(Alison and I on the pier)
We finally had our first vacation day this last Monday! SO, a bunch of us went to the city of Odessa which lies right on the Black Sea. It is only about a 3-4 hour drive from Kyiv, but we went by night train... It took about ten hours. Though we were told some horrific stories about night trains prior to embarking on our adventure, I was plesantly surprise to see our train was almost up to a decent sanitary standard. The only real sign of filth was the blood smear on Dessie's pillow, which she promptly threw facedown on the floor. Even the bathrooms weren't too bad if you ignored the puddle on the floor.
(me, Lauren, Chantell, Dessie, and Alison on the train)
We arrived early Friday morning and eventually found our hotel, "Готель Юнист" (Gotel Yunist, which constantly reminded us of the girl off of "She's the Man"). We couldn't check in right away so we dropped off our stuff and headed for the beach. It was a way cool walk down to it. There were so many random buildings, structures, bridges, staircases...I can't describe it exactly. We came to the conclusion that it was some sort of exercise training place after happening across some guy boxing with a contraption on a tree, an old guy doing crazy stretches out on the pier where the waves could drench him, and other such oddities.
(Oh, and we found Ariel's perching rock so I couldn't resist)
We were there all of Saturday and Sunday and it was seriously all a blast. I loved it and I love the people I'm here with, as well as the Ukrainians. I couldn't possibly tell of everything we saw and did so I will just post a few of my favorite pictures as well as their explanations for now. When I get home I can share more.
Dessie, me, Chantell just chillin on the beach... having to wear a down jacket at the beach is lame, I know, but even then the Black Sea has been one of my favorite sights so far.
A way tight restaraunt right on the beach. Everything was closed for now...it is still a bit chilly, but Odessa is pretty much the party place of Ukraine during the summer.
The famous steps of Odessa...197 in all! They were made famous by some banned movie because it shows a mom and her child tumbling down them and the mom ends up dying...Anyway, they are also well-noted for their unique architecture. They designed them bigger and wider at the bottom than at the top to make them appear even more dramatic or something. The picture doesn't quite do them justice, but there you go.
I don't know if it is a Ukrainian thing or a European thing but this is a lock bridge and they have one in Kyiv too. Lovers put their names on locks, or time capsuls even, put it on the bridge and then toss the key into the river. I think they take it pretty seriously because a lot of the locks were engraven with messages as well as the lovers' names. I think it's awesome.
Ok. Time for a quick Ukrainian culture 411: Most Ukrainians are quite superstitious. The one superstition that I have been a witness of on several occasions now is that women MUST NOT sit on anything cold or else their ovaries will freeze...and that means no children. If someone, especially a babushka, sees you sitting on cold ground they freak out. Well, we didn't come quite as prepared as the babushka on the left (note the plastick bag upon which she sits...it is the sufficient barrier between her ovaries and the deathly cold.) Anyway, my friend Hilary's shoes got wet so she sat down and took them off to dry a bit. Big mistake! The babushka saw my friend. She started chastising her in Russian and after a minute, the babushka took her shoes that were drying and shoved them underneath Hilary's rear. She promptly resumed her walk and even whacked Chantell with her purse when she unknowingly stopped in the babushka's path to take a picture. I have concluded, due to this experience and several others over the past two months, that babushkas rule Ukraine.
Almost everyday for the past 5 weeks Alison and I have passed this pile of who the heck knows what. My projection is meat of some sort and form, though it also reminds me of Jurassic Park when the lady is digging through the dino's huge dung pile. Anyway, it was quite a joy being able to expect that odd and only-in-Ukraine sight during our daily stroll, but it has been missing the past few days. It definitely lifted our spirits and made us laugh.
Then, of course, there are my children...Though I don't always feel successful with them, I am constantly in stitches because of them, especially Barbara and her amazing toys. This is her cat barbie. Though definitely unusual, it doesn't quite beat the weird light on a stick with exposed wires coming out which she licks to make light up.
This is a message to me (aka "Kemi") from two of my follow-up girls. 
In my classroom I strive to create a safe atmosphere where the children and I can talk about all of our problems openly. This last Tuesday one of our vocabulary words was "soft". Somehow this started a conversation about hair and who had the longest. Artyom (second picture) pulled at one of his longer locks and said, "Mine is long down here!" I seized this opportunity to elevate their vocabulary even more. After all, the mullet is definitely the hot style here in Kyiv and depriving them of such mundane terms would just be wrong. So, I told the class to look at Artyom and note, "When there is short hair on top and long hair on the bottom it's called a mullet." They eagerly started repeating, "mullet! mullet!" We went on to spot who had one in our class and who didn't. Those that did bragged with beaming smiles, "I have a mullet!" One girl in braids, Maria, glumly looked down and said in the saddest little voice, "I don't have a mullet." I reassured her that the braids were as pretty as a princess and she was happy enough at that. Today I quizzed them to see who could remember the word and it was music to my ears when they started chanting, "mullet! mullet!" Ahhh...now that is fine education. Actually, since our first priority is to have engaging conversations it was perfect. My only fear is that I hear Europe is a few years ahead of us in fashion. If that means the mullet is about to come back, I really might cry.
Well, it has finally happened...I have found an ice cream I will never eat again. While I have come to love the wide assortment of chocolates and treats here in Ukraine, Alison and I wondered upon these fun sausage tubes of ice cream which nearly made us sick. As I had no idea how to go about eating a tube of ice cream, I decided to just cut the package right down the middle. It immediately popped like a can of Pillsburry biscuits and later my host mother informed me that was entirely wrong. We ended up just squeezing it into a bowl and adding peanut butter and nutella. While this would make for a delicious treat with American ice cream, this ice cream is already pure sugar. It also has a light, fluffy texture like whipped cream, but it melted in minutes so I was left with a bowl of reeses froth. It was fun but we definitely won't be repeating it. I have tried a few other ice creams and in short have decided to give it up...while here in Kiev anyway.