THE FIRST CONGRESS OF CHRISTIAN YOUTH IN BELARUS

BELORUS

AHH...THOSE FEW DAYS I SPENT IN THE CAMP WERE GREAT...

WE HAD REALLY NICE TIME THERE. THERE WE HAD GREAT SEMINARS ON DIFFERENT THEMES...SPORT COMPETITIONS...

BY THE WAY WE WON THE SECOND PRIZE IN VOLLEYBALL COMPETITIONS...BY "WE" - I MEAN OUR GUYS...

THE COUNTRY IMPRESSED ME VERY MUCH...

WE ALSO VISITED BREST FORTRESS THERE...

THE FUN THING IN THEIR COUTRY  - THEIR MONEY

1$ = 3 000 RUBELS

IT IS FUN TO BUY A CANDY THAT COSTS LIKE 1,5 THOUSAND RUBELS

  THAT IS NOT MUCH MONEY...

YOU CAN NOT BUY EVEN A GUM FOR THIS SUMM OF MONEY...

THE LANGUAGE IS ALSO NOT AN ORDINARY ONE

IT IS A MIX OF RUSSIAN AND UKRAINIAN

SOUNDS REALLY FUN

BY THE WAY

MY GRANDPA WAS FROM BELORUS...

SO IT IS KINDA MY SECOND MOTHERLAND

I ALSO DREAMED TO GO THERE

SO MY DREAM IS ALMOST FULFILLED

WHY ALMOST?

BECAUSE I DREAM TO GO AND VISIT THE VILLAGE WHERE MY GRANDPA LIVED

BECAUSE ALL THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN THAT VILLAGE HAVE THE SAME LASTNAME, THE SAME I HAVE

HOPE ONE DAY MY DREAM WILL COME TRUE

busy...lazy...

i'm a bit busy these days...so no blogging...

=(

home... sweet home...

back from camp finally...

the camp was great...

the kids... the kids are always and everywhere the same... noisy... but funny...

i spent great time there with a good team...

a week spent far away from home...

but..

as usually i got those connection issues... i had to find the highest hill there to get internet connection...sounds funny...doesn't it?

oh well... anyway...that was fun...

back to the camp... it was great...seems i mentioned it before already....

we sang songs with children... we played lots of fun games...

tried to spend our time as good as possible...

we had a big big big...no.. huge fire in the middle of the camp...

if you know those christian bracelets... with colourful beads... every day we had one colour...

yellow... black... white... red... (blue)....and green...

each colour has its own meaning...

and every day all the leaders wore the t-shirts of the colour of the day...

oh yeah...forgot to mention my group...

i've got a group of nine nice girls... the age...what was the age ?

whoooops... i guess they were 13-14 years old... 

every day we had: morning exersises... sports... crafts... Bible lessons... morning and evening meetings...

but most of all i loved such called "silent hour" or "silent time" - the time when kids were supposed to be in their rooms for 1.5 hour...

that was right the time when i was mounting the hill in hope to get the connection.. ha ha... the kids were wondering from their windowswhat was i doing over there on the top of the hill..

but... the time flies so quickly...so that i had to come back to kids quite soon... 

we've got a great team... there were like 12 of us... 6 guys and 7 girls...

oh well.. i'm not good in math... so there were 13 of us...

one day we had time just for girls and just for guys... hen-party and a stag-party.... let us call it so...

we gathered all the girls...and made them make-up... made their hair... polished the nails... and stuff...

the boys went to the river... and i have no idea what did they do there...

oh yeah...

we also had the day of twins...

not an actual twins...

but...

ok/.. let me telll...

everyone had to find a twin in the camp... and i found one... not really..

                                         but

just the girl from my group came to me and said that none wanna be a twin with her...

so i told her that we're gonna be twins...

we even won the second prize...

i have much much much more impressions from the camp...

but i'm too tired to tell about all of them...

so that's gonna be the end of the blog...

