6-2EKlLGHAshvopPe8wbyzXU5DUp638bzQk59-SSRiP4QYSrlyKyMZ8cJkaO65lsyvp/s1600/20170730_155006.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd111wrm-yMJIAGyFFiKjfQNDems_5f-KpErZb80XKICbrpDPk3I3TRMK6mQL04JXyp6A14SNRU6-2EKlLGHAshvopPe8wbyzXU5DUp638bzQk59-SSRiP4QYSrlyKyMZ8cJkaO65lsyvp/s320/20170730_155006.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>North towards Padol and Andrew's Descent.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxccaoJOj9wiRgOZ5o3v8TZ4r97ASsKntSvekjkBqJedsRyuNHis_WMnm3gBFx9f25PjjeoyMufnlTujHRDlPXL2EhdmJilDXzqmWda4Mu5oj8sNGEMBM3Hlt3UP162CFmYOR0mm-ruV_Z/s1600/20170730_154930.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxccaoJOj9wiRgOZ5o3v8TZ4r97ASsKntSvekjkBqJedsRyuNHis_WMnm3gBFx9f25PjjeoyMufnlTujHRDlPXL2EhdmJilDXzqmWda4Mu5oj8sNGEMBM3Hlt3UP162CFmYOR0mm-ruV_Z/s320/20170730_154930.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>South-east towards Maidan and the city center.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcaapLok4u7VGffGnYUjWfyjE3EGxuHIRL0h4xroRw2zO3RjWWlpb6ptk-ccRAi_m4C1Snp5yUEBWhWla7IAanO5J67GDyPBmLDQL5rd1MfdAqE0ouS3-GpKK3Xhp2x6BZgZ-6H8e2Gp7r/s1600/20170730_153722.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcaapLok4u7VGffGnYUjWfyjE3EGxuHIRL0h4xroRw2zO3RjWWlpb6ptk-ccRAi_m4C1Snp5yUEBWhWla7IAanO5J67GDyPBmLDQL5rd1MfdAqE0ouS3-GpKK3Xhp2x6BZgZ-6H8e2Gp7r/s320/20170730_153722.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>North-east to St. Michael's Monestery.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgap9ycCsd5eLdKPgDY8eWZSA2pXLFyGVzC-EzfaiFRTouOWZ0nS7E9OKtpnCvCtaJrQOqpegVsivEJrABMpaDvGe_6c7A3PcbvrPKBGfFqIbgYQv1aI9qPMczOEtABOOA6Vvc_EqUz_uhw/s1600/20170730_155223.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgap9ycCsd5eLdKPgDY8eWZSA2pXLFyGVzC-EzfaiFRTouOWZ0nS7E9OKtpnCvCtaJrQOqpegVsivEJrABMpaDvGe_6c7A3PcbvrPKBGfFqIbgYQv1aI9qPMczOEtABOOA6Vvc_EqUz_uhw/s320/20170730_155223.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Natasha climbed a bit of ladder to get this shot of us.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHTipDFuun3EZC2oCFu4qRgR5r0KdSjmBsWfv7gUO_UrOv4clonbtrURNjpxxuVqj0thtBnhW51-Zb9s-ExyO1sjeu9oeemdfA3i1tkpG-dGXktVKPePSn0Nycl_TMQnTWBoJ9iz7i0Som/s1600/20170730_153618.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHTipDFuun3EZC2oCFu4qRgR5r0KdSjmBsWfv7gUO_UrOv4clonbtrURNjpxxuVqj0thtBnhW51-Zb9s-ExyO1sjeu9oeemdfA3i1tkpG-dGXktVKPePSn0Nycl_TMQnTWBoJ9iz7i0Som/s320/20170730_153618.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The cathedral inside the walls.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNBlvz6Hck4PyhSSPB8s7u0nm77zQ1oQ5KJ6EQ_PjKxFyWePV4E4cDN4L7ToX6OwW6l4nCYtRBe3ABsnm72pzPXh8_cgKn4eBGFXsz_NZsQCdm-GobWLy-7tNC0rkyEWf29Jao9LxK_cHs/s1600/20170730_153948.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNBlvz6Hck4PyhSSPB8s7u0nm77zQ1oQ5KJ6EQ_PjKxFyWePV4E4cDN4L7ToX6OwW6l4nCYtRBe3ABsnm72pzPXh8_cgKn4eBGFXsz_NZsQCdm-GobWLy-7tNC0rkyEWf29Jao9LxK_cHs/s320/20170730_153948.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Looking down inside the bell tower.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh2QbdTclpkcIRetTAzYvRx0gIrp8aottQfVURfsm-XzzRwtQhNTsVMs_GJqodEVT6o52025ZkSU6oBXFI9oB26XzYdhsFp6qzkXvT1simwpNdSiUEEJKLCNSiTYqo68cZd5MGO926PyMb/s1600/20170730_155313.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh2QbdTclpkcIRetTAzYvRx0gIrp8aottQfVURfsm-XzzRwtQhNTsVMs_GJqodEVT6o52025ZkSU6oBXFI9oB26XzYdhsFp6qzkXvT1simwpNdSiUEEJKLCNSiTYqo68cZd5MGO926PyMb/s320/20170730_155313.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Just some of the stairs on the climb up.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I didn't buy any souvenirs on this trip besides chocolate. I'm not really interested in them. But it was fun walking with the students and staff from my team. I always learn something new from people when I walk around the city. Like there are more Jeeps in the city than I thought.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFho6Q_GWy8-tm7L-dtUHBm8LwrmcFKgj_loBKsPqcygk3KctHGQw0zI0ybHXmkTLwQIn0-VryT3NCGYmhuUjuMz3Ax3V6HlyxYB7lH9vT8M6bF5srXot3XyNs4X5M-wxDoV6aL1hErwVx/s1600/20170730_164411.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFho6Q_GWy8-tm7L-dtUHBm8LwrmcFKgj_loBKsPqcygk3KctHGQw0zI0ybHXmkTLwQIn0-VryT3NCGYmhuUjuMz3Ax3V6HlyxYB7lH9vT8M6bF5srXot3XyNs4X5M-wxDoV6aL1hErwVx/s320/20170730_164411.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg8z70N5oQfxeocDE2Dp7gQ63ErmYcFt6IoWAmVsxqv3iqhVXPK-lr52YbQTFcp32xeDa-tvWaNQiKuwn3vkPpgLJrBghcG1UpO0I79iNqOQnG8Zmz23BGpHf8SSnzCfXivEF1I5zqiM23/s1600/20170730_164023.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg8z70N5oQfxeocDE2Dp7gQ63ErmYcFt6IoWAmVsxqv3iqhVXPK-lr52YbQTFcp32xeDa-tvWaNQiKuwn3vkPpgLJrBghcG1UpO0I79iNqOQnG8Zmz23BGpHf8SSnzCfXivEF1I5zqiM23/s320/20170730_164023.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBpI9geENrASYwGwQavejuQtM9JQU91QtcadP2uJO9lVlGqxJRrdygkqLYNymPzNAmjrhAwelUcTrrQF1aoZsI3V4tIURbo7Fgnplpvz5T9DFcLn9zsNZxtBQC80Id-i9gcZW6FhemArOc/s1600/20170730_164251.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBpI9geENrASYwGwQavejuQtM9JQU91QtcadP2uJO9lVlGqxJRrdygkqLYNymPzNAmjrhAwelUcTrrQF1aoZsI3V4tIURbo7Fgnplpvz5T9DFcLn9zsNZxtBQC80Id-i9gcZW6FhemArOc/s320/20170730_164251.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf1iVxjStVzy3RtEwZAWjIESbB8NKjYBZhHuoO91KqndRmn0R5v3Q24CQSDrtR7rlbtrH2OaT6nX-YYvMEIZQ-phHDVGDtd4a2g1qdE5zPPi4lXSc2ZGC7-o-0YUCQ5iBMRgzHvpRRmIgM/s1600/20170730_175951.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf1iVxjStVzy3RtEwZAWjIESbB8NKjYBZhHuoO91KqndRmn0R5v3Q24CQSDrtR7rlbtrH2OaT6nX-YYvMEIZQ-phHDVGDtd4a2g1qdE5zPPi4lXSc2ZGC7-o-0YUCQ5iBMRgzHvpRRmIgM/s320/20170730_175951.jpg" width="180" /></a> It took a while for all of us to meet back up again. The teams had split into their different colors (GO GREEN TEAM!). While mine was off doing it's own thing, we stopped at Roshen and bought chocolate, stopped at Lvivska Chocolate and got coffee/hot chocolate, and generally just walked around and talked. Side note, at Lvivska Chocolate, I got the Lviv Hot Chocolate. It had cinnamon, amaretto syrup and a few more things in it and it was <u><i>awesome</i></u>. Highly recommended.<br />
After we met up with the rest of the team, we continued the walk down towards the river and then back up to Puzata Hata. By that time, and thanks to my big lunch, I still wasn't hungry. But most everyone else had a full meal. And in typical fashion, it was a good time of hanging out with friends before a final goodbye. We parted ways with most of them after dinner. The rest of the team still had to go buy chocolate so we walked back to Roshen for another round of buying. I don't know why I hadn't noticed it before but there's an interestingly named place right next to Roshen. Apparently it's a stationary store. Someone loves puns even more than David does.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT0GXPvJRKMtMs8nKCHmjsEGW5ltRBEzSTicRtz_gsNoWJcF-pBKCRoiT8dUWfDgGcZIrIC7bryOzvO-FS-fqod3rLYiLoGYgBtWajP5coudHmccRJXCvmUc8M0hUEG8mXzvrJdyIkuZIT/s1600/20170730_204824.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT0GXPvJRKMtMs8nKCHmjsEGW5ltRBEzSTicRtz_gsNoWJcF-pBKCRoiT8dUWfDgGcZIrIC7bryOzvO-FS-fqod3rLYiLoGYgBtWajP5coudHmccRJXCvmUc8M0hUEG8mXzvrJdyIkuZIT/s320/20170730_204824.jpg" width="320" /> </a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkPM2FtB8A7kCc5PN6Q7wm8qTamr__uZf5rglCisOH0pDa4GEoqzWsxhgcPr3vPoUIRGU-fvDhug6lpybL5va2zUglWvkS-FA7co8P1EK_uXZmYCbbh6-wl3ewfs4JKq4W_O43RSmsWO5y/s1600/20170730_205150.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkPM2FtB8A7kCc5PN6Q7wm8qTamr__uZf5rglCisOH0pDa4GEoqzWsxhgcPr3vPoUIRGU-fvDhug6lpybL5va2zUglWvkS-FA7co8P1EK_uXZmYCbbh6-wl3ewfs4JKq4W_O43RSmsWO5y/s320/20170730_205150.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Anna, me and Natasha</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6EL-9leQ1QLyoFhxtnzH114W6mAo0zR-GBBtk72WJXGMfYCTRYeaalsN_EuGU8I2lb5iRMWLPTzSdgxMMVYLZH7ERo2A_ca7RARxTAn9Ps3YVcdobnGMJnKkpLSc6tILhaL1ssi9nAPYh/s1600/20170730_205159.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6EL-9leQ1QLyoFhxtnzH114W6mAo0zR-GBBtk72WJXGMfYCTRYeaalsN_EuGU8I2lb5iRMWLPTzSdgxMMVYLZH7ERo2A_ca7RARxTAn9Ps3YVcdobnGMJnKkpLSc6tILhaL1ssi9nAPYh/s320/20170730_205159.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>My arm, Natasha, Megan, David, Zhenya (hidden), Vika and Anna</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
From there it took a while to get back to the hotel. We didn't roll into the lobby until after 10:15 that night. But it was good to finally get to bed. Sleep was completely necessary as Monday promised to be a long, long day. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIrOkZpyOjtgnNByzfMriYbrExMf6lbbMGvnBsY2y6ItkWtS_STkd0WJZf-3KTAXtwZtmQKQcNnz4DdUzHd6YWPt08GSslNXUz_1NQpELqsRdRgQeqY1zsqQF0ne6eHIGRJhVV3xcg408G/s1600/20170731_171055.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIrOkZpyOjtgnNByzfMriYbrExMf6lbbMGvnBsY2y6ItkWtS_STkd0WJZf-3KTAXtwZtmQKQcNnz4DdUzHd6YWPt08GSslNXUz_1NQpELqsRdRgQeqY1zsqQF0ne6eHIGRJhVV3xcg408G/s320/20170731_171055.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Our flight wasn't until about 2:45 Monday but we needed to be up and moving so we could pack, have breakfast and get on our bus to the airport. Considering all the things we needed to do, it wasn't hard to get it all done in plenty of time. The line to sign in was clogged with a big group ahead of us. Once they finally got through, we said our final goodbyes, made tentative promises to return next year and walked off towards security. The rest of the journey was relatively uneventful. I guess with air travel, that's the way you want it. But it was interesting in that our flight from Warsaw to JFK was on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner. I've got to say, despite the long hours in the plane, it was a comfortable plane. The flight was smooth, I wasn't too hot. I did feel cramped towards the final few hours due to not getting up during the flight. However it was fun flying on that plane. I had a window seat that looked out onto the wing. Sitting on the tarmac, it looked big enough to play a game of Ultimate Frisbee on. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge527mMmQe92d67INEWkTnACBlviZynJznsLDiPvTzJRFIBGKL-qlPmQ368meahhzVXJxz-O8uaaSQtslgrinyOshP4P5nmt8it2Dj40DjCG3evuZSUIMSDuOeqL-Ytamndwg3Y_PWoO38/s1600/20170731_185527.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge527mMmQe92d67INEWkTnACBlviZynJznsLDiPvTzJRFIBGKL-qlPmQ368meahhzVXJxz-O8uaaSQtslgrinyOshP4P5nmt8it2Dj40DjCG3evuZSUIMSDuOeqL-Ytamndwg3Y_PWoO38/s320/20170731_185527.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
That big ol' jet airliner carried us part of the way home to a slightly late arrival in JFK. Customs went smoothly, the ride home went smoothly, and I even got a good amount of sleep last night. <br />
So, the TLDR takeaway of that post was this. We rode a whirlwind tour from a rainy, stormy Saturday to the flighty Monday and made it home safely. I'll update in a few days to write about my real, final thoughts about camp and the trip. For now though, this post has run on too long. Like fish and guests, posts begin to smell if they stick around too long without being published. Nobody likes rotten 1's and 0's sitting in their drafts folder. So I'm hitting the <u><b>Publish</b></u> button and leaving you until the next bout of writing inspiration hits me. Have a good day.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlfHapvBwYL18ZalMHC-S5TCxqAAcxXp-3q9xE5PrDeHzuOpDJyd7-5ypuHDNiq7xyA_FiORaQRQ36yITZ8kU9EsijnVMefMKdb7zKviD7rfYJkOjLJDARQhrHhoH9uXE80rLNHfrMhnlZ/s1600/20170801_030412.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlfHapvBwYL18ZalMHC-S5TCxqAAcxXp-3q9xE5PrDeHzuOpDJyd7-5ypuHDNiq7xyA_FiORaQRQ36yITZ8kU9EsijnVMefMKdb7zKviD7rfYJkOjLJDARQhrHhoH9uXE80rLNHfrMhnlZ/s320/20170801_030412.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15903876030434454162noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5294746822892172077.post-52999475471556426312017-07-29T03:06:00.001-04:002017-07-29T03:06:22.020-04:00With a Little Help From My Friends<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG-sR4sPCmzs_yyF-MJtUfpmpH9i1GIHAF2VFESuOchHkUQpUdMtT58377qGQnJ_bY4qtfdMteNxDAyHSymULDqjEKhMR5vgA8abA9me08OpEWFpcSbo4aWGs6e5gsqhV9cQVpOBYIAUCo/s1600/20170727_134119.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG-sR4sPCmzs_yyF-MJtUfpmpH9i1GIHAF2VFESuOchHkUQpUdMtT58377qGQnJ_bY4qtfdMteNxDAyHSymULDqjEKhMR5vgA8abA9me08OpEWFpcSbo4aWGs6e5gsqhV9cQVpOBYIAUCo/s320/20170727_134119.jpg" width="320" /></a> Before we get things rolling, I wanted to answer a question that came up twice in the comments on yesterday's blog post. It basically asked how the rest of the American team is doing. Save for one exception, I'd say the common word is rough. Whether mentally, physically, or emotionally, it's been a long rough week. Some of us, too, aren't completely sure about how the transition back to American life will go. I dealt with this back in 2014 after my first English camp. Basically, the word rough will apply to the next while or so for all of us.<br />
