Visit to the врач

Last week, we were able to finally meet with Dr Kolesnyk and register Solomiya at his medical clinic. I (annie) had met him about 2 years ago on our last short-term trip to Ukraine through Anya and Richard. Anya had introduced me to him, told him I was an OT and that we were planning on moving to Ukraine to volunteer full-time. He was very excited to hear because he was making some decisions about building a new clinic and wanted to make space for therapy to be done. He had asked me then (he speaks English very well!) if I would be interested in training his therapy staff once we moved to Uzhhorod (therapy in Ukraine is very different from the therapy taught in North America, Australia, and western Europe).
 I do not think Dr Kolesnyk is your average Ukrainian doctor. He has a huge vision to bring advanced medical techniques and evidenced-based practice (treatments based on current research) to the people of Uzhhorod. He has traveled to western Europe and the USA to receive specialized training in a variety of areas. He also has a heart to start classes for young moms about how to care for babies and for rehabilitation with the elderly who have had strokes.
So, along with doing a 'healthy' check-up on Solomiya, Dr Kolesnyk talked about the plans for the new clinic. He received a grant for $30,000 to build it and plans are in the works!
I am really excited about working with him!
And now a completely unrelated photo containing some very special people:

Our friend, женя (white shirt and glasses) and his wife, оксана (standing), invited us to his birthday dinner! Sitting to the left of me is his mom- Mama Tanya- (as everyone calls her). She is a very special friend of ours! We lived with her during the last two short-term trips we made to Uzhhorod.

Bus Trip to Mukachevo

   This past Friday, we went on a daring adventure by bus to another city called Mukachevo (about 40 miles away).  Our main goal was to see Fred Fox and catch up on what the church there is doing lately! Also, to spread the word that Annie is available for OT and that we both want to help them out in any way that we can.
   About 3 years ago, on a 2-week trip to Ukraine, we had the opportunity to visit a special needs school in Mukachevo. Annie is very interested in offering her services to them, so it was good to see what the bus trip was like for future reference.

Bus station in Mukachevo. The round trip tickets cost 25r a person, or about $3.00 (not bad!). Solomiya got to ride for free on our lap. Travel time was about 1 hour with numerous stops at small villages in between Uzhhorod and Mukachevo. This was pretty good timing seeing how it would have taken us 45 minutes by car.

Solomiya keeping an eye on Fred Fox!

Really enjoyed hanging out with Fred! He is originally from Scotland, but has lived in Mukachevo for the past 8 years. The kids from our Sunday School class at Changepoint will definitely recognize him because they raised money for the orphanage he works at! Fred updated us on how the kids were doing. A few of the girls have gotten married or have moved out on their own since we were last there. Fred is a very important part of their life. Most of the older kids who have known him the longest see him as their Dad and are always coming to him for council and advice.

Ministry to the Roma People

Husband & Wife: Lola and Arkady. They have a ministry serving the Roma people (or Gypsy) of Transcarpathia. They provide food, clothing, medicine, and also work with Pastor Viktor and the Roma Church in Uzhhorod to share the love of God with them.
Another valuable service they provide is getting passports for Roma. Traditionally, the Roma have been a people without a country, living on the fringes of society (both socially and physically). Unfortunately, this  means that when it's time to get government supplied healthcare or travel or anything else that would require some formal ID, they are at a huge disadvantage. In Ukraine, anything involving the bureaucracy is often a long, frustrating and discouraging process. Lola's team have opened up new opportunities by recently obtaining citizenship documents for 68 Roma people!

Lola and Arkady's team meets on Monday afternoons to fellowship and also to pray for the families they provide for during the week. Our friend, Timea, (in the red-checkered shirt) translated for us. She has worked with this team for 3 years.

Solomiya and a member of Lola's team!

The whole team: Pastor Viktor is 5th from the left. During our visit, Pastor Viktor shared on the delicate balance of providing material help and the need to share the Gospel and bring long-term tranformation. He has a tremendous love for the Roma and is filled with joy that God, too, loves them!


We are really looking forward to working with Arkady & Lola!

Skype Call with Changepoint Church

Left to right: Lola, Arcady, Volodya, Oksana, Annie & Solomiya. Had these lovely friends over for dinner on Sunday night so they could also be in on the Skype call to Changepoint Church during their morning service in New York.

Pastor Marlow is introducing them to everyone at Changepoint.

