Friday, September 14, 2012

The Last Six Months in Photos

So I felt obliged to dump some photos from the last 6 months or so on the blog. More information in the captions. You can also click any image to view a larger version...you know, if you want to see how my pores are doing or whatever. Enjoy!

The students and staff from my little Girls Leading Our World/Teaching Our Boys to Excel seminar I ran in March

Rehearsing a skit. They're pretending to be babushkas

Learning about HIV/AIDS, sexual health, gender issues...

...how social gender roles limit people, stigma and discrimination, and more

Presentations and whatnot

Staff (L-R): Michelle, Irina, Catherine, Patrick (kneeling), Angela, Chris, me, Anand. Chris is from the UK and teaches English at a private school here, Irina is from Pavlograd, the rest are volunteers


Last Bell, or graduation for the 11th grade. They held it indoors this year due to rain
School principal addressing everyone. He is flanked, for some reason, by 7th grade girls in dance uniforms.

Releasing balloons to celebrate...

High-flying balloons

And they finished it with a waltz


From my trip to Russia, in June. Me, Warren, and Dara in front of the Kremlin at Red Square in Moscow

St. Petersburg (all of the following photos from Russia are also St. Petersburg, except the last 2 in Russia, which are back in Moscow. Just go with it)

Spilled Blood Cathedral, or something like that




The Hermitage

Stage set up for Russia Day (June 12)

Gopnik impersonation

A gopnik is basically a Ukrainian lowlife who drinks beer, smokes cheap cigarettes, wears knockoff Adidas track suits, constantly eats sunflower seeds, and squats like this everywhere. Similar to English chavs.


Look, it's the Hermitage again!

Russian fast food...blinchiki, basically crepes. Delicious.

Cathedral of Spilled Blood-or-whatever

Our only day of clear weather while in Russia (while I was there at least)
St. Basil's Cathedral, Moscow

boat tour on the Moskva River in Moscow

park

church

synagogue
Vienna, in July! No photos from Budapest, I was lazy


Austrian parliament

penguin fountain in a Viennese park

statue of Empress Maria Teresa


At Camp Mandarin in Crimea (still July)


no cabins at this camp, just dormitories [read: madhouses]

me with Nastia, my amazing co-counselor at Mandarin
CAMP REPUBLIC! I had spent a good chunk of the year planning it, and the directing responsibilities found their way into my hands as well. Mine, Courtney's, and Blakely's, at least.

some staff talkin' 'bout stuff

our campground in lovely Borova, Kharkivska oblast, Ukraine

dining hall. the food was better than it was last year at a completely different place

This was a sign in the camp auditorium. It says "I LOVE CHILDREN!"

Biggest hit of the week: watermelon polo in the river, with a greased-up watermelon


That's that, this is this

Camp Republic was mainly a chance to learn history and what-have-you through reliving it. We lived as ancient Romans in the Republic. Note the togas.

Courtney and I discussing "game" issues. Throughout the week, the campers (split into factions) wrestled for control of the Senate and Rome through addressing different issues every day.

The American staff with our 2 Ukrainian cooks

the Senate in a special evening ceremony

Mark Antony and Sextus Pompey squaring off, with me (Fate) officiating

the death of Caesar, which opened our week

the drum signaled the convening of the Senate (i.e. GET OVER HERE)



more watermelon polo

our map of the Roman Empire, ca. 44 BC. Different groups had control over certain provinces and legions (chess pieces)

TALLINN. beautiful city

my partners-in-crime in Estonia and Finland--Anand, Catherine, and Kurt

eating reindeer meatballs in Helsinki

Anand enjoying a bowl of elk soup in Tallinn for only 1 euro

modeling my new sweater I bought in Tallinn (it was cold there, and I didn't bring anything warm)

our awesome guide on our free walking tour


elk soup kitchen. we returned numerous times for the cheap and hearty soup. also, it was elk, how awesome is that?

Helsinki harbor

awesome cafe spot on an island park in Helsinki

strolling through Helsinki

the Estonian parliament, which, according to our guide, is a "manly shade of salmon"

island park in Helsinki. Kurt wanted to start a kissing booth, but no one came

rain damage in August. A massive storm broke something on the roof of my apartment and then dumped rain on us for three more days

living room door

living room window. the sunscreens there stick to the glass from the humidity inside my apartment

living room light

bucket in the living room door catching a leak. needed to be emptied every few hours

living room light switch, where I was shocked about four times

kitchen wall

kitchen wall

hallway to the bathroom/dry part of the house


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