<a name='more'></a> I've said multiple times in the past and I'll say it again. This <i>isn't</i> a vacation. We may have taken vacation time from work to be here but this isn't a vacation in any sense of the word. It's much closer to a temporary relocation for work. There is teaching, talking, walking, praying, singing, thinking, praying, fretting, planning, playing, and even more praying. And if we relied on our own strength, we'd burn out before the end of the first two days. This camp is a crash course in destruction of self-reliance with heavy emphasis on the destruction and crashing. If we did this for our own health, they'd be sending us home in a flag-draped box. We are all here for a purpose far greater than ourselves. Through it all, we need to rely on the One who gives strength for His purposes. We also need to rely on each other for strength, encouragement, support and even just a kind word.<br /><br />
What I didn't realize back in 2014, and what I'm sure the other Americans are learning, is that there is a lot of stress involved in cross-cultural ministry. You don't know the language. You don't know the food. You don't know the people. You don't know the surroundings. Then on top of that, you're expected to be teachers and leaders, celebrities and celebrators, foils and friends. How can all that even begin to fall under the heading of "vacation?" It can't. It forces you to rely on God as well as others for strength to even finish the day.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqiBJjck_MtJnPnTjCXGbkHKaW7ZWqgAqhNiSBvfYNtdF2nUtsx6L3GJumQW1OEkLZJe88t22EXxVPksHqreF_JJHtn2_HZycanMJT7oSxC6nCzecfZHKGe9SdAH9q6hzsE_Ta14bmowmT/s1600/20170728_140509.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqiBJjck_MtJnPnTjCXGbkHKaW7ZWqgAqhNiSBvfYNtdF2nUtsx6L3GJumQW1OEkLZJe88t22EXxVPksHqreF_JJHtn2_HZycanMJT7oSxC6nCzecfZHKGe9SdAH9q6hzsE_Ta14bmowmT/s320/20170728_140509.jpg" width="320" /></a> I'm not sure why, but this year seems to be a lot more difficult than years past. Not only for me but for the other team members as well. Some people I guess are built for this kind of thing. Some have to be stretched and molded into people who thrive in these situations. I certainly am not there yet. Perhaps in time. <br />
One last thing before diving into the report for Friday. I didn't get to attend the talent show due to being laid out with a bad headache Thursday night. So when one of the other team members writes about it, I'll link to it here.<br />
The morning of Friday, I found myself awake and without a headache. Surprisingly, things went a lot better for me today than yesterday. I still had the sore throat for most of the day. I suspect it was the AC in my room that did it to me or exacerbated the situation with extra dry air. But other than the sore muscles, I felt a lot more human today.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsm2lIeSwl4LoWJS8UwoLuPfoCzTWgvnYc5W9P6MMTEAy1mmeaTt3uh34MFrlzvL_YeEqC0ywHESuWnPjkaQ8P_l1GYKeKXdsKD4NSNXdSjIi7hOdJYxct3MUDd5wUFK_uFYsBiUJ4btIR/s1600/20170728_110358.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsm2lIeSwl4LoWJS8UwoLuPfoCzTWgvnYc5W9P6MMTEAy1mmeaTt3uh34MFrlzvL_YeEqC0ywHESuWnPjkaQ8P_l1GYKeKXdsKD4NSNXdSjIi7hOdJYxct3MUDd5wUFK_uFYsBiUJ4btIR/s320/20170728_110358.jpg" width="320" /></a> This morning, we had a worship service. With as much push-back against Max's talks as we've had this week, I'm surprised that there were so many students there. I think part of it had to do with David leading the service. Most of them, several in my English class included, weren't happy about how Max presented his lectures this week. The idea of the service was to show those students who had not been in a Protestant church before what it was like. If they didn't all have preconceptions of what church is like, I'd be surprised. I talked with my English group right after the service and a few of them said they don't have the same opinion now of the Orthodox church as they do of Big City Church. I consider that a goal achieved.<br />
Speaking of English, it was my last lesson. I had a lesson prepared which I did pass out but we didn't actually go over it. One of the students suggested that we just talk and I thought it was a great idea. So we did. I asked them about their opinions on the camp, if they would recommend it to their friends (all said yes) and a few other things. It was a really good time of honesty from the students. It's things like this that make me wish the camp was longer. Then class time ends and I feel all the aches and weariness and am reminded why it must end.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMAoIUHdphpJkshg0AWIScZv-M9NnuCQhe4-ZghFps5xj7kqiss-uHimNm9OjsVpv3XSr0LoJsfCdoO6yAmXEruOiZtWLUe3gmEjqVoqw-TnEM2pDA5ltWYUTEAPU31h0rU4N9l_2tFPLT/s1600/20170728_131129.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMAoIUHdphpJkshg0AWIScZv-M9NnuCQhe4-ZghFps5xj7kqiss-uHimNm9OjsVpv3XSr0LoJsfCdoO6yAmXEruOiZtWLUe3gmEjqVoqw-TnEM2pDA5ltWYUTEAPU31h0rU4N9l_2tFPLT/s320/20170728_131129.jpg" width="320" /></a> So end it did. I ate a small lunch of soup that tasted and looked like a cross between chicken noodle and pea soup. Then it was time for the video quest. This was the chance for us to really let the imaginations of the students run free. We were given a minute-long section of a song to choreograph a scene to. It turned out to be a party/concert scene.<br />
From there the camp moved on to the final Way Home lecture. The lecture, every day, included a team time to discuss prepared questions related to Max's talk for that day. The talk today covered the basic overview of history, from Adam to Eternity along with an explanation of the need to cover sin.<br />
Since this was Friday, it was also the day for closing ceremonies. We won't have time on Saturday with the photos, goodbyes, and packing. We got to see a video presentation of the activities from this week as well as our video quest video. That was really interesting to see because of all the creativity. This was the time that the students received their diplomas and the gifts that the American team had brought. It was a big shoulder bag with and American flag along with a had, some candy and a few other things. Among all the thankyous and goodbyes, we got to see that despite the issues, all the students truly enjoyed the week.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmjj-prrrie-YQInozv3fFMotlKSAj0gcJFDWkPaP6LqhYqvWP8B72Ff69rs_PF4NFFdaKHoJILKs4cytxbvLbXAmPf6b88Ir8yZj4eTmS40vxZHBbxGA6jURx_EdVOdGzPowrcGDp7DsA/s1600/20170728_212608.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmjj-prrrie-YQInozv3fFMotlKSAj0gcJFDWkPaP6LqhYqvWP8B72Ff69rs_PF4NFFdaKHoJILKs4cytxbvLbXAmPf6b88Ir8yZj4eTmS40vxZHBbxGA6jURx_EdVOdGzPowrcGDp7DsA/s320/20170728_212608.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Blue team</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2m7ty_m8E_BVn6LKA71fz3nFvyhFF-VzY0MnEqFe_yHEMxcUtwYMdnFGGSulET2laVo7KIKUNFEjjDxm4MgmdP0WNLIvrCtGonHk0kK3ksinSVv-VpPJ_i13a2P6Vfz49r7cjQ1Gh0YqZ/s1600/20170728_212752.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2m7ty_m8E_BVn6LKA71fz3nFvyhFF-VzY0MnEqFe_yHEMxcUtwYMdnFGGSulET2laVo7KIKUNFEjjDxm4MgmdP0WNLIvrCtGonHk0kK3ksinSVv-VpPJ_i13a2P6Vfz49r7cjQ1Gh0YqZ/s320/20170728_212752.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>My green team</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG7LAWZ2crY1Gszqt-KBk5uKNB_IcRPfj-KODc-J6qcBibIQ8MSYbnSqQtmME5eOWd09jyCKTjl4kI4RSFQDJvqsY2Gcwm9FXWcku464T3D_xW1RaUNg4iXosTvKYnW0q2oiDAoRmSBAuq/s1600/20170728_212942.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG7LAWZ2crY1Gszqt-KBk5uKNB_IcRPfj-KODc-J6qcBibIQ8MSYbnSqQtmME5eOWd09jyCKTjl4kI4RSFQDJvqsY2Gcwm9FXWcku464T3D_xW1RaUNg4iXosTvKYnW0q2oiDAoRmSBAuq/s320/20170728_212942.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Red team</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The closing ceremony also included a cookout with sausages, mushrooms, tomatoes, cucumbers and marshmallows. Gretchen remarked that the marshmallows here taste like Circus Peanuts, the American candy. Austin enjoyed his sausage but observed that "some kind of devilry" still encased his sausage. That was a throw-back to his first camp here on the Black Sea. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMRexgdVtxSGwfFCC4v9set70i-nj2RXC3pW3FqG04npAGRaebJkRBMdC4njcqe5RiEMa9crnG_OJ-qrsg2Sr5FmVBBKRqBuSDP2gNO8CK3ofWf8iejT97l1-NW4DJacZnbsr9wo12Pds9/s1600/20170728_220055.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMRexgdVtxSGwfFCC4v9set70i-nj2RXC3pW3FqG04npAGRaebJkRBMdC4njcqe5RiEMa9crnG_OJ-qrsg2Sr5FmVBBKRqBuSDP2gNO8CK3ofWf8iejT97l1-NW4DJacZnbsr9wo12Pds9/s320/20170728_220055.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpF-N3zJddlo7vTr43GQmtcoM2OW0QZN_serjDZi4AK5gcjQjy5mKy7QuLmlTRcJcsDLzd12imM4OpcTO8uZGdPkdNHXdfc8_1URvHN_EDrOgYKNNqyehVNvkx9Ycs6K7pkd6lZp2xIBo3/s1600/20170728_220627.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpF-N3zJddlo7vTr43GQmtcoM2OW0QZN_serjDZi4AK5gcjQjy5mKy7QuLmlTRcJcsDLzd12imM4OpcTO8uZGdPkdNHXdfc8_1URvHN_EDrOgYKNNqyehVNvkx9Ycs6K7pkd6lZp2xIBo3/s320/20170728_220627.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJs9WyUM8xOkfStVUPAQ9CVlOvRZNDFFqmmnP10cqmCMlvyJSbJGekmvLHNvQSerLkrwEzM-wz4aS9Jni5qHwxh8uxDjtHlpKLX8taDyQIc2PrqcZIghWhswy9OuQ-9rcxbvrCqokWNCEG/s1600/20170728_221655.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJs9WyUM8xOkfStVUPAQ9CVlOvRZNDFFqmmnP10cqmCMlvyJSbJGekmvLHNvQSerLkrwEzM-wz4aS9Jni5qHwxh8uxDjtHlpKLX8taDyQIc2PrqcZIghWhswy9OuQ-9rcxbvrCqokWNCEG/s320/20170728_221655.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN0k-GzVizXMkEOfD_0DLZ1negz7zA0yxMlV6HueaYbiJruByr1TT7ZqjHMm5wOuGQGi2rZGNri2gbVT6oSIo09B4SuQ6pLzNPVfq7kh81TvDIGLhoav_o0lEhA72PyeQArt9JPJAkL5LZ/s1600/20170728_232500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN0k-GzVizXMkEOfD_0DLZ1negz7zA0yxMlV6HueaYbiJruByr1TT7ZqjHMm5wOuGQGi2rZGNri2gbVT6oSIo09B4SuQ6pLzNPVfq7kh81TvDIGLhoav_o0lEhA72PyeQArt9JPJAkL5LZ/s320/20170728_232500.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Dasha (far right) playing with three others.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
During the fire, and actually slightly before, I realized that part of me didn't want the camp to end. I was finally feeling better and things were easy now. But I guess I can't have both at the same time. Camp isn't going to be easy with this level of involvement. <br />
From the fire, we all went back to the main building for the discotech. Before it started, we had a good game of ping-pong. I won four games. One of the staff had some DJ equipment and put on an exciting (if a little disturbing) dance party. I didn't partake and thus had the <strike>horror</strike> privilege of witnessing the fluidity of Bryson's hip movements and Brandon's hopping around the dance floor. Once the discotech finally ended, I ended up staying up really late. Well, late according to my normal schedule. Austin, Bryson and I talked with Dasha (a Ukrainian staff member) for over an hour until about 2:10AM. We got to teach Austin some new Russian words and she learned the meaning of "ish" and "tenacious." Countless laughs were shared, particularly about how and when she would get our kidneys. <br />
Since I'm actually finishing this on Saturday morning after breakfast, I'm running short on time so I'll close with this. If you want to see more photos from the week, especially the ones that didn't go into any of these posts, you can <a href="https://photos.app.goo.gl/VZSW7Q79X0abbB0h2">look here</a>. They'll be all the one's I took. I'll add more in Saturday's post.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15903876030434454162noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5294746822892172077.post-26867118993035507772017-07-27T11:35:00.003-04:002017-07-27T11:35:31.660-04:00Everybody Hurts<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPxdqJLLMtI9zeaEAtP1IQuETD8Bv_AodlxdVTs62Vrcf9d1O7-hb-cXVj6aa5FtxQygma7C7e8CFy8Bk41etMpybFnrM5H2FZlNiF-XkBGA63gnvVmT_idjdus0wd-8EOmemr0tIWmLfI/s1600/20170727_070744.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPxdqJLLMtI9zeaEAtP1IQuETD8Bv_AodlxdVTs62Vrcf9d1O7-hb-cXVj6aa5FtxQygma7C7e8CFy8Bk41etMpybFnrM5H2FZlNiF-XkBGA63gnvVmT_idjdus0wd-8EOmemr0tIWmLfI/s320/20170727_070744.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The dining hall on the left, the lecture hall on the right.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Right, SITREP (situation report). I seem to have caught something again. Or whatever it was that I had earlier in the week is back. The simple list is a sore throat, a pair of weak/sore legs and a headache. The legs and headache are related to the higher level of activity than I am used to. The sore throat, I suspect, is a result of the dry air combined with my cold from earlier. Yes, I'm drinking a lot and trying to stay hydrated. I also am getting as much sleep as possible and taking acetaminophen as necessary. No need to worry. Just pray.<br />