Talking with our church family in New York. Just before this, Mike gave the announcements for the church service- his old job before we moved. It was a surprise call for the congregation- so that was fun. Not sure if they will let Mike do that again because as he was announcing a new Leadership Class that was starting, he mentioned it would be a good class to attend if you were planning on taking over a small Latin American country...

Birthday Adventures

Went on a birthday adventure to celebrate Annie's Birthday. Yes... in the blizzard. Mike got quite a workout pushing that thing through 6 inches of snow with a layer of solid ice underneathe. As you can see, the locals were still out and about doing their business.

Strollers were not meant for snow travel. We came up with an idea for a great invention- ski attachments for strollers! Maybe they are already out there somewhere... Solomiya quite enjoyed her ride and was warm and dry.

пицца. пряный кетчуп. зеленый чай. Соломия. (Pizza. Spicy ketchup. Green Tea. Solomiya.) Annie used her birthday money for a special lunch at 'Mrs Greenwich'. As you can see from the decor, this restaurant is very 'American' looking. The pizza kicked butt. Annie had piles of spinach on her pizza (that is what the green stuff is).

Mike and Solomiya inspecting his cheesecake. It was tasty and very different from NY cheesecake. The cheese they use is called 'Farmer's Cheese'. It kind of has the consistency of a non-watery ricotto. They use it in SO many recipes.

Annie's chocolate cake with some kind of fruit filling in the middle.

All 3 of us!

It's snowing again today...

Lovely blizzard-like conditions today...

Solomiya is very excited about the snow! She just woke up from a long morning nap.

On snowy days, Solomiya enjoys reading газета (the newspaper)...

... or her favorite книга (book).

Valentine's Day Eve

We had a bit of warm weather today! This afternoon it was about 30 degrees F, quite a big difference from the past couple of weeks. Wow, how nice to walk to the bus stop without wearing 2 layers of gloves. We did still keep on our coats, hats, scarves, boots, etc...
The bus stop- or marshrutka* stop- is only about a 7 minute walk from our apartment. It costs 2r to ride (about 25 cents) and is quite an experience.

This is what the marshrutkas look like (The big ones, at least. The No. 3, or "troika", that we often ride is about half the length and 2/3 the width of this one).

We take the marshrutka into the center of town where we have our language lessons. Mike also frequently takes it to attend various events at church and the Life English classes. It is quite a production to take Solomiya on, because we have her diaper bag and chair (so she can sit in something while we have our lessons) to carry along with her. The marshrutkas get PACKED with people and it is hard to get on/off when you see your stop. Solomiya and I (annie) had a misadventure on one of the marshrutkas because there were SO many people packed into it.  We now know to get off at the stop before our road because the marshrutka does not loop around and go back to it. If you do not get off there, you will find that the marshrutka goes back to the marshrutka garage and the marshrutka driver will ask you why you are still on his marshrutka. But, hey- that's how you learn, right!
We had our lessons with Marina today. She is having Mike focus a lot on translating passages from English to Ukrainian and vice versa, both orally and written. With me, she is focusing on vocabulary and dialogue that I will need and/or encounter with my patients. She is a very smart tutor to think of this. Today, I learned the names of various body parts and illnesses.
Last Friday, we were able to visit with Andriana and I had a short occupational therapy session with her. I have seen her for therapy before when we visited on short-term trips in 2009 and 2010, but now that we are living here, I can actually follow through on some long-term goals for her. For this session, I assessed how much independent movement she had in each extremity, what her passive and active range of motion was, and how her joints were doing (looking for hyper/hypo flexion/extension and contractures). Praying that God will give me wisdom and show me what I can do for her. Right now, I am thinking of switches/ECU's (environmental control units) to assist her in independently accessing her environment (turning the TV/radio on and off, communicating with her caregivers, etc...). Any therapists with assistive technology experience- send me some ideas of how to make stuff from scratch! I'm pretty sure I could make something with the materials available here, but not sure how to yet!

Tomorrow is Valentine's Day and my birthday (Mike gets 2 for the price of 1 ;) ) and we are going to take the marshrutka into the center of town where Mike will take his girls out for pizza at "Mrs. Greenwich" (yes, that is what it is called). There is nothing like corn-topped pizza with spicy ketchup to dip it in.

...

to annie

*Mike can fix my spelling if needed, but pronounced: mar- SHRUT- ka

A day at the Drunken Market

Our kitchen on a bright and sunny afternoon.
(Note non-functioning microwave oven, soon to be discarded. Who needs a microwave anyway? You'd be surprised what you don't really need when you don't have it. We're going to buy a toaster instead)

Diapers drying on the clothesline on the balcony.

