POSTED ON Monday, October 02, 2006
.:: Back.
I think the title says it all, no?

I arrived back in the states last Monday/Tuesday/Friday. Not really sure. Last week was kind of a blur. Between jet lag, work and AM projects I never really was able to keep days straight. Or even stay awake. I feel behind in everything, even though, when I really evaluate things, I don't actually appear to be. I guess that happens when you are on the other side of the planet for a couple of weeks.

Ukraine was amazing. The people are amazing. The culture is so interesting. So many similarities to the US, and so many differences. Due to it's geographical location, Ukraine is heavily influenced by both eastern and western cultures. It was really neat to see some of the juxtaposition with that.

The country has had some really hard times since the fall of the USSR, and it seems that even to this day the political landscape is continually changing. There are some factions pushing hard to form another union of sorts with Russia and some other countries, and many other grouups that want to stay completely independent. The economy has been rough, especially of late, and finding jobs can be difficult.

Despite the difficulties in those areas, the people there are thriving. Families are so strong there. Support between families, friends, and even strangers is very noticeable. And very humbling. So many people took me in, fed me, really wanted to get to know me. I was very overwhelmed by their outpouring of love and hospitality. The family I stayed with was amazing. Yulia, Vitaily, and Yadik stole my hearts. They were a young couple, not much older than me, and Yadik is 6. They knew very limited English, so it made conversations much more interesting. Though I did learn enough Russian while there to have simple conversations, it didn't prevent me from having many conversations with hand gestures, dictionaries, and lots of laughter.

I also had the opportunity to help with a street kids program a few days while I was there. Completely overwhelming and inspiring. I cannot speak for all of Ukraine, but the area I went to has a large number of "street kids" whom have either been abandoned, run away, or just have such a harsh living environment that they seek ways to get out of the situation. It physically hurt to hear the stories of the kids. Where they are from, how they got there, and especially what the program means to them. The program is run by a church there, Kherson Christian Church, and has one of the most inspiring women that I have ever met, Alla, at the helm. Alla has the biggest heart I have ever seen, and has touched so many lives.

Bear in mind this is simply a small small amount of the amazing things I saw/learned/experienced while I was there. I hope to post so much more and really go in depth about everything. But we all know my consistency as of late when it come to posting.