<a name='more'></a> With that out of the way, I can move on to today. Today was actually rough mixed with fun. It started rough, got better, and then started getting rough again around the middle of English. I think it was Ultimate Frisbee that did me in today. But it was a lot of fun. I'll get to that in time. For now, lets start at the beginning.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizhFDHQgV97uhM_ev5q56DSbiLX1oQZHXurKFdlGoKR2OWxkS6AFSpsogk9Giy1Ws0G-jBMIewYsiCG7sZ3ukjpiHCdZBiWXkNo2yRU_FN8eRVG2eEy7FjqoySedNBJYA1KA25R4uuWNto/s1600/20170727_070733.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizhFDHQgV97uhM_ev5q56DSbiLX1oQZHXurKFdlGoKR2OWxkS6AFSpsogk9Giy1Ws0G-jBMIewYsiCG7sZ3ukjpiHCdZBiWXkNo2yRU_FN8eRVG2eEy7FjqoySedNBJYA1KA25R4uuWNto/s320/20170727_070733.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>My building for the week.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Is it really Thursday? I feel like I've been here a lot longer than a week. Almost like I never left. Almost. During the staff meeting this morning, I had the distinct feeling of going downhill. No, I wasn't traveling south. No, I don't need to get my inner ears checked out. We are well past the middle point of the camp and are on the downhill run. Today meant only two and a half days, two more English lessons, and two more Way Home lectures.<br />
Of course this means I can't coast through the remainder of the week. What it does mean is that things will soon be drawing to a close. I'm not really sad about that either. Camp is a lot of fun. But I'm ready to go back home to my normal life, to sleeping in my own bed, to swatting at the alarm clock when it says I should wake up for work. Basically, I'm glad this camp is only once a year for me.<br />
Anyways, after a good staff meeting and American team meeting, I skipped morning exercises and just sat for a while. It didn't really do a lot for my leg muscles. However it did feel good to do nothing for a while.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4tlJO1IuoD6asNmb6PesWd8T_yj_VEZTj5i9LGWbDE0seTPOf1Buq7NA6y4ku5tGBP6XBdEnTK4ltKn9gth9yNvKGsW567DkbCmXbRA0SIYSA7tzqyBkpy56mCpiNXUaX6dS3WS6orOmb/s1600/20170727_111252.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4tlJO1IuoD6asNmb6PesWd8T_yj_VEZTj5i9LGWbDE0seTPOf1Buq7NA6y4ku5tGBP6XBdEnTK4ltKn9gth9yNvKGsW567DkbCmXbRA0SIYSA7tzqyBkpy56mCpiNXUaX6dS3WS6orOmb/s320/20170727_111252.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Nastia (in orange) and Brandon (in black) learning how to throw.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Following breakfast and team time, we found ourselves over our heads in probably my most and least favorite things of the week. Favorite because I got to play Ultimate for the first time in nearly a year. And least favorite because it left me feeling like I exacerbated my condition. <i>Side Note: It may sound like I'm complaining. And that may well be the case. But I'm trying to present this in a way that is informative of the situation while also giving solutions to my discomfort. Back to the narrative now. <span id="goog_315166640"></span><span id="goog_315166641"></span></i><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmhgDZKcc9TquSNO0ARz8OI3Volj1-daAB-LAK5cS-jJZbtd60cMQ2JxSZUjLRWoV5cpzUvMPxM1i-KOyVxrUTYpvU0R7KA5eCazQHZR_0LLwNnExyVviHZHLgXt3r_QLhk6U6e6hI37X2/s1600/20170727_111334.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmhgDZKcc9TquSNO0ARz8OI3Volj1-daAB-LAK5cS-jJZbtd60cMQ2JxSZUjLRWoV5cpzUvMPxM1i-KOyVxrUTYpvU0R7KA5eCazQHZR_0LLwNnExyVviHZHLgXt3r_QLhk6U6e6hI37X2/s320/20170727_111334.jpg" width="320" /></a><i> </i>I really enjoy Ultimate Frisbee. The passing, the scoring, the team work. But what I struggle with is the running. I've never been a good runner. And yet today, my team ended up winning by playing two or three games in a row. That meant a lot of running with little to no rest in the hot sun. My phone recorded six minutes of running. That may not sound like a lot. But consider most of that was sprinting and I'm not used to it. My feet and thighs really feel the burn now.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwCkn8nn2sud3ra4l_m28amV4Q886-LZQl3bj3OiYdaXCEgw-kXVXsGG5Ujo8aH1PBfgE2o6uQRlsSf27RiyVXAy1B1fp5RB_HoR95gaC5gYGKnhbusAzMIlIT1b5WArN2WYHdfjRqqtsC/s1600/20170727_111400.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwCkn8nn2sud3ra4l_m28amV4Q886-LZQl3bj3OiYdaXCEgw-kXVXsGG5Ujo8aH1PBfgE2o6uQRlsSf27RiyVXAy1B1fp5RB_HoR95gaC5gYGKnhbusAzMIlIT1b5WArN2WYHdfjRqqtsC/s320/20170727_111400.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Despite the pain, it was a lot of fun. My team won. I got to throw the winning goal. I was even called an "expert" by a professional Ukrainian Frisbee player. Overall, it was a good three hours.<br />
Directly following Ultimate though, I took a cold shower and laid under the air conditioner for over ten minutes. I've got a feeling I way overdid it. Over heating, dehydration, fatigue. Probably all three to some extent. Believe me, I fully intend on getting to bed early tonight.<br />
Following on the heels of lunch, I had my penultimate English lesson. It seems like my group is really enjoying the lessons now. It also helps that I'm a lot more comfortable teaching and leading. We went over the lesson much in the same way I used to do in the English club. Afterwards we played Pictionary and Crocodile with Taboo cards. Crocodile is like Pictionary except you have to act out the word instead of draw.<br />
It's about this point that I really started feeling bad. Its getting to the point that walking is difficult and I have trouble focusing on conversations and thinking. Headaches can affect my focus when they get bad enough. The walking thing is just the fifteen squats from yesterday and the running today combining to haunt me. I'll get over that. Sleep will take care of the headache.<br />
As for the rest of the day, per usual I typed out most of this post during the Way Home lecture. It's difficult for me to follow along with Max's talks, even through translation. Also, I've heard most of it before in previous camps. Unfortunately, I had to bow out of the evening's festivities due to feeling like garbage. Today just isn't my day. I'm gonna go sleep and try to recover as best as possible. Good night.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15903876030434454162noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5294746822892172077.post-63948157140475296442017-07-26T14:41:00.000-04:002017-07-28T00:31:56.901-04:00You Can't Always Get What You Want......but sometimes you get what you need. Like this bonus post of photos that I haven't been able to squeeze into the other posts. This is just a gallery post. Minimal writing. Enjoy.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZw11AY2XLg9u8nKUelXZtSd9TDjQkKEhxL3UtLU9ORJqwVpF03C949shydwjm-bU3rbEbbKmCPMVs6NOe7ynmqEnXD4rhrvB_o7sHYZki08BTFwBCRA3Iwql-Rxli9WwsVr0lRE-7a6qE/s1600/20170722_131221.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZw11AY2XLg9u8nKUelXZtSd9TDjQkKEhxL3UtLU9ORJqwVpF03C949shydwjm-bU3rbEbbKmCPMVs6NOe7ynmqEnXD4rhrvB_o7sHYZki08BTFwBCRA3Iwql-Rxli9WwsVr0lRE-7a6qE/s320/20170722_131221.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The skies over Poland.</i><br />
<a name='more'></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG2xsCvvuh5pfHyproThBLY2Jrs4tiftzfKIMq5FG1O1XN1M8ctYVUp9xmtYOAh015etK7Lq_rLSW57A_dyQCO2CzeNBCPz4yVZarzjtQyCUj8sh8-FoTeil8fFWr-39LQE8HDIhRFfLqa/s1600/20170722_141136.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG2xsCvvuh5pfHyproThBLY2Jrs4tiftzfKIMq5FG1O1XN1M8ctYVUp9xmtYOAh015etK7Lq_rLSW57A_dyQCO2CzeNBCPz4yVZarzjtQyCUj8sh8-FoTeil8fFWr-39LQE8HDIhRFfLqa/s320/20170722_141136.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Tesla brand radar systems at Borispil airport.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFfoYchP-w1HJ24U_2oI8ixEKZArqdYMj13cB-R4IwHlpyyxTIZhALHB4OQ0PAX1l6u976hUM47L1OhDp7XJ8FDKW0d-z9Q4rIHGfT0C4R9-jA46fwFALTBVxhp1j7R-HcPum6I3Ct950o/s1600/20170722_163748.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFfoYchP-w1HJ24U_2oI8ixEKZArqdYMj13cB-R4IwHlpyyxTIZhALHB4OQ0PAX1l6u976hUM47L1OhDp7XJ8FDKW0d-z9Q4rIHGfT0C4R9-jA46fwFALTBVxhp1j7R-HcPum6I3Ct950o/s320/20170722_163748.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE9O3G6S5izQINL6atVJw-Y6DSl2HHbLaKhFoipGTQi7EyXROCYm0Y5dw71Uu4hhnCzWhQb_1D4FJbuqibraCOBLN_SQwZ7eQzuS2OueZYV2MqrvMDhlammlzVP40U4QXTHCfIHRvkcmvt/s1600/20170722_190952.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE9O3G6S5izQINL6atVJw-Y6DSl2HHbLaKhFoipGTQi7EyXROCYm0Y5dw71Uu4hhnCzWhQb_1D4FJbuqibraCOBLN_SQwZ7eQzuS2OueZYV2MqrvMDhlammlzVP40U4QXTHCfIHRvkcmvt/s320/20170722_190952.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh89IY2ZLPOXSS6ggiJF6ipxAM9pIt4_QWsE9mYol25bAF77NTTOrt5niOUgtZFK0mVDIBQHz4XvU4DAjbUFcu2JWTRqNAa-JuJdjpMWXD0GiKbrCcWbphrClaAz_ldGcj7fRaTnMj7gzQI/s1600/20170722_203622.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh89IY2ZLPOXSS6ggiJF6ipxAM9pIt4_QWsE9mYol25bAF77NTTOrt5niOUgtZFK0mVDIBQHz4XvU4DAjbUFcu2JWTRqNAa-JuJdjpMWXD0GiKbrCcWbphrClaAz_ldGcj7fRaTnMj7gzQI/s320/20170722_203622.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTvxS_jN0wRm7Ek648cJVkMLcBWw1b6IEiuy59-TSmBUxP2tEBw2EordY8A4_6BJ2ipm-R6UAWjSuaN52EjgFTBddI4N-k-hVyHqv-tjf8nAcJTmCzIzZUDLx3XRmeIb5Ef1zTn7zdtqQB/s1600/20170723_115752.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTvxS_jN0wRm7Ek648cJVkMLcBWw1b6IEiuy59-TSmBUxP2tEBw2EordY8A4_6BJ2ipm-R6UAWjSuaN52EjgFTBddI4N-k-hVyHqv-tjf8nAcJTmCzIzZUDLx3XRmeIb5Ef1zTn7zdtqQB/s320/20170723_115752.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>David preaching Sunday with my Russian tutor, Nadia, translating for him.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqfP_FmWGY19pMOIuOgyRKeyaZe_mGxltyZDc2JZqpjz2xfM16XzJmJuQZBsxOTgt7IrvzbJDMCIHjsnDDR34dWCohz5MNCXYLXIGbXvTZwbtgXzsIoa0_Skc0P2PAuXm5efR1R5zvp2zp/s1600/20170723_155814.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqfP_FmWGY19pMOIuOgyRKeyaZe_mGxltyZDc2JZqpjz2xfM16XzJmJuQZBsxOTgt7IrvzbJDMCIHjsnDDR34dWCohz5MNCXYLXIGbXvTZwbtgXzsIoa0_Skc0P2PAuXm5efR1R5zvp2zp/s320/20170723_155814.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK8LL0KWL2infawpJ9dTbqZSUNhlI7gT_D2Bxc_-uvMXgzTxmjbL0M17JFlIXYqQjfr1MZAXHktKEFG1-zwlK-q7xK1Ne7BlP6QhVw69Y3r-3Zko2m93mb4U9OluZQrVa6DPd8_49P9iZP/s1600/20170724_053028.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK8LL0KWL2infawpJ9dTbqZSUNhlI7gT_D2Bxc_-uvMXgzTxmjbL0M17JFlIXYqQjfr1MZAXHktKEFG1-zwlK-q7xK1Ne7BlP6QhVw69Y3r-3Zko2m93mb4U9OluZQrVa6DPd8_49P9iZP/s320/20170724_053028.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiwUla9Ukpb-FTQhQbtXsBT68aZHa0VX_U8jv_xNB1_4-69c00Pt6GeKgkd3mGYeqWbQ_hxjVrVRn57QoiqYtOEIS0xxVBga3rTxHtuiTDHxscigTAtsCH42OlIPI_-1_qHcIAIu-pwmWm/s1600/20170724_101125.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiwUla9Ukpb-FTQhQbtXsBT68aZHa0VX_U8jv_xNB1_4-69c00Pt6GeKgkd3mGYeqWbQ_hxjVrVRn57QoiqYtOEIS0xxVBga3rTxHtuiTDHxscigTAtsCH42OlIPI_-1_qHcIAIu-pwmWm/s320/20170724_101125.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The bus ride to Zazimie.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFBucYpbuCSN8wh8UIq0V_Gj7hfqeakXKBPhsERe1EG9w06Kz5c00rYV2Ounzdy2-SkzkJV8pvTGz4jWT2URXhINO1gzP5-WXhYwQv_9k_h7aTDecpEbfBLY6_PRmNsAWZEeFA0FyVitry/s1600/20170724_103353.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFBucYpbuCSN8wh8UIq0V_Gj7hfqeakXKBPhsERe1EG9w06Kz5c00rYV2Ounzdy2-SkzkJV8pvTGz4jWT2URXhINO1gzP5-WXhYwQv_9k_h7aTDecpEbfBLY6_PRmNsAWZEeFA0FyVitry/s320/20170724_103353.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Looking south along the Dnipr river.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikUStDXYKx6_kscwSYXKyLYKGnKhKF7kt2TGQdNl4kLyPFwlXHXFtyS53_zn_0DbwHGkxJFcnm7V2gHuwdxhYnHZQoIr5vnA8EbGBmc5-DUof7YpeLujAbyNeYjJL8UYIDiRnZGMHWqDh_/s1600/20170724_232852.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikUStDXYKx6_kscwSYXKyLYKGnKhKF7kt2TGQdNl4kLyPFwlXHXFtyS53_zn_0DbwHGkxJFcnm7V2gHuwdxhYnHZQoIr5vnA8EbGBmc5-DUof7YpeLujAbyNeYjJL8UYIDiRnZGMHWqDh_/s320/20170724_232852.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The leopard-print couch and curtains in my room.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQH7BMscSWK2XzSV45FLR2qcLC7sv27zykB1uTaLycYs4fOvB-2XOk_IPXZHB98pc4f8MejDlaLEzrwDB1ORU9dCAh_BfgldYW3mcz9_vJtUoHzSXDGjnousmXrY3N_pD4o_byQNirxNdW/s1600/20170724_205707.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQH7BMscSWK2XzSV45FLR2qcLC7sv27zykB1uTaLycYs4fOvB-2XOk_IPXZHB98pc4f8MejDlaLEzrwDB1ORU9dCAh_BfgldYW3mcz9_vJtUoHzSXDGjnousmXrY3N_pD4o_byQNirxNdW/s320/20170724_205707.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Zhenya giving the rules at the opening ceremonies.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2in1igzClU-XjbBd9hZ4FPBtM1uJqUzK1bOWcLURtYhmRuemrshA-eMqm92HdjbCHw8WIn7wOGMYcaePz_ckP-PXmes1FSlLLL4mZ4cwjLp-ZuAyaLd0n48V__Widaz3mxL0h8vNoXjgZ/s1600/20170725_115816.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2in1igzClU-XjbBd9hZ4FPBtM1uJqUzK1bOWcLURtYhmRuemrshA-eMqm92HdjbCHw8WIn7wOGMYcaePz_ckP-PXmes1FSlLLL4mZ4cwjLp-ZuAyaLd0n48V__Widaz3mxL0h8vNoXjgZ/s320/20170725_115816.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>One of our translators, Kolya.