The Last Bell ceremony for the end of the school year was yesterday. I watched this year's eleventh formers, dressed in traditional school uniforms from Soviet days (with some of the girls' skirts indecently short, but no harem costumes, Tif), and remembered when they were 8th formers, back when I was brand-new here. Then I taught Nelya the basics of how to use a computer mouse and how to type in Microsoft Word, which made both of us proud that she was learning how to do more with computers.
Later, I visited an English teacher who I had known when I lived here before and who is now on maternity leave. Although it was a social visit, she was interested in my research and is willing to be interviewed. Interesting fact about Ukraine: women can take up to 3 years of paid maternity leave (not full pay, but their job will be there when they get back). Everyone is shocked that we only get 6 weeks.
I spent the night at the Kotlars', which was fun and a change from one set of kids to another. Much to the amusement of her family (and myself), Lilia K. (age 6) has an enormous crush on Yura Yukhymets (age 14/15?). Apparently he bought her ice cream once, and she's utterly besotted. She told me that they're going to get married when she grows up and he'll go to work and she'll stay home and cook and clean. When I asked which church they were going to go to, she thought about it and decided that they would alternate Sundays. Lilia and Natasha walked me home, and they weren't going to come in, but then Lilia started to cry because she wouldn't see Yura, so they stopped in to say hello. Yura walked by and said "Hello, Lil," and she just beamed. (Personally, I think Yura's got a lot of growing up to do before he's ready to be the object of anyone's adoration, much less Lilia's, but perhaps she'll be a good influence. :) )
Lilia reminds me of why I actually do want children at some point (although not 12!). She's a very deep-thinking, loving, little girl, who likes to cuddle and take care of her little brothers. She said to me very seriously at breakfast this morning, "I missed you while you were gone [to America]. Sometimes I looked at your picture and thought about you. I don't want you to leave." Aww...
This afternoon Viktor and I took 6 of the Y kids to the playground at one of the schools in town to get them out of Nadia's hair so she could garden (of the other half, 1 was at a church conference in Kharkiv, 1 helped Nadia, and the other 4 were with their grandmother). We stayed at the playground for about 4 hours. I played football, excuse me, soccer, with the boys and Viktor for a bit, proving once again that I have very little aptitude for sports.
In case you all hadn't picked up on it, I love being in Ukraine again.
Showing posts with label ukraine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ukraine. Show all posts
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Thursday, May 28, 2009
productive day :)
I forgot how things in Ukraine tend to come together at the last minute.
My research was going slowly earlier this week. Part of it was that I was waiting on questionnaires; part of it was that it's the last week of the semester here; part of it was simply that things go more slowly in Ukraine than they do in the U.S. I was starting to feel frustrated and worried that I wasn't being a good researcher--after all, since MSU is funding the majority of the trip, I need to be productive. And yet there wasn't much I could do besides sit and wait.
Well, things have taken off with a vengeance. It started yesterday, when two surveys were returned to me and an interview scheduled for next week, and today kept me hopping for almost 12 hours. I started the day with an interview at a local school, then caught a very packed bus to the center (downtown) to meet up with Robert, the PCV in town, as we were supposed to speak to students at the college and collegium (the latter is a specialized high school in the same building and sharing the same faculty as the college). We spoke with 3rd year college students and 10th form collegium students--both groups did a nice job of speaking English and had good questions for us. I was especially proud of Firyuza, a former student of mine, who's now at the collegium and wants to be a translator. Her teacher mentioned to me that she's one of the best students in her class, which makes me really happy.
After that (which was several hours), Robert and I went to the Palace of Culture, as he had written a PEPFAR grant (he works at the HIV center here) and was trying to set up a concert. The director of the Palace of Culture wanted a translator at the meeting to make sure they had all the details correct, and since languages come more easily for me than they do for Robert, I translated. We had Robert, the director of the Palace of Culture, a musician/sound/lights guy from the P of C, the director of the HIV Center, and I, and I think we got all the details hashed out. I enjoyed translating in a non-school context, which is something I haven't had much chance to do before.
When we finished, it was already mid-afternoon, so Robert and I went to the new pizzeria and had a late lunch. Then we hung out and talked, mostly about his impending Close of Service and what it's like for me, being back here. At 5 I had another interview, which lasted until around 7 p.m. At that point, I came home, had supper, and played dolls with Liza and Snizhanna. A good day all around, and between me and a PCV who emailed me, I've gotten 9 more questionnaires passed out and another interview scheduled for Monday.
Tomorrow: Last Bell ceremony at School #3, helping Nelya learn how to use a computer, a possible interview, a visit to an English teacher I knew when I lived here, and spending the evening at the Kotlars.
Yay for accomplishing stuff!
(Now to post this before my Internet dies again...)
My research was going slowly earlier this week. Part of it was that I was waiting on questionnaires; part of it was that it's the last week of the semester here; part of it was simply that things go more slowly in Ukraine than they do in the U.S. I was starting to feel frustrated and worried that I wasn't being a good researcher--after all, since MSU is funding the majority of the trip, I need to be productive. And yet there wasn't much I could do besides sit and wait.