=) 

... sunday... friends ... wedding ...

 what a nice day was today... sunday... friends... wedding...

today was the first time i was on non-christian wedding... it was something new for me... cause i was only on christian ones ....

and i think that was the first and the last time...

not because it was bad... it was ok...

just i don't like that alcohol stuff... drunk people...

that was my groupmate's wedding...she was sooooo beautiful... she was a BUG.. =)

the wedding was new for me...

cuz i saw many new traditions people hold on non-christian weddings...

that was fun... but i left quite early... before all of them get drunk...

i do not like that stuff..

+ i had to get ready for tomorrow... because tomorrow starts a new camp...

 

it is called "Sunflower"...

i used to be as camper in this camp when i was young...

and now..

i'm gonna be a leader in this camp...

that is so cool...

hope i'll enjoy it...

no...

for sure...

i'll enjoy it...

because i'll have a good company with me...

hope the connection will be ok there...

so i can chat with that american guy...

so...

i'll tell you how was the camp later... and now back to repacking my suitcase...

=)

a week without laptop.. does it seem like i'm laptop addicted?

hey...  quite a long time without blogging... and chatting...

but...

i'm back...

so the blog is gonna be about how i spent last week...

i was in Sumy... the reason i was there? ok ..

It was The second Regional Youth Camp of Central Ukraine... there were representatives from 8 regions of Ukraine... there were olike 350-400 representatives... Our region was the biggest...as usually... there were like 120 of us... a big delegation...isn't it?

<= these  are the girls ... the best girls from the delegation... =)

the 1-st such camp was 3 years ago... this one was the second...

there were  lots of fun there...

lots of interesting seminars... lots of different sports, competitions... among them were: volleyball competition, football competition, Strongmen competition ... different extreme competitions... and others... 

and what is fun... that we..i mean our region won all those competitions...

what's fun is that we won all the competitions 3 years ago.. so all the regions were a bit angry on us i guess... but that was fun... our guys were very good... they won the volletball tournir easily... the hardest thing was to win footbal tournir... but they're good...

+ they had us... by " us " i mean the girls... 20 best girls in the camp... we cheered them up the best way we could... 

The win of the football tournir was the best moment for us in the camp... 

<= just a minute after we won football tournir!!!

the guys in blue t-shirts are our football players... they did a great job... the camps was good... but thhe only thing that wasn't good...is that i didn't have my laptop with me...so i couldn't chat with one nice person... and i really missed it...

so today i'm home...and can chat... tomorrow my  friend has a wedding... + i haave to pack my suitcase... or to repack... ha ha...and monday morning leaving for a new camp...but this time not as a camper..but as leader... but this will be in the next blog...

=)

=(

i'm sorry ...but no blogs till saturday..

will miss

i "love" my camera

oh well.. let's start...

i missed yesterday's blog... but... the day was great... let me tell you...we had a great beginning of the day..as usually: sunny weather... beach...tan... it was cool... 

+ i managed somehow to chat with the American Guy... without any connection issues...

but the fun of the day started in the evening.... at 19:00 we were ready to go to the downtown...to have a walk ...to take pictures... on our way to the route taxi i told my friend i told her a story that happened to me when i was in the other city with the quire i sing in... as usually i take my camera with me... and you know how often it happens when you go somewhere and take your camera... and in the very moment you need it it says "the battery is low"... but it didn't happened to me that time. cuz i took like 16 batteries... in case i get "your battery is low"... and in that very moment...i took my camera...turned it on... the battery fully charged... i took a picture...and guess what... you'll laugh at me... my camera told me "no memory card"... oh well//let  us get back to our story...

so we got a route taxi to the downtown... we walked ... ate an ice cream... had fun... oh yeah... we found a great building of an Opera House... it is very old ... i saw it before...cuz i've already been to Odessa.. and my friend asked me to take a picture... as my hands were busy with an ice cream...i asked her to take the picture herself... she took my camera and took a picture of that great building...when she looked at the screen of the camerea...guess..what did she see? yep...you're right.... my camera was saying "no memory card" =)

why this always happen to me???