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIT-19dScZZ7fHxYSIvnk32pVpyZgIejqdgtw6yW-07Yft57eW-oTA-BUK043g6xcf_RVeJ97jSFmnJI42bO6IRIRGpbPDUQWRTbscYj0Y9oFyCAsvvy6LlSrPWhXGInZZhRGVZJ1jGpcT/s1600/20170725_141829.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIT-19dScZZ7fHxYSIvnk32pVpyZgIejqdgtw6yW-07Yft57eW-oTA-BUK043g6xcf_RVeJ97jSFmnJI42bO6IRIRGpbPDUQWRTbscYj0Y9oFyCAsvvy6LlSrPWhXGInZZhRGVZJ1jGpcT/s320/20170725_141829.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Austin, during the "human library" session.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizbMDakpi2ygM3ZGLVzkcNEqBzk9OOmgopBUPs29hqnXUltAfILA3jfeRfPHVFNEqtZNQzCDpN54NfeU71vtITBNocYmmnSX1slg8Hntmdf9nElTb4SzwAs9Gv46NXgnTLJ5LPqjrrOTuH/s1600/20170725_141841.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizbMDakpi2ygM3ZGLVzkcNEqBzk9OOmgopBUPs29hqnXUltAfILA3jfeRfPHVFNEqtZNQzCDpN54NfeU71vtITBNocYmmnSX1slg8Hntmdf9nElTb4SzwAs9Gv46NXgnTLJ5LPqjrrOTuH/s320/20170725_141841.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Bryson, </i><i>during the "human library" session.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq6F6nnv4whV7vTpKs2E3nWTYjd4iIsav7nYy1tVwI1ES7jzsWp4sCDuRSoIabEpkfGcf1s-YonunE_ZbNY3aSLxoDZ6DuGOO1akWQcR6aKhd3PAKnjAOvE_zUnkHUPxGl3I2Roe7XAy8n/s1600/20170726_081741.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq6F6nnv4whV7vTpKs2E3nWTYjd4iIsav7nYy1tVwI1ES7jzsWp4sCDuRSoIabEpkfGcf1s-YonunE_ZbNY3aSLxoDZ6DuGOO1akWQcR6aKhd3PAKnjAOvE_zUnkHUPxGl3I2Roe7XAy8n/s320/20170726_081741.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Figuring out the schedule for the quest.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0q7qx7m9wjw_aBSpPi62zvkjxIs2_uZEhLbLFij09VOS_-4XHeua7ALexoJTujIWH_ez36FXQV1e6iAg_86KxUadPUkIIrvLnchw7Trm2C4AZ5BQaPp1bRTcgyYEAHnVAizNTWoEL6OJV/s1600/20170726_195835.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0q7qx7m9wjw_aBSpPi62zvkjxIs2_uZEhLbLFij09VOS_-4XHeua7ALexoJTujIWH_ez36FXQV1e6iAg_86KxUadPUkIIrvLnchw7Trm2C4AZ5BQaPp1bRTcgyYEAHnVAizNTWoEL6OJV/s320/20170726_195835.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Playing ping pong on a makeshift table.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15903876030434454162noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5294746822892172077.post-44987453936404015452017-07-26T13:52:00.000-04:002017-07-26T13:52:03.560-04:00Hurts So Good<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkKNgpZk6VNY6NrJFtOgoS4QmapzPNmELG8PZdVEfv587f9IL8q7ITDUocYD0nQ2gcp5uBfetvoRlxVY6yORXBAqz9kllV8K82rScf9dkWvVNwkZcdM7cCgKWCNd9lOS_DboCzsUvAQXGP/s1600/20170726_104255.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkKNgpZk6VNY6NrJFtOgoS4QmapzPNmELG8PZdVEfv587f9IL8q7ITDUocYD0nQ2gcp5uBfetvoRlxVY6yORXBAqz9kllV8K82rScf9dkWvVNwkZcdM7cCgKWCNd9lOS_DboCzsUvAQXGP/s320/20170726_104255.jpg" width="320" /></a> Well...on second thought, not so much. Today was the quest and it left me with multiple hurting muscles in my chest, stomach and arms. Like I needed any more aches this week. I'm just glad I made it through the quest in one piece....Sheesh, I sound like an old man. <br />
<a name='more'></a> I'll start today's post with an answer to a question from yesterday's post. Dan asked:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>What are Max's talks about?</i></blockquote>
Max's talks are usually designed to be a full-frontal assault on all preconceptions the students might have about life, the way of the world and Christianity. I've talked a little about his lectures in then past. This camp's series is titled "Way Home." Unfortunately I wasn't paying a lot of attention to the first lecture this week. Tuesday was about souls and the controversial subject (among the students) of whether animals have them or not. Tonight's talk is on morality and common morals. Before the talks, we have a short time for team interaction to figure out where the students stand on his topic choice.<br />
Also, by nature of the translation and Max's speaking speed, Americans (and I especially) usually don't get a whole lot out of his lectures. It's hard enough following a conversation in a crowded and noisy room. Change that to a speaker talking through a PA system and then try listening to a person quietly speaking in their second or third language and you have a recipe for minimal retention of information. Max's speed of speech also plays a big part in not getting his point. He talks a million miles a minute and that makes it very difficult for translators to follow. Usually the Americans only get the main points out of the talk with a little extra information on the side.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwvDnRfTrm0xH_nzwAOBdOgc0NQFiR8xmUgj1lV-jWJuqHKfZuEOySqJlqQj0cQa_Hu79LjkiJSuNGfta4XbBdGPg5FKyptxegFHkzJccT_xCRFJbsDqqj2cC3CN1txPfJhawhJFVDMIZS/s1600/20170726_075704.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwvDnRfTrm0xH_nzwAOBdOgc0NQFiR8xmUgj1lV-jWJuqHKfZuEOySqJlqQj0cQa_Hu79LjkiJSuNGfta4XbBdGPg5FKyptxegFHkzJccT_xCRFJbsDqqj2cC3CN1txPfJhawhJFVDMIZS/s320/20170726_075704.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Always use the buddy system.</i></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Now, moving on to the quest. Boy am I glad it's over. It was a long, rough, and fun process to go through. I'm glad it only comes once a year. Unfortunately, my phone is on the way out so I didn't get nearly as many pictures as I was hoping to. But what I did get is included below. The cool part is that I did get to see two of the things I made last year in use; the <a href="http://brianandukraine.blogspot.com/2016/01/the-last-worthless-evening.html">labyrinth</a> and the boxes. I can't find if I mentioned the boxes in a post before. You can see one in the photo above. They're basically small crates about a foot square by thee feet long. We used them to carry bags of sand around during the quest. More on that in a few moments.<br />
The Ukrainian staff has been planning this event for months now. Not only the camp but this quest in particular. The effort definitely showed. We had a series of ten stations to work our way through including everything from physical challenges (hence my physical discomfort right now) to mental puzzles. All through it we were ranging far and wide across the Zazimie Complex. <br />
I can't remember all the stations but I do understand the point of the quest. The staff wanted to teach the students about what is really important in life. At each station as we arrived, the person in charge there would hand us a bag of sand with a letter on it. At the end of the challenge if we passed, we had the option to trade the sand for an additional challenge. As it went on, it seemed more and more like the students on my team wanted to keep the sand. With every station, the letters kept adding up until by the end, we realized they spelled out (with some gaps) "sand treasures." Along the way, we had chances to trade our worthless sand for challenges that would bring us fun, enjoyment, and potentially a reward at the end. But the team, myself included were a little too shortsighted to see that.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-g-HZCQqJq5KodM7tR39hr2gRYWVav7try_O2pUDAX37eS96z661kx6Q6tn9pBoYeydj3qQwchsIInq15M1JO_VDKQZbKoOA-yFqbO2t2BhBfcaSTanrlCpeNJpnPNcY2ytiqxAEiLac6/s1600/20170726_084723.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-g-HZCQqJq5KodM7tR39hr2gRYWVav7try_O2pUDAX37eS96z661kx6Q6tn9pBoYeydj3qQwchsIInq15M1JO_VDKQZbKoOA-yFqbO2t2BhBfcaSTanrlCpeNJpnPNcY2ytiqxAEiLac6/s320/20170726_084723.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Team planking for fifteen minutes with three second breaks between people.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQyFF03-Pj_X4Rcs-ahqAENJidGylqXZj_rAVe-klF-KTGnVnwfJXHr5HsKPA1Dt4h0ejnEVKZknh_JM5Of9mOCP0-sx8qopRCL3gymfxd-WfCDrtyXJrWmmmpRTQqLzr-aohYDTBO9JeS/s1600/20170726_090238.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQyFF03-Pj_X4Rcs-ahqAENJidGylqXZj_rAVe-klF-KTGnVnwfJXHr5HsKPA1Dt4h0ejnEVKZknh_JM5Of9mOCP0-sx8qopRCL3gymfxd-WfCDrtyXJrWmmmpRTQqLzr-aohYDTBO9JeS/s320/20170726_090238.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>I'm not angry, we had to make a photo with lots of different emotions.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit_MFaeqwqrhraWodPRtSZYCAEC0Z8ri6_WUp1U3iWwNo5LjuwbiPFksqwM2vPVKO-KVtEiLDkN9OmnfQvecx_5Laz-AhnSAB-cWnioQ-EIB_2SsTyYvTlI0B22hPXQOqkRPDuF8Nt2l0o/s1600/20170726_100407.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit_MFaeqwqrhraWodPRtSZYCAEC0Z8ri6_WUp1U3iWwNo5LjuwbiPFksqwM2vPVKO-KVtEiLDkN9OmnfQvecx_5Laz-AhnSAB-cWnioQ-EIB_2SsTyYvTlI0B22hPXQOqkRPDuF8Nt2l0o/s320/20170726_100407.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Vladislav digging through the "Abomination" challenge.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglwwJQ4y_TvEYpbhoD98ssRfpy8TwX4RLyhxYLwkfGaRcwjBerOA8lD4D7CYQnmuERSH938lKkhy2fA88BhV7zAbIgyrv0IBYnb8p-TIprrUKiYyvBRBzaYdnhmVybvx2s2oIj6_3lvIFp/s1600/20170726_100634.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglwwJQ4y_TvEYpbhoD98ssRfpy8TwX4RLyhxYLwkfGaRcwjBerOA8lD4D7CYQnmuERSH938lKkhy2fA88BhV7zAbIgyrv0IBYnb8p-TIprrUKiYyvBRBzaYdnhmVybvx2s2oIj6_3lvIFp/s320/20170726_100634.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Megan digging through the "Abomination" challenge.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYwjVVMvXNtgqzpgZ58ri6qbA-JLq0tF9OSgXj5p5XKYtfg2f8TVGzjDuj521_7hEL43TiMnWWFY9t9le8rIlclbACx0I-pSVXW4djEP0_LoMixi-3-65VPJvbwhubiXfSEryKA2If4iCh/s1600/20170726_104342.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYwjVVMvXNtgqzpgZ58ri6qbA-JLq0tF9OSgXj5p5XKYtfg2f8TVGzjDuj521_7hEL43TiMnWWFY9t9le8rIlclbACx0I-pSVXW4djEP0_LoMixi-3-65VPJvbwhubiXfSEryKA2If4iCh/s320/20170726_104342.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Dima (white shirt) making an obstacle of himself.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRN__wY4fHDjmoxL2nFsET-jrP4ROQGWY1xxWjDF_DAIu-8XcyuyRPrnbQNPKwV7_6SSaxqnh0VlbQZPhx3ZrMKAplyhw1VqeQFM5VPSFWOUnkSWIdktcsu-MzM8GlaS56spmmIpydZz2L/s1600/20170726_103056.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRN__wY4fHDjmoxL2nFsET-jrP4ROQGWY1xxWjDF_DAIu-8XcyuyRPrnbQNPKwV7_6SSaxqnh0VlbQZPhx3ZrMKAplyhw1VqeQFM5VPSFWOUnkSWIdktcsu-MzM8GlaS56spmmIpydZz2L/s320/20170726_103056.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>One Soviet Ruble.</i></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP5BEH4cC7PlNfGYqATgimkAlAVbRIN222FaW_bNaExrF6VozmHOPl6u-qzu83AULgXQMaiEvbadIbo7Bv82WEL7UV57mYPvAbn16MwYTMblxT4X7NVmcc35sOn0wNNUksD0uC9uxCH-j2/s1600/20170726_103050.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP5BEH4cC7PlNfGYqATgimkAlAVbRIN222FaW_bNaExrF6VozmHOPl6u-qzu83AULgXQMaiEvbadIbo7Bv82WEL7UV57mYPvAbn16MwYTMblxT4X7NVmcc35sOn0wNNUksD0uC9uxCH-j2/s320/20170726_103050.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The flip-side of the Ruble.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
After all the <strike>torturous morning</strike> fun of the quest, we finally had a chance to relax and have some lunch. I ate and the retired to my room for a shower and some cool-down time. Things have been going from morning 'til night here and there isn't hardly any time to just do something else for a while. I jot a few minutes to clean up and catch up on some headlines and Youtube.<br />
Unfortunately it ended all to quickly. English was next on my schedule. It went well enough today. I actually found myself out of time right as we finished the last question.We then moved downstairs for a game of Pictionary. It seems like the students really liked this and the game of Taboo yesterday. They were asking to play Taboo again today. It'll have to wait until tomorrow.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCf9mGNbWABsUUSkF87Q3fNXtUzDrglIBAEJ7quZDfimID9iEKDRAoSMP0N7BPRYS2gOA586nau7wD4lVlYEYU1uW74HFawyHzBTIkcqL9Jwdb9ISk8qG1dXV7ZSds7ByYUG2AKnRuUsW9/s1600/20170726_163458.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCf9mGNbWABsUUSkF87Q3fNXtUzDrglIBAEJ7quZDfimID9iEKDRAoSMP0N7BPRYS2gOA586nau7wD4lVlYEYU1uW74HFawyHzBTIkcqL9Jwdb9ISk8qG1dXV7ZSds7ByYUG2AKnRuUsW9/s320/20170726_163458.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8um252aR2OT7C9WLoePIN58oQmxk8jLNZXqGsOkuyUPKRubUMr9NhC01nORKsGTjJ7FnGAFhoPm-Q0P8QHTMI8YsFUyy62Lz4l537xaPX50LwNmvhsOfFN1-OrAuIEA7a7AuPUlxOo6Ye/s1600/20170726_163630.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8um252aR2OT7C9WLoePIN58oQmxk8jLNZXqGsOkuyUPKRubUMr9NhC01nORKsGTjJ7FnGAFhoPm-Q0P8QHTMI8YsFUyy62Lz4l537xaPX50LwNmvhsOfFN1-OrAuIEA7a7AuPUlxOo6Ye/s320/20170726_163630.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFptM4HhAl5sllNP4JfTIeVucMBWWhuNvPPM7sVf2OwQS_1bTfHH6i5fQ7svqaDKtSGFC_sVHYbAK0d8-dMQtwZSM5jHIQJW3N8HJGyzcmQNCqMx_BhwklAFC5mz4V2_ef3zKyOS8XDvZ4/s1600/20170726_163634.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFptM4HhAl5sllNP4JfTIeVucMBWWhuNvPPM7sVf2OwQS_1bTfHH6i5fQ7svqaDKtSGFC_sVHYbAK0d8-dMQtwZSM5jHIQJW3N8HJGyzcmQNCqMx_BhwklAFC5mz4V2_ef3zKyOS8XDvZ4/s320/20170726_163634.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhykoEdtCovOoICLETkUAVoekr3lfs9e_GDa3LH21qPbsl8juHrUdEGNajyP7ipZoATVO5t2QtzcoKNZNI8D95oL36mnflKmdMmAodmf2H9wuQscfUmwAB0ezOagKzMyR_dflZQe1QDCqJ-/s1600/20170726_164739.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhykoEdtCovOoICLETkUAVoekr3lfs9e_GDa3LH21qPbsl8juHrUdEGNajyP7ipZoATVO5t2QtzcoKNZNI8D95oL36mnflKmdMmAodmf2H9wuQscfUmwAB0ezOagKzMyR_dflZQe1QDCqJ-/s320/20170726_164739.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