Well, things have taken off with a vengeance. It started yesterday, when two surveys were returned to me and an interview scheduled for next week, and today kept me hopping for almost 12 hours. I started the day with an interview at a local school, then caught a very packed bus to the center (downtown) to meet up with Robert, the PCV in town, as we were supposed to speak to students at the college and collegium (the latter is a specialized high school in the same building and sharing the same faculty as the college). We spoke with 3rd year college students and 10th form collegium students--both groups did a nice job of speaking English and had good questions for us. I was especially proud of Firyuza, a former student of mine, who's now at the collegium and wants to be a translator. Her teacher mentioned to me that she's one of the best students in her class, which makes me really happy.
After that (which was several hours), Robert and I went to the Palace of Culture, as he had written a PEPFAR grant (he works at the HIV center here) and was trying to set up a concert. The director of the Palace of Culture wanted a translator at the meeting to make sure they had all the details correct, and since languages come more easily for me than they do for Robert, I translated. We had Robert, the director of the Palace of Culture, a musician/sound/lights guy from the P of C, the director of the HIV Center, and I, and I think we got all the details hashed out. I enjoyed translating in a non-school context, which is something I haven't had much chance to do before.
When we finished, it was already mid-afternoon, so Robert and I went to the new pizzeria and had a late lunch. Then we hung out and talked, mostly about his impending Close of Service and what it's like for me, being back here. At 5 I had another interview, which lasted until around 7 p.m. At that point, I came home, had supper, and played dolls with Liza and Snizhanna. A good day all around, and between me and a PCV who emailed me, I've gotten 9 more questionnaires passed out and another interview scheduled for Monday.
Tomorrow: Last Bell ceremony at School #3, helping Nelya learn how to use a computer, a possible interview, a visit to an English teacher I knew when I lived here, and spending the evening at the Kotlars.
Yay for accomplishing stuff!
(Now to post this before my Internet dies again...)
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
my impressions
As an American living/working/visiting in Ukraine, a common question I'm asked is "What are your impressions of _______?" It's apparently a literal translation of a question in Ukrainian, since whenever I ask someone to translate it for me (because I can never remember the word in Ukrainian), they say "impressions". So here are some random impressions I've had since arriving in Balaklia:
~There are now two coffee shops and a pizza place that delivers (not that I've been to any of them yet). Be still, my beating heart.
~There is also a second supermarket, twice the size of the first one (which came while I lived here). It offers such delicacies as Brie, which you used to only be able to find in Kharkiv. (I don't actually want Brie, I'm just amazed you can find it here now.)
~I lived here two years and didn't know that a) both the college and the lyceum have dorms and b) the name of the bus stop by the Yukhymetses' house (Sichnya).
~I did a fairly good job of packing clothes for this trip. Packing a non-wrinklable black skirt and a black cardigan was a stroke of genius, as I wear them almost every day. Tif's suggestion of throwing in my long denim skirt for around the house was also an excellent idea.
~That said, the weather here is a bit cooler than I had hoped. It's working, but I should have packed one more long-sleeved shirt.
~Everyone is much more computer/Internet-savvy than they were two years ago. Nadia is quite proficient with the computer now and spends her evenings looking up old friends and relatives on Odnoklassniki.ru, which is basically Classmates.com.
~One should never try and do educational research during the last two weeks of the school year.
~I spent a semester learning about informed consent and confidentiality. It's all a lot more complicated when you're doing research in a culture where these are not concepts that people have spent much time thinking about.
~My former students understand English a lot better than they speak it. I'm amazed at how much they understand.
~12 kids are a lot. But I wouldn't want to be staying anywhere else in town while I'm here on a visit.
~The economic crisis has really hit home here. Everyone talks about it. Nadia said that this month the government hasn't sent them money for raising the kids (for anyone unaware, the Y family is sort of a permanent foster care home, except that the children look at it as their own home and family...they just aren't legally adopted). She's not sure what they're going to do if this continues.
~It's really good to be back. Everyone's made me feel very welcome.
~There are now two coffee shops and a pizza place that delivers (not that I've been to any of them yet). Be still, my beating heart.
~There is also a second supermarket, twice the size of the first one (which came while I lived here). It offers such delicacies as Brie, which you used to only be able to find in Kharkiv. (I don't actually want Brie, I'm just amazed you can find it here now.)
~I lived here two years and didn't know that a) both the college and the lyceum have dorms and b) the name of the bus stop by the Yukhymetses' house (Sichnya).
~I did a fairly good job of packing clothes for this trip. Packing a non-wrinklable black skirt and a black cardigan was a stroke of genius, as I wear them almost every day. Tif's suggestion of throwing in my long denim skirt for around the house was also an excellent idea.
~That said, the weather here is a bit cooler than I had hoped. It's working, but I should have packed one more long-sleeved shirt.
~Everyone is much more computer/Internet-savvy than they were two years ago. Nadia is quite proficient with the computer now and spends her evenings looking up old friends and relatives on Odnoklassniki.ru, which is basically Classmates.com.
~One should never try and do educational research during the last two weeks of the school year.
~I spent a semester learning about informed consent and confidentiality. It's all a lot more complicated when you're doing research in a culture where these are not concepts that people have spent much time thinking about.
~My former students understand English a lot better than they speak it. I'm amazed at how much they understand.
~12 kids are a lot. But I wouldn't want to be staying anywhere else in town while I'm here on a visit.
