8/31/09
Today was my last day at the internat so I just want to thank everyone who has been so supportive and so instrumental during my Ukraine trip. I know this is going to sound like I think I just won an Oscar or released a musical album, hahaha, but oh well... Thanks ARE in order...
First of all, I want to thank Dr. Joanne Benham-Rennick. Thank you for having thought of me when this grant became available, and for offering it to me despite the fact that you knew that I had my summer already packed with plans. You really changed my life by offering me this incredible opportunity. I will never be able to thank you enough.
Secondly, I would like to thank my mom and dad for all your support. Without your love, support and encouragement, I would not have had the courage to go ahead with this incredible challenge. I love you both so very much!
Mamaita, gracias por todo tu apoyo, especialmente atraves de tus oraciones y de nuestras conversaciones en el telefono que me ayudaron a no sentime sola y a agarrar fuerzas cuando me sentia completamente agobiada. Tu amistad y tu carino han sido mi apoyo, y con tu ayuda, he podido crecer mas de lo que esperaba. Te quiero mucho, Mama.
(Mommy, thank you for all your support, especially through your prayers and through our phone conversations that helped me not to feel alone and to regain my strength when I felt so completely overwhelmed. Your friendship and love have been my support, and with your help, I have been able to grow more than what I expected. I love you, Mom.)
Papaito, quiero agradecerte por todo tu apoyo, especialmente sabiendo que mi viaje te preocupaba por razones de seguridad y porque te preocuaba cual seria el impacto emocional de esta experiencia. Quiero que sepas que tu apoyo significa todo para mi, y tus oraciones me han fortaliecido de una manera impresionante. Espero que estes orgulloso de mi. Te quiero mucho, Papa.
(Dad, I want to thank you for all of your support, especially knowing that my trip worried you because of safety issues and because you worried about the emotional impact that this experience would have on me. I want you to know that your support means everything to me, and your prayers have strengthened me incredibly. I hope you are proud of me. I love you, Dad.)
I would also like to thank Elyse Redden, Academic Support Officer at SJU. Thank you for all your help with getting all the documents and paperwork ready for my move. You were incredibly efficient and helpful, and without you I would not have been able to fulfill all the requirements on time. You are the best!
Next, I would like to thank Dr. Myrowslaw Tataryn, the dean of St. Jerome's University. Thank you for setting up the connections with the university and the internat here in Ukraine, as well as for taking time out of your incredibly busy schedule to give me the necessary orientation about my placement. I really appreciate your help!
Of course, I would like to thank Students for Development, the organization which allowed me to embark on this wonderful experience thanks to their generous grant, which I hope I have been able to put to good use in helping these girls find their self-worth and increasing their quality of life.
Likewise, I would like to thank Sarah Noonan, who had been to the internat inprevious years. Thanks for the very helpful orientation you gave me. It really made my adjustment here a lot easier :)
Next, I want to thank my boss at the SJU Library, Lorna Rourke. Thank you so much for helping me out with the issue about my book for my course! I was so stressed out about it and you were so kind to have helped me out like that! I look forward to coming back for one more term at the library! :)
I also want to thank Jennifer Deweerd and Jessica Vorsteveld, the two other musketeers, my two wonderful orphanage co-volunteers. Girls, I am so glad to have been able to experience this with you two! I really missed you the last few weeks! I will always treasure your friendship!
Jessica, thank you for always having a smile on your face, for always making me laugh, and for working so hard to reach even those girls who would flat out reject you. I learned a lot from your perseverance and self-giving :)
And Jen, thank you so much for your thoughtfulness, from the very first day you heard I was joining the project. Your devotion and self-giving to these girls, especially the little ones, is a true inspiration.
Next, I would like to thank a very special friend of mine. His name is Andrew Purcell :) Andy, you have been a great friend throughout this trip. Thank you so much for helping me keep my sanity when I first found out about this trip and was running like a chicken with my head cut off trying to prepare for it. Also thank you so much for your friendship, online-companionship and encouragement during my actual trip. You always brought a smile on my face during out msn conversations :) You are the best, Timone! :P Thanks for the Hakuna Matata moments!
In a very special way, I would like to thank my best friend, Ania Piechota. Girlie, thank you so much for all your prayers, your encouragement, and especially, your devoted friendship. I have never had a girl friend like you! Also, thank you so much for helping me find house rental adds after you found out about the fraud of which I was a victim. You're the best! I miss you so much!! I can't wait to go back to school and giggle in class with you like we used to during our Psych of Death and Dying class, hehehe.
I would also like to thank Dr. Frick, my professor for my RS 398 Systematic Theology directed readings course. You have been infinitely patient and merciful with me and my late assignments. I cannot be more grateful to you! I will hand in good work soon. I promise! I am really looking forward to having that discussion about the course when I come back!
