Goodbye party

The night before I left Poltava, my friends had a WONDERFUL goodbye party for me! It was so much fun! Throughout the night, we played Erin Jeopardy, I had to complete several tasks in Russian, Maya played her bandura, Amiee sang, and I was able to visit with many dear friends. They also presented me with a fantastic scrapbook that they had made to commemorate my time in Ukraine. I'm so blessed with such wonderful friends.

Surprise at how many people showed up!

Part of the crew

Waiting for permission to eat.

Vova giving instructions.

Part of the American contingency.

Tanya, Maya, Ira, me, and Amiee

Nastia giving instructions about how to play Erin Jeopardy. They did such a GREAT job!

Maya and her bandura.

Amiee singing "For Good", accompanied by a translation of the words for our non-English speaking friends.

My official certificate for completing my Russian tasks. It included a stamp- something that you have to have for every document in Ukraine. I just shivered thinking about all the stamps I've had to get...

My cake!

The cake had a background of the American flag, a heart in the center, a map of Ukraine (colored with the Ukrainian flag), and the words "Think of Us." Sniff.

"We miss you already!"

Olya, Amiee, and me. She made Amiee an angel and had her mom crochet me a scarf.

The Kryvabok sisters: Oksana, Alina, and little Sofia.

Mariana and Kolya and the scarf they gave me! Mariana rode the train in from Kharkov (2 hours away) just for this!

Pillow from Dasha- it's a model of these stickers they have that indicate women drivers. Ha!

Amiee and Dashenka.

My scrapbook. It's amazing! If you live near me in the States, come see me and I'll let you look through it!

Showing the scrapbook to the group.

Seeing my scrapbook for the first time. I LOVE it!

Amiee and Victoria- she came in from visiting the village just for my party!

Group shot!

Nastia wore her US shirt that I'd given her. Presh.

Ukrainian faces.

American faces.

Sweet friends: Tuesdae, Victoria, Kayla, Amiee, and Nataly.

I have the most wonderful friends and love them very dearly! I miss them so very much.