Alex: Work in Progress

Alex has been extremely busy this summer between his sophomore and junior year of high school. He likes it too although wishes he had more time to hang out with friends or...watch more political YouTube videos. 

Alex is one of a kind. I have a ton that I could write about him, but here are the highlights. Alex is a great missionary by being a good example of good strong values. We've had a few passionate discussions about blurred lines and the world we live in. It's always interesting to see how the younger generation thinks about some things that were pretty black and white to us. We love that he is dedicated to the church, tries to do what is right and is preparing to go on a mission in a couple of years. 

Alex is confident and determined to change the world to be a better place. We have great faith that he can do that too! 

So Alex finished his sophomore year...and had to juggle three jobs! He was coaching summer swim team at our Apex downtown pool, working a few hours at Chick-Fil-A and on Tuesdays, working a full day at the Republican Party of North Carolina. 

And I can't say that I was took keen on receiving selfies like this from him-ahaha. 

Alex also got his driver's license! The day after his 16th birthday! We pretty much did it the perfect way--got his permit shortly after his 15th birthday and made sure he drove all the required hours before he turned 16. Then because of COVID, he didn't even have to take the test to get a driver's license! Kind of crazy! Right now, for 6 months, he can only drive between 5 am and 9 pm, so then maybe when he goes in to get his full DL, he will have to actually take the test. Alex is a great driver and has really been enjoying the ability to be more independent. 

Alex is on varsity rowing still, loving it, pushing himself hard to get better every day. He got to go to Sarasota, FL, with his team, to the Nationals in June. They didn't do so great, but it's always so fun to experience these huge regattas! 

Finally, here is just another picture I snapped of Alex... It captures a lot. He is clearly enjoying this biography (and many other books about politics). He also has a bowl of salad, most likely with balsamic vinegar and avocados. And I see a plate of pancakes, they he probably made himself on the griddle...from a mix of Kodiak pancakes. 

 We are definitely looking forward to see what Alex decides to do about rowing and college in the next year or so. We have a lot of conversations ahead of us about this matter. Great job, Alex! You are on the right track! 

 

Katya's Wild Summer Part 2 Ukraine--Dubno

No trip to Ukraine is ever complete without visiting my native Dubno, my birth place. This time, we opted for a crazy... literally insanely hot elektrichka ride...that is a train with hard benches as seats, no A/C or proper toilets. It was Lyena, Aryan, Katya and I that decided on this adventurous journey. Normally we could have taken a train and be there in 2 hours, but nothing worked for our schedule to get there first thing in the morning, and we didn’t want to drive...

Surprisingly, the ride was not too horrible and we prayed hard we wouldn't get Covid with unmasked people coughing nearby. Even Aryan did such a great job! 

When we arrived, my cousin Misha and uncle Alex picked us up and took us first to the cemetary. 

We visited my dad's and my grandpa's and my grandma's graves.

My dad was so young when he passed away...not even 50 years old. Way too young. This picture on his tombstone doesn't make him look quite himself, by the way. 

When I look at these pictures, I realize how much pain I still have lingering in my mind and my heart about losing him so soon. I have so many things that I wish he could have seen, so many accomplishments he could have witnessed--mine, Robert's, kids'.... I know he still knows and is proud of us but I wish he were here. 

Afterwards, we visited Alex (Sasha) and Natalia at their apartment. This apartment is the place where my dad grew up. 

Here on the picture is Yana (Misha's wife) with their two girls, Katya, Lyena and Aryan. 

We had a nice dinner and chat and then went for a walk to the famous "sadochok" where I went to preschool/daycare when I was little.

I actually hated that place but because everyone worked, we had to stay at daycare... Katia and Olia, my cousins, did too.

Here is my aunt Natasha, she is my dad's cousin. 

Natasha never had a chance to get married and she has no kids of her own, so she loves me like I am her daughter. Her mom passed away many years ago and so did her grandma (my great grandma), and she never knew her dad. She lives in Dubno in a private house on Sadova Street where we visited all the time when I was little. We actually visited her house this time as well! But I didn't get any pictures, sadly. 

