Last the BEST of All the Days!

(Boris was easily a favorite)

Well, the last few weeks of my Ukrainian adventure was quite the emotional roller coaster. Between fitting in all the sights to still see, finishing up lessons, getting recipes for food (in behalf of Olga (host mom)) I promised myself never to eat again, saying goodbye to my darling children, anticipating family, friends and the beauties of America (real ice cream, Gecko Grill, free and clean public restrooms...no more squatters), and treasuring up those rare Ukrainian moments like squeezing onto trams amidts women with poop splattered on their legs (Al and I really saw this...and there was no denying the smell), I remembered to slow down and experience. I spent a lot of my trip trying to capture the oddities of this foreign country so that I could go home and share them with everyone. Looking back, I realize I could have soaked up the experience as a whole much more and divided it into daily happenings much less. When it came to my kids, I think I did an alright job at this. I know it because I have a deep-rooted love for them.(Masha- cat; Kristina- cat; Vika- pig)

I could go off on the funny things they say, or their sassy crocheted shirts and spiderman leggings, or the weird toys they were eager to show me, but they truly mean so much more to me than how they get me to laugh...if that makes sense. (singing the rainbow song in Spectacle opening)

Well, the last day of school was SPECTACLE! (the Ukrainian word for performance) Tania pretty much left it up to us as to what we wanted to do so I thought, hey why not write a play for the kids. ha ha ha. If any of you have had the pleasure of viewing the annual "Tragic Christmas's" put on by yours truly and sisters, you are probably scared and wondering how I was permitted to involve innocent children in any kind of theatrical performance. Well, I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome. Every child in Ukraine has one or two special costumes that they wear for all special school events and performances (which occur often in their school years there). My basic reading class told me what costumes they had and I wrote a thrilling adventure about Bat Man, fairies, wolves, princesses, and the subject matter we focused on most: phonograms. I was SO proud of my kids. They memorized their lines in about 6 lessons, and the parents just loved it. My one-of-a-kind Dasha didn't make it the last day so I filled in as the cat. I tried uploading the video so you could hear their cute little Russian accents but it was taking too long. Oh well.

(Sasha, Sofia, Barbara, Maria, Dasha, me, Artyom, Igor, Herman, Anton, lil bro, Marina, Sasha)
(My personal favorite is Anton's wolf uni)
I miss my kids SO MUCH, but am grateful for the love and memories.