~The economic crisis has really hit home here. Everyone talks about it. Nadia said that this month the government hasn't sent them money for raising the kids (for anyone unaware, the Y family is sort of a permanent foster care home, except that the children look at it as their own home and family...they just aren't legally adopted). She's not sure what they're going to do if this continues.
~It's really good to be back. Everyone's made me feel very welcome.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
a typical (?) day
Mom wanted an example of a "typical" day for me here in Ukraine, so I thought I'd give it a try. There's a fair amount of variance, depending on research/socializing/etc., but roughly, weekdays go something like this:
Sometime between 5 and 7 a.m.: I wake up due to a combination of sun and roosters, roll over, and endeavor to go back to sleep until my alarm goes off, usually at 7 or 7:30. I'm fairly successful at this.
7-8:30ish: My alarm (on my cell phone) goes off. I make my bed, get dressed in nice clothes (if I'm going somewhere) or old clothes (if I'll be around the house for a bit), wash up (there's a sink with hot water on the third floor, where I sleep!), and head downstairs for breakfast. Downstairs is barely organized chaos, with 11 out of 12 children getting ready for school. If I'm going to school that morning, I'm part of the chaos...otherwise, I sit on the couch and keep out of everyone's way until the kids are off to school and then have breakfast. The Y kids are not cheerful early risers, and they are not necessarily on time to school on a regular basis.
Remainder of morning/early afternoon: This varies a lot. I may be around the house, doing my own thing there, or I may be at my old school guest lecturing to some classes. Alternatively, I may go into the center of town to run errands/make more copies of my questionnaires and consent forms/pass out aforementioned documents. This sometimes happens after I've been at school. Hopefully this next week interviews will become a regular part of this segment of the day or the one following it.
Mid-afternoon: Kids come home from school. We have lunch, which took some getting used to, as I think of lunch as something that happens at noon, whereas at the Y house, it's sometime between 2 and 4 p.m. It may or may not involve people actually all eating at the same time.
Mid-afternoon to early evening: A lot of my social visits tend to occur at this time. Alternatively, it's "Big Sister" time, which can involve anything from helping Vlada with English to teaching Vitaly how to play chords with his left hand on the piano to watching the little kids play outside to answering any and all of Valera's innumerable questions. Seriously, he looks at me as a fount of information and I'm never sure what he's going to ask next. If I've reached my limit of big sister-ness, I head up to the 3rd floor (which I and I alone have a key to), watch Battlestar Galactica (thanks to Carl, the Cylon...I've already finished Season 1), and contemplate never having children. Which at times, almost sounds appealing. (And I'm not having 12, regardless, as much as I love them all.)
7:45?: Carmelita, the older kids' serial (i.e., evening soap opera) comes on. It's about a Roma (gypsy) tribe living in Russia, and it has catacombs and guns and affairs and convoluded, improbable plot lines. The kids love it. I'm sort of surprised that they're allowed to watch it, but it appears to be a battle that Viktor and Nadia decided to let the kids win. It's mostly interesting to me for how the Other, in the form of the Roma, is portrayed. Carmelita, the main character, really only looks Roma due to her curly hair and flowing skirts, and her love interest is non-Roma.
After that: The little kids often watch Scooby-Doo dubbed into Ukrainian, and we have supper. Or, if Nadia's been in the garden all day, we eat whatever happens to be cooked at that time. For the first week or so I was here, the younger kids wanted me to play the piano while we sang, but we've gotten out of that habit lately.
9ish: I go upstairs and watch more Battlestar Galactica or read Les Miserables, and sometimes use the Internet.
Sometime between 11 and 12: Devotions and bed.
And there you have it: the fledgling researcher and her typical life. Right now, it's a bit kid-heavy, but I'm hoping that interviews will pick up this coming week. I've got a lot of questionnaires and consent forms passed out, and I'm waiting to hear back on those.
Sometime between 5 and 7 a.m.: I wake up due to a combination of sun and roosters, roll over, and endeavor to go back to sleep until my alarm goes off, usually at 7 or 7:30. I'm fairly successful at this.
7-8:30ish: My alarm (on my cell phone) goes off. I make my bed, get dressed in nice clothes (if I'm going somewhere) or old clothes (if I'll be around the house for a bit), wash up (there's a sink with hot water on the third floor, where I sleep!), and head downstairs for breakfast. Downstairs is barely organized chaos, with 11 out of 12 children getting ready for school. If I'm going to school that morning, I'm part of the chaos...otherwise, I sit on the couch and keep out of everyone's way until the kids are off to school and then have breakfast. The Y kids are not cheerful early risers, and they are not necessarily on time to school on a regular basis.
Remainder of morning/early afternoon: This varies a lot. I may be around the house, doing my own thing there, or I may be at my old school guest lecturing to some classes. Alternatively, I may go into the center of town to run errands/make more copies of my questionnaires and consent forms/pass out aforementioned documents. This sometimes happens after I've been at school. Hopefully this next week interviews will become a regular part of this segment of the day or the one following it.
Mid-afternoon: Kids come home from school. We have lunch, which took some getting used to, as I think of lunch as something that happens at noon, whereas at the Y house, it's sometime between 2 and 4 p.m. It may or may not involve people actually all eating at the same time.