After Max's talk and another good dinner of rice and pork, we started movie night. They showed <i>The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe</i> with Russian subtitles. I've seen it already so I didn't watch it this time. But I did get to help demolish a huge bag of cheese-flavored popcorn. I don't think I'm a fan of it though. It's supposed to be cheese (I think) but it tastes more like Ramen noodles to me.<br />
Now that the general overview is out of the way, make way now for my opinions and observations. (<i>insert dramatic and slightly evil sounding music here</i>) I'm constantly amazed at the energy levels of the Ukrainian staff. I really don't understand how they do it year after year. For some of them, this is only one of two or three camps this year. Dima Zaitsev told me on Monday that he didn't sleep at all Sunday into Monday. I'd be dead tired or sleeping in class by lunch time if that happened. Throughout the events, the quest, and the discussion sessions, they seem to show tireless energy. It is my secret suspicion (not so secret now), that the Ukrainians are
all robots. They don't need to sleep, they just recharge from the 220V
sockets in their rooms at night while scheming up new and terrifying
ways to make us have fun.<br />
By comparison, I look at the American team and see that they are all in one way or another (myself included), wearing down. Whether by injury, sickness or just fatigue, our energy level seems to dip precipitously low every evening. It might be the activity level. It might be the stress of an unusual situation. We'll all be grateful when this camp closes on Saturday. Perhaps, for next year, we should petition the CIA to send along some of their cyborg prototypes to help teach English. <br />
But seriously, please continue to pray for our health and strength while we are here. We'll need some supernatural strength to get through this camp in one piece. Thanks for continuing to follow along with our adventures. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7W_gZwRXljEFy7Quy-zsw68QNyE57jc0Bt_Ukj6f0Y7nr4qyLLT0-WPmfMn027QmeoZ7oJJTM7yUkAiKmPyu2i2LUQtPBfB5VY-jXi6y5Ukts9gQD7ibswehNb0k1y819PqHyBpgtdYjM/s1600/20170726_200303.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7W_gZwRXljEFy7Quy-zsw68QNyE57jc0Bt_Ukj6f0Y7nr4qyLLT0-WPmfMn027QmeoZ7oJJTM7yUkAiKmPyu2i2LUQtPBfB5VY-jXi6y5Ukts9gQD7ibswehNb0k1y819PqHyBpgtdYjM/s320/20170726_200303.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15903876030434454162noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5294746822892172077.post-12553774800497314042017-07-25T16:18:00.001-04:002017-07-25T16:18:37.493-04:00Only Time Will Tell...<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn1v9JNJkrsHZsXlPPX_SWPLPFt9LFXcp4wKo9OqPulgLtILHYaOfXMw39hdQOvRF7hdcF6n4GBA15Q9KxSqR85yoNwi_CDyV3d8qU6RRHlbsJm6NmOLZ83Vh6oElWX1y_ajSr9ZX0ajoO/s1600/20170725_115800.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn1v9JNJkrsHZsXlPPX_SWPLPFt9LFXcp4wKo9OqPulgLtILHYaOfXMw39hdQOvRF7hdcF6n4GBA15Q9KxSqR85yoNwi_CDyV3d8qU6RRHlbsJm6NmOLZ83Vh6oElWX1y_ajSr9ZX0ajoO/s320/20170725_115800.jpg" width="320" /></a> ...how this camp will turn out. But right now, I have high hopes. As a preview for later in the post, there's been some pushback from students on certain things as usual but overall the mood is positive. <br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a> There was a comment from my dad on the last post with some questions that I wanted to share here. It's all information I failed to include due to not thinking clearly yesterday while I was writing. My dad wrote:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Questions: How many students total at camp? Three groups again? How
many students in your English class? How is the rest of the team?</i></blockquote>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi28iE8uPCUUsSlZvi11NJMeUkh__UYpf9YC-wpNGBirAuKy4X9qptUJSXRYGXIS1c32yexqviantGe8TR44DeKv2JQx4tcdMTxkXN5PxhBHZDambyED8sWoXWEPxpVAW5Y4MofPIw73zT3/s1600/20170724_112038.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi28iE8uPCUUsSlZvi11NJMeUkh__UYpf9YC-wpNGBirAuKy4X9qptUJSXRYGXIS1c32yexqviantGe8TR44DeKv2JQx4tcdMTxkXN5PxhBHZDambyED8sWoXWEPxpVAW5Y4MofPIw73zT3/s320/20170724_112038.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span id="bc_0_1b+seedRHRD" kind="d"> We have 31 or 32 students. I didn't
hear a final tally. We actually split intermediate again into two
groups. After the first day, Austin and Gretchen are taking one and I'm with the other. I
have 8 students but the camp photographer, a translator and a camp
helper stick around as well. The other group has the same.<br /> The rest
of the team is tired, but doing well. Gretchen hurt her knee a little
bit before the trip so she's not doing anything too strenuous. But so
far, other than me feeling sick, the team is good. I can say that, at least by lunch time, my situation was improving. I wasn't nearly so achy later in the day. The team in general is working on getting used to this new situation. Most of them haven't done anything exactly like this before and being thrown into a new situation is stressful enough. Add in a different country, two unfamiliar languages, and the uncertainty of learning new skills and it becomes a big drain on people. All things considered, the team is doing well. </span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy5g2iCkfHHw02luJY4WaNA1FBZ2OyMuv8nHQ7HLRFjCVHAEEe93-4ERx71a62uLdbTPxBLKkPmJXb3NGIcB77lkOE8DLVBELeoeZH4HAnH48yhz-CdgJVizFXrDSF68k9HjcNyoNdrKQD/s1600/20170725_122218.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy5g2iCkfHHw02luJY4WaNA1FBZ2OyMuv8nHQ7HLRFjCVHAEEe93-4ERx71a62uLdbTPxBLKkPmJXb3NGIcB77lkOE8DLVBELeoeZH4HAnH48yhz-CdgJVizFXrDSF68k9HjcNyoNdrKQD/s320/20170725_122218.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Gretchen leading a discussion of English idioms.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span id="bc_0_1b+seedRHRD" kind="d"> As for Tuesday, this <i>is</i> the update you've</span><span id="bc_0_1b+seedRHRD" kind="d"> been looking for. Tuesday, like Sunday, dawned way too early. My alarm went off at 7AM and I still hadn't rolled out of bed by 7:27. That's when I realized I finally had to get moving. It wasn't easy. The staff meeting was scheduled to start in three minutes. I made it in time but only because the other staff hadn't all arrived yet.</span><br />
I'm done complaining about being sick/tired so I'll just say it's not been or going to be an easy week. And the morning devotional reflected that. Zhenya, the camp leader, emphasized that we wouldn't be able to do any of this without God's strength supporting us along the way.<br />
I skipped the morning exercises in favor of resting and printing extra materials for the English lessons. Austin and I had more people than we expected. I had printed out ten copies of each lesson before camp and I needed an extra eight this morning. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixyPCq1BSoXh1zFBzd3xTlyH7UHZPYdO9DcTqfVCbjtAgBNeqdqTT_KWBCp8_t_ISHMdqHI5rseoYXjGueanVQHiNbtAii5r8cx_QnAYhQeACM4LpAOrU_UVfPsCxRH6iYlj6u8TwfOQoq/s1600/20170725_093247.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixyPCq1BSoXh1zFBzd3xTlyH7UHZPYdO9DcTqfVCbjtAgBNeqdqTT_KWBCp8_t_ISHMdqHI5rseoYXjGueanVQHiNbtAii5r8cx_QnAYhQeACM4LpAOrU_UVfPsCxRH6iYlj6u8TwfOQoq/s320/20170725_093247.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
As you can see above, this is a jam-packed schedule. Sadly however, there is no jam. A common complaint among the students at every camp is that there isn't enough free time. I would agree with them but there is a good reason for it. The camp staff can't fit everything they want to do into a day without packing every minute. It is partly a bang-for-the-buck thing. Concurrently, I suspect that the tiring schedule helps with getting their message into the students' heads.<br />
I noticed in my first English camp in 2014 that there was initially a lot of push-back from students on Max's talks. But as the week went on, it seemed like they were more and more open to his views/opinions/message. I distinctly remember writing "they're thinking" in my journal from the that week. In the team time, the staff has a series of questions that are supposed to work along side of the lectures. During the team time, they go around the circle and ask everyone these questions. It's interesting to hear some of their answers. You hear new theories and ideas that you never expected. And for the purposes of the team time, no answer is wrong. It's essential to tease out their thoughts to force them to think clearly about what their beliefs really are. They then have to examine their beliefs in light of the information Max conveys in the lectures.<br />
<span id="bc_0_1b+seedRHRD" kind="d"></span> Changing tacks a little, English was a lot easier today. It was scheduled as the longest lesson time this week. 10:20 to 1PM. Fortunately I got to use
our biggest lesson for today. It helped make the time pass quickly. I
also have been remembering my old teaching style and refining it a
little for this camp. I started off with a game of hangman to review the lesson from yesterday. It turns out the students liked it. I'll have to remember that in the future. I also spent a longer time on their pronunciation with emphasizing how to say the "th" sound.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbtYsmTEpRVL3zVWuI6Ce7bB3A2k1rYnwv_AkmTpkKK2fAN6UZwVso8ty_C8rbi1OS7mOfMGXzqtOatoUq0FrhNds1pBKSoEpSrCU1s2CIWCv2eSgDJqJYWu5lbKr8r9wTZT26HmX9qCv9/s1600/20170725_130857.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbtYsmTEpRVL3zVWuI6Ce7bB3A2k1rYnwv_AkmTpkKK2fAN6UZwVso8ty_C8rbi1OS7mOfMGXzqtOatoUq0FrhNds1pBKSoEpSrCU1s2CIWCv2eSgDJqJYWu5lbKr8r9wTZT26HmX9qCv9/s320/20170725_130857.jpg" width="180" /></a> Lunch was good again. Although I didn't eat everything laid out on the table. Take a look at the picture and you might be able to see why. That big purple mass is called салат (sallat). It's closest American analogy is coleslaw. This is made primarily with mayonnaise with some cabbage and other ingredients thrown in for good measure. I never acquired a taste for it. Probably never will. And yes, that is a good approximation of chicken noodle soup. About the only difference was the added parsley and potatoes. <br />
In the afternoon, before the lecture, we had scheduled "fun." I thought it was. We did an activity called "living library" or "human book" depending on how you translate it. Basically it was a conversation time that we could talk with students one-on-one both to practice their English and to get to know them better.<br />
The rest of the day was fairly standard. Team time, lecture, dinner, more team time, and then capture the flag. We did however have the option to go play table games. When I was walking into the room, Vitaly, who I know from English club, called me over to play the cajon and shakers. It's been about eleven months since I played but it felt like stepping back into a familiar place. I haven't forgotten the basic beats and can generally keep time well enough. We ended up playing together for over an hour. Two other people joined in while we were playing. Gretchen sang for a few songs and Igor, whom I also met in English Club, played bass. It was a good way to round out the night, playing some familiar songs as well as new ones. <br />
Tomorrow looks to be very interesting as we have a huge block of time simply labeled "Quest." Judging from quests in the past, it will certainly be unique. I'll try to take pictures along the way but I can't promise. It also depends on how awake I am when unearthly-thirty rolls around in the morning. Supposedly it's only at 7:20 that we need to meet but it's blocked out 'til 1:30PM tomorrow. It'll be a long morning. I should go sleep so I can function then. Good night.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15903876030434454162noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5294746822892172077.post-67338145866971689542017-07-24T15:11:00.001-04:002017-08-07T17:59:08.109-04:00Wish You Were Here<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA9chLP_qlFGbFFTS646-DGd0rsepHm5DVg2Hob3P55zNIvhPkoLCLD-Vgyx73wzxTOvzrMPPo2DRJGpzy5VfIJYLjTcwlj18S_5jIyQvccd0yjey7rlge_95B8jGuletuL2VrPhyphenhyphenOvJnt/s1600/20170724_053008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA9chLP_qlFGbFFTS646-DGd0rsepHm5DVg2Hob3P55zNIvhPkoLCLD-Vgyx73wzxTOvzrMPPo2DRJGpzy5VfIJYLjTcwlj18S_5jIyQvccd0yjey7rlge_95B8jGuletuL2VrPhyphenhyphenOvJnt/s320/20170724_053008.jpg" width="320" /></a> The weather is beautiful. Or as my dad likes to say, "The weather is here, wish you were beautiful."<br />
