So while still living with Oksana and family, I have the incredible opportunity to sleep with lightning McQueen. Sometimes I flip it over and sleep with more of the cast.
Sunday, 13 January 2008
School 3
For two years I will be teaching English at School 3 in Kramators’k. I have been meeting with the current English teachers and we have been working out some plans for my involvement. I have also decided to establish an English Club at the school. I think this would be a wonderful way to get students away from the classroom mentality and start working more on conversation. I have also spoken with teachers and they are letting me teach about ecological issues and about health issues. Beyond that, I am not sure what additional projects I will be doing in the school, but the semester has been in action for less than a week, so I’ve some time to assess the needs and wants of the school faculty, students, and students parents.
I am excited to get started though. I will be teaching English at the 7th, 8th, 10th, and 11th forms. I am excited about this. The tenth and the eleventh forms do not seem to have main textbooks, which will give me more freedom to provide some texts that I think will be effective. The first few months will be difficult, but I assume that I will get into the mix of it all soon. The teachers have already told the students that I will be bringing a change to the classroom with different teaching methods, which is true. I am working for the communicative approach to teaching language. I am pushing for the students to speak more in the classroom and to speak more freely opposed to text memorizations. I will keep people updated on my successes and failures.
Below I have a picture of two of my fellow English teachers at School 3. Most of my classes are joint classes with Natasha, who is next to me. Natasha is also my counterpart and has helped me with my move to the new city. Daria, or Dasha, has some seventh forms that I work with as well.
The contents of this website are mine personally and do not reflect any position of the U.S. Government or the Peace Corps. With any response, please be respectful to anyone who may read this website and your responses.
Random...food
So little Vanya, my five year old Ukrainain brother in Kramators'k decided to make a new meal for me, a delicious little number. The boy is going to be a master chef. This meal was bananas, apples, and pickles...yum.
Oster Project
So before my wonderful clustermates and i left the quaint little town, we completed a final project. We worked with the students and with the faculty of the Culture House and put on a show for the parents of the students of the Gymnasium and School 2. At this event, had students perform songs, dances and give speeches in both Russian and English. We also sang ‘Imagine’ by John Lennon in Russian, a beautiful song we translated the week before. The purpose of this event was to spread the word on the need for more books in the library and also the importance of reading. In the pictures attached you can see our cluster some of the students involved in the performances. The other picture shows the books we were able to purchase for the students with the money acquired through the event.
The contents of this website are mine personally and do not reflect any position of the U.S. Government or the Peace Corps. With any response, please be respectful to anyone who may read this website and your responses.
Some Randomness
I will have some random updates, and this will be the first.
The following gloves, which are worn by my wonderful co-teacher and fellow Osterian Alex, remind me of Miss Kelly in Manhattan. If you have to ask a last name, you don’t know Kelly.
Some Friends
I know I have mentioned a few people a couple of times, and I shall now explain who they are. Amber, Alex, Bethanie, and Keith were my 'cluster mates' in Oster. They joined me on the initial three months of teacher training, language training, and the adventures that I have spoken and will speak about. They have become my best friends here in Ukraine.
Amber, the on the left (my right) in the photo, has actually been a friend of mine for a very long time. Amber an I went to grade school together in kindergarten, and were friends in jr. high and high school. The fact that both of us were sent to Ukraine with the Peace Corps was a complete surprise, as we hadn't talked since high school. What is even crazier is that we both were in Oster for training...and to continue the insanity of it all is that she is now about an hour and a half south of me in the Donets'k area. Crazy.
Alex (or Sasha in Ukraine), on my other side, is from sunny California and was my co-teacher at School 2 in Oster. I spent many evenings at her host family's house planning lessons and playing with her little Ukrainian brothers. Much fun.
Bethanie, next to Alex, is from a small town near Pittsburgh and she went to Paterno University. Bethanie's site is awesome. She is in Crimea in the town of Sevestopol. She calls me and braggs about her splendid life on the sea...it angers me every time she calls...which is every couple of days.
Keith, on the end, is from norther Indiana, near Chicago. I forget the name, but it is the town in A Christmas Story, and where Michael Jackson's family is from. That is all I can really tell you about his past. Keith is my fellow musician, he has been playing guitar for about ten years. I would go to his host fam's house and play his guitar, then borrow it on occasion. He is now well east of me, scraping the border with Russia.
There that should clear up a few questions. They will return to my tales in the future.
Wednesday, 9 January 2008
Great Balls of...Snow
Our time in Oster was drawing to a close, and Alex, Amber, Bethanie, Keith and I felt a need for a group excursion. With this idea, we wondered to the same place we wandered to on our first weekend in that town, to the river. Oh, serenity was again met so sweetly, but we were joined with additional party members this time, but they were not members of our party...enemies indeed. I spy three boys eying us, squinting and cocking their heads, I knew something was up. I glance and Amber and she looks back, she knows the game, and it was on. The two of us bend down and lightly grab handfuls of snow, she threw first and I quickly followed. We had begun a snowball fight with a small but powerful group of Ukrainian boys. The battle was long, but sadly, I think the five Americans in their early and mid twenties destroyed the grade schoolers.
