Ok guys, here's the run down. After a long night of exchanging stories and food, I went to bed. Well, I guess we all got to some time. This morning I woke up (at 2 in the morning Mass time) and went to Zhodino. It is a holiday here so almost all the kids were out. There were two ADORABLE little girls and an ADORABLE little boy. He kind of reminded me of my dear friend Deirdre Mcelwain, a little girl with too much energy for her tiny body. That's the same with this little boy. There were also six older boys who were a little shy. We brought puppets and they boys had a puppet fight. We showed the little 'uns the puppets one at a time and the little boy went berserk. He would take the ones he liked and put them on his head and thought we couldn't see them (Or he was really smart and acted up for us but I don't think so.) I gave out candy and bananas to all of them, and we opened boxes filled with toys and stuff (I got one too!) and then the kids had to leave. We took a tour of a new project in the building. This project is for children and parent rehabilitation, kids with suicidal thoughts, and for kids who are in court and need to be interrogated by a psychiatrist. It was amazing to see all the stuff they are doing to help these poor kids. Afterward, the grownups and I went into the office to have a light brunch of chicken, mashed potatoes and pizzas (Not regular pizzas, homemade pizzas.) and to talk. After Zhodino, we went to a friend of ours named Alina. She was at Zhodino for a long time, and my mom finally said that she would become Alina's "fairy godmother" and make a wish of her's come true. So she wished to have her apartment fixed up so that her grandmother can live in it happily and when/if she gets the apartment, it will be nice for her to live in. After that we went home, and now, my mom and dad are sleeping off jet-lag and I'm typing this. I haven't broken out the ever famous Tom and Jerry but I have a feeling it can wait. All in all, today has been a very productive day and I am a happy duck.
AuthorI'm Lydia. I am a thirteen-year-old Ipswich-ean from Massachusetts and I have been traveling to Belarus since I can remember. I have always felt cut off from the rest of the world when I traveled so I created this blog to bring my two worlds together. I have been going to Belarus since I was seven months old and this will be my 17th trip. Umm...Everyone always asks me, "What is Belarus?" and I have said it so many times I'm sick of it. But, this is the last time I will ever say these words. Belarus is a country in Eastern Europe. It is in between Russia and Poland, under Latvia and Lithuania, and right above Ukraine. It was part of the Soviet Union and is one of the securest countries I know of.
What Do You Do Exactly?Well, we certainly don't go there for vacation. That's for sure. My dad works with an agency called New Thing. New Thing is an organization that helps provide hospitals and homes with food, care, and other essentials for under privileged people in Belarus. Find out more about New Thing at www.dougbrendel.com
We work with several foster families and orphanages such as Zhodino. ZhodinoZhodino is a place for abused children or children with drug/alcohol addict parents. This is our most common visit. We bring toys and spend a day with the kids and staff. That is my favorite part of the trip. Two years ago, we brought kites and spent a day trying -and failing- to fly kites. Some of the kids have been there so long that they have learned to speak a little english! We exchange words in our own languages and eventually play soccer in the backyard. I know this sounds like fun but once you've been there, you know that these people need some help.
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