a beautiful weekend...in Ukraine!

friday afternoon of week one came around, and all the sudden my travel friends were leaving me!  i started feeling sad around lunch knowing that they were leaving, and the next thing I knew they were in a van, and i was standing beside the van on the side of the road in ukraine waving goodbye and crying.

i tried to make myself stop quickly because i didn't want my friends to think i wasn't excited to spend the weekend with them, because i was, but turning off the tears for me is sometimes difficult.  i was also just smidge nervous about being "alone" for the weekend.  even though i knew i was in great hands, i was sad to see my comfort zone drive away. :)  i was just really sad our first week was over, sad for matt and ginny to be leaving their sweet little girl, sad for abby to be leaving me.  hi, my name is amy and i'm an emotional wreck.

i spent the weekend with my friends olga and alex, and they were so kind to me and made me feel so at home in their apartment.  i am so grateful!  we enjoyed tea and snacks and sitting around their kitchen table talking and hanging out in our comfy clothes.  alex is also a really great cook, and he made lots of yummy meals all weekend.  we had lots of conversations about word pronunciations, culture, geography, food, travel and movies.  they also have the sweetest pup, rocky, and i enjoyed him so much!  i also had a chance to use their "washing machine of electric" and get all my clothes fresh and clean for round 2.  i love the way things translate some times.

my ukrainian friends alex and vova suggested that we visit a monastery about 50 kilometers away from kramatorsk.  they said it was beautiful and that people come from all over the country to see it.  i agreed and we headed out saturday morning around 10:00am.  it was a beautiful drive and i was so glad we went!  i got to see the country side, a national park, ukraine hay bales, and enjoy my friends company!

that was one big statue!

my sweet friend!

vova is on top of the world! :)

so am i! :)

paparazzi gets a taste of his own medicine! :)

pictures!

tour group.

women had to have their heads covered as well as a skirt to go into the monastery, like my gear?

i think he's telling me about the chickens, and i was telling him how i really don't like birds, of any kind! 

i kept telling them i felt like my grandma.  Babushka Amy and Babushka Alice.

sunday we got up and got ready to pick up the girls and mike from the airport.  We headed that way around 1:30PM and they arrived and got through customs around 5:00PM.  While waiting in the airport I got to people watch and drink a latte from a vending machine.  Fun stuff.

I really wish I had a picture of their faces as they came through customs one by one, after 26 hours of travel with tons of suitcases and equipment...their expressions were priceless.  Glad i have a mental picture. :)  i'm sure my face wasn't much better the week before but it was interesting being on the waiting end not the traveling end.  so fun! :)

that evening we went to the store and got to be the grocery store leader, and we bought more cheese, crackers, sausage, cokes, water, chocolate and cookies, and supplies for a new week.  i was so excited to see the gals and mike!  So thankful for all the safe travels and blessing our group received during our time in Ukraine.