Before we outline our rendezvous through the Eastern European countryside we want to thank everyone who made Kelly’s “Birthday Wish” come true! For her 26th birthday, Kelly asked all of her friends and family to donate $26 to the Juvenile Justice Project of Louisiana (JJPL) to support the ending life sentences for youth in Louisiana. In just 5 days JJPL received over $1000 in donations!
THANK YOU!
MaryClare Peak & Dan Marlow
Casey Hughes
Kristin Wenstrom
Lauren Sanchez
Matt Wolf
Connie & Gregg Orians, as well as Belle, Cassius and Elbert
Cindy Wood
Carl Boand
Travis Massman
Nancy, Terry & Samantha Blankenship
Caitlin Boyce
Carrie Ann Alford
Carrie Ann Alford
Ryan Basta
Daniel Gutman
Eliza Willamson
MaryJane Burch
Lou Szkatulski (in memory of her daughter Cherri Saltzman)
Nathan Peyer
Amy, Michael and Montgomery Sobol
Lauren Shapiro
Iva Blankenship
Sue Blankenship Boltz
Joanne Talarico
Our principal reason for starting this blog was to raise awareness about children being sentenced to die in prison in the United States. In the last 3 months, the blog has received over 2500 hits and raised nearly $1300. Because of this generosity we have decided to set a goal of raising $2000 by the time we come back home. By donating just $26 you can provide a State ID and a warm meal for someone returning home from prison and startinga new life after spending the most formative years behind bars. A donation of $100 will cover one month’s parole fees for someone who is expected to both find a job (with a criminal record) and save money within the first few weeks of release. During our time in Louisiana we met hundreds of men and women who entered prison in their youth and we can tell you with confidence and sincerity that these people can make a difference if given a real second chance in the free world. Your support can make a huge difference in the lives of so many people who leave prison with only a sense of hope.
Thank you to those who have already donated and thank you to everyone who continues to monitor our travels and take an interest in ending this human rights abuse…
Thank you to those who have already donated and thank you to everyone who continues to monitor our travels and take an interest in ending this human rights abuse…
Well, it was touch-and-go for a few days in Russia, but we officially made it out of the former Soviet Union – and it wasn’t because we were deported. Two pieces of advice for future travelers with American passports: 1) If entering Belarus - even if you are just traveling through, you are required to purchase a “travel visa” from the Belorussian Consulate; 2) to purchase these travel visas after travel through Russia you will need to make sure you have been registering with local police departments in Russia. Registration (as we found out) is a requirement for anyone spending more than 10 days in any city in Russia; however, if you are trying to purchase a visa you will need to register after three days. As an aside, none of these requirements are documented anywhere we researched on line or in travel guides. Even the consulate was not completely clear on the rules but often defaulted to “no” as a response to any request we made.
So... after much stress, frantic running around St. Petersburg, delayed travel plans and receiving numerous threats of arrest and deportation, we boarded our train and came within 16 minutes of overstaying our visa in Russia.
We were understandably relieved and exhausted upon arriving in Kiev, Ukraine. Fortunately, we arrived just in time for “Maslenitsa” (AKA pancake week)! Pancake week shares the same principles as Carnival in New Orleans and coincides with the last week before the beginning of Lent (although the Eastern Orthodox Church operates on a different calendar than the Catholic Church). Maslenitsa was as close as we got to Mardi Gras on this trip and although there were no beads, it was too cold for boobs, and there wasn’t a coconut to be caught, there were plenty of pancakes, butter and honey liquor – oh, and sheep.
So... after much stress, frantic running around St. Petersburg, delayed travel plans and receiving numerous threats of arrest and deportation, we boarded our train and came within 16 minutes of overstaying our visa in Russia.
We were understandably relieved and exhausted upon arriving in Kiev, Ukraine. Fortunately, we arrived just in time for “Maslenitsa” (AKA pancake week)! Pancake week shares the same principles as Carnival in New Orleans and coincides with the last week before the beginning of Lent (although the Eastern Orthodox Church operates on a different calendar than the Catholic Church). Maslenitsa was as close as we got to Mardi Gras on this trip and although there were no beads, it was too cold for boobs, and there wasn’t a coconut to be caught, there were plenty of pancakes, butter and honey liquor – oh, and sheep.
We visited an outdoor museum modeled after the Ukranian countryside for a Maslenitsa celebration...
Whoever made it up the pole won a prize! Not an easy task...
Honey liquor
Chicken in a biscuit...
After getting our fill in Kiev, we headed south to Romania. We made our first stop in Bucharest where we celebrated Martisor! Falling on March 1, the holiday ushers in Spring and has historically been a day to celebrate women’s fertility. Today it is merely a day to celebrate friendship. A rough (very rough) translation of the motto of the day is “may your faces stay as white as cheese and your blood as red as wine.” Throughout the day, women and girls are given flowers and charms on red and white string.
From Bucharest we took a train to Miercurea Ciuc for our first volunteer position with The World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms network (WWOOF). The farm is located about 30 minutes outside Miercurea Ciuc near the town of Lueta, Romania in the Carpathian Mountains of Transylvania. The 8 days we spent at Forest Garden Transylvania were days we will never forget. Our host, Nicolette, is one of those people who uses every day to actualize personal vision and goals for life in pursuit of making the world a better place. A few years ago, she and her partner purchased several hectares of land in the Carpathian Mountains and have spent their time turning it into a community education center dedicated to teaching permaculture design, organic growing and natural building techniques. Because it was winter and Romania was experiencing the most extreme snowfall anyone had seen in many years, we spent a lot of time shoveling, breaking trails, and melting snow. We were also shocked to learn that our computer skills and graphic design experience was very useful in helping Nicolette develop her new website for Forest Garden Transylvania – please check it out! www.forestgarden.org. For anyone interested, they are taking on interns!