Mid-afternoon to early evening: A lot of my social visits tend to occur at this time. Alternatively, it's "Big Sister" time, which can involve anything from helping Vlada with English to teaching Vitaly how to play chords with his left hand on the piano to watching the little kids play outside to answering any and all of Valera's innumerable questions. Seriously, he looks at me as a fount of information and I'm never sure what he's going to ask next. If I've reached my limit of big sister-ness, I head up to the 3rd floor (which I and I alone have a key to), watch Battlestar Galactica (thanks to Carl, the Cylon...I've already finished Season 1), and contemplate never having children. Which at times, almost sounds appealing. (And I'm not having 12, regardless, as much as I love them all.)
7:45?: Carmelita, the older kids' serial (i.e., evening soap opera) comes on. It's about a Roma (gypsy) tribe living in Russia, and it has catacombs and guns and affairs and convoluded, improbable plot lines. The kids love it. I'm sort of surprised that they're allowed to watch it, but it appears to be a battle that Viktor and Nadia decided to let the kids win. It's mostly interesting to me for how the Other, in the form of the Roma, is portrayed. Carmelita, the main character, really only looks Roma due to her curly hair and flowing skirts, and her love interest is non-Roma.
After that: The little kids often watch Scooby-Doo dubbed into Ukrainian, and we have supper. Or, if Nadia's been in the garden all day, we eat whatever happens to be cooked at that time. For the first week or so I was here, the younger kids wanted me to play the piano while we sang, but we've gotten out of that habit lately.
9ish: I go upstairs and watch more Battlestar Galactica or read Les Miserables, and sometimes use the Internet.
Sometime between 11 and 12: Devotions and bed.
And there you have it: the fledgling researcher and her typical life. Right now, it's a bit kid-heavy, but I'm hoping that interviews will pick up this coming week. I've got a lot of questionnaires and consent forms passed out, and I'm waiting to hear back on those.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
a fairly easy adjustment (except for my feet)
Vitaly and I set up wireless internet on my laptop (via external modem plugged into a USB port...it's 5 hryvnia off of my phone card to connect and then 2 kopecks a minute, so quite reasonable), so I hope to be checking email/blogging more often. As in every day or so. It's interesting for me to realize how much less technology I use in Ukraine, and how quickly I've slipped back into a slower-paced lifestyle.
I will say that I do miss being able to drive places. I'm not used to walking everywhere, and my feet and calves ache fairly regularly. If I have a long way to go (from school to the center, for example, a good 25-30 minute walk), I cheat and take a marshrutka (van), which I would have thought rather extravagant during my PCV days.
Yesterday I went to a neighboring village (via elektrichka) to visit my friends Andrey and Ira and see their new baby girl, Yanna. It was nice, and I think Ira was glad to have company. She said she misses being at work. Interesting fact: in Ukraine, women get 3 years of maternity leave, instead of 6 weeks. They get a (very) small monthly stipend during this time, and their job will be open for them when they come back.
Question for my readers: what do you all want me to post about? So much is going on, that I don't even know where to start. So if you can give me some topics you want to know about, I'd be happy to oblige.
I will say that I do miss being able to drive places. I'm not used to walking everywhere, and my feet and calves ache fairly regularly. If I have a long way to go (from school to the center, for example, a good 25-30 minute walk), I cheat and take a marshrutka (van), which I would have thought rather extravagant during my PCV days.
Yesterday I went to a neighboring village (via elektrichka) to visit my friends Andrey and Ira and see their new baby girl, Yanna. It was nice, and I think Ira was glad to have company. She said she misses being at work. Interesting fact: in Ukraine, women get 3 years of maternity leave, instead of 6 weeks. They get a (very) small monthly stipend during this time, and their job will be open for them when they come back.
Question for my readers: what do you all want me to post about? So much is going on, that I don't even know where to start. So if you can give me some topics you want to know about, I'd be happy to oblige.
Monday, May 11, 2009
So long and thanks for all the fish
I have awesome former roomies. Lisa ended up driving me to the bus stop Sunday morning, mostly because she originally had insommnia but then decided to stay up even after it was over to drive me, and Brandi saw me off and gave me a money pouch, as I had forgotten to get mine from Lakeview.
Then a long day/night of travel. I don't like airplane food. It doesn't matter what it is, it doesn't taste good. (@Lisa: I ended up not eating hardly any of the pretzels on the plane for that reason...I want to want to eat them again!)
I made it to Ukraine safe and sound, although 4 hours too early to check into my hotel room. To fill that time, I have a) exchanged money, b) bought a cell phone, c) bought my train ticket to Balaklia tomorrow night, d) called Nadia (who sounded very excited on the phone, e) texted Sasha and Andrey, f) did a lot of window shopping (saw some lovely skirts I'd like to get at the end of the summer, depending on money), g) had lunch at McDonalds, f) gawked at how much prices have gone up in a year and a half (which makes sense with how the hryvnia's dropped), g) paid an outrageous price for Internet, and h) am anxiously waiting to go crash in my hotel room at 2 pm.
I was feeling a bit weird about the whole trip right before we landed, but it feels very natural to be here. Although I'm exhausted and really really just want to sleep right now, or at least be in a prone position. I did doze for a few hours on the flight though. And met a former PCV (before my time) on the plane who runs an English language school in Dnipropetrovsk, is willing to pass out my survey to teachers he knows and said that if I ever wanted a job, I should look him up but I'll probably be overqualified to work at his school, having an actual degree in TESOL.