But I did get a bunch of pictures of my "Soviet era" daycare place. That's the Kurochka Riaba fairy tale character on the wall. 

On this picture you can see the fence to the daycare and also the apartment building where my Babushka Maya used to live (just across the walkway from my other grandma) and where I stayed every summer. That fence seemed SO high thirty five years ago! And we used to have a lot more trees. We also heard many stories how we just walked to the daycare on our own at like two and three years old!  

And this is the perfect way to show you the "walkway" in front of the apartment building. Everyone who got off the bus on the main road had to walk pass our building after work. So imagine, during Soviet times, lots of women and men coming home from work, very few had cars. Lots of them would be loaded with groceries for the next couple of days, or lucky finds of clothing and toys. Some would sit down on the benches lining this walkway, in the shade, to chat with other women, sometimes before going upstairs to cook dinner. Sometimes they would come downstairs after dinner, sit alone and wait till others would join them for some gossip, chat and receive therapy of its own kind. I so vividly remember that... And then they would people watch too-hahaha. If a soap opera episode was about to start, everyone would go home (like “Simply Maria” or “The rich also cry” where two most famous Mexican soap operas!). And men would get a cards game going, or a chess game. It was definitely a different kind of life back then. 

And this is the garage that used to belong to my grandpa. It seemed huge! He actually did store his car in there. I thought it always looked so nice and new compared to the ones next to it. Now it just looks...green. I can't believe that it's still there. 

Visiting Dubno always brings back a lot of childhood memories--the greatest ones and the ones I want to forget. It's my birthplace and a place connected to my earliest memories. 

Finally, here is to the new generation of the Klymyuk family! 

Yana, Misha, kids, Danilo, Natasha, Lyana, Katya, Lyena and uncle Alex (Sasha), plus Aryan. 

      The end of Dubno adventures. 

I will be back! 

Katya's Wild Summer Part 2 Ukraine-Lviv

So where were we? Oh yes! Katya's graduation trip to Ukraine! 

Snapped this picture as we were leaving NY for Amsterdam. 

***As I am writing these blog posts a YEAR later, my heart is bleeding with pain and sadness about what's happening in Ukraine. It's almost surreal to look back at these pictures and tell stories of such great times...

We arrived to Lviv by train and quickly settled in our Hotel George in the center of Lviv. We figured it would be a lot more comfortable for everyone if we stayed in the hotel as my mom's apartment is pretty small. In the morning, we went over to my mom's apartment and met up with Lyena and Aryan! 

Lyena was visiting Ukraine from India and had been in Ukraine for a week or so, when we arrived. It was great to see them! They were renting an apartment just next door to my mom's so they could be separate but nearby as well. 

Katya liked Lviv very much. We got to walk a ton, take the trolleybus, walk a ton more and enjoy all the different moods of the city. We were so fortunate with the weather--it was nice and hot! We walked over to our very first apartment building on Sorochynska St., formerly called Pushkaria St., where we had a one bedroom/kitchen/entryway apartment on the 7th floor. 

That's Katya next to the daycare that I went to when we moved to Lviv and I was three years old. 

We had dinner with my mom's family friends, Svieta and family (always wonderful food!). 

We also met up with Lyena to venture out to Vysokyi Zamok, the High Castle. 

We walked through some of the central parts of Lviv. 

That's the monument to Ivan Fedorov, with the first printed book in cyrillic. 

From their we "climbed" up to the High Castle, which is really not a castle at all, but just a place where a castle used to stand. 

That's the three of us, on the way to the promised view. 

Oh yes, here we are. 

Katya just doesn't need any cool view to look amazing! 

That TV tower behind us is actually a big landmark of the city because it's on a hill in the middle of the city. When I was little, our balcony had a good view of this TV tower and one morning, I swear, I saw a UFO just hanging there for hours... yeah...no joke...:)

We did enjoy our walk up and down from the castle hill. This building behind Katya is a fire fighters' academy, thus the red roof. 

And I wanted to show off as well. 

We walked over to the Market Square, Ploscha Rynok, but most of the locals just stood there by the entrance to the door, looking kind of suspicious at us. 

