The grand finale!!!

So my summer camp tour is now over.... and it certainly ended with a bang!!! The last leg was done in the Kievska oblast at KEY Camp. It was amazing. I was really exhausted from the previous two camps but was also looking forward to this because It was the camp that the kids from my village came to! It was amazing to see the transformation from when they first arrived to when they left. They were very reluctant and quiet at the beginning but at the end the inner growth was so great. I'm soooo happy and blessed that a few of my students had the opportunity to attend KEY camp. It was primarily a leadership camp that had bilingual instruction. My kids for the most part were at the lower end of the english speaking spectrum compared to some of the other campers but their English improved so much. Even if it was only gaining some confidence to speak more openly. My one student Sacha really grew. He became the Mr. KEY Camp. He spoke almost entirely in English and he grew in self esteem too. I'm really excited now for school to start up and I can't wait to have them in class. This was definitely the boost that I needed to get ready for the year. Also, personally, I met some amazing people working with KEY Camp, both american and ukrainian. The organization that worked with Peace Corps for this camp, Youth Can, is absolutely amazing! I look forward to working with them in the future. I think that I may help Katya, the director, to plan next year's KEY camp. I would really like to see this continue in the future too. There is such a great contrast in the availability of resouces and opportunity for the future between the cities and the villages that this camp I think really made an effort to address that discrepency. It was such a wonderful opportunity and I'm so grateful for the opportunity. I'm in Kiev for a few days and then I will be heading back to my site and getting ready for the great move to the new place. I'll let you know how it goes. Take care family and friends... I love you all and I miss you! I'll see you on the 23rd of December!!! Can't wait!

Sometimes ya just feel like Shamu!!!

So... I'm about to start leg number three of the transukrainian summer camp tour 2005!!! I've been traveling around the country working with camps for the past two and a half weeks. The first leg I was in Pidvolochysk, Ternopilska Oblast with some of the senior class members of Peace Corps Ukraine (The next group to end their service) and had a great time. The kids were fantastic and I enjoyed the staff that I worked with. After that I headed out to another camp in the beautiful town of Kolomiya, Ivano-Frankivska Oblast. What a beautiful town!!! It's right at the foot of the Carpathian mountains and it's so european!!! I loved it there too and that one was run by my friend Kavita and a lot of people from my group (the froshies) were working it. It was great to get in touch with everyone and spend some time together! SO.... I had a few days off after that camp and leg three. I decided to go to Lviv and celebrate my friend Kelly's 26th birthday!!! I'm glad to see that Peace Corps Poland is going well for the Lviv crew!!! That city is unbelievable and I can't believe that it is actually in Ukraine!!! The following day we were in Drohobich, Lvivska Oblast where Kelly lives and we went swimming in the pool there. Now this si the pool where the Ukrainian National Championships are held and it's Olympic size. There is one funny thing though... You can't actually get into the pool on the outside even though it's an outdoor pool. I mean there's no jumping in because in the locker room, after the guard has seen that you've rinsed off to make sure you are no longer contaminated, you enter this 3 foot deep chute.... you see that at the end of the chute is a metal door. I thought to my self that this is strange when do I get to enter the pool.... well then the metal door raises to the top of the water and you must swim out and enter the pool. Geez... I felt like Shamu at sea world entering the pool for a show... It was crazy!!! All in all though, we had a great time and I'm excited for the next leg of the tour. Take care you guys and I bought my ticket for christmas so I will definitely be home! Peace!