Wow...jet lag is really kicking in. Time to finish this post and wait 45 more minutes for my room.
Then a long day/night of travel. I don't like airplane food. It doesn't matter what it is, it doesn't taste good. (@Lisa: I ended up not eating hardly any of the pretzels on the plane for that reason...I want to want to eat them again!)
I made it to Ukraine safe and sound, although 4 hours too early to check into my hotel room. To fill that time, I have a) exchanged money, b) bought a cell phone, c) bought my train ticket to Balaklia tomorrow night, d) called Nadia (who sounded very excited on the phone, e) texted Sasha and Andrey, f) did a lot of window shopping (saw some lovely skirts I'd like to get at the end of the summer, depending on money), g) had lunch at McDonalds, f) gawked at how much prices have gone up in a year and a half (which makes sense with how the hryvnia's dropped), g) paid an outrageous price for Internet, and h) am anxiously waiting to go crash in my hotel room at 2 pm.
I was feeling a bit weird about the whole trip right before we landed, but it feels very natural to be here. Although I'm exhausted and really really just want to sleep right now, or at least be in a prone position. I did doze for a few hours on the flight though. And met a former PCV (before my time) on the plane who runs an English language school in Dnipropetrovsk, is willing to pass out my survey to teachers he knows and said that if I ever wanted a job, I should look him up but I'll probably be overqualified to work at his school, having an actual degree in TESOL.
Wow...jet lag is really kicking in. Time to finish this post and wait 45 more minutes for my room.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
off to Ukraine!
It's been long enough since I've blogged that I almost feel like I've forgotten how. But since I leave for Ukraine tomorrow, I figured it's time to start this up again.
Ukraine, you say? Yes, I'm going back for the summer to do research for my M.A. thesis on communicative language teaching in Ukrainian schools. I'll be in Balaklia for the first month or so, I expect, with possible short trips for data collection, and then will be at Ivan Franko University in L'viv from early June through almost the end of July for Ukrainian language study through the University of Kansas. Then one week at the end, which might be wrapping up data collection, going back to Balaklia, or heading down to the Black Sea...it's a play-it-by-ear week.
I'm excited, albeit a bit nervous tonight. I loved Ukraine and my life there when I was there as a PCV, and leaving was hard. I always thought I'd go back, but a few years later down the line, not a year and a half later. (And I also thought I'd be paying for more of it...being mostly funded is nice.) Ukraine has changed. My friends there have changed. And I've changed, too.
But overall, I think it will be good. I'm looking forward to the chance to do research on a topic I'm interested in (and simply to get to try out all the research techniques I've been learning about this semester). I'm looking forward to seeing all my friends again (I'm staying with the Yukhymetses for the first month! Andrey and Ira just had a baby girl, Yanna!). I'm looking forward to studying Ukrainian again...and simply just to speak it on a regular basis. And I'm looking forward to whatever else God has in store for me. He's provided for me abundantly in so many ways over the last year and a half, and this is at the top of the list.
~*~
For the record, I think I have just finished the busiest semester of my life. Note to self: do not take on a double teaching load in your practicum class, a PhD level research methods course, and a seminar with a lot of reading in which you decide to do a research option all at once. Especially not when planning a trip overseas. To add to that, housing and employment for the fall were both in flux for quite some time, and employment is not yet resolved. I'm sort of looking forward to being on the plane tomorrow, because I won't have things I should be doing.
~*~
Saw the new Star Trek movie with the game night crew and Brandi's family tonight. Greatly enjoyed it, although I'm more familiar with the Next Generation series than the original. We may possibly have been the geekiest group there.
~*~
I should follow Lisa's advice--"Go to bed, Sally." It's 10:30 now, and I need to get up at 4 a.m.
Ukraine, you say? Yes, I'm going back for the summer to do research for my M.A. thesis on communicative language teaching in Ukrainian schools. I'll be in Balaklia for the first month or so, I expect, with possible short trips for data collection, and then will be at Ivan Franko University in L'viv from early June through almost the end of July for Ukrainian language study through the University of Kansas. Then one week at the end, which might be wrapping up data collection, going back to Balaklia, or heading down to the Black Sea...it's a play-it-by-ear week.
I'm excited, albeit a bit nervous tonight. I loved Ukraine and my life there when I was there as a PCV, and leaving was hard. I always thought I'd go back, but a few years later down the line, not a year and a half later. (And I also thought I'd be paying for more of it...being mostly funded is nice.) Ukraine has changed. My friends there have changed. And I've changed, too.
But overall, I think it will be good. I'm looking forward to the chance to do research on a topic I'm interested in (and simply to get to try out all the research techniques I've been learning about this semester). I'm looking forward to seeing all my friends again (I'm staying with the Yukhymetses for the first month! Andrey and Ira just had a baby girl, Yanna!). I'm looking forward to studying Ukrainian again...and simply just to speak it on a regular basis. And I'm looking forward to whatever else God has in store for me. He's provided for me abundantly in so many ways over the last year and a half, and this is at the top of the list.
~*~
For the record, I think I have just finished the busiest semester of my life. Note to self: do not take on a double teaching load in your practicum class, a PhD level research methods course, and a seminar with a lot of reading in which you decide to do a research option all at once. Especially not when planning a trip overseas. To add to that, housing and employment for the fall were both in flux for quite some time, and employment is not yet resolved. I'm sort of looking forward to being on the plane tomorrow, because I won't have things I should be doing.
