Last week was the Annual Meeting of EDYN, the organization where Cindy volunteers. EDYN stands for Ecumenical Diaconate Year Network. It is a partnership with volunteer organizations from 14 different countries, mostly in Eastern and Central Europe as well as the U.S. Once a year each organization sends a representative to the annual meeting. One of the partners hosts the meetings in their country. This year we had the privilege of going to Ukraine. The participants were busy each day in meetings. Cindy helped with the organizing of the working meetings, as well as acting as photographer. Each day was full of planning and working on strategies for the network that will benefit the organization and the future of long term volunteering. We also had a visit to a local public school where there is an EDYN volunteer working with Roma (gypsy) children. In the evenings the group had a variety of activities planned for them to be exposed to the Ukrainian culture. The particular area of Ukraine where the conference was held had once been part of Hungary, and Hungarian is still spoken there. Hungarian Ukrainians still keep their clocks on Hungarian time, so it was already dark at three in the afternoon! The participants got a lot done and enjoyed their time together each evening.
The Helicon Hotel in Beregszasz, Ukraine where the conference was held.
The EDYN members and staff at the conference.
The Roma children performing for us at the school.
German volunteer with the children.
The group offering a toast at the castle before dinner.
The meal featured three kinds of meat along with rice, potatoes and salad garnish.
The female folk dancers doing a Hungarian dance.
The male folk dancers doing a Hungarian dance.
The folk band included violins, clarinet and accordion player as well as singers. You can see a performance here:
The dancers dancing a Ukrainian dance.
Beautiful Ukrainian costumes
Here's a really short video to give you a feel of how fast the dance was.
Time for a Russian dance!
The EDYN members chance to learn a dance.
And, finally, a real shift in cultural thinking: the "squatty potty" in the bathroom at the restaurant!!!
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