Lutsk living...

Hello Canada, first I would like to say...its cold here too! no snow, but there were flurries on saturday morning. I have arrived and am all settled into my rather large but very soviet apartment. Its right off one of the main streets here, I wouldn`t call it a downtown but perhaps the centre of the city...or err large town. All the classic Soviet style buildings and designs are right outside my window, and from my room I can actually see part of the old castle....really cool. I have been making connections here and meeting alot of really nice people. Everyone is busy so I have alot of time to myself in the evenings. I read and work on my ukrainian...since most people here speak Russian it has been pretty easy, but they prefer Ukrainian so i am going to work on that. the YMCA building looks nothing like anything we have in Canada, sooo take one of our really nice YMCA buildings, age it 70 years, turn off all the power, including heating, introduce the smell of mould and decorate the outside with alcoholics and hooligans...and maybe you can get a sense of what this Y building looks like here. But, besides this, they make it work! everyone is energetic and full of life, they all love to volunteer and I have been able to take part in a few of their programs, Tensing and floorball, I have a floorball parctice tomorrow night :) ok, thats all for now, i will try to post some pics soon :) i miss you Canada, especially your toilets :((( whats the deal with squat pots

What you are missing in Calgary!

Today, Joey finally arrived in Lutsk on the overnight train from Kyiv. That train ride alone is an amazing adventure, but I'm sure there have been many this week, as Joey...
- participated in YMAP Camp at Camp Chief Hector last weekend
- flew to Toronto on Monday for the final pack-up and farewells with his family
- left Toronto on Wednesday, flying through Frankfurt, to arrive in Kyiv on Thursday
- had a day and a half in Kyiv, staying one night at the famous Hotel Ukraine, and meeting with some folks from the YMCA Ukraine National office.

Marta met him at the train station this morning, they had breakfast together at her house, and the day was full of plans to see an apartment, attend a TenSing practice, play floorball (like floor hockey), and have a "Canada Party" with our friends from YMCA Volyn!
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Joey, I'm sure your time here in Calgary seems like a distant memory. After all the cold and dreary cloud cover you experienced here, we had a few days of beautiful sunshine and plus temperatures this week.

This morning, however, we awoke to 10cm of snow, and it is still falling! Enjoy spring in Volyn...but don't forget about us here.

You made many good friends during your training here, and we'll be excited to read your updates on this blog. This photo is a picture from my back window. And now you are our window to our friends in Ukraine.