~*~
Saw the new Star Trek movie with the game night crew and Brandi's family tonight. Greatly enjoyed it, although I'm more familiar with the Next Generation series than the original. We may possibly have been the geekiest group there.
~*~
I should follow Lisa's advice--"Go to bed, Sally." It's 10:30 now, and I need to get up at 4 a.m.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
vindication
I had a really cool thing happen yesterday. Several, actually, including going out for Chinese food for a classmate's birthday, buying an inscribed copy of Madeleine L'Engle's poetry, and having a goofy, low-stress evening hanging out with Lisa as she snarked her way through a video game and I alternately read articles for the lit review I have to write and snarked along with her. Oh, and the random tour bus that was parked in front of our apartment for several hours. We never quite figured out why.
But the thing that made me decide to blog wasn't any of those things. I've been on http://www.vkontake.ru/ for a couple of weeks now--it's an equivalent to Facebook for Russian/Ukrainian speakers. Another RPCV had let me know about it, and I've enjoyed seeing what some of the people I knew in Ukraine are up to. Well, yesterday, I had a friend request from Firyuza, one of my former students.
Firyuza was one of the best students I've taught. She was one of the very few people I could count on to do their homework, and she was a regular at my English clubs. Her family moved into my apartment building partway through my time in Balaklia, and she and I would often walk home together, having simple conversations in English and playing word games like "I Spy" and "Think of a word that starts with the last letter of the previous word" in English. She was also had a quick temper and could be a bit moody--I remember an "open lesson" for the rayon teachers where I gave both her and another student the same high mark. She felt that she'd done better than the other student and that my grades should have reflected that, told me I could go ahead and give her a failing grade, and stormed off. Nelya and I didn't always agree about her--Firyuza is Tajikistani, and Nelya felt that she often showed "uncultured" characteristics of Tajik village people (Nelya spent several years in Tajkistan), but no one could argue that she wasn't a good student. (Firuyza's family are Muslims, the only ones I knew in Balaklia. Interestingly enough, her brother, Faridun, was friends with Vitaly Yukhymets, which made me wonder if it was because they both weren't Orthodox.)
Anyhow, when I looked at Firyuza's profile, I saw that after she finished 9th form last spring, she had transferred to the junior college in Balaklia and is now studying to be a translator (I assume of English, although it might also be German). I'm beyond thrilled. I loved my time in Ukraine and occasionally felt like I was making some small differences in regard to how people perceived Americans, but I was never sure if I made any difference as an English teacher. I figured at best, maybe some of my kids would realize that there were different ways to teach, that my educational effectiveness had more to do with helping them see English as fun than with actually learning anything. And now I found out that one of my students has decided to go into a language-related professon. As I said, I'm thrilled. It's a tiny vindication that yes, I probably helped inspire someone. And that makes all the days when I got so frustrated with the kids who didn't care worthwhile.
But the thing that made me decide to blog wasn't any of those things. I've been on http://www.vkontake.ru/ for a couple of weeks now--it's an equivalent to Facebook for Russian/Ukrainian speakers. Another RPCV had let me know about it, and I've enjoyed seeing what some of the people I knew in Ukraine are up to. Well, yesterday, I had a friend request from Firyuza, one of my former students.
Firyuza was one of the best students I've taught. She was one of the very few people I could count on to do their homework, and she was a regular at my English clubs. Her family moved into my apartment building partway through my time in Balaklia, and she and I would often walk home together, having simple conversations in English and playing word games like "I Spy" and "Think of a word that starts with the last letter of the previous word" in English. She was also had a quick temper and could be a bit moody--I remember an "open lesson" for the rayon teachers where I gave both her and another student the same high mark. She felt that she'd done better than the other student and that my grades should have reflected that, told me I could go ahead and give her a failing grade, and stormed off. Nelya and I didn't always agree about her--Firyuza is Tajikistani, and Nelya felt that she often showed "uncultured" characteristics of Tajik village people (Nelya spent several years in Tajkistan), but no one could argue that she wasn't a good student. (Firuyza's family are Muslims, the only ones I knew in Balaklia. Interestingly enough, her brother, Faridun, was friends with Vitaly Yukhymets, which made me wonder if it was because they both weren't Orthodox.)
Anyhow, when I looked at Firyuza's profile, I saw that after she finished 9th form last spring, she had transferred to the junior college in Balaklia and is now studying to be a translator (I assume of English, although it might also be German). I'm beyond thrilled. I loved my time in Ukraine and occasionally felt like I was making some small differences in regard to how people perceived Americans, but I was never sure if I made any difference as an English teacher. I figured at best, maybe some of my kids would realize that there were different ways to teach, that my educational effectiveness had more to do with helping them see English as fun than with actually learning anything. And now I found out that one of my students has decided to go into a language-related professon. As I said, I'm thrilled. It's a tiny vindication that yes, I probably helped inspire someone. And that makes all the days when I got so frustrated with the kids who didn't care worthwhile.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
settling in
Random little bits:
I found a frame for one of my oddly-dimensioned pictures from Ukraine. Granted, it has no glass, no back, no hook, and is the wrong color, but the dimensions are right. And all of those other things can be fixed.
