YAMPIL, SUMS'KA OBLAST
For the first weekend, I went 11 hours north, from where I'm at, to help my friend Jacque with her camp. It was a new camp that she had to get started up at her site. So I went and helped her for the first two days of camp. The thing you need to know about Ukraine is that the first day of things usually never really go plan because of some unforseen concert or something. This time was no different. The first day was off schedule because, first off, the breakfast was served late. Then at about 11:00am there was a two hour concert at the theater in town. Being a PCV, we learned the "go with the flow" attitude, and learn to adjust as you go. Also, with work-related things, once the work day is over, you need to let the struggles of the day go. Tomorrow will be a new day, and new challenges, struggles, and victories.
SERGEIVKA, ODES'KA OBLAST
On June 11, I went with some friends down to work at Camp Bereg. It was a camp fully staffed by PCVs and it was a great location, near the Black Sea. We also were very fortunate to work at a sanitorium that had a pool. I haven't swam in a pool in forever, so it was nice to do it. The children were amazing. We worked with about 20 children ranging from ages 7-16. It was interesting because it is an "English-speaking" camp, so having to work with such a wide range of ages definitely produced a challenge. Like I said, the children were amazing and more than willing to work, and just have fun with us. I even taught some of the older kids some Hawaiian words. They were loving it! One kid, Bogdan, he kept asking me to sing in Hawaiian. These were such bright students and such a breathe of fresh air to work with people that wants to learn. It was definitely a huge contrast to just generally teaching. Here are some pictures. I don't have much, I'm still waiting, but enjoy:
ULANOVKA, KIROVOGRADS'KA OBLAST
Camp Express Yourself was the last camp that I worked it. It was started and ran by the lovely volunteer, Heather Johnson, who's live there. It was the second year that this camp has been ran, and it consists of 80 children ranging from ages 12 - 16. We had a total of 8 PCVs, and 10 Ukrainian teachers that helped with this camp.
It was a two week camp, but I can't express enough how great this camp was. It was very well-organized, and stuck to the schedule, which is very rare in Ukraine in general. Also, the children were so ecstatic to be there and learn from us, that it made being a teacher worthwhile. We taught Spanish, Journalism, Drama, Music, Dance, Yoga, Sports, and Environmental Studies.
I can honestly say that working with these kids has definitely made my service, thus far, worthwhile. And the two weeks that we worked there was a gratifying experience. It was emotional having to say good bye to these kids. Here are a few photos.
Here is my month of June, and beginning of July. Stay tuned for the conclusion of this crazy summer!
