On Friday 12th January, twelve girls from Year 9, accompanied by Mr Smith and Miss Gomersall, boarded a flight to Ukraine to take part in a Ukrainian ‘Winter Weekend’ experience.
We were all very excited and not completely sure what to expect! We arrived to a temperature of -9 °C and made our way (by a three hour coach journey) to our hotel. The hotel was lovely and we had an amazing sleep. In the morning we made our way to Valerie’s house. Valerie was the Activities Coordinator. He and his wife, Irina, along with his granddaughter, Nastya, prepared an amazing breakfast for us and also organised the itinerary. We then explored some local museums and the palace of culture which is like a youth centre. We then helped Valerie with all his animals and had dinner. After that we did the Ukrainian version of carolling (in head scarfs and a skirt) on a horse and carriage. After we had eaten our treats, we were all tired, and so we went to bed.
The next day started off with yet another big breakfast as we were going to be out in the cold all day ice fishing. We walked over to the frozen lake and each got a small hole and fishing rod. A lot of patience was required for this, however we all gave up in the end and resorted to throwing snowballs at Mr. Smith and sliding around on the ice! None of us caught anything but we really enjoyed the experience. We then had lunch at the Arrata, a charity building in Makoshino, and were told how they gained funding from the different School trips and the Charity that Mr Smith was involved with running. Next, we visited the hospital and saw how it contrasted to ours at home. Not only is it a hospital but it is also turned into a hospice service in the winter for the elderly. There we met an 89-year-old lady who had first hand experienced the Second World War. She told us what she witnessed and we really thank her for opening up and discussing her memories with us. We then went back to the hotel for a good night sleep for the big day ahead.
The last day was sad as we knew that we had to leave and we dreaded the thought as we really loved Ukraine. We started the day with a hearty breakfast to fill us up for our endeavours. We started off by visiting the kindergarten where we interacted with children ranging from the age of two to seven. After a game of duck- duck goose and a Ukrainian game, we left and made our way over to the school, where the children put on an assembly for us which we were able to participate in. We looked around the School and then had lunch before sadly saying goodbye and driving back to Kiev where we took the flight back to Gatwick. Our trip to Ukraine was a once in a lifetime experience and we all hope to go back in the summer. We are so thankful to Mr. Smith for coordinating the trip and for sharing this opportunity with us.
Emily, Eleanor and Phoebe, Year 9