Fruits Basket rocks. Both the manga and the anime. Yay for roommate bonding and Kyo-hugging. (What do you mean, he's just a stuffed toy? That's just what you think...)
I had tofu for supper. I don't think I'd ever had tofu before. While it doesn't make the top 10 list of best foods I've ever had in my life, it was pretty good.
As I start a new phase of life as a grad student at MSU, I'm going to try to become more organized, eat healthier, and exercise more. We'll see how this goes, but I'm hopeful. I mean, it has to be easier to make lifestyle changes when you're making other lifestyle changes, right? (That sentence apparently doesn't make as much sense typed out as it did in my head.)
I found a frame for one of my oddly-dimensioned pictures from Ukraine. Granted, it has no glass, no back, no hook, and is the wrong color, but the dimensions are right. And all of those other things can be fixed.
Fruits Basket rocks. Both the manga and the anime. Yay for roommate bonding and Kyo-hugging. (What do you mean, he's just a stuffed toy? That's just what you think...)
I had tofu for supper. I don't think I'd ever had tofu before. While it doesn't make the top 10 list of best foods I've ever had in my life, it was pretty good.
As I start a new phase of life as a grad student at MSU, I'm going to try to become more organized, eat healthier, and exercise more. We'll see how this goes, but I'm hopeful. I mean, it has to be easier to make lifestyle changes when you're making other lifestyle changes, right? (That sentence apparently doesn't make as much sense typed out as it did in my head.)
Saturday, July 5, 2008
the unanswerable question
Yesterday I went to a 4th of July barbeque hosted by a woman from First Wesleyan Church in Ypsilanti, where I've been attending this summer. She had also invited the new pastor and his wife, so since out of all the people I didn't know there, they were the ones I had the most connection to, I sat with them.
Knowing that I'm only here for the summer, Pastor Brent asked, "So where do you normally live?"
I started to laugh, as this is currently an unanswerable question. I don't "normally" live anywhere. Lakeview? Well, that's where I lived right before moving here, but it was only for a few months and not where I'll be for the forseeable future. The Lansing area? That'll be the answer in a couple of months, but I haven't lived there in close to three years. Ukraine? Oddly enough, it almost feels like the right answer, except that as far as I know, I'm not going to be living there again.
So I tried to explain the past few years of my life to Pastor Brent, who then said, "Oh, you're a vagabond."
"Well, sort of..." I replied, "except that I put down roots wherever I live..."
Knowing that I'm only here for the summer, Pastor Brent asked, "So where do you normally live?"
I started to laugh, as this is currently an unanswerable question. I don't "normally" live anywhere. Lakeview? Well, that's where I lived right before moving here, but it was only for a few months and not where I'll be for the forseeable future. The Lansing area? That'll be the answer in a couple of months, but I haven't lived there in close to three years. Ukraine? Oddly enough, it almost feels like the right answer, except that as far as I know, I'm not going to be living there again.
So I tried to explain the past few years of my life to Pastor Brent, who then said, "Oh, you're a vagabond."
"Well, sort of..." I replied, "except that I put down roots wherever I live..."
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
oops, getting behind on posting
Oh, wow...it's been a week already since my last post! Let's see...what is there of note to mention?
* As of tonight, I officially have my apartment furnished, as Nikki and I hauled the futon upstairs and the couch downstairs. Forget "Two Men and a Truck"--two petite females proved that they're tougher than they look! I now hope to sort of get my living room put together and decorated. My chairs are fascinating and varied--a wooden folding chair, a very nice computer chair, a wooden stool, and a lopsided wicker chair I rescued off of the sidewalk this past weekend.
* I have a library card for the Ann Arbor Library. Besides books and movies, apparently you can check out art prints for a month or two. Maybe I should look into that for decorating.
* Reina, the little girl who just screamed and screamed the first few times in class, is fine now. Today she came in smiling, said "Hello," waved to her mom and said, "Bye-bye," and settled down to her art project. Her mom said that she gets all excited about coming to class. Yay!
* UMBC sent me a letter this week to tell me that I was accepted to the Bilingual Ed/ESOL MA program. I emailed them back in March to say I was withdrawing my application, but apparently some wires got crossed there. However, they apparently weren't going to give me any funding other than loans, so I think I'm much better off at MSU.
* After some emailing around, I have a Ukrainian conversation partner/tutor for the summer! Her name is Svitlana, and she's a student at Eastern Michigan who was originally from Ternopilska Oblast (not far from Celeste, actually). We met for the first time last night, and it was so much fun to be speaking Ukrainian again. With a job transcribing videos of Ukrainian classrooms this fall, I wanted to keep up with my language skills, so this seemed like a great opportunity.
* As of tonight, I officially have my apartment furnished, as Nikki and I hauled the futon upstairs and the couch downstairs. Forget "Two Men and a Truck"--two petite females proved that they're tougher than they look! I now hope to sort of get my living room put together and decorated. My chairs are fascinating and varied--a wooden folding chair, a very nice computer chair, a wooden stool, and a lopsided wicker chair I rescued off of the sidewalk this past weekend.
* I have a library card for the Ann Arbor Library. Besides books and movies, apparently you can check out art prints for a month or two. Maybe I should look into that for decorating.
* Reina, the little girl who just screamed and screamed the first few times in class, is fine now. Today she came in smiling, said "Hello," waved to her mom and said, "Bye-bye," and settled down to her art project. Her mom said that she gets all excited about coming to class. Yay!