In a very special way, I also want to thank Curtis Miller, my ex-boyfriend, now seminarian, and a dear, dear friend of mine. Curt, I just want to thank you for all your prayers during your pilgrimage and for all your support and care. I will miss you very much now that you are leaving for seminary. I am sorry I will not be back to Canada before you leave. I hope that God fills your heart with joy in this new path he has put before you. You have been a great friend and much more than that. You will always be in my heart.
Another thank you goes to David Reitzel. Thank you for your prayers during your pilgrimage along with Curtis, and especially thank you for having been such a good friend when the going got tough. I will always be grateful to you for the wisdom, prudence, charity, and friendship you showed me.
I also want to thank my aunt Belinda, who will be receiving me in her Sweden home for a few days before I go back to Canada. Thank you for reading my blog and for all your support, as well as for receiving me in your house so generously. I am really excited to finally visit you as we had wished for such a long time!
I want to also thank my siblings, Ruben, Antonio and Lou. Thank you guys for your support and for following along with my blog. I miss you and I look forward to seeing you in just a week and a half!
Ruben, even though I haven't talked to you that much this summer, I want to thank you for reading my blog. I hope you got to see a different side of me :) Also, thank you so much for considering coming along to Stratford on the 19th. I know you are so busy but it means the world to me that you be there!
Antonio, thank you also for reading my blog and for the msn conversations we had, especially on the last few days! I hope that you found the contacts you wanted! I really hope you can make it to the brunch. It will be fun! :D
Lou, thank you so much for your funny and sweet messages on my blog and facebook. They always brightened my day! I actually took that picture of the lady with the purple cotton-candy hair thinking you would laugh :P so I am glad you did! Hahahaha! I am sorry I did not get to see you off when you moved out to Toronto. Look at you! You are all grown up now. It's ok though. You are still my baby sister :)
I also want to thank Tony DeGennaro, who has become one of my closest friends. Tone, thank you so much for all your support, care and encouragement over the last few months, as well as for all the laughs, interesting conversations, kind words, good advice and fruitful prayers. Thanks for always being there for me.
Also, and very importantly, I want to thank Tom Ciochon. Thank you so much for helping me investigate about my fraudulent pseudo-landlord, for actually going to the house and knocking on the door, and for talking to the real owner of the house. You saved me a lot of money and emotional stress! Thank you so much for being such a good friend! I owe you BIG TIME! So let's do lunch when I get back!
And OF COURSE, I cannot end without thanking Orest Muriy, my host brother here in Ukraine, and his whole family (please translate this to them, hehehe). Thank you for all the hard work you put into helping me with the lessons, the translations, the visits to the internat, showing me around Ternopil, helping me get comfortable with the culture, finding out information for me, making multiple phone calls to request taxis for me, phoning numerous other non-Anglophones on my behalf, and especially for going with me to the parishes to talk to the priests about the charities. I would not have been able to make it without you! Please also thank your family for all their hospitality and for all the love they showed me. I will always keep you guys in my heart.
Thank you Krystina, Mama Ola and Baba, for always cooking for me, making sure I was always comfortable (and FULL!! :P), and for being the best host family I could have asked for! I am going to miss you all so very much!
I also want to thank Gayla Hurley and Lena, the Christian Missionaries who visit the Internat once a week. Thank you for all the work and the love you have given these girls. I am so very happy to know that they will always have someone like you two to talk to them about God and to show them love. Thank you for the stories, the fun times, the Bible studies and your friendship in general. I will miss you.
In the same way, I want to thank my many new Ukrainian friends (especially Irynka Iashchyshchak) and new African friends here in Ukraine, including Oti Manuh and "The Davids": Alenga David (King David), David Mwita (D@vid D@vid), and David Onguko (David Kenya). You were so much fun! I will miss you guys so much!
Finally, I want to thank each and everyone of you, friends and family, who have been reading my blog throughout this summer. To all of you, whether you read very sporadically or were a reading super-hero and endured my insanely long entries (sometimes 5 pages or longer), a really big thanks! I hope you got to know me a little bit better and to witness some of my experiences. I especially thank all of you who left me comments and messages on facebook and directly on my blog entries. Each time I got a message from you, it was like a recharging boost of energy! In this regard, a special thanks goes to (in no particular order) Tony Alexander, Ania Piechota, Tony DeGennaro, Anya Gawor, Elyse Redden, Jen Verheyden, Jen Deweerd, Jessical Vorsteveld, Noela Vorsteveld (Jessica's mom), Alana Roney, Orest Muriy, my Aunt Belinda, Michael Hayes, Jess DB, Daniel Goc, Andrew Purcell, Grayson Hope, Avril Olivares (my cousin), Rev. Dariusz Lewandowski, Ewelina Widerska, Theresa Gilbert, Matt Pankhurst and Janine Yutronkie. There are SOOOO MANY more of you, so I am sorry I did not mention each and everyone of you who left me at least a message. Just know that I appreciate all of you.
If I missed anyone, please PLEASE forgive me, first of all, and let me know!!
I just want to say one more time... Miss you all, Love you all. God bless!
