2016: Зміни та пригоди

I entitled my annual "year in review" post with the Ukrainian words for "changes and adventures", which is a good way to summarize this past year. I went into it hopeful for improvements in my life and as it comes to an end, I can say I've seen some, though there are still ways I can improve myself and my situation. My year has been filled with quite a few adventures, highlighted by my visit to Ukraine in March and April, and has seen quite a few changes from the addition of a new niece in April and a new nephew in September to the pending loss of my grandmother as I write this.

Changes
Let's start with some of the changes! While change is inevitable, that doesn't mean it's convenient or welcome. This year, a lot of the changes that happened were expected, but a few happened far quicker than we ever thought. The biggest, as I mentioned, is the pending loss of my Grandma Derby (age 83), who is in her final days as I write this. Grandma has been in poor health for the last two years after suffering what appears to have been some kind of stroke. Even so, she was still able to attend church, join us at dinner, and spend time reading emails and playing games on the computer. In October, though, her health took a turn for the worse and she was in the hospital for a few weeks and a week in physical rehab before coming home just before Thanksgiving and being on Hospice. It's been a steady, but expected decline since then to the point now she's barely communicating anymore and is showing clear signs of internal shut down. It's been quite a change having her the way she was for 2 years and now like this for the last 2 months, but even so, it will be quite a change to not see her at all anymore soon. I'm almost 35 and all 4 of my grandparents are still alive, so I consider myself pretty fortunate in that regard.

Extended Ridinger family in July, our traditional (and final) five year photo
Photo by Laura Ebie

My immediate family with the spouses and kids in July, just before Isaac was born
Photo by Laura Ebie

With my siblings in July
Photo by Laura Ebie

My other grandparents had their own changes as they moved to an assisted living facility in the area after 50 years in their home. It all happened in a matter of about 2 weeks after Grandpa (age 92) had some health issues and Grandma (age 86) realized she simply could not handle them on her own. I ended up living at their house for about 4 months (end of July-mid November) until my aunt and uncle could move in. Seeing that house, which hadn't changed much at all my entire life, change so much in the time I was there was truly surreal, but still quite the experience. I was still living over there when Grandma Derby first went to the hospital, so lots of changes all at once. And yes, I did enjoy having their house to myself for a few months. It was a nice change of scenery along with some wonderful solitude!

Seeing as this room had almost no changes my entire life, seeing it empty out and then be repainted and re-carpeted was surreal! It was like I was living in some kind of alternate universe. 

Not all the changes have been negative, though. In April, my newest niece Samantha was born in Indiana, followed in September by a nephew Isaac in Tennessee. Of course I have been able to see both of them (as well as their siblings) several times already this year, both in Indiana and Tennessee, and even here in Kent!

First time meeting Sammi in April...she was about 2.5 weeks old here

First time meeting Isaac in October. He was just over 1 month old here

Adventures
My 2016 was full of adventures, many of which were my typical road trips to Indiana and Tennessee to visit my siblings, nieces, and nephews. Those trips are always fun, and the trips this year were no exception. I also visited my sister Katie while she was living in Alexandria, Virginia, this summer, which included a side trip to Philadelphia. During my time visiting Katie, we had lots of time to visit the sites in DC, including a day where we "re-enacted" several photos from our visit there in 2008. And yes, it was blazing hot while I was in DC...nearly 100 degrees fahrenheit and humid.

One of the MANY photos Katie and I got in DC...and yes it was ridiculously hot (97 F that day)

Got to finally meet Chris Zimmerman in person during my side trip to Philadelphia! We've corresponded on Facebook for awhile, so I was glad we could make the connection while I was in town. Great guy and does awesome photography and clothing for his company Violate the Dress Code

My biggest adventure, though, was at the end of March when I was able to visit my sister Katie in Ukraine as she concluded her service in the Peace Corps. It was my first time out of the country since I visited the UK in 2007, so I was pretty excited, on top of seeing Katie for the first time in almost a year. While in Ukraine, we visited the capital Kyiv twice, as well as the cities of Lviv and Ternopil, where we got to see some incredible history and meet many of Katie's Peace Corps friends and associates. The main visit was to where Katie was stationed in Berezhany (Бережани) where I got to meet many of her students and her friends and associates at the Berezhany Internat (orphanage and school). It was a trip I will never forget and had an absolutely incredible time on. Hopefully in another year we can return to Berezhany to see all those wonderful faces and beautiful places!

