Hello Everyone!

Christy, Iulia, and I had a great day today. We visted the Chernobyl museum, took a boat ride along the Dnipro river and saw the Lavra. We also met a dude from Scotland name Gillien, who had done some traveling in Russia, and had made his way to Ukraine. He accompanied us to the museum, as well as the boat ride. It was great to meet someone from another walk of life, and here his stories. Gillien if by chance you stumble onto this blog, it was great to meet you. Christy and I are now gearing up to take our 13 hour train ride to our next destination, and are going to be taking a taxi to the rail station in 5 min.

Till next blog,


Christy and Jillian

Finally here

What a journey!! Jillian and I had a wonderful and long day yesterday. We finally fell asleep on our second flight from Amsterdam to Kiev. Once we got to Kiev we were exhausted but really excited. Iulia picked us up from the airport it was so great to see her again and we were hosted by her and her family last night. It is like being back with family; it was so nice to catch up with them and see them again. It is very hot here and although I knew that would be the case, it is still hotter than I remember. Once we had dinner last night we took a walking tour of Kiev. It was so beautiful at night and many things were going on in the center of the city like a festival and world cup celebrations. We saw many sights and will tour around today too. We will also visit with the YMCA Ukraine national office today which will be great. I think we are settling in really well and adjusting to the time change and culture. We head off on an overnight train tonight for the Carpathian mountains to attend camp. I am sure we will have more stories from this train ride to report, as anyone who has been here can imagine. Looking forward to it!! I am so happy to be here I love Ukraine!

Amsterdam

Christy and I have arrived in Amsterdam, and awaiting are flight to Kiev. The flight was very long, and both Christy and I agreed that it seemed to be a little weird to be constantly flying in daylight. We also didn't manage to get a lot of sleep on the plane. We had a loud and excited crowd behind us, and plenty of movies to occupy our time. We look forward to catching some much needed shut eye on the next flight. Bring on Ukraine!!!

Till next blog,

Christy and Jillian

Leaving on a jet plane

Well I am just sitting here in anticipation watching the clock as I wait for 2 more hours to leave for the airport. It is hard to believe that the day has finally come, I am so excited. Jillian and I have a long trip ahead but I am looking forward to seeing all my old friends soon. I feel so fortunate to be returning to Ukraine again and to be a part of the YMCA there. I am really looking forward to meeting new people and re-uniting with old friends. We will try to post as soon as we can, I am sure we will have many great stories to share as we embark on this journey. Until then.

Leaving Tomorrow!!!!

Hello Everyone,

I have spent this evening preparing myself for the long journey ahead. I have a million butterflies swirling around in my stomach, but have deemed these to be butterflies of anticipation rather than butterflies of nervousness. I have never been to Europe before, or would call myself a seasoned traveler, so I am really excited and ever so grateful to be a part of this partnership! I look forward to arriving in Ukraine 24 and a bit more hrs from now, and meeting all the people and seeing all the places that Christy, Dan, and everyone else who had gone on the partnership, has spoken so highly of. I look forward to posting further thoughts on the blog and sharing in the experience. Can't wait for this journey to officially begin!!

Thanks for all of your advice and support, till next blog

Jillian

Itinerary

Christy and Jillian leave tomorrow! Here are a few details:

Destination: Western Regional Camp of YMCA Ukraine, organized by Volyn YMCA (Ivanna, Marta, Vika, Natalia, etc.). This year the camp will be held in Verkhovyna, in the Carpathian Mountains of south-western Ukraine, the same location as the YMCA festival attended by Christy, Jesse, Tanis, and Juliette in 2007. (Last year, the camp was held at Lake Swityaz - see June 2009 blog archive).

Timeline: Jillian and Christy will be in Ukraine from June 28-July 18. Keep checking back for updates!

• 27Jun - leave Calgary
• 28Jun - arrive Kyiv via Amsterdam
• 29 Jun - visit Kyiv; in the evening, board the overnight train to Ivano-Frankivsk
• 30 Jun - arrive in Ivano-Frankivsk; travel to Verkhovyna
• 1-10July - Western Regional Camp (Christy and Jillian will take lead roles in the events on July 1 and 2 as "Canada Day" and "Aboriginal Day" are on the schedule!)
• 10Jul - travel to Lviv with volunteer leaders from the YMCA there
• 11-12Jul - visit YMCA Lviv programs and volunteers (including Lesya!)
• 13Jul - bus to Lutsk
• 14-15Jul - meetings and visits in Lutsk with Volyn YMCA
• 16Jul - visit YMCA Dubno (hosted by Ljudmila)
• 17Jul - arrive in Kyiv...last day
• 18Jul - depart Kyiv (early!); return to Calgary (late afternoon...plus lots of jetlag)
  

A photo

Here's a beautiful picture of Jillian and Christy taking a (short) break from their preparations. Only 11 days to go!

We just learned that the camp is going to be held in Verhovyna, the heart of the Carpathian mountains. Christy has been there before, when she attended the 2007 YMCA Ukraine festival along with Jesse, Tanis, and Juliette.

Wicked!

Can't wait to hear tons about the trip! Looking eagerly forward to all the amazing news to come. :)

2010 Journey to Ukraine

Jillian and Christy are busy getting ready for thier trip to Ukraine in less than three weeks! In case you haven't heard, they have been chosen to represent YMCA Calgary at this year's YMCA Ukraine Western Regional Camp (the same camp I attended last year) and will be gone from June 27-July 18.

Jillian Coulas is the NW Calgary YMAP Coordinator, and she is based out of Crowfoot YMCA. She will brings tremendous youth leadership and cross cultural skills to this experience. Her background in Rehabilitation, Family Support, and Disability Services is great preparation for the challenges of international travel.

Christy Daniels is the Community Outreach Manager and soon to be interim General Manager of Community YMCA. It will be her third trip to Ukraine; the last time she was there, she stayed for 3 months and visited almost a dozen YMCA associations across the country. This trip will be shorter, but she will have many friends to reconnect with while she is there.