post 13 july

In the meantime, I went to a night in the castle, did random stuff, and took part in Ukrainian language camp!

The night in the castle was like a lock-in of some medieval sort, with various musical, dance, and artistic performances. Food [salo (ie, fat!), pickles, honey kvass], crafts [glass painting, straw, wreaths], demonstrations [blacksmiths, fire-dancers], and all kinds of fun were packed into the walls of Lubart’s Castle in downtown-ish Lutsk, and hundreds of guests stayed from 9 pm Sunday to 4:30 am Monday to celebrate… history, I guess, but also Sunday [Children’s Day], the day off on Monday [Constitution Day], and the upcoming Ivan Kupala Day [combo of John the Baptist + ancient fertility festival]. It was a long night, with a ninety minute walk home afterward, as the buses weren’t running yet, but I enjoyed it and hope to go again next year… It’s a yearly event, so maybe you’ll be there next year, too! :)

Random stuff? Of course! More concerts, tutoring, English language class appearances, the return of film club [John Wayne in “The Searchers” on the Fourth of July, the arrival of a new volunteer in Lutsk [Terry, who will work at the City Council]… Also, the fruits and veggies are in full, delightful array. Strawberries have come and gone, but plenty of blueberries and raspberries are around, plus peaches and watermelon are appearing. Green beans, peas, zuchinni and kabachok [like summer squash] are now alongside beets, carrots, onions, garlic… Mmmm. I’ve made some attempts at jam, not all of which seem to have the perfect consistency, but hey. It’s a start.

Also, the Difference-Makers Project is underway! Selected students attended an orientation session, and are now on their way to matching their values, concerns they see in the community, and personal talents and skills. Hopefully, their project ideas are percolating, as the next session will deal more with project planning, as well as continuing to develop leadership skills. Finally, in September, participants will gather for a retreat at Lake Svityaz and present their project ideas to each other for final analysis. Plus, they’ll apply for funding from a participant-funded pool, if necessary. Then, projects will commence, with support from all involved. That’s the plan, anyway! :)

Last week was Ukrainian Language Refresher! About fifty Peace Corps Volunteers attended this camp at a nearby sanitarium [in Ukraine, this is more like just a health resort without any sort of concerning connotations!], which was about one hour east of Lutsk—lucky me! We were put in teams, did all kinds of camp activities—organizing morning warm-ups and afternoon games; developing team songs, emblems, mottos, and songs, etc]—and took small group classes, chose sessions to attend [various specific grammar skills, reading, writing, speaking, listening, etc], and took part in different interest clubs, like crafts, conserving, dancing, singing, games, etc. I guess there’s a lot of “etc” in this paragraph, but it’s true—it was a busy time, from optional morning aerobics to evening films in Ukrainian and on-duty team evening patrols. It was really nice to see lots of other volunteers I haven’t seen in a while, and I was glad to have some inspiration to improve my language skills! Unlike many other volunteers, I don’t live with a host family, so my interaction is automatically less, and I’ll have to work harder to progress. Overall, though, I understood a lot and felt pretty good.

Now, it’s back to meeting with English conversation partners, working on my own Ukrainian lessons, and going to yoga! Plus, I’m trying to make watermelon jam, make a paint-less stencil on the living room wall, read everything available, avoid the occasionally overwhelming heat, and plan some summer travel, among other challenges. Oh, and I’m making banana bread, thanks to the generous gift of a breadpan from a Ukrainian friend. The only downside is that I have to grind my own cloves at this point, as I haven’t found them anywhere… So, the banana bread just has a more interesting texture at this point. :)

Happy summer!