but anyway... we found a mall.... and at the last floor we found an Ukrainian Quisine Restaurant.... it is called "Puzata Hata"  - in english it would sound like "Paunchy Hut" - funny name heh? 

after all that we decided that we'll come back home, to the guest house...and will take pictures there...near the sea...

so we came home...took lots of pictures... and then decided just to sit outside on a swing... but... one guy... actually not a guy...but kinda a 40 or 50 year old man was allready sitting there...so we just enjoyed the bench... but when he left... we occupied the swing...and then he immediately came back... and sat with us... as we found further he was from Finland... he came here on his motorcycle... but we also found out that he was drunk... so we just asked him to take a picture of two of us... and wished him good night...and left... oh well... that was not the only swing there you know... so we found an other one... the day was great...and it ended at 3 in the morning... 

at 4 i got a "goodnight wish" from American Guy... and fell asleep...

so it is 11:33... and i'm still in bed... writing this blog... it is the last day of my vacation... and i'm too lazy to go to the beach...

.........................................................seems to be the end of today's blog..........................................

home=>flea market=>home=>beach=>home=>beach...

sunny day...

                        nice weather...

what else do you need for good vacation?

                               entertainment?

                                     well... ok...  

today i had kinda entertainment...

last night i went to bed like at 01:30...and woke up at 05:00... can you imagine that?

but i had reasons for that...i decided to go to the flea market...

                         that is why i woke up early...

that was interesting... we were shopping there for few hours... and then back home ...and beach... and home again...watching movies.. and then beach again...  and now rest.... feel so sleepy and tired now...but tomorrow gonna be a new day... a nice one...

ahh yes...today i took one more picture of a moon...it was sooooooooooooo big today...it was orange... you can see the picture... but it was more bright...more orange...

the second picture - is a picture of the sea port of Odessa...this is the way it looks at night from the balcony of my room... it is too far so the quality is not good..  but tomorrow i'm gonna take more pictures...

that's all for today's blog...

have no idea how to call this blog =)

the day is wonderfull today... the sun is shining... not even a cloud on the sky... ahh i love vacations... watermelon and peaches were great... the only bad thing that happend is that i made mr calm upset...cuz i dissapeared eventually... cuz of the connection problems.. =( people are changing every day in this guest house... we've got new neighbours...ahhh...seems they were moving the furniture in their room..they made so many noise... brr ... 

tomorrow we're going to the famous flea market in Odessa... it is called "the seventh km". it occupies the territory of more than 70 hectares and it is still expanding...  you can buy there anything... from toys, clothes and footwear to electrnic devices... so tomorrow morning is gonna be a shopping morning.  but the only thing i don't like is that i have to wake up at 05:00 in the morning... but then beach again...so the day is gonna be great tomorrow...

right now i'm multitasking... i'm blogging and chatting with that nice american guy...he's at work now... but in  an hour he's off... hope he'll have a great rest of the day...

ahh..but again...these connection problems...hate my internet provider.... i neeeeeeed to change it ...

ahhh ... Odessa - the pearl near the sea...

don't know why..but decided to tell you a bit about Odessa...

ok..let's start our journey around Odessa... =)

Odessa... The city is the major seaport located on the north-west shore of the Black Sea and the fourth largest city in Ukraine with the population of 1,029,000 (as of the 2001 census)...

SOME INTERESTING FACTS:

#1 Odessa catacombs

Most of Odessa 19-th century houses were built of limestone mined nearby.

Abandoned mines were later used and broadened my local smugglers.

This created a gigantic  complicated labyrinth of underground tunnels beneath Odessa, known as  "catacombs".

During the World War II those served as a hiding place for partisans.

They are now a great atraction for extreme tourists.