View of Berezhany from Katie's apartment

Some of Katie's students from the Berezhany Internat

In Lviv

My other big adventure was in October when I sang the National Anthem for the Cleveland Indians. Yes, I've done it many times before, including twice previously in 2016 (July 8 and August 19), but at long last I was finally asked to sing at a playoff game when I sang for the American League Division Series opener against the Red Sox. Not only was the crowd revved up, but it was an over-capacity crowd. The cheers when I finished were so loud; something I'd never experienced before. It was an absolute thrill and I'm hopeful it will lead to additional opportunities in music and life in general. The morning just before I sang, I was interviewed by Channel 19 and Channel 8 in Cleveland as part of their respective morning shows, and the Kent State Alumni Association did a feature article on their website. I'll be featured in their alumni spotlight in the printed Kent State Magazine which will come out in March.

Being interviewed by Tia Ewing and Brian Duffy from Channel 19 at Progressive Field

Being interviewed by Kenny Crumpton from Channel 8 at Progressive Field

You can see where I sang in relationship to the players...I'm near the upper right corner

And yes, as I mentioned, I was able to sing for the Indians twice during the regular season, singing for the July 8 game against the Yankees and the August 19 game against the Blue Jays, where I did both the US and Canadian anthems. The Yankees game was my first time singing for a sold-out crowd and the Blue Jays game was my first time doing O Canada for the Indians (I've done it twice before at other venues). The other cool thing about the Yankees game was being able to have my two nephews on the field with me. It was their first time ever at Progressive Field and the team had these awesome gift bags for them. It was an all-around awesome night and experience! And seeing the team get to the World Series was awesome...hope it continues in 2017! I was also glad to sing several times for Kent State in several sports, including the Akron-Kent men's basketball game in February.

With my nephews Ryan (age 4) and Nate (age 6), just before I sang in Cleveland on July 8

I was also able to check off four more ballparks from my bucket list! As part of my visits to DC and Nashville, I visited Nationals Park in Washington and took a side trip up to Philadelphia (where I also got to meet Chris Zimmerman in person at long last...pictured a bit earlier in the post!) to see the new Philadelphia LDS Temple and a game at Citizens Bank Park. During a trip to Nashville, I took a side trip to Atlanta and saw a game at Turner Field. I'm hopeful to get another visit to Atlanta in 2017 to see the new SunTrust Park, as well as get at least some of the east coast parks done (New York, Boston, & Baltimore). I also made a short trip up to Toronto at the beginning of July (which included a visit to Niagara Falls) and saw the Indians play the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre, my first time in Canada since 2000.

Rogers Centre in Toronto! Special thanks to the Blue Jays fans who offered to and then took this great picture!

Nationals Park, Nationals vs. Pirates

Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Phillies vs. Marlins

My Philadelphia trip also included a quick stop at the new Philadelphia LDS Temple, which was nearing completion at the time!

At Turner Field in Atlanta, Nationals vs. Braves (I moved around to several different seats during the game for different angles)

2016 was by no means perfect and had its share of disappointments and setbacks, but overall, I feel like I made some good personal progress and that some things are in motion to make 2017 a good year as well. In the end, a year is an arbitrary measurement of time, so good or bad doesn't just disappear because the calendar suddenly rolls over, but it sure seems that way. And even with death looming for a family member as 2017 begins, I'm hopeful for the new year. It's certainly given me an additional perspective on all the celebrity deaths (which I can't say affected me at all...sure I appreciate and enjoyed their talents, but in the end, they're people I don't know personally and likely had no idea I even exist...). That said, on to 2017! Happy new year!

Ukraine adventure: Berezhany

At the outset of the trip, Katie told me that we would go to Berezhany (Бережани) last, basically to "transition" me from the big and more modern city of Kyiv, down to Lviv, down to Ternopil, and finally to Berezhany. That may have been so, but it also saved the best for last, in my opinion. That's not to say that I didn't have some wonderful experiences seeing beautiful sights and meeting some incredible people in the other cities we visited, but Berezhany was definitely my favorite part of the trip.

Berezhany, like Ternopil and Lviv, has been in several different countries through its existence, which dates back to 1375. Just in the 20th century alone, it was part of Austria-Hungary (until 1918), West Ukrainian People's Republic (1918), Poland (1918-1939), Nazi Germany (1941-1944), the Soviet Union (as part of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, 1939-1941, 1944-1991), and Ukraine (since 1991). The name of the city has two theories. One is that it comes from the word for riverbanks, which in Ukrainian is берег ("bereh", набережні or "nahberezhni" is embankments) and in Polish is brzegi, so it means "of or on the riverbanks". Another theory is that it comes from the word for birch tree, which in Polish is brzoza and in Ukrainian is береза ("bereza"). The Polish name of the city is Brzeżany, and it was part of the Kingdom of Poland for the first nearly 200 years of the city's history (until 1569). It was near the end of that time the Berezhany Castle, probably the city's best-known landmark, was built in the 1530s and 1540s.