Our friend, Alla, came over for a cup of tea.

Can you find a Solomiya?

On the way to check out the bazaar.
Shout out to Richard & Anya Vandiver, for leaving their "kalyaska" behind, and to Oksana Stoyanova (Anya's sister), for loaning it to us until their new baby arrives!

Is there a Solomiya in there?

Yes, there she is.

Used furniture and shoe area of the bazaar. This is by far the most wide-open area. Everywhere else is a very tight squeeze with the stroller.

The beginning part of our local bazaar, known locally as "п'яний базар" or the "Drunken Market". No, it isn't full of drunks or bars, but - according to our friends here - the market acquired its name in the wild early days of Ukrainian independence* as a place where after-hours sales of black market vodka and cigarettes took place. The presence of both run of the mill Ladas and an ominous-looking black Mercedes tells you that this is a place where everyone goes to shop.
*the early 1990s

Buying bread at the bazaar...

Yesterday, we had our first language lessons with our tutor, Marina. She majored in the Russian language at University and currently works as a librarian and a Russian tutor for children. She will be tutoring Mike in Ukrainian and me in Russian. She is very sweet and patient!
So, it looks like we will have lessons Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays for an hour each. Marina charges only 35r an hour; this is a little over $4! I think we will pay her more though.
Yesterday, Marina focused on finding out what level Mike was at with his Ukrainian so she would know where to start and what to work on. Mike is definitely at an Intermediate level. I, on the other hand, am pretty much still at the beginner level when it comes to speaking, though I can understand quite a bit when people are speaking to me. I just need to be more confident in trying out words I know on the locals. Which leads me to the next topic: The Bazaar.

There is a bazaar (open air market) about 10 minutes away from us (by walking). You can buy ANYTHING there: Food, underwear, shoes, appliances, napkins, tools, etc... There are different stalls set up for each local vendor. One area has all of the clothing vendors, another the meat vendors, another the candy, etc... (I will take some pics soon!)
Today, I went on an adventure to check out the bazaar. We really want to buy our food and other things here because (1) it is much less expensive and (2) we would be buying and supporting locally and (2.5) it is much more fun than going to the store. Also, we want to get to know and become friends with these people!
I spent about 40 mins checking out the whole bazaar and seeing what looked good. I made myself use some Russian to buy a loaf of bread! This bread is amazing and it cost 50 cents! I saw one man selling carrots, garlic and onions that he grew. Many women selling milk and cheese from their cows and eggs from their chickens. Also, lots of people selling their own apples. We are really looking forward to making this our grocery shopping destination and getting to know the farmers!

Today, Solomiya and I are going to spend some time cooking and studying Russian while Mike is in town at the Life English classes. One thing we have found here is that if you do not want to live on bread, cheese, and kielbasa, you need to cook. Pretty much all of your meals need to be made from scratch. This was something I had anticipated, but had not realized how time consuming it would be!

If anyone has some recipes you would like to share, send them on over! ahallenback@gmail.com
These are the foods currently available at the bazaar:
potatoes, cabbage, beets, carrots, onions, garlic, apples, mandarin oranges, sausage (kielbasa), chicken pieces including feet, some kind of fish that I probably won't buy, bread, cheeses, yogurt, eggs, and milk.

it's really cold here...

A run-down of (almost) everyday since we came:

Saturday, 1/28: Oksana toured us around the grocery store that is down the street from our apartment. She advised us on good things to buy, and bad things to NOT buy (the breaded chicken legs are a no-no). In the evening, Hope & Life, gave us a welcome party at their office! It was so nice to reconnect with old friends and meet new ones. One woman we met, Nadia, has a daughter named Sulomita!

Sunday, 1/29: We went to New Testament Church. Pastor Volodya has been to Changepoint Church a couple times, so many of you would recognize him. We felt very welcomed and had a great time! The majority of our friends here in Uzhhorod go to this church, so we were able to reconnect with so many people! We were invited to come back that evening by our friend Victor to attend a 2-year anniversary celebration of their drama team. This drama team is a ministry of their church that was started by his wife, Alisa. They minister through performing Christian plays in the community and by inviting non-believers (mostly university students) to perform with them.
Solomiya is awake from 1am - 4am. Ahhhhh!!!!!

Monday, 1/30: Mike and I decide to go grocery shopping. Just before leaving, Jim & Laurie (fellow American missionaries) call and tell us they want to drive us to a large grocery store and pay for our groceries and any other items we need for the apartment that we forgot to bring. What a help that was! Thank God!

