A Farewell to Ostroh
So the night of January 13th was our last night in Ostroh. Honestly, I had no idea it would be so emotional for me and when the time finally came for me to get on the bus to Kiev it felt like a punch in the gut. My host mother and host brother were crying as I left and it was all I could do just to keep from crying myself. I made a connection with some great people in Ostroh and it's so difficult to leave them so suddenly.
But it wasn't all sadness and tears. We also threw a farewell party where I (yes me) and others were involved in a Ukrainian dance.
My host family fulfilled and exceeded all my hopes before coming to this program. If I could offer advice to anyone doing a similar program - join a host family with children. It's honestly the best way to make a connection and become an actual part of the family.
Roman and Katia were great. I mean Katia was quite possibly the loudest and most 'independent' 4 year old I've ever known, but she was also quite sweet. She always blew me kisses when I left the house and on the last night she told me she loved me. I almost choked I was so touched. Both Roman and Katia are excellent children and they are direct reflections of their parents.
Mikola my host father was literally Mr. Fixit. He also had a good sense of humour. They bought a microwave one night. When I saw it he just looked at me and grinned, saying, "Civilization!". When I came back home later that night after going to the pool hall I found Mikhola and Roman welding a stand for the thing. My host-mother Valentyna was so good to me! She was always, always feeding me. She even told me it was her explicit goal to make me fatter. She went about this task with a single-minded determination.
The last night all the participants threw a farewell party for our host-families, work placement bosses, and friends. It was decided that it would be nice idea to have a bunch of us either dance or sing for the group. Of course I volunteered for the dance. This was the result:
Notice how I forgot to start dancing at the right time. I am wearing traditional Ukrainian dress and man it made me wish I was Ukrainian! I love that shirt!
Jeff and I.
Jeff, Shawna, and I.
Me and Misha's friends. I will miss all of them.
Saying good-bye was awfully difficult. For the Ukrainians it was especially difficult as many of them have never been away from their families or girl/boyfriends for a long time. I left Ostroh with mixed feelings. In one way I was glad to be seeing Canada again. But mostly I was so sad. I was not ready to go. Now I am left with an amount of melancholy because I have no idea whether I will see these people again. But this melancholy is a direct result of my enormously fantastic experience in Ostroh. I wouldn't have it any other way...