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We were at an orphanage for five days. Th children were so loving, and
they appreciated our company so much. They couldn't stop hugging us,
and they wanted to play with us for as long as they possibly could. I
can definetly say that being at the orphanage was quite an experience.
Some down sides to the orphanage experience were that we weren't
prepared for what we were walking into. Almost all of the children
have special needs, which made it difficult, and they were very
clingy. I mean it's great that they had so much love to share, but the
dirty conditions they lived in made it difficult for some of us to
enjoy them hanging on us. I know we did a great thing by playing with
and helping these children, but better preparation would have helped
us a lot more with this experience.
The American Student Ambassadors haven't had time to get a blog entry posted recently, but I at least wanted to get a few pictures up. It's hot, humid, and we're all exhausted, but I think everyone is happy and glad to be here. They're keeping us so busy, it's tough to keep up!
Anyway, please see the attached photos. We got a great group photo at the top of Boghdan Hill, you'll see a small bit of Chyhyryn behind us. One neat photo was a shot of a lunar eclipse. We have lots of welcome party photos that were shot by a professional photographer, but I forgot to grab the disc when I was over at his house earlier. I'll get some of those up later on. I also figured I'd post a couple photos of some of the wonderful kids we've been working with at the orphanage.
- Chris
Hey friends and family. We are having a really great time so far. Today we took a tour and saw the presidents office, a cool statue of a whole bunch of people. IT WAS HUGE. Next we saw the national soccer cup stadium that is still being built. Then we ate fast food and we had to order and all the workers spoke Ukrainian. Thank God for Natasha and her translating abilties!!!!! Then we went to a famine Museum and lit candles to remember the people who died from famine. After that we went to a Cathedral and went under ground into a catacombs and saw some pretty cool dead Saints. By that point we were all very exhausted and we needed to stop for ice cream. Then we went shopping in this cool place that was under the street because its much easier to cross under the street.
We've arrived safely at our hostel in Kyiv, after a long and exhausting day of air travel. Everyone, especially the students, are really excited to be here, and are enjoying all the new things. More later! For now, attached is a photo of us at the Munich airport.
Travel is always a wearisome experience, but our student ambassadors, and their chaperone, Lyudmila Birko, were in high spirits and energetic as they emerged from customs at SFO. On the way back to Sebastopol, we stopped at the Golden Gate Bridge to give them an opportunity to stretch their legs, walk the bridge, and to see the beautiful cityscape of San Francisco and it's bay.
Upon arrival in Sebastopol, our guests were cheerfully greeted by their eager hosts. Smiles and laughter were plentiful. The attached pictures say it all.
Just to start my blog off I would like to say this: the people of Takeo City and Yamauchi are the most kind, hospitable, loving people I have ever met in my life. They take you in as if you were their real family; and after a week, I have discovered another part of my family. They are the Kusaba family, and my host sister is my foreign best friend. These past days I have bonded with not only her but also other American and Japanese students.
Today we went to Ground Zero at Nagasaki. The museum was one of the most moving things I have ever experienced. The museum reiterated exactly why Yamauchi World Friends is alive. Whether bonding over a Miyazaki movie or the Space Museum, I truly believe we are making peace, one friend at a time.
Katya
So far, the trip has been awesome for me and I'm confident all the other travellers would agree. They've kept us busy with a variety of fun activities - today it was shopping and bowling.
Everyone is so kind and tolerant of us.
The food has been good (for the most part) and I don't think I've been hungry this whole trip.
It has been really great experiencing this unique culture. Each day I learn so much. In addition, I've made new Japanese friends and bonded with the Sebastopol students too.
I'm having so much fun and although I miss my family and friends at home, I'll be sad to leave this amazing country and the wonderful people here.
Hi it's Nick, and yes, I am, in fact, in Japan. It's pretty awesome here and we're all having a great time, except due to an unfortunate, yet comic, tempura accident, Joe is no longer with us (that was just a joke, don't worry!). It's funny that we speak to them in Japanese and they reply in English. yesterday we climbed a mountain and drew Kanji letters. Today we attended a Japanese school induction ceremony, which was a great cultural experience. Thanks for making this trip possible.
Yesterday was host family day and I went shopping with my student (Haruka) I had alot of fun trying different foods and going into shops with very cute things. Today we all went and hiked up Mt. Kurokami. The climb was hard but it was very beautiful at the top. Yamautchi is a very green and rural place and at the top of the mountain you can see many green fields. I am having alot of fun in Japan and I will remember this experience for the rest of my life
We had our welcome party earlier. Wow.
Not only did the Japanese exchange students sing for us, but the hosting parents sang for us also. There was an incredible assortment of Japanese food, extremely talented live music, and our hosts gave us many gifts and honored us in many ways. Japanese students danced the "Algorithm Dance" for us, and then invited the American students to join in.
The shoe thing was something of note to me.. It seems large event halls have huge quantities of communal indoor slippers. Well, they all come in one size...WAY too small (at least from my perspective). I really wish I had known that you weren't supposed to wear your slippers on stage, otherwise I would have probably been less dazed and confused during my speech. :)
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