What a day. I guess I'll begin at the beginning (what a novel concept) and we'll see where this goes. Not hitting writer's block just yet but it'll certainly feel like it soon.<br />
<a name='more'></a> The day dawned way too early. The time stamp on that photo above the break is 5:30AM. Right about the time my body decided it was time to start being awake. The body is strong but the brain is weak. Or something like that. We needed to be out of the hotel early to get to the office before students. It didn't quite work out as discussed Sunday night but we still got there with plenty of time.<br />
After two taxis dropped us off at the office, we all piled in for photos, name tags, and the pre-camp ritual of student evaluation. Side note, it felt good to be back in the Big City office again. I spent innumerable hours in there. Like I said yesterday, it kind of felt like coming home.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhI3trtu0_jUNidZpXxpPHdOou5AkhYL1hrsDrcPlgwlGLaoi0PpyYxVWCYatX9wIbWitRQAcoV1yz3NKrio5KiOtNpxb_ETs5RWEIe195txDsUsVqXW4cF8vm311XdWO6FxWI3rxkxBzn/s1600/20170724_092449.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhI3trtu0_jUNidZpXxpPHdOou5AkhYL1hrsDrcPlgwlGLaoi0PpyYxVWCYatX9wIbWitRQAcoV1yz3NKrio5KiOtNpxb_ETs5RWEIe195txDsUsVqXW4cF8vm311XdWO6FxWI3rxkxBzn/s320/20170724_092449.jpg" width="320" /></a> Pre-camp evaluations are an essential part of preparation for the camp. If we didn't do this, we'd be shuffling people in the English lessons for the rest of the week. The main idea is to talk with the students and figure out their comfort/skill level with English. The comfort level isn't nearly as important as their skill. We want to stretch and grow the students as they proceed through the camp. If it seems like they are on the border between skill levels, i.e. between beginner and intermediate, we'll push them to the higher level to force them to use what English they know and add to it throughout the week.<br />
Side note, the second, I saw several people from previous camps that I recognized. And even one student went to the <a href="http://brianandukraine.blogspot.com/2016/07/no-time.html">Transform English Academy</a> where I taught last year. Those were unexpected but welcome surprises. <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD4T-QXfEJTnxZwHM69XDngdxB6ursftrxvLFP6I-_mu5-Mp3vcw0TBLfbW6C3wBXzkqTkoR0ZDKk30FqZDr7ApLujuqwIghGngFFOOfKrGT1VOBxhkFe7_yu98_tXQ6Jx0QHy8JT1elk1/s1600/20170724_100532.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD4T-QXfEJTnxZwHM69XDngdxB6ursftrxvLFP6I-_mu5-Mp3vcw0TBLfbW6C3wBXzkqTkoR0ZDKk30FqZDr7ApLujuqwIghGngFFOOfKrGT1VOBxhkFe7_yu98_tXQ6Jx0QHy8JT1elk1/s320/20170724_100532.jpg" width="320" /></a> Once the evaluations were finished, it was time to load up and head out. The bus we were graced with this time was a double-decker similar to what we had to take us to the <a href="http://brianandukraine.blogspot.com/2015/08/first-day-of-camp.html">camp at the Black Sea</a> in 2015. This time the ride was blessedly shorter. However it rocked like the sway bars and shocks had parted ways with their duties. High-seas-on-a-stormy-night kind of rock-n-roll. I'm not sure if the discomfort I was feeling was related to that or something else. More on that later. Fortunately we avoided any other big stomach-situations. It seems I'm not the only one who's susceptible to crazy drivers and motion sickness. <br />
But like I said, the ride was much shorter than two years ago. It also seemed a little quieter. We didn't have as much time during the trip to get acquainted with the students. However it was a good chance to be still (as much as we could) for a few moments and collect our thoughts. Before we knew it, we'd arrived at Zazimie.<br />
The <a href="https://www.google.com.ua/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjQxLfntKLVAhWEB5oKHdIwBckQFggqMAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.zazimie.kiev.ua%2F&usg=AFQjCNHn_ED5Arg6-PvQUt0Y0DafUdOApw">Hotel Complex Zazimie</a> is a getaway location about an hour northeast Kiev. By far, it's the best location we've utilized for English camp in the four years I've been doing this. You'll see from the pictures but, trust me, it's good. My room, which I'm sharing with Brandon is really nice. It has a bigger bathroom than my apartment back home. It's fully furnished (fridge, couch, leopard-print curtains) and quite comfortable.<br />
Once we were all settled, we divided up the students and staff into their group. I'm on Green Team this year with one other American, Megan. Sasha, who plays in the worship band at Big City Church, is our group leader. The daughter of my Russian teacher is our translator. We filled our first time with ice-breakers, some games and a time of get-to-know-you with the students on our team.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-8sCQ8Y6GpZt1tkwjeXi32qV-pDNiwHIOPS7ESULLKwtWMEsuD3AcgYVbGNPs_S5BE_rerp_0QzWIsp4eM6b0ZYncOUtwUKv5BvBAEbkTbLEi0R1UjL4ShF2fEP56uVOHHKIujxx7NWHw/s1600/20170724_121404.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-8sCQ8Y6GpZt1tkwjeXi32qV-pDNiwHIOPS7ESULLKwtWMEsuD3AcgYVbGNPs_S5BE_rerp_0QzWIsp4eM6b0ZYncOUtwUKv5BvBAEbkTbLEi0R1UjL4ShF2fEP56uVOHHKIujxx7NWHw/s320/20170724_121404.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Natasha, Sasha, Valentine, Vladislave, Alina</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkb-U8luF-OxQVR3stbhmfVMIHyr_3YGh0yI7r4v3dHgv9mGZZA52kAkbFfJFPoxHEzagdmqRzUvyK1buQksN5PGfBg62Yz3B6XDAbfDgG-5zsbRAmFqj_yyxjPZb5ZDJJTGibbpQSdgPH/s1600/20170724_121407.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkb-U8luF-OxQVR3stbhmfVMIHyr_3YGh0yI7r4v3dHgv9mGZZA52kAkbFfJFPoxHEzagdmqRzUvyK1buQksN5PGfBg62Yz3B6XDAbfDgG-5zsbRAmFqj_yyxjPZb5ZDJJTGibbpQSdgPH/s320/20170724_121407.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Vika, Helen, Viktoria, Sergey, Julia</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnLPGVpkxlzob8bxBZCQnIk1RQe9CaVrUVa6IOKzu9SgoPJNXx3zpl4rvFJEF3ZNdTSBN3gauCT6wuI7AGc2YKcbpvUz8ePt21EZEMAgc21ZOdEz-SbagjVi-mQ3ZibI797CDo8rrw_cn-/s1600/20170724_125042.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnLPGVpkxlzob8bxBZCQnIk1RQe9CaVrUVa6IOKzu9SgoPJNXx3zpl4rvFJEF3ZNdTSBN3gauCT6wuI7AGc2YKcbpvUz8ePt21EZEMAgc21ZOdEz-SbagjVi-mQ3ZibI797CDo8rrw_cn-/s320/20170724_125042.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
English on the first day is always a little rough, today included. It's been over a year since I've done anything English teaching-related. Not since the English club ended at the beginning of last summer. But for a rusty first time out, it wasn't mind-numbingly bad. Just rough.<br />
The sport time today is kind of hard to explain. We were told ahead of time to put on clothes that we didn't mind messing up. So shortly after English we showed up to the football field in the back of the complex for an interesting game time. There was water, slip-n-slides, water balloon launchers, and lots of running. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDPkGVlrPQoxzhaUgdtT6JoEgYFFEt77ek8GbMgglEyupvJppdA1RxPZRfZ0rlAvTPHUhdQKw7rOEKvD8ciwy5CZEp_NNHZ7GjpeF81o4N3P67UYfc45m2huweeyOdqjmBoVmGrUK0RwKL/s1600/20170724_165531.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDPkGVlrPQoxzhaUgdtT6JoEgYFFEt77ek8GbMgglEyupvJppdA1RxPZRfZ0rlAvTPHUhdQKw7rOEKvD8ciwy5CZEp_NNHZ7GjpeF81o4N3P67UYfc45m2huweeyOdqjmBoVmGrUK0RwKL/s320/20170724_165531.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYnnQi0_B3YRWz3lGQ4McCRPiJwAUOyr19iJ53H3211nx1f0PEO18RnjNOSCPszP5Q7gsahLwyq6EC-Z-Z2xydFzKO-MS3moFoimftP-C3Z_zW93aYOFuKfYdgeBRffjQFrRWfSPdQmJY4/s1600/20170724_165532.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYnnQi0_B3YRWz3lGQ4McCRPiJwAUOyr19iJ53H3211nx1f0PEO18RnjNOSCPszP5Q7gsahLwyq6EC-Z-Z2xydFzKO-MS3moFoimftP-C3Z_zW93aYOFuKfYdgeBRffjQFrRWfSPdQmJY4/s320/20170724_165532.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdWHsoMRJK0LIzj6reTIE7GniHcG-K3S1JJfbOL83Afp08BqTnwr3ZT90r9iZTScDcrbNE-XSZSqqnpxwt-ji7cDd0DhdxgVGfoIm4TDQ3pbJnJ3Rbivx15Bw13W7XL91gdd-WsP-OQKL0/s1600/20170724_171055.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdWHsoMRJK0LIzj6reTIE7GniHcG-K3S1JJfbOL83Afp08BqTnwr3ZT90r9iZTScDcrbNE-XSZSqqnpxwt-ji7cDd0DhdxgVGfoIm4TDQ3pbJnJ3Rbivx15Bw13W7XL91gdd-WsP-OQKL0/s320/20170724_171055.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs2k91CNtAhIIaOK_yst-763WHcOQJHvSlqMUFev4WTArk-LkSEJWTziKOS74HKlbQ8lZbkYhTvUIQPOc560TthmPU-u-Nj2fxRhzqy0qNz_w1o_CyCm2isiyvekZ81uNtInv0V0mXS1pd/s1600/20170724_171131.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs2k91CNtAhIIaOK_yst-763WHcOQJHvSlqMUFev4WTArk-LkSEJWTziKOS74HKlbQ8lZbkYhTvUIQPOc560TthmPU-u-Nj2fxRhzqy0qNz_w1o_CyCm2isiyvekZ81uNtInv0V0mXS1pd/s320/20170724_171131.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdEeb3NuAGWiPhm2OPQKFzi8AT7Cj2WANnbo4XYwYQ8IEovCbY8n3IClaWRUNqqIwQDeB4Wj9_D4ytEnlx3DZmzR15lE-ZTfYl8PjvOwfO6FV_QufnAJT-5uMQ7_sB2KlSwxR4CNg-00og/s1600/20170724_173240.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdEeb3NuAGWiPhm2OPQKFzi8AT7Cj2WANnbo4XYwYQ8IEovCbY8n3IClaWRUNqqIwQDeB4Wj9_D4ytEnlx3DZmzR15lE-ZTfYl8PjvOwfO6FV_QufnAJT-5uMQ7_sB2KlSwxR4CNg-00og/s320/20170724_173240.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0_8nFSSptgZlZOOFwOul1Ugovks3s0D0g4n55In5cn7f-mmnDoCIM4imErcbkv3zC71kaLX2nH0C4M1w2fPOttpNE5M7e8ufijlI9mkbkbo1DG0d34beHnGRD9M-73kQy_XmE-WV5ezvI/s1600/20170724_173347.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0_8nFSSptgZlZOOFwOul1Ugovks3s0D0g4n55In5cn7f-mmnDoCIM4imErcbkv3zC71kaLX2nH0C4M1w2fPOttpNE5M7e8ufijlI9mkbkbo1DG0d34beHnGRD9M-73kQy_XmE-WV5ezvI/s320/20170724_173347.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPqKjWrAVP6l_6kam2qFMuHH29d3McBmxmjx0WQ8lvAUH2XwwvLktIzUdQDT9OcxFjxdT8KvoA-QYwCqBbyWK3qvgsNnIaH5mn84DmCHKQv75C1U_P8EDWxyj-OyvDf4vtDkepcnLqZbJA/s1600/20170724_181336.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPqKjWrAVP6l_6kam2qFMuHH29d3McBmxmjx0WQ8lvAUH2XwwvLktIzUdQDT9OcxFjxdT8KvoA-QYwCqBbyWK3qvgsNnIaH5mn84DmCHKQv75C1U_P8EDWxyj-OyvDf4vtDkepcnLqZbJA/s320/20170724_181336.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Dinner was really good tonight. I had some tea with my rice, mixed veggies and meatballs. </i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I'm feeling brief tonight so I'll just say that Max is back. He's not in charge of X-Way this year. He's just here for the lecture time. His series this week is very similar to what he's spoken about in the past. He's titled his series "Way Home."<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBCYioe_echGl5beqMs2XVYfhDe2tXxuHDrtr5D9G5WExjZ5lNVBzw_CA0xojKf7QF8aE_W0SBEjrGzIGJYWVCckjCGvxlh6oBfoEsaNRcq7th0FBzhyV3tI5QGOSPYD8kyW2hhh3j_FGz/s1600/20170724_191220.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBCYioe_echGl5beqMs2XVYfhDe2tXxuHDrtr5D9G5WExjZ5lNVBzw_CA0xojKf7QF8aE_W0SBEjrGzIGJYWVCckjCGvxlh6oBfoEsaNRcq7th0FBzhyV3tI5QGOSPYD8kyW2hhh3j_FGz/s320/20170724_191220.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
The opening ceremonies were oddly placed towards the end of the first day. That's OK. It gave me time to work on piecing together the American team's introduction video while Max was talking.<br />
Like I've said in the past, this isn't a vacation. Most of us have taken vacation time to be here. It's gonna be tough and frustrating at times. But by the Grace of God, we'll get through. Gotta sleep now. And it's not even done yet. Still have team time. Unfortunately, I'm not feeling that great. Like I said earlier, there was some discomfort on the bus ride, stomach-wise. It seems to have morphed into the beginning stages of a fever. I'll spare the gory details. Basically I'm not feeling well and we've still got four and a half days of camp. Four and a half days of English, activities, and interactions that must happen. I'm going to get as much sleep tonight as I can and we'll see how things are in the morning. Good night.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15903876030434454162noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5294746822892172077.post-46375018110436394872017-07-23T12:30:00.000-04:002017-07-23T12:36:16.258-04:00Still the Same<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicF426z6gtX5hc9UAu4voN75FRegZgLRWEBp8W6Hz4B8wGhQTmqlOh6-lHfmofJun75XzuMkGrTmJDomWIDpy9mu1w6lTHvGy3P9x_poH2bKLxhUeZwzTcRlVTWjeVxcp65AWGzehQHW7g/s1600/20170722_205408.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicF426z6gtX5hc9UAu4voN75FRegZgLRWEBp8W6Hz4B8wGhQTmqlOh6-lHfmofJun75XzuMkGrTmJDomWIDpy9mu1w6lTHvGy3P9x_poH2bKLxhUeZwzTcRlVTWjeVxcp65AWGzehQHW7g/s320/20170722_205408.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The view north towards Padol on the Dnipr.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I'm not sure what I was expecting when I came back to Ukraine. Would things be the same? What will have changed in the months since last September? To be honest, during all the preparation, neither of those questions ran through my head. But now that I'm here, I'm constantly seeing things that have changed, been upgraded, or improved. And yet, so much is still the same. The Rodina Mat (Motherland statue) still stands guard over the city. Street vendors still hawk their wares from nearly every street corner. And the marshrukas still worry the inexperienced. <br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
