Kremidovka (uber long blog)

So, the last days of training went well. I believe we have laid a solid foundation here. Our follow up work will mostly be to support the Ukrainian team and ensure that the pilots improve from this point! After all this, I had a day to wrap up the work and play a bit in the city before heading off to Kremidovka, a village near Odessa.

Naturally, there was ice cream! :)

We enjoyed another trip on the ever entertaining Marshrootka (local buses). I avoided the crunch, but Rick and Anita were caught in the midst of it! 

I also appreciated the signs :) This one says: If you want to get off, shout!

And a misty evening at the Black Sea

After two very busy weeks of training, I ventured off to a nearby village with a team of friendly Canadians to help run a camp for the village kids. It has been a busy time, but a different kind of busy that my previous two weeks here! Our schedule is a bit more relaxed and offers a bit more free time! We do activities with the kids from 9am to 1pm and give them a small lunch. We then get the afternoon off, before hanging out with the kids and playing games after supper until sundown!

Life in the village is interesting, at least for a foreigner that is quite taken by all things Slavic! :) And so, as expected, I’ve enjoyed snapping lots of photos of the local scene.

The road  to the village was something else :)

And this was a good patch!

I enjoy the gates and vines

There are some pretty photogenic houses. 

I’m pretty sure I could have taken pictures of houses and locals all day! :)

On Sunday we wandered down the streets of the village giving balloons to kids 

and telling them about the camp.

We passed a woman walking her goat

There were some cool tin roofs

A random truck... potentially a WWII left over....I dug it :)

Community toilets

And then the camp got going!

A pack of young girls ready for some fun!

I worked at the craft station for the week. Our first day’s task was to tie-dye t-shirts!

Even Sergiy, one of our translators, decided to join in the fun

And the final product!

And then we found this massive spider in a hole… talk about heebiegeebies! Blah!

Lena, one of the girls from Hope House who came out to help, enjoying a quiet moment on the swing

Part of our playing area (beside the play park)

Enjoying a quiet moment in the sunshine after most of the kids had gone home for the afternoon

And kids at play

And here are some of the kids hanging about

The local Orthodox Church under construction. Such a beautiful building in the making!

We were walking the tie-dye shirts home to dry overnight...

…when we passed a goat…

…and then a woman taking her cow for a walk...

... and an old man cycling his cow home :)

 

So pretty! I enjoy the train yards... There`s just something about them... must be in my blood :) 

I think my Grandpa would have appreciated this :)

At night, we meet the kids again for some fun and games in the park

Mark evidently enjoying a Frisbee game

Boys playing a rigorous game of soccer, taking every last minute before the sun goes down

Hanging around and climbing around

I totally dig the painted tires around the park :) 

We had some hot days... and so decided to launch some water balloons as the children with a slingshot ...which they loved!

We had a pretty rainy day, which flooded our playing field!

 

We had to construct a bridge to get into the German Centre where we could still hang out with the kids indoords. Here`s Candice (Konfetka, as the locals dubbed her) navigating the bridge! :)

Sergiy cruising on a sweet ride in the rain

The children will not be hindered! Rain is great for playing in the puddles! :)

Vova enjoying watching the final few in an indoor game of musical chairs

 Happily, our last days were warmer. The kids definitely enjoyed playing in the sunshine!

Girls stylishly posing on the swing

Boys on the slide :)

All the kids dashing for the lunch outside the German Centre! No patient queuing here!

And once all is packed away and the children off home, the team gets to enjoy their lunch :)

 The girls, precariously balancing on one of the colourful tires :)

Two of the older girls who come out to the camp, Nasya and Yulia 

Candice and Andrea taking some pics of the kids playing in the evening

Please note that the pink shirt says Aloha from Hell. 

I`m fairly certain that they have not idea what the shirt means... :)

This is the gross dog that hung about all the time. It was strangely cute, but oh so very gross :)

And so, pretty picture, gross dog. 

Just chillin

The scooters seems to be a rising trend in the village. 

It was hilarious to watch them race up and down the streets :)

Kolya, the brother of one of the girls from Hope House. He had no where good to go for the summer from the orphanage, so came to the village to live with the mom of Lina, who runs Hope House. He was both a great help and participant in the camp!

One of the kids enjoying an ice cream. I loved her colourful outfit! :) 

And Candice managed to catch a decent photo of me :) Shocker :)

A beautiful night!

And so, we had a great week and loved my time in Ukraine! :) I definitely enjoyed the camp, the kids, and our awesome team, exhausted though I may now be! :)