Alright, I am going to start with the most recent activities and work my way backwards.

So the most recent exciting thing I have done…. spelunking in Ukraine! How cool is that?! Yep, a group of us went to explore a nearby cave last Saturday. I have seen some pretty cool caves in my day, Lewis & Clark Caverns, Mammoth Cave…, so I was just expecting some little lighted path with a guide give a speech now and then. I had no idea what I had agreed to.

All ready to go!

We arrived at a run-down building with a small sign marking it as the caving location. We piled out and our guide began to find us caving gear. This included a suit to protect us from dirt, mud and anything else in the cave, as well as a head lamp and gloves if desired. Right away, I knew this was not going to be just a little walking tour.

What?! There might be bats! Nobody told me that!

Once everyone had donned their caving gear, we headed out to the entrance of the cave. It seemed pretty unexciting at first, dark cave, big rocks, nothing new. Then we came to a little hole, our guide proceeded to get down on her hands and knees, then her belly. She just wiggled her way through this little hole in the solid rock. Yee haw! I like adventure, crawling around in a dark cave in Ukraine with nothing but a headlamp, yes please!!

Scaling the walls like Spiderman

I love adventure!!

The whole three-hour tour involved, crawling, wiggling, shimmying, inching, shuffling, and contorting. There were a few moments where I was not quite sure how I was going to get through this rock and I am a small girl! We were diving in and out of crevices, over and under boulders, through mud and clay, exploring every inch of one of the largest gypsum caves in Europe.

I think I can, I think I can, I think I can

Allison is about to disappear down a hole... and we're happy about it!

We managed to make it back to the same entrance that we had entered through just three hours prior. It was certainly an adventure! My body is still reminding me about that adventure…

The Caving Team

The adventure just continued that day. On our way back from spelunking, we stopped at an old castle that had originally been built in 1097! It was mostly just the outer wall, but the city has recently begun to make some small restorations. Apparently, Genghis Khan, Turks, and Poles had attacked the castle and had to turn away in defeat. It is quaintly situated on a hill over looking a green valley. I have heard that the region in which I live, has the most castles in all of Ukraine. I think we will definitely be visiting more castles in the future.

The Tower

Joanne inside the castle

Me in a window... I think it was a window.

Looking inside one of the towers

Finally getting to relax on the castle wall

The Girls outside the wall

This last week in English class we looked at ailments and remedies. Remedies in America are pretty straight forward. See the doctor, take some aspirin, drink lots of water, rest, maybe use a humidifier, and drink hot chamomile tea. We don’t get too exotic in our remedies.

In Ukraine though, when someone is sick it is everyone’s job to inform them on what they should do. Really. Ukraine is considered a warm culture so it is sort of a community event if there is someone sick, it is your JOB to share advice on what your mother did to you when you were young.

In English class, we asked the question ‘What do you do for _____ in Ukraine?’ We got some intersting answers that I thought I would share with you.

For backaches- take some bee poison

For a cut- grab some kind of leafy thing outside (there is a specific plant that I do not know the name of in English) You spit on it and then put it on your cut

For burns (this is my favorite)- whale brain. I have no idea how this is applied, but I guess you can get it in the stores. It’s really expensive though, go figure.

Coughs & colds- drink hot milk with butter and honey

Toothache- some other kind of bee product. It is not honey or wax, but something else they produce

Dizziness- medical spirits (aka vodka or some other form of alcohol)

Headache- Vietnam balm (I don’t know what this is, but it sounds scary)

Fever- wrap up in a hot blanket and drink hot Whiskey

These were just a few of the interesting remedies my class came up with. They thought it was really funny to see my reaction to some of these. Everyone has their own way of doing things, some people would argue over what was the best remedy. Ukrainians always seem to be obsessed with health. If I so much as give a little cough, I am always met with “Are you sick? Are you alright?” The smallest clearing of the throat is seen as the start of a cold. ‘I just had a crumb in my throat!’ I would say, but no matter, here is some hot tea just in case.

Earlier this year, there was a guy who came and only brought one pair of shoes of which you do not wear socks with. (They were called 5 Fingers, I don’t know how to describe them.) Anyways, he got sick, and all the Ukrainians believed it was because he did not wear socks. Gotta keep those feety toasty warm if you want to stay healthy!

It is always interesting talking about health with Ukrainians!

Just thought I would amuse you with the full understanding of how precious bread is here in Ukraine.

I once accidentally dropped a piece of bread on the floor. [Gasp!]

I reverently moved the sacred slice to the side with my foot (my hands were full, I couldn’t help it.)

I was met with a few gapping mouths. How dare I touch the sacred slice with my dirty, filthy, blemished, sinful foot!!! That audacious American!

Yesterday, I got a full understanding of this small escapade. It was explained to me that children were taught in school that bread is holy and it should be treated as such. One staff member told me the story of how she was taught, that if a piece of bread fell to the floor she was to pick it up, wipe it off, kiss it, and use it! I might (probably not) pick up a piece of the floor and wipe it off, but I certainly would not kiss it! In fact, I probably would not even eat it, I would hope that someone else would eat the fallen piece…

Dima also agreed and shared that he was told a story in school about how a child once played with bread, kicking it around. He doesn’t remember what happened to the kid (probably because it was so awful he blocked it out of his memory.) Dima only remembers being shocked and horrified that a child could possibly play with bread. He told me his aunt would never throw away bread, if it by some unfortunate cause, became moldy and was truly unusable, she burned it. It was never put into the garbage.

Most children were taught this as a result of the famines that have taken place in Ukraine. Bread should be conserved and seen as precious. I also discovered that there is a museum of Bread in Kiev, the capitol of Ukraine. Traditionally, a visitor is offered a loaf of bread and salt as a sign of hospitality.

So do not, ever, under no circumstance, even think about kicking a sacred slice of bread while in Ukraine!

I just want to note that Joanne has finally arrived from Canada! I am so excited to have my dear friend back in Ternopil. I took her out to pizza to celebrate!

She will be busy helping with a King’s Kids team and preparations for the English school. In the mean time, we like to watch old movies like The Thin Man! Who wouldn’t want to watch The Thin Man?

We love black and white movies yes we do!

Recently we got to spend some time with a few girls whom we met last year during our children’s English class. We had tea, made some cards, and played Qwirkle. They are so sweet!

I know this is old, but whatever. I can still talk about Easter.

I did not spend Easter in Ukraine, but rather went to Moldova for the holiday.

I will simply add some pictures of our adventure there. I will say though that Easter is a three day celebration here. Saturday people bring baskets of special food for the priest to bless. Sunday is the official holiday and Monday is like a day of rest. What I have not been able to verify, is that apparently on Monday you can go around and throw water on people. Not sure yet if this is true or perhaps it is only true in the villages… I stayed clear of any populated areas on that day just in case.

Waiting for the meat

Mmmm shashlik!

Playing "Kill the duck" (or something like that)

The Easter gang at sunset

After Easter, I helped Ruslan’s family get their garden ready. I felt like I was at home. We also went to a beautiful public park while the weather was nice. It was nice to see more of Moldova when everything was blooming.

Pulling out old raspberries

Note how cute their house is!

Playing with Ruslan's sisters

Hooray for sunny days in the park!