Tuesday, 1/31: Mike attends his 1st Life English class since we arrived. Annie & Solomiya continue unpacking.

Wednesday, 2/1: Mike attends the Life English Advanced Conversational group. Annie & Solomiya continue unpacking.

Thursday, 2/2: We attend a fellowship and prayer group that meets at the Hope & Life office every Thursday. Great time of praying and receiving encouragement. Mike meets a friend for an informal Ukrainian lesson. Annie & Solomiya continue unpacking and organizing therapy equipment.

Friday, 2/3: Walking adventure in the bitter cold! 1st we looked for the post office and walked and walked only to find it was located 1 apartment building behind ours! We had to go there to pay the monthly elevator maintainance bill (about $4). I'll pay it, but I won't ride in it. I'll take a picture of it sometime... Mike currently attending English class. Me and S are updating our peeps and this blog.

the washing machine

These are the directions on the washing machine. Settings 1,2,3,5, and 6 involve a chicken sitting in a basket. Settings 4 and 7 have something to do with stirring the water with a leaf. Setting 8 is obviously washing your knitting needles and yarn. We have confirmed that the spiral indicates the spin cycle. Any other information anyone has would be greatly appreciated.

We Are In Ukraine!!!

Checking in to Swiss Air at JFK. Our luggage cart with 5 over weight bags and 5 carry-ons!

Annie and Solomiya in the bedroom of our new apartment.

Mike and Solomiya playing in the bedroom. In the left corner, you can see the crib that our friends gave us to use!

A view from our apartment. We are on the 4th floor.

View from the bedroom overlooking the courtyard area in between several apartment buildings.

Walking back from the grocery store (about 7 mins away). In the background, you can see the yellow and green awning over the entrance to the store. And yes, the sidewalk is ice!

View from the entrance to the apartment building. More ice!

The flight over from New York was great! Solomiya slept, ate or played with her toys the whole time. The stewardess gave us a baby bassinet that attached to the wall in front of us. Solomiya preferred to sleep on our laps, but she did enjoy playing with her toys in it. Mike and I were actually able to get some sleep too! The flight seemed to go very quickly. It was about 7 hours to Zurich, Switzerland where we had a 2 hour layover. We then took a 2 hour flight to Budapest, Hungary. In the past, Mike and I have always been SO tired when making this trip- which I guess is understandable because it is like being awake all night- but this time we felt good! We were tired, but still had lots of energy and good moods!
Upon arrival in Budapest, we gathered our luggage (all 5 pieces came intact!) and met our friends Jim and Laurie and a driver from Ukraine. We loaded all of our luggage into Jim's pickup truck. Mike rode with Jim, and Solomiya and I rode with Laurie in the car. It was about a 3 hour drive to the border.
It took us about 10-15 mins to get through the Hungarian side of the border and 20 mins to get through the Ukrainian side of the border. We were told that this was rather quick! At the border, the officials wanted to look through our luggage (we brought a big, plastic container with all of our kitchen supplies), but after trying several minutes to open it, they gave up. Apparently, there was too much packing tape holding it closed and they did not have a knife to cut through it (thanks Dad!).
We arrived at our apartment around 8:30pm. Our dear friend Oksana was there waiting for us with a hot supper! Her husband Sasha arrived shortly after, and they showed us around the apartment explaining what they cleaned, what they had fixed, and how to use certain things (like the heat, hot water heater, and the washing machine - there will be a separate blog on the washing machine). Our fridge was full of food and the rooms were nice and warm! What a blessing! We are so thankful to all of our friends for their hard work!
Since arrival, we have been unpacking, setting up the apartment, getting groceries, and resting! What an action-packed last few weeks! We were packing up our apartment in New York right up until we left for the airport! We had so much help- we could not have done it without all of you! Thank you so much to Annette, Sidney, Ralph, Inger, Mike, Andrew,Charissa, Bryan,Freddie, Chrissy, mom and dad for all of the packing and moving help! Seriously- we could not have gotten it done if it were not for all of your help!
Mike and I have remarked several times that we can feel that everyone is praying for us! This transition/move has been so smooth. We truly feel comfortable and that we are at home! We know that God has brought us here and are excited to see what the upcoming weeks bring!
Send us a note! We have a 'Magic Jack' with an 845 phone number- so we can receive phone calls!

*January newsletters are on the way!