Where I'm going with this is that I am definitely not "still the same" compared to just a year ago. Look at what's happened so far. I spent thirteen months of my life here. I learned how to be an extrovert. I have changed so much and now I'm leading a team (with help) of Americans to teach English to college students. Try telling the Brian of even five years ago that things would turn out that way. He'd probably laugh in your face. To prove my point, I'll give couple of examples.<br />
This morning for breakfast, our camp leader Zhenya walked with us to Puzata Hata. I should do a quick rewind. We were supposed to be out of our rooms at 9AM to meet and walk to the restaurant. I missed it but not by much. Two of the team overslept and had to come along later. So Zhenya had to walk back and get them after they finished getting ready. He leaves us at the restaurant with something to the effect of "Can you help them get through the line," directed at me. I say sure and he heads off. My initial feeling was that of being tossed in the ocean and being told "Swim." We managed. No one went hungry. In fact it was a very good breakfast. It's just that you never know what you can or can't do until you try it (within reason of course). I even ordered tea for myself without hesitation. <br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR6zDHWgtig1fzjLhL6dhuhfexkc6DVrQM3p9mBjsDWF_xxArBym0OEeDerdIMrFQbsr8-Uig52qeau_7jIgES6DTq0XTaG2LI6RDw9GQJeKtNAjLaCZK-He4rSuQukVlhiGmCX0cPvDWm/s1600/20170723_104914.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR6zDHWgtig1fzjLhL6dhuhfexkc6DVrQM3p9mBjsDWF_xxArBym0OEeDerdIMrFQbsr8-Uig52qeau_7jIgES6DTq0XTaG2LI6RDw9GQJeKtNAjLaCZK-He4rSuQukVlhiGmCX0cPvDWm/s320/20170723_104914.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Aijalon and Austin</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8eB33dIJAaTN8pwgYsEGI4U5PgWUZXwlTIVZ4L0aHLbjbN8ieBIJprVBsxsW7-7mDS3OiIMm6oXypAhAB74Bu2VW2ETcaHzxR2wZntSs4P08cn5Zs4EbJ7Ytz8Vf6L4F68jOK9fs8ST60/s1600/20170723_104912.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8eB33dIJAaTN8pwgYsEGI4U5PgWUZXwlTIVZ4L0aHLbjbN8ieBIJprVBsxsW7-7mDS3OiIMm6oXypAhAB74Bu2VW2ETcaHzxR2wZntSs4P08cn5Zs4EbJ7Ytz8Vf6L4F68jOK9fs8ST60/s320/20170723_104912.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>David, Gretchen, Bryson, Megan (hidden) and Brandon</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Example number two. This one really isn't that strange for me. But what did surprise me was my comfort level with it. After breakfast we needed to get to the church quickly. So Zhenya called a pair of taxis to get us there. Three people went with me in the first. I'd had taxis called for me before so that part wasn't weird. But having three people that I barely knew in the back with me didn't bother me. I guess the "different" thing here was confidence. Again, tell that to the Brian of five year ago and scoffing would ensue.<br />
One thing I've been very happy to discover on this trip is how quickly the American team is making friends with the Ukrainian team. It may have happened in years past but I probably just didn't notice it. Those two pictures to the right aren't really good examples. I caught them before many people were at church. Aijalon is very quickly expanding his Ukrainian vocabulary. He's been asking lots of people how to say different things in what I think will be his third language. Bryson is doing much the same only with the Russian language. The girls, Gretchen and Meagan, also seem to being bonding well with the girls of the Ukrainian team. Multiple times I've heard unbridled laughter coming from their little clique. And that's absolutely a great thing.<br />
For things that haven't changed much, I have plenty of examples. The metro is still loud. The office looks the same as it did before. White kvass still tastes awesome. And Ukrainian pizza is still...interesting.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia1HCFvX6XisPY_-QAZvicmAPzBWkuvnPo0n9CI4iF0KEfMqg1x8yuO1osl3z0ojDykZOrnvQChQPG5rQZgpq4y7ZKkdtpI6PA_5H6kXBlBbyT5nJ52XAFTAr4zTfuCYhIyD9Qi8SASxQO/s1600/20170723_145704.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia1HCFvX6XisPY_-QAZvicmAPzBWkuvnPo0n9CI4iF0KEfMqg1x8yuO1osl3z0ojDykZOrnvQChQPG5rQZgpq4y7ZKkdtpI6PA_5H6kXBlBbyT5nJ52XAFTAr4zTfuCYhIyD9Qi8SASxQO/s320/20170723_145704.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Dima and his camera, Sasha picking apart a banana slice, Austin learning how to bend time, and Bryson being Bryson.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga2GjI-sjGcwMfHDdxYdDNkH2ZgGvATsnLQ33I4KauHLVwpzWjAeHoiahX4PkiUZHi3EKyqYjbHSWXTN2WO29b2MlRFqG7ZzqMBGqPUkH1ITQYP4wQ6ksvEwU8s524mIiUNGXBJnmtYdso/s1600/20170723_145712.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga2GjI-sjGcwMfHDdxYdDNkH2ZgGvATsnLQ33I4KauHLVwpzWjAeHoiahX4PkiUZHi3EKyqYjbHSWXTN2WO29b2MlRFqG7ZzqMBGqPUkH1ITQYP4wQ6ksvEwU8s524mIiUNGXBJnmtYdso/s320/20170723_145712.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
After church the whole of the camp staff made their way to the office for the first full team meeting. Like every good meeting, it started with food. Ukrainian pizza, when you're not ordering a simple version, will come in all sorts of strange combinations that less adventurous people might find disturbing. Ginger and chicken, pineapple and chicken, jalapenos and cheese, sausage (Ukrainian) and onions and yellow peppers. What I'm saying is that you need to have a life-changing experience like I did and visit Ukraine to try all these wonderfully eclectic combinations.<br />
The meeting went very well. It was mostly about laying out the schedule for the week as well as what teams we'd all be on. I'm very interested to see what this week brings. For the past three summers, I've been a part of the Liberty camp. This time around, I'm helping out with X-way. There has been some overlap of staff but not much.<br />
I think sharing some prayer requests is in order. The whole team is tired. Some aren't showing it very much but we all are. The past two days felt like one long, 48 hour day without much sleep. Please pray that we have energy to keep up and participate in all the activities this week. Also pray that we stay healthy too. Its too easy to get sick or hurt in an unfamiliar environment. <br />
Now that the meeting is over, we are back at the hotel trying to catch what rest we can before an American team meeting to finalize our plans for the week. That'll happen in a few minutes. Time enough to finish off my daily write-up. I'll leave you with this photo. <i><u><b>I SAW A UNICORN YESTERDAY!!!</b></u></i> I know it looks like a Jeep and that there are more in the city but I actually saw this one. Excuse the blurry picture. I was using my phone with the digital zoom. Not the best but it worked for this.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6cBg44lGaiOIXJsiYOsvstuYy9bjL-wN3eXDZO_9eZZKHRDgTf3DDFzNfJgD_i_pGiQBmVeKIyyOf2su7iCTFvGamijQnAsEoyDE06zKaapfqlunsQFx4GLIQsIvXiSggml8TJAfhWB8I/s1600/20170722_210817.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6cBg44lGaiOIXJsiYOsvstuYy9bjL-wN3eXDZO_9eZZKHRDgTf3DDFzNfJgD_i_pGiQBmVeKIyyOf2su7iCTFvGamijQnAsEoyDE06zKaapfqlunsQFx4GLIQsIvXiSggml8TJAfhWB8I/s400/20170722_210817.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>A Jeep TJ in the Ukrainian wild</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15903876030434454162noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5294746822892172077.post-83803993815233923022017-07-22T04:30:00.001-04:002017-07-22T10:37:46.417-04:00Same Old Song and Dance (edited)<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO7Pm9KvzzWoPj6-1tnYR5tFfCfptw0_QXNuPyc4ikdyIi44xGGSOr24xrVaQVUGuXMMKi9qeS3zPQL4m5sd_ytJX-Ms2FwIyT3NvMeW9Qp2Rpjs08841pqgF6dFxgMVnWq7qM3fDi9Aou/s1600/20170721_184342.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO7Pm9KvzzWoPj6-1tnYR5tFfCfptw0_QXNuPyc4ikdyIi44xGGSOr24xrVaQVUGuXMMKi9qeS3zPQL4m5sd_ytJX-Ms2FwIyT3NvMeW9Qp2Rpjs08841pqgF6dFxgMVnWq7qM3fDi9Aou/s320/20170721_184342.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Surprisingly decent airplane food. Well, most of it.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
It's that same old feeling again. Cramped quarters, cabin air, airplane food, and shared experience that makes traveling with friends so interesting.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfYZ3JbtU_3JXr4VpWSAbiY_VU1DErICN3IH_mhCsoKBkmnvsW4XPeT0rdS7eHg4e1-iboaBanuQjEDVfq6b9S-osj4o-ObzVOkG79BNqfnjLaj9iCS9ZdnIgAqRLtuFmGY7K-qHve_CpR/s1600/20170722_020201.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfYZ3JbtU_3JXr4VpWSAbiY_VU1DErICN3IH_mhCsoKBkmnvsW4XPeT0rdS7eHg4e1-iboaBanuQjEDVfq6b9S-osj4o-ObzVOkG79BNqfnjLaj9iCS9ZdnIgAqRLtuFmGY7K-qHve_CpR/s320/20170722_020201.jpg" width="320" /></a> We're off and running. Most of us though are running on three hours of sleep or less. Myself included. As I write this (or rather beginning to), I'm sitting in the Warsaw Chopin Airport in Poland in a quiet lounge with airplanes unloading outside my window. But that's almost not enough to keep me awake. I'll need some serious sleep once this day is over. And it's not even half-done yet.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf0tN3gYCylxUHUT1GqGtfsnacu8OhSz1sp0oEhq4OpWgQmjMyJty0cpNDOVe17PuGf5T_nlN5w243kRCnlKWhnqmbMssGvgqlN15aaS-V4INZYFTaALVlTcNhWG1hh82lCbrP59FDIQki/s1600/20170721_155348.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf0tN3gYCylxUHUT1GqGtfsnacu8OhSz1sp0oEhq4OpWgQmjMyJty0cpNDOVe17PuGf5T_nlN5w243kRCnlKWhnqmbMssGvgqlN15aaS-V4INZYFTaALVlTcNhWG1hh82lCbrP59FDIQki/s320/20170721_155348.jpg" width="320" /></a> Rewinding a little, I should talk about the team a bit. My church, Covenant OPC in Reading, PA, partnered with Emmanuel Presbyterian out of Wilmington, DE, to teach English at the X-Way Sandcastles camp in Kiev this year. Four people from each church joined in. They are variously scattered around me either sleeping or keeping occupied until our second flight comes in. I believe that we'll really gel as a team and come together well on this trip. If our meetings and first meal on this trip are any indication, it shouldn't be hard.<br />
Warsaw is only a stop along the way to Kiev. It's a welcome one too. I'm not sure I could handle another non-stop flight. After touch-down, I've got a feeling it'll be a while before we can really relax. Acclimating to the local time-zone is generally best done by staying up until the local bedtime. Sightseeing will likely be the order of the day until then.<br />
This routine of airports and security and passports is old-hat to me. I've done this plenty of times before. But this time I've got a team of my own in tow. That'll certainly throw a few more interesting kinks into the mix. But so far, so good. Things will take off quickly after tomorrow. Church in the morning, some more sightseeing, then final prep for camp. Then the craziness begins. <br />
I may update this as we go through the day. Or just a few words before bed. But for now, I've gotta get my team to our next flight. See you in the next post.<br />
<br />
<b>Edited 7/22/17 @ 17:45</b><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDoERV_t6jlP_g3GcS-AGkE76PhoqtVejgaVyjCVmpE7hIGe2zz917SLM9zSJghO0cPWpmm-VYUBI3fNGhA6fmo9MDeUih13kFnjdNmxlkhD3z7ljyCLVUmPf2UQFnTbz7o6AL3arP0sCW/s1600/20170722_152550.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDoERV_t6jlP_g3GcS-AGkE76PhoqtVejgaVyjCVmpE7hIGe2zz917SLM9zSJghO0cPWpmm-VYUBI3fNGhA6fmo9MDeUih13kFnjdNmxlkhD3z7ljyCLVUmPf2UQFnTbz7o6AL3arP0sCW/s320/20170722_152550.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Most of our team, Ukrainian and American, on the bus.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Well, we made it. We're finally on the ground in Kiev. It's down time at the moment but we're recharging and getting ready for a small night out.<br />
The team all made it safely though security except for a small hiccup, Aijalon left his phone on the plane. He did eventually get it back. We got out of the airport about an hour late after the phone situation and exchanging money. It'll be fine though. We're learning to be flexible. <br />