Such tours, however, are not oficially sanctioned , and are dangerous because the layout of the catacombs has not been fully mapped and the tunnels themselves are unsafe.

the tunnels are primary reason why no subway system was ever built in Odessa...

but i wasn't there...may be some time... we'll see =)

ok...

#2  Potemkin Stairs

The Potemkin Stairs is a giant stairway in Odessa.

The stairs are considered to be a formal entrance to the city from the direction of the sea and are the best known symbol of Odessa.

The stairs were originally known as Boulevard Steps, the Giant Staircase or the Rechelieu steps.

The top step is 41 ft wide, and the lowest is 70,8 ft wide. The staircase is 27 metres high, and extends for 142 metres, but it gives an illusion of a greater length.

The stairs were designed to create an optic illusion.

A person looking down the stairs sees only the landings, and the steps are invisible., but a person looking up sees only steps, and the landings are invisible.

A secondary illusion creates false perspective since tha stairs are wider at the bottom than at the top.

Looking up the stairs makes them seem longer than they are, and looking down the stairs makes them seen not so long.

At the top of the stairs is a monument depicting  the Armand-Emmanuel du Plessis, Duc de Richelieu , a french nobleman who became Odessa's first governor.

that's not all info about Odessa... may be i'll tell you a bit more a bit later...

sunny days... full moon nights...

the day was not that bad i expected it to be... it was a good day... really... 

we were in Odessa at 05-50...

we got the room quite early... previous times i used to stay here i waited like till 12.00 to get a room.. but today it was great...we'were here almost at 07:00 in the morning...and we got the room just when we came... greaaaaaaaaat... we went to the seaside and were getting tan... then back to room to have some sleep after that terrible train... and then again to the beach...

the first day is almost ended...it is 20:10 right now... and i'm leaving now...

well..i'm back...it is 22:40 i was walking with my friend near the sea... there was a great full moon.. and i took a picture of it... 

                                                 .....................................

that guy... he knows so many songs... i mean lyrics... wow.. 

I'll make you banana pancakes and when can pretend like it's the weekend...

Banana Pancakes - Jack Johnson

nice song i should say...

zhytomyr=>odessa

well...right now i'm on my way to Odessa...i'm sitting in a train... ahhh.. i thought the trip is gonna be much more better... but.... aaaaaaaaahhh..the internet connection is so bad here... so i can't normally chat with that american guy...i missed the radio show..ahhhh... 4 hours left.... seems like it is all for today's blog...

but...promise you to write muuuuuuuuuuch more tomorrow...

preparations and goodbyes

what is interesting we're changing while growing up... that is for sure...

i remember when i was younger and prepared to the camps or a trip...i started to pack my suitcase a week or two before... and i packed the stuff i never needed in camps...i packed stuff that i even didn't use at home... 

but now the situation is totally different... i  understand that thereis no reason to take aaaaaaaaaalllll that stuff.... tomorrow i'm leaving to the seaside...i'm gonna travel by train there... i like traveling by train...it is reall fun...you may enjoy the beauty of your country...its landscapes... you may get new aquaintances... or even new friends...it happens...sometimes...

well...i hope i'll enjoy my train-trip this time... because i'm not gonna travel alone... i'm travelling with my friend...and she is real fun... and also this time i'm travelling with one guy in my laptop... =)

seems it is gonna be fun to chat with those two great people all night long on my way to Odessa...that is the city i'm travelling to...

that is gonna be quite long lasting trip...

i'm departing at 23-05 and ariving at 05-50  ...

quite early heh?    

and then have somehow to get to the guest house i'm gonna stay at...    

