12 Kilometers

Standing at the Zopenka for nearly 30 minutes waiting for the Marshrutka to pass by, my mama kept hinting at how I should have worn an extra layer to fight the cold. The Sunday morning was windy, but the sunny sky seemed to promise a warm day. So I went along with it and agreed that it was pretty windy to be wearing my workout clothes; an 80% polyester 20% spandex Nike t-shirt, black yoga tights and a coat. In my head, there was no need for an extra layer because in a matter of minutes I’d be sweating. Finally the marshrutka to Ivanivka arrived and my mama hugged me goodbye.

Ivanivka is a village right next to Kolychivka, about a 5 minute bus ride. Everything about this place is identical to my village the only difference is it has a higher population (not by much).

By the time I reached the village, the Ivanivka cluster had been waiting a good 20 minutes for my arrival and I felt really bad when I saw them from a distance waiting at the Zopenka. How typical, the Latina arriving late (they didn’t say that but it’s true). With no time to waste, we began our morning jog to Chris’ house to drop off our coats and start our journey. About 15 minutes into the jog, Kurt surprised me with the news of where our run was heading to. “We’re going to the Desna River” he said. I gasped while running (it is possible) because this river is pretty far, at least in my opinion it is. I see it all the time when driving into the city. Occasionally, when the Marshrutka drives over the bridge you can see someone fishing or picnicking.

(Now, it’s important to know that at one point in life I was pretty athletic. Playing soccer in high school kept me active and fit. I was a fast runner, but sadly, didn’t have much endurance to maintain the speed (hence my position as defense). I regret not sticking with it throughout college because I think I could have gotten better. But that’s just me… can’t commit to one thing and moving on to the next.)

Deep into the wilderness of Ivanivka, I could not believe my eyes at the site of this beauty. The sun shone perfectly on the golden leaves surrounding the forest. The almost concreted road led to an even more beautiful site as we exited the forest and entered the vast plain. There was no house in site, just trees, plants, and the blue sky. Everything about this run was incredible. The salsa music playing on my mp3, the company that kept me motivated to continue running and not stop at any moment, the sun keeping me warm against the gushing wind. It was by far the perfect run, all of which left me soar immediately after we ran back from the river.

(Danny and Jasmine high-fiving)
My body was screaming at me to go home and lie down. It had not received such intense running in a long time. I probably ran more than I ever did in a soccer game. “Was the river worth the run?” Chris asked. It sure was, but there was no time to rest this tired body. I had less than an hour to ride back home, clean up, eat and head out to the city. Normally I’d just be lazy after a workout but earlier during the week, I had made plans to meet up with Jasmine and some of her cluster mates to tour the city. For once I wanted to site see instead of doing the usual; using the internet, shop at the bazaar/supermarket and meet other PC volunteers.

(the monastery)
So there I was, dragging my legs across town and it didn’t help that Jasmine knew a “shortcut” to the church she was taking us to. The real killer was the hike, I truly felt like an old lady. But once again it was all worth it because when we arrived at top, the place was quite beautiful. It turned out to be a monastery (it was obvious we didn’t know where we were going) and it had an amazing view of part of the city. Every part of me just wanted to stay there, mainly because I was too tired to keep walking. There was still more of the city to see but we decided to call it a day... Perhaps next time I won't be exhausted from 12 kilometers of running/walking.