The contents of this website are mine personally and do not reflect any position of the U.S. Government or the Peace Corps. With any response, please be respectful to anyone who may read this website and your responses.
The contents of this website are mine personally and do not reflect any position of the U.S. Government or the Peace Corps. With any response, please be respectful to anyone who may read this website and your responses.
A Simply Beautiful Gift
One of the most beautiful gifts was given to me on the evening of January 1st. My splendid Kramators'kian family and I went and visited Sasha and Alla, the Godparents of Katya and Vanya. What is special about these two Godparents is that they are also the parents of Alexie's closest friend of the past, but he had passed away about ten years ago. Sasha and Alla invited three adults to the table for dinner.
During the dinner, the women drank some wine while us men shared a couple of bottles of cognac. Of course, Alexie only sipped one shot through the meal, as he had the keys to the car. Through discussion the hosts found out that I play guitar and write songs, and eventually found me one to play. The guitar was well out of tune, but I worked a little magic and got it sounding decent, and with Alexie's help, it sounded great. Anyways, after playing one of my songs then a Dylan tune, 'House of the Rising Sun,' I was told that the reason the guitar was so out of tune was that it had not been played in more than ten years...since their son had passed away. They never let anyone play the guitar, but after my conversations with them and my gratitude shown, they decided to pull it off the wall. As the evening concluded, Sasha showed me the place where I could sleep whenever I returned, and I told him that I will return. It was the most amazing gift I have received here in Ukraine.
The contents of this website are mine personally and do not reflect any position of the U.S. Government or the Peace Corps. With any response, please be respectful to anyone who may read this website and your responses.
During the dinner, the women drank some wine while us men shared a couple of bottles of cognac. Of course, Alexie only sipped one shot through the meal, as he had the keys to the car. Through discussion the hosts found out that I play guitar and write songs, and eventually found me one to play. The guitar was well out of tune, but I worked a little magic and got it sounding decent, and with Alexie's help, it sounded great. Anyways, after playing one of my songs then a Dylan tune, 'House of the Rising Sun,' I was told that the reason the guitar was so out of tune was that it had not been played in more than ten years...since their son had passed away. They never let anyone play the guitar, but after my conversations with them and my gratitude shown, they decided to pull it off the wall. As the evening concluded, Sasha showed me the place where I could sleep whenever I returned, and I told him that I will return. It was the most amazing gift I have received here in Ukraine.
The contents of this website are mine personally and do not reflect any position of the U.S. Government or the Peace Corps. With any response, please be respectful to anyone who may read this website and your responses.
Baks Club
Yes, teaching and learning languages is exciting, beneficial, and life changing, but I sort of need a break every now and then. So as any normal person does, I run away from my stressful situations looking for anything to latch onto. Fortunately there are a couple of clubs in Kramators'k, but only one of them tripped me up on my fleeing episode, this was Bacs. 30 gryvnyas at the door, and expensive drinks, but at least there is a dance floor. I think I have tricked the Ukrainian public into thinking that I can dance, but I imagine they will catch on soon, and when they do, I shall flee once again.
The contents of this website are mine personally and do not reflect any position of the U.S. Government or the Peace Corps. With any response, please be respectful to anyone who may read this website and your responses.
The contents of this website are mine personally and do not reflect any position of the U.S. Government or the Peace Corps. With any response, please be respectful to anyone who may read this website and your responses.
Hitchhiking
It was a cool evening in Kiev after about two weeks away from home in Oster when Keith, Alex and I were on the metro heading east towards the final stop. When reaching this stop we stepped off the train onto the platform and took a left, quickly heading to the bus station for the final bus to Oster..we should have taken a right-hand turn. The three of us wander around the station and through a bazaar looking for something familiar that could lead us towards the bus station, but no luck. After searching and searching, we miss the final bus. Fortunately, we meet a woman who directs us to a place where more freelance marshrutkas (sort of like mini busses [like the JOs]) can be found.
Walking along what is similar to a highway, we find the bridge she told us to stand under, and to our surprise, this was the previous stop on the metro. There we found one marshrutka that was heading to Chernihiv and the driver said that Oster and Kozelets were stops on the way if we each paid extra. Sitting in the still vehicle, the three of us relax and watch a little Jurassic Park on the mini TV. It was of course voiced over...with one man voicing all characters and reading signs aloud. Excitement grew as the bus started and we began to move, but less than thirty seconds into the trip a car smashes into the back end of the drivers side, and we begin to sit to wait a bit more.
