Month 5: Ukraine — living on $10 per day (food, utilities, lodging, transportation)
What will I remember about our diet for the month? Starchy foods, hot dogs, ground beef, and coleslaw! This month we didn’t get to experience the traditional food hardly at all because our ministry contact, Andrew, and his wife, Jenny, are from Abilene, Texas and Seattle, Washington, respectively, and they enjoy cooking hearty, American-style meals. The retreat center property we live on is in a remote village, Ibahkib, about an hour and a half away from Kiev, the capital of Ukraine. We rarely leave the retreat property unless we have a toiletry/grocery store need, and if so, we take a 10-minute drive to the main part of the village to hit up the small supermarket.
Feeding 65 people (30 college students, 7 Racers, and Ukrainian children!)
Lunchtime!
For this month, there was quite the kitchen crew! Jenny, Abilene Christian University college students, my team of 7 ladies, and 6 summer interns from the States took turns cooking throughout this month in the retreat center lodge kitchen.
The retreat center lodge kitchen .. it is legit!
Cleaning dinner dishes. Note the system:
a washer (Kate), a rinser (Hannah), a dryer (Amanda), and a "put awayer" (Misty)
Drinks:
Coffee
Tea
Water
2.5% Milk
Thick, syrupy fruit juice
Breakfast:
Cereal (a Ukrainian spin on Coco Puffs, Cheerios, and Frosted Flakes)
Oatmeal or muesli
Fruit (apples, oranges, bananas)
Fruit yogurt
Lunch:
Deli meat and cheese sandwiches + Lay's potato chips
Chicken Caesar salad
Hamburgers + coleslaw
Pork kebabs, mashed potatoes, and fresh cucumbers
A Ukrainian meal: A pork, rice, onion, and carrot mixture with Indian spices + noodle and carrot soup + coleslaw with corn
Beef tacos
Taco salad
Hot dogs + Lay's potato chips
The taco salad line
A tradional Ukrainian meal
Dinner:
Pigs in a blanket (hotdogs, cheese, and dough) + coleslaw
Red wine marinated chicken, green beans, and cheese rolls
Tetrazinni (Spaghetti with chicken) and cheese rolls
Pizza casserole (sausage, beef, pasta, cheese)
Pork chops, cornbread, and salad
Sweet and sour chicken and an oriental pasta salad
Rotisserie chicken, instant mashed potatoes, and fresh cucumbers
Beef stroganoff and salad
Barbecued chicken, instant mashed potatoes, and corn
Dessert:
Chocolate mousse
Banana bread
Ice cream bars
Jell-o
Cheesecake
Brownies
Fruit cobbler
Apple pie
Ice cream
Store-bought cookies
P. S. We definitely had some awesome, home-cooked meals this month! So don’t worry, we were a bit spoiled this month, and there was never a shortage of food!
