February 2012
4 posts
My trip to Western Ukraine.....so much fun and...
The JDC-Kharkov Office went on a retreat to the Carpathian Mountains and the city of Lviv. All 15 people in my office went on the trip. We took a 22-hour train ride to Lviv. Then got in a van for another 3-hour ride to the Carpathian Mountains.
Many Ukrainians have told me that I have not completely experienced the Ukraine without an overnight train ride. Well now I know why they said this! ...
NESSA!
Last week I visited one of the cutest, most interesting woman in Kharkov, Ukraine. Her name is Nessa and she was born on January 2, 1917 in a small town. The family consisted of Nessa, her brother and parents. They were extremely ant Jews that spoke Russian and Yiddish. Her father was part of the Hassidim movement.
Nessa was married to “a nice Jewish boy” prior to the war. During the war,...
January 2012
3 posts
My DACHA experience
This weekend, my Ukrainian adopted family took me to their dacha! My “Ukrainian family” consists of a mother and father (who are about my parents age), a sister and brother (who are a couple years older than I am) and a granddaughter (who is 11 years old).
Many of you are probably wondering what is a dacha? “Dacha (Russian: да́ча) is a Russian word for seasonal or year-round second...
Oh how i LOVE Israel!
At the beginning of the holiday season, i started to feel sad and homesick. I kept pondering what I should do for New Years. My thoughts kept going back to Israel! It is only a 4-hour flight and I could be with friends and family. I wasn’t sure if it was a great idea since I was just settling back into life in Ukraine.
My boss came up to me and told me she was going to have a couple of...
Decorating my first new years tree?
During Soviet times, religion was banned. Citizens were not allowed to celebrate any holidays with any religious connotation. As a result, (one of the only secular holidays) New Years became a huge deal.
I was at my friends families house and they had just bought what looked to me like a Christmas tree. I asked them why they had a Christmas tree if they were Jewish. They responded by telling...
December 2011
4 posts
The food I ate while in Russia....ochen vcusna...
I have set aside a whole blog entry to discuss the food I ate in Russia. My travel companion Heidi and I ate very well while in Russia! The food here is not much different than the food in Ukraine. There is tons of borscht, caviar, blini’s (its like pancakes), smoked salmon, pickled everything, liver pate, and tons of vodka. Anyone who knows me knows I love VODKA and FOOD! There is also lots...
St. Petersburg!
I fell totally in love with St. Petersburg! The architecture, the people, the food, the culture. Wow I loved it!!!!! Though it is a big city, it felt completely different than Moscow. St. Petersburg felt like a combination of Rome, Florence and Paris. You could feel the European influence. It is an extremely romantic city. There is a massive river with beautiful bridges that divides the...
WatchChanging of the Guard in Moscow
Moscow!
What an incredible trip! Upon arrival, a JDC staff person who gave me a cell phone and a bag of fruit greeted me. Wow, I felt like a queen! Then we sat in unbearable traffic. I thought NYC was bad…. It has nothing on Moscow!
That first evening, I met Liz and her friends for a Thanksgiving dinner. We ate at an American style diner. They actually served a traditional turkey dinner with all...
November 2011
3 posts
What Do a Bunch of Old Jews Know About Living... →
Irving Kahn is about to celebrate his 106th birthday. He still goes to work every day. Scientists are studying him and several hundred other Ashkenazim to find out what keeps them going. And going. And going. The secrets of thealter kockers.
1 tag
Ukrainian hospitality
Ukrainian hospitality reaches beyond anything I have ever seen or experienced before! The people here don’t smile as a matter of civility. The service-industry workers are sometimes blunt to the point of rudeness. But anyone who has been invited to a Ukrainian home can attest to the warmth and attention bestowed upon you by the hosts.
Recently, I was fortunate enough to be invited to...
My Wonderful Work!
Currently, I am facilitating 4 psycho-education groups for caregivers. Psycho-education is a multi-component intervention that incorporates social support, education, and therapy. Along with my psycho-education groups, I also make home visits with my caregivers to learn about the problems clients and caregivers face and to supervise. My goal is to improve the quality of care and the quality of...
October 2011
11 posts
A Museum for Babi Yar →
What is Hesed Welfare Centers?
My work with the JDC will focus on working with the Hesed Welfare System. The Hesed Welfare Center model was developed in 1993 in response to the multifaceted, unmet needs of older adults and disabled Jews in the Former Soviet Union (FSU). Today, a networks of more than two hundred JDC-supported Hesed centers provide relief to approximately 168,000 older Jewish adults in over 2,900 cities, towns...