 ...... ...... ...... ..... ...... ....... by the way...here it is =>

hope to spend there great time ...

the blog seems to be not that long...

i don't know what to write more about...

but i'm sure i'll get new themes to write about in my next blogs while resting...

crazy summers

just wondering...how i spent my summers before... you know i used to be at 7-8 camps during the summer... at least in 5... last year i was in the united states... and i really missed the way i spent summers before...yhose were crazy summers...but i liked  those... it is like..i came home from the camp late on saturday,,,changed my clothes and next day...late on sunday leaving again for the next summer...and it lasted for 7-8 weeks... but last summer was totally different but not less crazy and interesting...i spent 4 month, 4 wonderful month on Cape Cod...the best place i've ever been... with wonderful people...it was crazy because i've never worked like 60-70 hours per week...so it was kinda crazy...i remember those days when i had to wake up at 04:30 and to be at work ay 05:00... i even rememmber talking to myself...like "i don't wanna go to work"...but anyway i woke up and went to work...and then back home and again to work...and back home at 23:00-00:00...

bikes...after that summer i hated my bike...and didn't ride it till this summer... i remember the last working day... the last time i was riding my bike...one cannot imagine how i felt... i was soooooooooooo happy that won't need to ride it anymore...

<=This yellow thing was really useful thing in june... because it was raining tooooooooooo often...but...when you're riding the bike it doesn't help much...because you're getting wet anyway...the sleeves there are short so your hands are wet...it is not long enough...so your legs are wet... when you come back home and look at the mirror you may notice that the make up you did in the morning do not look the way it was in the morning...especially your eyes...you look like a clown  from a horror movie...lol...

(i'm talking not about myself now...my eyes look great in any weather...lol)

...ahhh rain...  i hate rain...i mean i don't hate rain like  a phenomenon...some people know why...  =)

but what is fun ... i'm missing that rainy days... missing the place i lived...

but most of all misss people i worked with... They were very kind and good people... i've got a nostalgia about them...ahh..i wanna go there right now and to see all of them... i spent a great time working with them...i got new friends... and really wanna come back and see them...    

there was also one guy...mr Calm..seems we never talked to each other...but i bagged once for him...but now... when a year passed we're good...very good friends...we're chatting all the time... we chat on different themes... we're never out of themes to chat about... 

This summer i stayed in Ukraine ... in my Motherland... and my summer is totally different again...i do not spend that much time in camps as i used to before... i have just 2 camps this summer... and i really miss the way i spent previous summer...i muss US...i miss MA... i miss Cape Cod... I miss Orleans .. i missed Shaws and DD.. i missed people i worked with...

but

i have plans for the next summer... i'm gonna spend the best summer ever...

(at least some people say so...)

 

dreams

ok...don't know whether it is gonna be interesting... may be just for me... but anyway..it is my dream... Canon 50d ...you know everyone have to have a dream... and when you fulfill it you need to get the other dream... because life without dreams is nosence...Dreams are necessary to life.

- Anais Nin

i found some quotes about dreams...that might be interesting...or might be not...

The invariable mark of a dream is to see it come true.

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

We grow great by dreams. All big men are dreamers. They see things in the soft haze of a spring day or in the red fire of a long winter's evening. Some of us let these great dreams die, but others nourish and protect them; nurse them through bad days till they bring them to the sunshine and light which comes always to those who sincerely hope that their dreams will come true.

- Woodrow Wilson

Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.

- Harriet Tubman

When we are dreaming alone it is only a dream. When we are dreaming with others, it is the beginning of reality.

- Dom Helder Camara

Nothing happens unless first we dream.

- Carl Sandburg

Without leaps of imagination, or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities. Dreaming, after all, is a form of planning.

- Gloria Steinem

A man's dreams are an index to his greatness.

- Zadok Rabinowitz

No person has the right to rain on your dreams.

- Marian Wright Edelman

I think we dream so we don't have to be apart so long. If we're in each others dreams, we can be together all the time.

- Hobbes (of Calvin and ...)

The work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives and the dreams shall never die.

- Edward Kennedy

To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe.

- Anatole France

#1

it is the first blog here... blogging...i have never done this kind of activity before... still have no name for it...but hope that one nice american guy will help me to create one... 

guess that the first blog is not gonna be long today...rather short one...