"It Was Very Cool To Be Part of Something Bigger Than Myself"

Report about LifeNets Ukraine Summer 2011 Mission by Natasha Kubik

This past July I was extremely blessed to get the opportunity to travel to the most beautiful country, Ukraine, with the bluest skies you could ever imagine, miles and miles of bright yellow sunflower fields and the pinkest, most tasty watermelon you could ever eat. I went with my Tato, Oleh Kubik, cousin, Heather Kubik, and our two great new friends, Stephka and Hrychoo Zajac.  We had the privilege of teaching English to about forty or fifty of the most adorable children in Vynohradiv, Ukraine.  This trip was truly an amazing experience and it is something I will never forget.

The five of us left John F. Kennedy airport on July third and arrived in Budapest on the fourth.  We could not have had a better team than if we had put it together ourselves.  Tato, Heather and I had never met Stephka or Hrychoo before, but we all just clicked as though we already had known each other for years.  There was a lot of laughing daily.  We each used our gifts and talents according to what God has given us.  No one was the same and it added a very good dynamic to our teaching.  Stephka or Mama Stephka, as I liked to call her, had such a great maternal instinct that as long as she was in control, there was nothing we needed to fear!  She was also great at translating for Heather and me when everyone was talking Ukrainian really, really fast.  We do not know what we would have done without her.  Hrychoo has a gigantic heart with always something positive to say. He cared so much for the children and us that everyone around him could sense that they were special to him.  Heather’s gift was definitely the gift of music.  She loved singing all the time and taught all the kids songs in English daily.  The children really enjoyed it!  My father, Oleh, has the gift to make laughter.  It also was great that he was the strongest Ukrainian speaker, and the children felt comfortable enough to confide in him.  He held us all together.

 If any of you know how my travels went when I went to India, our trip to Ukraine was very smooth with very little stress.  It was probably because of Tato’s third “mode.”  My Tato has three modes: funny mode, which he is in most of the time; panic mode, which only happened every other day when he “lost” his IPOD, which we all knew was just buried in the bottom of his black bag; and then there was his serious mode, which is what he was in when we traveled.  His serious mode was still kind of funny, but he did always get us to where we needed to go.  On July fifth, we arrived in Chop by train and then took an hour van ride to Vynohradiv.  Driving through the countryside, I saw my Tato like I had never seen him before.  It was like he was back in his homeland speaking the language he spoke as a child.  It was like he was a little boy again.  When we arrived at the school, we were greeted with open arms by Vasil Senior, and his wife Irina, Vasil Junior and his wife Marika, while the children played in the courtyard.  Looking back, my memory of the kids and their faces were all a blur to me in the beginning, because I had not learned to connect their names with their faces yet.  They brought us inside and they had a delicious soup and haluski lunch ready for us.  The food in Ukraine and at the school was absolutely amazing!!!!

The first day teaching the kids was a bit nerve-racking for me, because we had a bit of a language barrier and if you do not get kids to like you right away, then you have to work up to it.  We only had two weeks so I used a trick my sister, Nadia, taught me when I was younger.  Sticking my tongue out at children (out of love of course!) will bring out a smile.  It worked and really broke the ice without using words.

We taught for two hours a day.  The first hour Tato would teach his lesson and then for the second hour we broke up into smaller groups and got to teach our own class.  I got the youngest group, which was perfect; because that is the age group I work best with.  Having little children looking up to me as I taught them English was the most amazing feeling ever.  Every word I taught them in English they would teach me in Ukrainian.  I could tell they really liked reciprocating.  Their favorite class was the class on colors.  We first went though all the colors and what items matched the colors.  Then we played a lollipop game, where I held up a lollipop; by taking turns, if they told me what color it was, then they got to keep it.  No one wanted the brown lollipop, because as soon as I held it up the room went quiet.  I thought it was funny.  My favorite class was the day that they successfully went through all the flash cards and got them all correct.  To celebrate we got to draw with markers, stickers and paper tattoos.  They each gave me a picture and then kept one for themselves.  I will cherish those pictures forever.

When we were not eating, sleeping or teaching, we were PLAYING!  In the courtyard the girls liked to jump rope and the boys liked to play ping-pong.  Almost everyday we went swimming in the Tisa River when it was not too high.  My favorite part was swinging off the rope swing into the water.  I was really scared at first and failed miserably the first time I did it, but then got up the courage, from my cousin Heather, to try it again and it was so much fun!  I did it  twenty more time once I learned how not to fall to my death.

Now I may be a bit bias, but my favorite day was July seventh.  My twenty-first birthday!  In America this is the day when you can legally buy and drink alcohol.  This means nothing in Ukraine, because they give it to them at birth…kidding!  Well, to all of those people who cannot remember their twenty-first birthday, I had the most memorable one ever.  In the morning the kids sang Many Years (Happy Birthday) in Ukrainian.  It was so special.  In the afternoon, we went to a cow field, played dodge ball and ate ice cream.  It was a very memorable birthday.

From just my short three weeks there, I observed that as a whole, Ukrainians live very rough lives, but are the hardest working people you would ever meet.  Most work all day from seven to seven at their very low paying jobs or if they even get paid at all, to then come home to work on their small household farms and gardens until dark.  Ukrainians rarely smile at you and when I asked why,  I was told that it is because they are always working and what is there to smile about when working so hard.  Ukrainians have very big hearts.  They have a lot of compassion and care for people.  Togetherness is very important to them, especially during meal times.  There was a feast every time we sat down to eat and no one was running off to soccer practice or work like in America.  I did not see one fast food restaurant the entire time we were there.  They care way too much about sitting down to eat rather then to just eat on the go.  The last thing I noticed was that they are also very generous.  Even though they have very little, they would give you the shirt off their back or the slippers right off their feet, and someone actually did give me their slippers right off their feet!

Traveling to another country is like stepping into a different world, a world of the unknown. Whether I am in Ukraine, Hungary, India, or even England, I have learned there are major customs and traditions that are very different than America and each experience has been different for me.  On any international trip, I have learned that when negative situations occur, I just keep a positive mindset and keep a common thought that everything will ultimately be okay and that it is only temporary.  The differences in cultures are really interesting to me.  I like to make notes of what different societies, customs and traditions are and why.  I enjoy trying new things and thinking about the differences.

Spending time with those beautiful kids was truly an honor.  I thought I was going to Ukraine to teach the children English, when in reality they taught me so much more.  I pray for each one of them daily, that God watch over them, protect them, give them wisdom, strength and a love for life. We were just a small part of a greater plan and it was very cool to be part of something bigger than myself.  To Him be all the glory!

Peace, Love, and God Bless,

(Natasha H. Kubik)