Like Ternopil, though, while there were some really beautiful sights in Berezhany that I enjoyed being able to see, the people I met there were what really made the place special to me and stand out as a major highlight. I especially enjoyed meeting many of Katie's students, friends, and associates in town and at her school. One of my favorite activities we did was one afternoon we took several students on a hike to the hills east of town. Not only was the hill a historic World War I battle site (complete with concrete bunkers still in tact and clearly visible trenches), but spending time with the kids was a lot of fun. Even with the language barrier, it didn't matter. And yes, most of the students had a limited English vocabulary, but often times I simply relied on Katie to give me the gist of what they were telling me.

At the beginning of our hike, we passed the home of these two little girls, whom Katie knows, so they were quite excited to see her! Katie said that littlest girl reminded her of a Cabbage Patch doll. SO freaking cute!

View of town from the eastern hills.

With Katie and some of the boys who came on our hike. We had a great time!

View of town higher up with the driveway

The scenery was beautiful and the hike was fun, except for all the bugs! Everywhere! This was Katie's solution!

I soon joined Katie with my own variation of a bug shield!

Kids playing on a World War I bunker. This area is called Lysonya and was the site of battles during the war between the Russians and Austrian-German forces, which included Turks and Ukrainians.

Trenches from the war. Hard to imagine what it was like then.

Kids playing on the bunker. Considering what it was originally built for, I thought kids playing on it was a much better use.

Another bunker. There were at least three that we saw in the immediate vicinity

More trenches, but these ones filled with garbage, which was a regular problem all over Ukraine. The kids that understood English got a lesson from me about the word "lazy". I was very pleased when they finished the snack we came with, one of the students made sure to collect all the garbage! YES! Don't be lazy and leave it all behind!

Heading back to town...what a view!

Another beautiful view of Berezhany looking west

The domes of St. Volodymyr and Holy Trinity are very visible anywhere in town.

Got back to town and couldn't figure out where the rest of the group went. Oh well! We knew how to get back and ended up getting a ride from the school director! Score!

That hike was after spending much of the day outside playing games at the school. I played frisbee and ladder toss with the students on what was a beautiful day. I remember that morning we got lunch and then Katie asked if I wanted to see the museum or go to the school and see what was going on. I chose the school, not because I didn't want to see the museum, but more I wanted to get to know the students. Glad I did because it was such a great day.

While I was there, the school was on their Spring Break, so the students there were mainly the orphans. The school Katie is at is what is called an "internat" (інтернат), which basically translates to boarding school. Instead of a foster care system, orphans are sent to internats, a relic of the Soviet era. The Berezhany Internat also has students who aren't orphans, some with behavioral issues and others who are sent there by parents or social workers. As a result, the main school building has both classrooms and dorm rooms. The campus also includes an outdoor basketball court and small playground, a large athletic field, a building with a gymnastics room, adjacent weight room, and offices, another classroom building for grades 1-3, art classes, animals, and the nurse, a cafeteria building, and a building with the computer lab and manual training classes. Across the street is another building with some offices, the school library, and a small auditorium. Several of the rooms have been renovated recently and the main school building was in the process of being renovated both inside and out. I was particularly impressed by the colorful murals painted in the gymnastics room, cafeteria, and the kindergarten rooms, which were painted by one of the teachers. So bright, fun, and cheerful! I hope the students and staff realize how much work goes into creating something like that and appreciate it. I certainly did!

Katie walking down the street towards her school. The edge of the main building can be seen in the left background. The building in the right background is the cafeteria/kitchen building.

Main gate off Ruska Stree. The main school/dorm building is in the background. The building on the left is the gymnasium, which is a school for grades 7-11, similar to a high school. It is a completely separate school from the Internat. 

Katie in front of the Gymnasium school

Front of the main building of the Berezhany Internat. The part behind the tree was undergoing restoration while I was there (inside and out), hence the scaffolding. Looks great! This building has classrooms on the first floor, dorm rooms on the third floor, and a mix of dorm and classrooms on the second floor. 

Back of the main building, which obviously needs some work! Some of the playground equipment can be seen along with the playing field in the foreground. 

The cafeteria building can be seen in the center background with the main building on the left and the Gymnasium school on the right. It boggles my brain that the Internat and Gymnasium not only share a campus and some facilities, but are physically this close together and reportedly do not cooperate or get along. 

Katie playing racquetball with some of the students on the basketball court behind the main building 

View from the athletic field behind the main building. Katie's office is in the building on the far left, which also has a weight room and a large room for gymnastics. The building in the center has classes for grades 1-3, art, and a room with several animals the students take care of. You can see more of the playground equipment too. 

Back of the main building with the playground equipment.

