Have you ever hugged a bear?

We had a very busy week with English classes every day! We also planned activities with the students:

Tuesday: 'Facing the Giants' movie night-  In this movie a football coach faces many difficulties in his life yet chooses to give glory to God in all areas of his life.  It has a strong Christian message about trusting God despite the wins/losses in our life.  In small groups we discussed our own fears and challenges, what we learned from the movie, and what it means to live for a higher purpose.

Wednesday- We had a book discussion on the book of Ruth. We discussed the cultural background as well as the themes of obedience, losses in life, perserverance, etc.  It tied in well with the theme from the movie the night before.

Thursday- 'Why do Americans smile and eat McDonalds and Ukrainians dance and eat salo?' This was the title of the event. We began by playing a funny Thai game in which a person passes an orange without using their hands.  Then Tanya and I acted out interesting greetings from other cultures.  The students then had to guess the country after we acted it out.  For instance, for the country of Moldova I had to kiss her hand and say 'I kiss your hand'.  It was all we could to to keep from laughing.  Then we had a panel of the teachers share funny stories about culture, misunderstandings, and stereotypes.

Friday- We had a pizza party with games and water volleyball.  I taught the kids how to play Big Booty and Ninja.  It was quite hilarious!

Saturday- We had an international potluck at the apartment of Linda and Cerelina. I made Lithuanian kepta duona, Tanya made squash pancakes, and other teachers brought potato salad, asian noodles and chocolate chip cookies.  Students brought salo (the famous Ukrainian pig fat), cake, Vareniki (dumplings), ice cream, and salad. Later we played the game Mafia.  It was very funny!  We then went for a walk in the park near the Niepr River.
I've enjoyed getting to know the students as they are very friendly and eager to practice their English. We only have one week left to go.  Pray that teachers can continue to be intentional in caring for students and building relationships.

So...
Have you ever hugged a bear?
Have you ever travelled to another country?
Have you ever jumped off of a plane?
Have you ever broken both legs?

I was constantly hearing questions like these because we have been working on the present perfect tense in class! That reminds me...Yes, I have hugged a bear recently!  It was at the circus here in Cherkassy. Don't be fooled by the depressed and unamused look on his face! He is probably only sad because he can't hug me back!

Have a great week!



Patriotism

Today was the opening day where we had registration, played interactive games with the students and proctored their placement tests.  There was an air of nervousness and excitement. We then spent time as teachers placing the students into three different groups based on their test scores.  Some students came from cities as far away as 16 hours by bus.  That is dedication.

One thing I like about Ukraine is that I blend in much better than I do in other countries such as in Latin American or Asian countries.  In Mexico, they whistle at you and call you 'güerita' meaning blonde girl and in Korea they stare unabashedly at you. That drove me crazy even though I had good experiences there overall!  Maybe I blend in too much, since today one student thought I was another fellow student! Oops, I think they were more embarrassed than I was! 

This is me pretending to be a Ukrainian girl, haha.  We went and got our hair done at a festival for Euro2012.  They are still patriotic even if they didn't make it to the finals!  They made traditional braids in a bun with the colors of the Ukrainian flag which are yellow and blue. Now I really blend in :)  Except for one thing- can you tell from the picture? Ukrainians and probably most Europeans don't smile in pictures.  Oops, I gave myself away!

Yesterday we had the privilege of attending a church service at Nina's church.  She is a friend from LCC who lives in Cherkassy and has been helping us here.  It was very uplifting and prayerful. Thankfully Nina translated for us as it was all in Russian.  Afterwards, we spent time together at the local zoo and had lunch together.  In the evening we strolled through the downtown area.  One thing I love about Europe is being able to walk everywhere.

Tomorrow is the first full day of classes!

Слава Україні -'Slava Ukraini!

After a long day of traveling on Monday, I finally made it to Kiev, Ukraine the following day! Tania was there to meet me and the other 3 teachers who also arrived that day- Scott is an American missionary in Indonesia, Cerelina is a Filipino woman teaching in Canada, and Linda is a Canadian nurse who also teaches English.  It is a diverse group! After meeting them, we took a bus for about 3 hours to Cherkassy.  We were exhausted by the time we arrived,  but were greeted by some friendly Ukrainian friends who welcomed us with borscht soup and crepes with cottage cheese.  We all slept very well last night despite the time change.

Today Tania (another Tania since it's a popular name) joined us; she is another teacher who lives in a nearby city.  It was great to see her again!  We were student teachers together at a kids club 2 years ago in Lithuania as part of our practicum.  We all spent the day becoming familiar with the city by walking to the center, buying maps, and locating the stores near our apartments.  Tomorrow we will spend part of the day lesson planning and organizing aspects of the camp such as assessing the students' levels and preparing extra events such as Bible studies.

Thanks for your prayers!
*Right now the biggest concern is the number of students enrolled in the program. There are only 25 high school students registered whereas last year there were 39 students who enrolled in the program.  There is still time to register, so please pray for more!

*Praise: All of my support was raised! Praise God!

Title of post: 'Slava Urkaini' means 'long live Ukraine'.  It is kind of an inside joke with my Ukrainian roommates I had at LCC.  They made me learn the phrase for when I visited Ukraine so that I could say it to people.  So I'm sure Tania was proud of me when I said it to her last night! haha

Getting ready!

It's been 2 years since I last posted and now I'm travelling to Europe again, this time to Ukraine and Hungary for a short-term mission trip!  It has been interesting to reread my old posts from my travels and see what I've learned.  I'm excited to see what God will teach me on this trip and how He will use me!  Earlier in the year, I had felt discouraged because I had always thought that I would go directly into missions right after I graduated from Taylor.  But I realized with some closed doors and lots of prayer, that I should stay in Fort Wayne for now to gain more spiritual preparation and experience.

Departing on June 18 for Ukraine, I will be teaching general English classes at the Summer Language Institute there in Ukraine.  I will be going with a group of other teachers, mostly from LCC university (where I studied abroad in Lithuania).  Tania, my old roommate from LCC is actually the coordinator, so I'm excited to work with her!  I also know one of the other teachers because I studied with her there as well!  After this camp is over, I will go to Hungary to help with an English camp run by Pioneers. I will head back home on July 31.
It is a praise that most of my funds for the trip have been raised and more keep coming in! Thank-you to all who donated for the trip.  I especially appreciate your prayers as I prepare to leave and while I'm there.

More to come!