For me, the ride into the city from Borispil airport felt kind of like coming home. It's been almost ten full months since I last set foot in Ukraine. Ten months of American life really made me happy to see familiar sights here again. The Rodina Mat, marshrukas, Novus and other things. On top of that, I got to see friends from before waiting for us as we walked out of the security zone at the airport.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu41QRbD3WJbOjl8Ty0pAcbcDrGz-PlI4xFUkm4JmNlQhHxBTPvwnx2W4FwE8DTcGUaJf1Y5idsCHCX-U4yE9CHHJLfgZQpMOiOR1VJhnp3GO0GjthzRnbyNR_UhokC7m7ZrPsMyuVpM9C/s1600/20170722_163758.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu41QRbD3WJbOjl8Ty0pAcbcDrGz-PlI4xFUkm4JmNlQhHxBTPvwnx2W4FwE8DTcGUaJf1Y5idsCHCX-U4yE9CHHJLfgZQpMOiOR1VJhnp3GO0GjthzRnbyNR_UhokC7m7ZrPsMyuVpM9C/s320/20170722_163758.jpg" width="320" /></a> Right now we're resting in our digs for the weekend. It's a hotel (with air conditioning!) on the western side of the city. The beds are comfortable, the linens are clean, the view is great and we've got a few minutes to just sit still. Later we're going out on the town for some dinner and to show the newbies (Aijalon and the Emmanuel team) around Kiev. That should be fun. To my eyes, it'll all be familiar. But I'd like to see how they look at the city.<br />
It's time to head out now so I'll sign off here. Have a good weekend and look for the next post in a day or so. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15903876030434454162noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5294746822892172077.post-8128868164383987222017-07-16T18:36:00.001-04:002017-07-16T18:42:54.660-04:00Takin' Care of Business (pt 2)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcT_kDK1wkgprs-gpKJd0rjsYzdHqkVf_jl0S0idEGEthf9S5bjNhaEXVRfJV4PNk3bK72-_EUV0oeypKGg73G4DZiNL14yrcI16A9f_xOOfIsYRRH0wPZ_6eWT1JeaSlytqMh0czCZf5A/s1600/20150813_155325.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcT_kDK1wkgprs-gpKJd0rjsYzdHqkVf_jl0S0idEGEthf9S5bjNhaEXVRfJV4PNk3bK72-_EUV0oeypKGg73G4DZiNL14yrcI16A9f_xOOfIsYRRH0wPZ_6eWT1JeaSlytqMh0czCZf5A/s320/20150813_155325.jpg" width="320" /></a> That's right folks. I'M BACK! The Brian and Ukraine blog is officially back in business. The crew here (that is, just me) is all ready to bring you more exciting content from Brian's travels to the land of vyshyvanka and dill-in-everything. I should explain.<br />
<a name='more'></a> After a long hiatus, I am going back to Ukraine. Specifically, I'm leading a team back for the summer English camp <a href="https://vk.com/xwaycamp">X-Way</a>. I and the team will be teaching English to college students for a week in a manner similar to what we've done in the past (2014, <a href="http://brianandukraine.blogspot.com/2015/08/first-day-of-camp.html">2015</a>, and <a href="http://brianandukraine.blogspot.com/2016/08/smokin.html">2016</a>). This time though, instead of helping out at Liberty camp, we're lending our expertise (in our native language) to X-Way.<br />
Both camps are put on by members of Big City Church. However, the staff are different groups. During the thirteen months I spent in Ukraine, I was on the Liberty team. This time though, I'm switching alliances....I mean, umm, seeing how the other side does things. Yeah, that's it. You get the idea.<br />
In truth, there was a little mix up in the dates of the camps. We were planning to be at the Liberty camp but the dates didn't mesh with what we were told. Short answer to a complicated situation. Long story short, we're going to X-Way. But that's OK. We're going and it's going to be awesome. <br />
Covenant OPC (my church) is partnering with Emanuel Presbyterian Church in Delaware to send a team this year. Four people from each church are going to be flying out this Friday (July the 21st) for ten days of teaching, laughing, learning, exploring and walking all over the city of Kiev. <br />
This post if more of a heads-up to anyone out there who may still be following this blog as to what will be following over the next two weeks or so. I'm planning to write a little about each day that we're in-country. We'll see how that actually goes. It's not easy cataloguing the activities of each day of English camp. But I'll try.<br />
So what's been happening since I got back? Yeah, I really should have kept up with this. But life took over. Specifically, working a new job (where I've been for six months now), taking up mountain biking, moving to an apartment of my own, and generally just being American. That was my main goal when I came back last year. So far (and I'm being completely modest here), I'd say I'm doing a pretty good job.<br />
For those of you still reading, thanks for hanging around. I'll talk to you again soon.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15903876030434454162noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5294746822892172077.post-53042965577569565482016-09-09T14:10:00.002-04:002016-09-09T14:10:42.760-04:00Bicycle<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3ASfNPIr9usA_dtDABfgIBxQqDzQIzUx_DzGJauBEVvszhwaYXJMfAJeedr94R4Sh7NstKHOQzTZi2tBJuSXT3O6h1cb4kdA4rSksrXZuoy05gPw-nQRWuEoR_J9g9mJXxYcW6FRp1n7E/s1600/20160902_171250.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3ASfNPIr9usA_dtDABfgIBxQqDzQIzUx_DzGJauBEVvszhwaYXJMfAJeedr94R4Sh7NstKHOQzTZi2tBJuSXT3O6h1cb4kdA4rSksrXZuoy05gPw-nQRWuEoR_J9g9mJXxYcW6FRp1n7E/s320/20160902_171250.jpg" width="180" /></a> Home. Finally. After thirteen months and one week, I'm finally back in the place where I began. It's now been a week since I arrived on my home soil and it almost feels like I never left. But before I get into that, I should recap a bit of what's been going on since I left Ukraine. Yeah, I should have gotten on this writing thing sooner. I've been busy. Is that a good enough excuse?<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
If you've been following along with the blog, you saw I flew out of Kiev on Thursday, September 1st. Before I get to that though, I want to recap a bit of the days before it. Monday through Wednesday were cleaning and farewell days. Wednesday evening, I went to my final Liberty meeting of the trip. I hadn't been planning on going because of the packing, moving things and trying to rest. But several people encouraged me (in their own ways) to go. I'm glad I did. I was a great opportunity to say goodbye to everyone on the team. They had food and desserts along with many memories of my time there. I did feel more like a prime mover in the group rather than a supporting member. Even in that moment, it didn't really feel like I was going to leave. But I knew it was coming. I managed to say my goodbyes stoically and made my exit while everyone else was leaving.<br />
Jon Eide drove me to the airport in the morning. We did get stuck in a little traffic on the bridge across the Dnipr but the rest was oddly quick. I finally made it to my gate right as they were in the middle of boarding. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT4vcX6oyi06yHlD1z3PquJtfLBuNcOj31SFqN7J4wHw_GAmWj8HWj61VWd5VKTrvNfJ7kwUnj8OFnP-8XgU5DqhWErL4XavMSaB9mtOlT5tiKEFxJinqDh3hp6qZ6k0KstXJ3eDCk-YqM/s1600/20160901_143829.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT4vcX6oyi06yHlD1z3PquJtfLBuNcOj31SFqN7J4wHw_GAmWj8HWj61VWd5VKTrvNfJ7kwUnj8OFnP-8XgU5DqhWErL4XavMSaB9mtOlT5tiKEFxJinqDh3hp6qZ6k0KstXJ3eDCk-YqM/s320/20160901_143829.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiywhl7DIcJEHAr-98ikinPahTRbBH1DL_fDtVEEkYFyKvUAWylLTfKojToAy5jHB3SO4ZiNhe4yLqERMPPmWr4kCIY4dCNVh6pT_p0SPqPaN7GHbtvmHlts_9RC7h2XL0Qeo6GrLwC51Vt/s1600/20160901_171907.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiywhl7DIcJEHAr-98ikinPahTRbBH1DL_fDtVEEkYFyKvUAWylLTfKojToAy5jHB3SO4ZiNhe4yLqERMPPmWr4kCIY4dCNVh6pT_p0SPqPaN7GHbtvmHlts_9RC7h2XL0Qeo6GrLwC51Vt/s320/20160901_171907.jpg" width="320" /></a> The flight itself was uneventful. I sat next to Vadim, a Ukrainian who lives in Brooklyn. He started off the flight talking to me in Russian but after our introduction switched to English. He said I didn't look American. That seemed to be a common remark over the past thirteen months. The food on the plane was good (oddly). I watched three of the movies they showed. But by the time we touched down in JFK I was long past ready to get off the plane. Customs was pretty much a non-event. <br />
Unfortunately my dad took a wrong turn and got stuck in traffic. So he didn't show up until an hour and a half after I had planned to be through security. We got stuck in the infamous New York traffic on our way to the Verazzano Bridge. But after the bridge, it was mostly smooth sailing back to Reading, PA and home. Before going home though, we met my mom for dinner at Chic-Fil-A. It's been far too long. <br />
Apparently I'm not as immune to East-to-West jet lag as I thought. My body decided it would be a good idea to wake up at 3AM right as my mom was leaving for work. I also heard when my dad went out too around 6AM. I think I've finally gotten over it now. But that's a week on and plenty of snoozed alarms later.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhytXzJDuozhPh9w3MWuMxq232_VpJpPn4PSmfbIkpzSoFZJEOY7SvCV8g3UUHbekXY1chJVc_4CagCguM8Si69pzhYuZekRdXIYkqXXI-nHXfLmz1SwyOnkScURA_DCZcQZoqPlC8YCt0M/s1600/20160903_113320.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhytXzJDuozhPh9w3MWuMxq232_VpJpPn4PSmfbIkpzSoFZJEOY7SvCV8g3UUHbekXY1chJVc_4CagCguM8Si69pzhYuZekRdXIYkqXXI-nHXfLmz1SwyOnkScURA_DCZcQZoqPlC8YCt0M/s320/20160903_113320.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Friday and Saturday were supposed to be the start of my vacation (of sorts). Instead, I spent most of Saturday helping my dad fix his truck. I don't mind though. It was good to work with him and get my hands dirty again. It's been far too long since I've done anything like that. Wrenching and woodworking were big parts of my life before I left for Ukraine in 2015. Now that I'm back, it feels natural to slip back into those activities.<br />
I don't like being a celebrity. However, I sort of felt like one during this past year. That still hasn't gone away. At least among the people I know. Church on Sunday was my first day back at Covenant OPC in over a year. I got plenty of hugs and "it's good to see you" comments. And fortunately, I only had a few people ask "how was it (or some variation). I blame that on jokers and simply not reading the blog.<br />
For the most part, it felt good to be back. I'm still coming to terms with how much things actually did change in the time I've been away. The biggest two things that are different are the song choices and the faces. There were quite a few people I didn't recognize there. And the songs (other than not being in Russian or Ukrainian) were a big change. I only recognized two or three songs. One of them had a completely different tune which threw me off. I remember I've written here several times that change is growth and constancy is stagnation. Sometimes though I wish some things wouldn't change. Like the song choice at church. I'm not really a fan of modern music. <br />
Monday through now have mostly been my "resume normal life" days. I've gotten to drive my dad's Jeep, use my paddleboard, ride the local bike trails, make sawdust in the workshop, do a little manual labor, and even work on new projects. For most of those things, it feels like I never left the States. I expected to stall out the Jeep a few times. But I was able to heel-toe it with little trouble. The new tires probably help but my driving in it seems to have not suffered for lack of practice the past thirteen months.<br />
My paths around the house, the places where I step, don't seem to have changed either. My hand falls to the exact place I need when reaching for a light switch. I can take the stairs two at a time like I did since childhood.<br />
I think the best way I can describe my thoughts about the past week are this. It's like riding a bike. This was my life for twenty-eight years before I stepped onto that plane in July last year. I stepped off the plane last week and got back on the bike. I've wobbled a bit getting used to new things (people, places, my missing cat). But it feels like, to some extent, I haven't left. Cue the creepy children saying in unison, "You've always been here Brian. You've never left." There's a terrifying thought. I've got thousands of pictures and hours worth of video to prove that it all happened. I guess now I have to come to terms with this new stage of my life. I'm back on the bicycle now and it's rolling forward. Time to get on with life.<br />
So, I'll leave you with some final programming notes before I finish this post. I probably won't write a lot more here for the foreseeable future. Maybe a few of times in the coming months. If you've got questions about anything that's happened over the past thirteen months, feel free to ask in the comments section of any of the posts. I'll get the email notice and try to respond in a timely manner. Also, if you're in the Reading , PA area on Sunday, September 11th, I'll be speaking during Sunday School at Covenant OPC about the trip. I will likely show the following video and speak about the English club ministry (as that was my main duty). I'll be sharing the time with the team from Covenant who went for X-way camp. Hopefully I'll get a chance to say everything I want to. It'll be hard to condense everything that happened into 30-45 minutes. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Pbrg1yldHV4/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Pbrg1yldHV4?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15903876030434454162noreply@blogger.com0