So we decided to go to this really quarky restaurant, practically underground, where the guy wearing a military uniform asks you for a password and you have to know it and then maybe he will let you in. They have a bunch of military equipment on display as well. 

Market Square and the Watson girls. It's a truly a special place, with so many beautiful memories and stories that we can share. 

I can't quite remember all of our outings in order, but I know that one evening Katya and I explored some more of the area around our hotel. 

It felt just like any other old small European city. I love love Lviv! 

I mean, where else can you try to pick up a gigantic rock in the middle of a cobbled street? 

Or see the third most beautiful Opera House in Europe (first one LaScalla in Italy, and the second one is in Odessa).

One afternoon, we walked over to the apartment building where my piano teacher, Tetiana Ivanivna Migunova, used to teach me piano. I spent many-many hours here over wonderful practice times and conversations. Tragically, my piano teacher was murdered by her best friend's son looking for drugs. I was in the US when it happened and it was simply devastating. She played an essential role in my youth years, from 11 to 15 years old. I owe her a lot of what I know about piano as she is the one who had an enormous amount of belief and confidence in me and my determination to play well. 

We took a couple of pictures next to her house as she looks in a very beautiful area. 

Katya and a very old Soviet car. 

This is along the street I always had to walk when I was little, hurrying to my piano lesson.

That is also the street where we saw two young men walking fast, wearing white shirts and dress pants, so we thought that they were missionaries. But it was strange to think that as they did not have backpacks or anything, just a plastic bag. So then we followed them secretly and they kept walking and walking, and faster and faster, finally just Katya started following them and as they walked over to their apartment building, they kind of turned around and indeed they turned out to be elders!!! I wasn't there, as I was lagging behind, but Katya said something like she is from the states as well or something. It was quite funny! 

This is the hotel where we stayed. Hotel "George" which was renovated when I was about 12 years old and it was a huge deal in the city. The rooms were not bad but we had no A/C, it's a historic building with a majestic staircase and fantastic balcony. Oh, and our breakfast...wow...a feast each time...I mean seriously, only Europe has breakfasts like that! Crepes and fruit and all sorts of yummies for all tastes! 

One evening for dinner we took my mom and Lyena and Aaryan for dinner. I am his strict aunt:) 

Afterwards we took a walk around the University area. I can't believe how lively it was! So many people walking enjoying those warm summer nights or watching a soccer match. 

My beautiful Ukrainian in front of the National Lviv University. 

And we also stopped by a fancy dessert place (well, Lviv is full of them!) and had amazingly huge pieces of layered cake. They don't ask you how big of a piece you want, as the price depends on its weight...so they just bring out this huge piece and...good luck. 

Katya again. Again in front of our hotel this time with fewer cars around. 

In the morning we went to see babushka and had vareniki! 

The many faces of Katya! 

They were not that bad, Katya!

Then we went for a walk, to the center of the city. This is the Opera House behind me. 

It's so beautiful to just stroll down this main street of Lviv. People playing chess, chatting on the benches, kids playing, people performing--it's perfect! 

So many! So many memories of my youth are from this place! 

Then we walked over to the Market Square. The streets in that area have so much character! 

Katya with a symbol of Lviv--the lion. Because remember king Danylo named a city after his son, Leo, and thus Lviv was named Lviv. 

My beautiful city. 

One other evening, we all went out to eat at the oldest restaurant in Lviv called Atlas.

Oh look, my mom, Lyena and I. 

And a historic picture of all of us. 

And Katya with Babushka. 

My mom and I. 

On our last day in Lviv we managed to walk all the way to Shevchenkiv Hai! It was quite a walk through beautiful residential streets and then a fantastic walk through this outdoor museum! We have some twenty year old pictures in front of this place from the time when Robert and I came to visit Lviv in 2002 after we got married. 

Right before we were leaving for the train, Bohdan, our old friend stopped by the hotel to say hello and bye. 

We took the 6 pm train from Lviv to Kyiv. 

It's a tradition to take pictures in front of the train when people are leaving:) Something about it is very nostalgic and very Ukrainian. 

I love my Ukraine, with its beauty and its flaws, its uniqueness and inconveniences. 

I will be back! 

Lyana.