Okay Sara, Don't Hyperventilate

The camp I was at last week was close to Kosiv in the Carpathian Mountains. Luckily, we had the opportunity of going into town on Kosiv Day (though us campers must have looked like savages at this point, caked in mud). Kosiv, near Kolomyia, is famous for it's crafts and sense of nationalism. On Kosiv Day people come out to celebrate in the center, wearing traditional shirts and costumes. I wanted them all.

Kolomyia

On the way to Survivor Camp I spent a day in Kolomyia, the center of Hutsul culture. It's a large town near the Carpathian Mountains, home to a number of cultural museums including the Pysanka Museum. Ukraine is about the size of Texas and has such great diversity from region to region. Kolomyia's language and culture varies greatly from my region of Odessa. In Kolomyia people seemed more open and have a different outlook on what it means to be Ukrainian. The town was dangerous for me, as I kept on finding embroidery shops and stores of handicrafts.

Here are some pictures from Kolomyia. The women lined up along the side of the street are selling dairy products. It's typical to see on market days women standing outside for hours selling reused plastic bottles of milk. It's something I've grown used to but I found it funny to think that in most states this act would be illegal, especially since it's unpasteurized.

Ukraine or Greenford?

I'm back at site for a few days after Survivor Camp which was a great success. Upon entering my village yesterday by minibus I was welcomed by sunflower fields. Sunflowers remind me of home, of my grandparents' place in Greenford. This evening I went out to the fields to reflect on my family and how grateful I am to grow up close to so many cousins and other relatives. I hope in a way my reflection and mourning upon this sunflower hill is felt back home.

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Photography by Sergey Maximishin