So another marshrutka comes to the rescue, we switch to the new driver's vehicle and head down the highway, but this driver is not going to Oster or Kozelets, he instead drops us off along the highway where the road to Oster passes over, we still have a good 20 Km to go. This is where the hitchhiking comes into play. We find a woman and her husband that were willing to pick us up and drive us into Oster at the cost of 50 gryvnyas. Long trip home, but I enjoyed it.
The contents of this website are mine personally and do not reflect any position of the U.S. Government or the Peace Corps. With any response, please be respectful to anyone who may read this website and your responses.
Walking along what is similar to a highway, we find the bridge she told us to stand under, and to our surprise, this was the previous stop on the metro. There we found one marshrutka that was heading to Chernihiv and the driver said that Oster and Kozelets were stops on the way if we each paid extra. Sitting in the still vehicle, the three of us relax and watch a little Jurassic Park on the mini TV. It was of course voiced over...with one man voicing all characters and reading signs aloud. Excitement grew as the bus started and we began to move, but less than thirty seconds into the trip a car smashes into the back end of the drivers side, and we begin to sit to wait a bit more.
So another marshrutka comes to the rescue, we switch to the new driver's vehicle and head down the highway, but this driver is not going to Oster or Kozelets, he instead drops us off along the highway where the road to Oster passes over, we still have a good 20 Km to go. This is where the hitchhiking comes into play. We find a woman and her husband that were willing to pick us up and drive us into Oster at the cost of 50 gryvnyas. Long trip home, but I enjoyed it.
The contents of this website are mine personally and do not reflect any position of the U.S. Government or the Peace Corps. With any response, please be respectful to anyone who may read this website and your responses.
Ukrainian Winter Holiday Season
It is Winter Holiday Season, and the festivals are just as bright here in Ukraine as they are in the States. While still living in Oster, the small little mini-mart down the street from Anna's house had put up lights in in mid December, but the Christmas holiday is not celebrated until January 7th. This is because of the use of the Julian calendar which has these holidays falling thirteen days after ours back in the states which follow the Gregorian calendar...but in celebration of both calendars, we have festivals on both New Year's holidays.
A New Year's party was held during the last week of class at School 3. I was invited and was asked to help sing a few songs. They asked me to sing the Christmas song 'Silent Night,' as the party was on the day of American and Western European Christmas. I then joined the school district's foreign languages director Ostap and we sang "Auld Lang Syne." They then asked me to sing "Yesterday" with Olga, the music director. To my friends Gail, Jared and Catherine, you would be pleased here in Ukraine, as everyone is a Beatles fan. Every school performance I have seen at the three schools I have been involved with has had a student perform a Beatles number. Also, at this event Father Frost came to the show. He is similar to our Santa Clause in appearance.
New Year's was celebrated at home with Oksana, Alexie, Katya, and Vanya. It was a calm evening, and I didn't meet my traditional drinking mark. I had only a glass of wine and a glass of champagne, but the fridge is full and I have a little less than a month to drink what was left over and a couple of days to finish the food...shouldn't be a problem. It was to my surprise that gifts are exchanged on New Year's eve.
The contents of this website are mine personally and do not reflect any position of the U.S. Government or the Peace Corps. With any response, please be respectful to anyone who may read this website and your responses.
A New Year's party was held during the last week of class at School 3. I was invited and was asked to help sing a few songs. They asked me to sing the Christmas song 'Silent Night,' as the party was on the day of American and Western European Christmas. I then joined the school district's foreign languages director Ostap and we sang "Auld Lang Syne." They then asked me to sing "Yesterday" with Olga, the music director. To my friends Gail, Jared and Catherine, you would be pleased here in Ukraine, as everyone is a Beatles fan. Every school performance I have seen at the three schools I have been involved with has had a student perform a Beatles number. Also, at this event Father Frost came to the show. He is similar to our Santa Clause in appearance.
New Year's was celebrated at home with Oksana, Alexie, Katya, and Vanya. It was a calm evening, and I didn't meet my traditional drinking mark. I had only a glass of wine and a glass of champagne, but the fridge is full and I have a little less than a month to drink what was left over and a couple of days to finish the food...shouldn't be a problem. It was to my surprise that gifts are exchanged on New Year's eve.
The contents of this website are mine personally and do not reflect any position of the U.S. Government or the Peace Corps. With any response, please be respectful to anyone who may read this website and your responses.
My apologies on the long pause
Well, in response to some hatemail I have been receiving from my beloved friends in the U.S., I have finally updated my blog. I was internetless for all too long, but those days are over and we can share some beautiful digital hugs. I have written some quick updates, but in the future it should be kept up to date. Unfortunately, for a while, some updates will be a bit out of order, but you will just have to deal with that.
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