Some of Kharkov's AMAZING work with older adults
Older Jews living in the Former Soviet Union (FSU) are extremely vulnerable. They are isolated members of the global Jewish community. The cumulative effects of the Holocaust, WWII, Stalin’s anti-Semitic purges, and emigration movements, left large numbers of older adults spouseless, childless, and lacking social support.
Ukrainian pensions average 108 US dollars per month. Without Hesed...
WatchOne of my incredible clients singing…..before Hesed started working with him, he hadn’t sang in one year.
My Rosh Hashanah experience
This year was a very different Rosh Hashanah for me. First and foremost, I was not with my family. Normally, I have plans weeks in advance to either go to my mothers or one of my Aunts. If I am with my mother, I help her cook (or watch her cook while I talk). Two days before Rosh Hashanah, I was not sure what I was going to be doing. I thought it would be a very lonely holiday, but it was...
Pilgrimage to Uman, Ukraine (I did not go but...
Approximately 25,000 Hasidic Jews from 24 different countries arrived in Uman, Ukraine to celebrate Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year). This pilgrimage is taken every Rosh Hashanah to visit Rebbe Nachman of Breslov’s gravesite. The press officer from the Uman town police said that this was one of the largest pilgrims in history. “She also noted that the number of Hasidic pilgrims who arrived...
“Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and...”
– Michelle and I are the very first JSC Fellows to serve in Kharkov, Ukraine! Being the first fellows in this placements comes with both advantages and disadvantages that I’ve realized are not easy to handle. On one hand, the staff here is not always sure how to utilize our help during certain...
Ukrainian customs Part 2 (drinking rituals)
Ukranians are major toastmasters. At any celebration there will be a series of toasts, which follows a strict hierarchy.
The first toast is given by the most important person
The second toast is given by the second most important person
The third toast is for women. It is given by a man. If there is more than one man at the party, the men must stand up while toasting.
The fourth toast is...
September 2011
10 posts
Opening of JCC-Kharkov
The opening of the new JCC in Kharkov was incredible. Approximately 800 people showed up! The building is gorgeous! Here are two pictures from the event
At the JCC opening, one of the exhibits was a sand-art demonstration. This is a popular arts activitiy that was really cool. People sat in a theater and watched as a woman made a picture fully out of sand on a projector. Here is a picture...
Shabbaton
Two weekends ago I went on a Shabbaton retreat. This was a weekend trip into the Ukrainian country (about an hour an a half from Kharkov) with thirty young adults. Here, we celebrated Shabbat, learned about Rosh Hashana, had a dance party, did really fun icebreakers and socialized with others who are my age. For my contribution, I led an “icebreaker”. My icebreaker was teaching...
Ukrainian food: vikusna (YUMMY in Russian)
Lots of potatoes and they are really tasty!
Borsch (SOOO GOOD)
Tons of soups. The average Ukrainian has one soup a day
Galosky
Pickled vegetables
Ukrainian customs Part 1
Always take your shoes off when walking into someone’s house or at least offer
Never buy yellow flowers to someone you are dating. Giving yellow flowers is like saying “I just want to be friends”.
Never give an even number of flowers. You only give even number of flowers at funerals
Ukrainian weddings are two day affairs. The first day is a celebration for all friends and...
What is the JDC/ "the Joint"? Are there really...
As I learn more about blogs, I have decided to change the direction of my blog. I will still discuss my adventures, but I will focus on Ukranian culture and my work with the JDC/American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee. As I have learned more about, I have become inspired by this incredible organization. The JDC was established in 1914 by the American Jewry to fulfill the principle of...
My first three days in Ukraine!
September 1, 2011
I arrived in Kharkov via Vienna. On the plane from Vienna to Kharkov, I met the Israeli National Volleyball team. They were traveling to Kharkov to compete against Ukraine and invited Michelle (my roommate) and I to their game. I also met a very nice Scientist who lives in Sweden but is from Kharkov. After speaking with him for a while, we got on the subject of food. He...
“Be the change you wish to see in the world”
– Gandhi
About me!
About me:
Hi! My name is Kara Genderson and I was born and raised in the suburbs of Washington DC. For my undergraduate degree, I studied human development/family studies from Indiana University. During my graduate studies, I received a Masters in Social Work at Columbia University. At Columbia University, my MSW was focused in the Aging field. Here, I became extremely passionate about Older...