Dear Friends and Family, Well, I’m about six weeks away from the end of my service in Ukraine. I knew this time would eventually arrive, and I must be honest; sometimes I wanted it to come more quickly, and yet I cannot believe how swiftly my two years here have gone by. As expected, I [...]

After peace corps, now there is a big window of opportunity!…when I get back I have to write a dissertation (well…that’s an exaggeration, it is only 45 pages and it could be as little as my reflection on my service and how I applied my graduate classes to my work here), get it graded and [...]

Pro-Western coalition crumbles as president warns of political coup by Stephen Bandera, Kyiv Post Editor From the Kyiv Post Infighting among the country’s top politicians got uglier this week, as the pro­Western coalition all but collapsed and President Victor Yushchenko threatened to dismiss parliament for the second time in two years – all on the [...]

Georgia and The Stakes For Ukraine From the Washington Post By Victor Yushchenko Monday, August 25, 2008; A17 KYIV, Ukraine — The conflict in Georgia revealed problems that extend well beyond our region. Recent events have made clear how perilous it is for the international community to ignore “frozen conflicts.” The issues of breakaway regions [...]

It’s been a crazy couple of weeks. When I got back from my trip home in July, it was Camp HEAL planning in full swing. Some volunteers came in early to help out, and it’s a good thing they did. There was a problem with our grant and the money wasn’t deposited in my account [...]

In memory of Andrey Originally uploaded by meganmcgormley Andrey was one of the first people I met when I started working at the Rehabilitation Center last September. Although he couldn’t see, he loved to meet new people, write poetry, and tell you how much he loved and trusted in God. He defied expectations by learning [...]

I am in a student theater. But I’m the “special” participant that doesn’t really know what’s going on. But all of that is about to change tomorrow when I make my fairytale debut. I will play the non-speaking role of a tree. I’m pretty excited about it and I’ve got my costume all ready. I’ll [...]

I have no excuse for my absence. I have a computer, which I only broke a few days ago. But it’s working again, so that fails to be the reason I don’t write. I have lots of interesting stories. But they all seem too personal for a website, too difficult to explain to someone who [...]

March 18, 2008 Still no Internet (it hasn’t been working for more than a week now), but I find it to be a blessing in disguise really. It’s true that I can’t call home, and I missed the Palm Sunday service, but those are really the only two disappointments. Now I read more, I ironed [...]

I’m not much of a teacher. At least not when it comes to a classroom full of students. But at the rehabilitation center where I work, my “clients” are teaching me a thing or two about being a teacher. I’m not always sure what their disabilities are, some physical, some mental. But they all seem [...]