First assignment: dig a path to the compost toilet...
Although we were left with only a wood powered stove for cooking, we got creative...
risotto!
Ukranian Borscht!
Experimental BBQ with squash...
Pizza!
On our fourth day in town we took a trip down to the natural spring to fetch some water...
After opening up the cover to the spring we found a frog and its mate...Unfortunatley, one of the frogs had died and was threatening to severely harm the water supply...So, we initiated "operation frog rescue/relocation."
"Carla the Carpathian Mountain Frog"
First we had a funeral...
Operation Frog Rescue/Relocation was not without drama...We learned Isha had a strong fascination with water which lead to a near death experience for Carla.
Fortunately Carla made it successfully to her new home in the FGT pond...
While at FGT Chris constructed a table to rest the water supply for the upstairs bathroom...
Kelly worked with Nicolette on FGT's new website and facebook page!
We departed Forest Garden and headed North to the city of Suceava, Romania for our next WWOOF farm. With only the most basic knowledge of the Eastern Orthodox Church and a lot of curiosity, we chose to work at Manasteria Acopermantul Maicii Domnului Boroaia (AKA Mother of God Monastery) located about an hour outside Suceava in the village of Boroaia, Romania.
We were greeted at the train station by one of the Fathers from the Monastery whose name we could not pronounce and, unfortunately, never learned to spell. We came to remember him affectionately as “The Race Car Driving Monk.” After a harrowing drive to the Monastery in a two-seater van that smelled of cheese, we arrived at what would be our home for the next two weeks.
A continuing theme of our trip seems to be our ability to schedule visits during the worst possible times: China during Lunar New Year when 3.15 people are traveling on Chinese trains; Ulanbataar, Mongolia during what is consistently the coldest week of the year with – 20 degrees as the high temperature; and most recently, an Eastern Orthodox Monastery during Lent.
We learned that during Lent, the Fathers (AKA Monks) abide by a very strict fast – no meat, no oil, no eggs or dairy products. So…for two weeks, three meals a day, we enjoyed the same two soups and bread. Fortunately, this Monastery was a bit more “liberal” than others and the Fathers enjoyed homebrewed wine and pisco (hard liquor made from grapes) on the weekends – and boy did they enjoy it…
A continuing theme of our trip seems to be our ability to schedule visits during the worst possible times: China during Lunar New Year when 3.15 people are traveling on Chinese trains; Ulanbataar, Mongolia during what is consistently the coldest week of the year with – 20 degrees as the high temperature; and most recently, an Eastern Orthodox Monastery during Lent.
We learned that during Lent, the Fathers (AKA Monks) abide by a very strict fast – no meat, no oil, no eggs or dairy products. So…for two weeks, three meals a day, we enjoyed the same two soups and bread. Fortunately, this Monastery was a bit more “liberal” than others and the Fathers enjoyed homebrewed wine and pisco (hard liquor made from grapes) on the weekends – and boy did they enjoy it…
Unfortunately, we were inhibited by a big language barrier and had no English speakering helpers to explain a lot of what we were witnessing, but we did take plenty of pictures!
Big smiles on the first day of soup & bread!
On our first night at the Monastery we took a trip to another monastery and women's convent which was about 30km away. When we stopped at the Convent we were told to go in and visit the church. The church interior was pitch black except for the faintest glimmer of candle light. We ventured in to the darkness of the church and heard a faint murmur. Within moments or our arrival, the lights flashed on and we realized we were standing in the middle of the sanctuary with about two dozen nuns in long black robes standing along the walls...
we made quite an entrance.
At one of the Monasteries we visted we were taken to the site of a "Miracle" (as recognized by the Vatican). According to the story we were told (just about verbatim by a recently baptized English speaking monk), a young woman was on the run and was being closely pursured by the Turks when suddenly a rock split and she was able to hide inside a cave. Once there, she realized what had happened was pretty cool and she should probably stay for a while. She ended up living in the cave until her death. Since then it has become a site of prayer and worship.
The view from our room at the Monastery...
First assignment....Corn sacking.
Second Assignment: Cheese making!
We had grand plans for being able to make our own cheese back home until we learned that besides milk, the recipe calls for killing a young goat and extracting the fluid from its small intestines. Our hopes for making cheese at home faded.
There were four un-named dogs on the farm. We took the liberty of assigning our own names during the duration of our stay. Pictured above is "Old Wiggle"(accompanied by Big Wiggle, Little Wiggle and Mean Wiggle).
The long walk to town for snacks....and beer.
We spent the remainder of our days peeling apples, onions, and potatoes...
Donna: The Boss
Day 9: Smiles faded.
Inside the chapel at the Monastery...
Fr. Yvonne
What happens after too much communion wine....
Jimmy!
Preparing for the Easter Feast...
Donna and Maria preparing for Padrino Alexa's Birthday!
After an exciting month in Ukraine and Romania we headed further south to Turkey where we will remain until the middle of April. We spent last week in Istanbul – which quickly became our favorite city. Tonight we are catching a bus to the Dedetepe Farm outside of Kucukkuyu, Turkey on the coast of the Agean Sea. In the next week, we will be posting a couple of videos about our research in Russia and will catch everyone up on our travels through Turkey along the way!