Auditorium, which is located in a building across the street from the cafeteria. This building also has some offices and the school library.

Kindergarten room. The mural was one of many in the school. The artist is one of the kindergarten teachers. She was in the room when I took this picture. I absolutely love the murals! So happy and cheerful. Hopefully the students appreciate and enjoy them as much as I did!

Dorm room

Classroom

Katie is always popular, but especially when she has gum, hand sanitizer, and/or stickers! Hands out!

Architecturally, even in a town the size of Berezhany (population approximately 18,000), there was plenty for me to see. In addition to the castle, the main church on the market square, Holy Trinity, was beautiful inside and out, similar inside to the cathedral in Ternopil. There is also another church that is quite visible on the skyline that I later came to find is St. Voloydymr. I wasn't sure if the church was even being used or not while I was there, but after getting home found that it's apparently under construction. The main dome was completed just recently. It's an orthodox church, but whatever organization is responsible for its construction doesn't have an online presence I can find. I'm not sure if it's a case of the church being rebuilt or built new. My guess is it's being rebuilt based on the apparent age of the front of the building, plus many churches in the old USSR are being rebuilt. They were either destroyed in the war or were destroyed by the government. St. Voloydymyr is a defining aspect of the Berezhany skyline, so hopefully at some point they decide to light the domes at night. Right now it's not lit, so I didn't even know it was there when I first arrived until the next morning. What a surprise looking out the window and seeing it there! I also enjoyed the lake, city hall, and the sign at the far eastern edge of town. Katie and I walked out there and while it was a bit of a walk, it was worth it for the photos we got there!

My first view of Berezhany from Katie's apartment the morning after I arrived! Beautiful! It totally took me by surprise because when we arrived the night before, I couldn't see any of this.

St. Volodymyr, which is apparently still under construction. Hopefully I can find out more about this building, such as the history and plans. It's become quite the prominent landmark in town now!

Monument built in 1991 originally to commemorate friendship between Russia and Ukraine. With all the troubles in eastern Ukraine with Russia and Russian separatists, though, now I'm told it's a monument to the friendship or unity of east and west Ukraine. No love for Russia in western Ukraine, that's for sure! 

Katie in her town, heading towards the main square

Main market (ринок or "rynok") square. The church is a Roman Catholic Church, Holy Trinity Church (Церква Святої Трійці). The golden domes are apparently a more recent improvement to the building. Older photos show them as silver colored. 

This photo of Berezhany, located on the town square, is from around 2004. You can see the silver domes of the Holy Trinity Church, and the lack of domes on St. Volodymyr in the background (only its front towers are visible). The other large church with the red roof is another Catholic Church

Holy Trinity Church. It has obviously been renovated recently (looks great!) and all the trees in town have been "trimmed". 

Interior of Holy Trinity Church, While we were there, they were doing a blessing of holy water. I wasn't sure about getting photos, so did so very discreetly! :)

City Hall with Holy Trinity Church and the town square in the background

I saw this the first day I was in Berezhany and found out while I was there that it's the ruins of the synagogue. As far as I could find, it was destroyed in the war. Like many cities in this part of Ukraine, Berezhany was part of Poland before WWII and had a sizable Jewish community. This building is just a few hundred feet from Katie's school.

Scene along the dam, on the north edge of town

Yes we had waaay too much fun on the sign...

Bridge to the castle and also a restaurant (seen in background) we ate at twice! Yes it was great! The castle is actually on a small island in between two branches of the river. 

I enjoyed not only meeting Katie's students, but many of her other friends in town too. It is of no surprise to me that Katie has been able to make many friends in Berezhany! All of us knew that would be the case when she first went to Ukraine! I enjoyed meeting all of them and getting to talk to them, either directly or through Katie. I particularly enjoyed meeting Nadiya, who teaches English at the Gymnasium school adjacent to the Internat, as well as Irina, her two boys, and Svetlana! With Irina, Svetlana, and the boys, we had an impromptu concert and lots of fun (and cake and ice cream!!!). Seriously it was one of the most fun nights AND I got to wear my new Ukrainian shirt.

Katie with Sventlana, Irina, and the boys! What a fun night we had!

We visited Svetlana's little doggy, whose name is сосиска (Sosyska), which means sausage :)

What a trip! I hope sometime soon I am able to return to Ukraine and see all these wonderful places again, especially Berezhany. Katie said she'd like to return in two years when some of her students graduate, and I hope she can! As I was getting this post ready, I was very happy to see some updates from Berezhany about improvements around town, in this case updating the big bulky informational boxes around the town square that were clearly neglected and empty. Such a thrill to see photos of them being fixed, painted, and filled with beautiful artwork! SO MUCH potential in Berezhany! What a town!