* UMBC sent me a letter this week to tell me that I was accepted to the Bilingual Ed/ESOL MA program. I emailed them back in March to say I was withdrawing my application, but apparently some wires got crossed there. However, they apparently weren't going to give me any funding other than loans, so I think I'm much better off at MSU.
* After some emailing around, I have a Ukrainian conversation partner/tutor for the summer! Her name is Svitlana, and she's a student at Eastern Michigan who was originally from Ternopilska Oblast (not far from Celeste, actually). We met for the first time last night, and it was so much fun to be speaking Ukrainian again. With a job transcribing videos of Ukrainian classrooms this fall, I wanted to keep up with my language skills, so this seemed like a great opportunity.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Barack Obama on Ukraine
I've been on a voracious reading kick lately, primarily non-fiction. The last couple of days I've been reading Barack Obama's The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream, which contains his views on American politics. It's been a good read, and probably deserves its own post with my reactions to it, but that will have to wait until I've processed my thoughts a bit more.
However, there was a hilarious passage about a trip he took to Ukraine as a senator in 2005 that I want to share with you. At least, hilarious to anyone who's been in Ukraine for any length of time... (I should also mention that a meal he had in Russia consisted of borscht, vodka, potato stew, and a "deeply troubling fish Jell-O mold." I didn't know that kholodets had a fish version...)
However, there was a hilarious passage about a trip he took to Ukraine as a senator in 2005 that I want to share with you. At least, hilarious to anyone who's been in Ukraine for any length of time... (I should also mention that a meal he had in Russia consisted of borscht, vodka, potato stew, and a "deeply troubling fish Jell-O mold." I didn't know that kholodets had a fish version...)
And in a quiet, residential neighborhood of Kiev, we received a tour of the Ukraine's version of the Centers for Disease Control, a modest three-story facility that looked like a high school science lab. At one point during our tour, after seeing windows open for lack of air-conditioning and metal strips crudely bolted to door jambs to keep out mice, we were guided to a small freezer secured by nothing more than a seal of string. A middle-aged woman in a lab coat and surgical mask pulled a few test tubes from the freezer, waving them around a foot from my face and saying something in Ukrainian.
"That is anthrax," the translator explained, pointing to the vial in the woman's right hand. "That one," he said, pointing to the one in the left hand, "is the plague."
I looked behind me and noticed Lugar [another senator] standing toward the back of the room.
"You don't want a closer look, Dick?" I asked, taking a few steps back myself.
"Been there, done that," he said with a smile.
Monday, March 3, 2008
nadiya yea (there is hope)
I'm posting from my house!!! The roads were icy today and I didn't really feel like driving into town to use the library (which may or may not be open) to email in my newspaper article, so after much trial and error, Dad and I managed to hook my laptop up to our dial-up connection. It's not the fastest connection, but it's faster on my computer than my parents', and I can access Blogger and don't have to deal with flash drives.
In other news, I'm tired of winter, have been rearranging my room a bit, don't know what I'm doing or where I'm living this summer (but it's probably not here, as my primary source of income around here ends when school gets out, and I'd relocate sooner if I found something better), and there's a chance that if I go to MSU this fall, I could get a job transcribing data in Ukrainian for a professor in the department I'd be in.
In other news, I'm tired of winter, have been rearranging my room a bit, don't know what I'm doing or where I'm living this summer (but it's probably not here, as my primary source of income around here ends when school gets out, and I'd relocate sooner if I found something better), and there's a chance that if I go to MSU this fall, I could get a job transcribing data in Ukrainian for a professor in the department I'd be in.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
brrr
It's cold here in Michigan.
The job search continues, with various amusing suggestions from friends and acquaintances--everything from teaching at a Bible college in Kentucky to becoming a sports writer for the local paper. I've submitted my paperwork to sub at local schools, have two days scheduled next week to sub at the Christian school connected to my parents' church (my church, I suppose, now that I'm living here again), and another potential job that I'm not going into details about here because the family consensus was that one of my readers would think it highly entertaining if they found out in some other fashion. (Yes, it's legal.)
On the grad school front, I found out yesterday that I've been accepted to MSU's MATESOL program for the fall. I'm not making any decisions yet, as I haven't heard from UMBC and won't find out if I have a TA position at MSU until March, but it's great to know! I'm hoping to visit the department next month when I'm down for some Quiz Bowl stuff, so that should be good.
I've recently found Ukrainian-themed scrapbook paper online, so I hope to start working on my Peace Corps scrapbook soon. Maybe that will help organize all the piles of stuff I have around my desk.
On the subject of Ukraine, here's a good article about evangelicalism in Ukraine from Christianity Today.
Also on the subject of Ukraine, I made the mistake of listening to some of my Russian hymns last night and I got really really homesick. I guess it's part of the readjustment process, but it stinks. If I don't listen to my music and watch my DVDs (which I can't do right now because my disk drive won't open), I'll forget my language. But when I do, I just really start to remember how much I loved Ukraine and how much I miss it.
It's really cold these days. At least here, I don't have to walk everywhere like I would in Ukraine.
The job search continues, with various amusing suggestions from friends and acquaintances--everything from teaching at a Bible college in Kentucky to becoming a sports writer for the local paper. I've submitted my paperwork to sub at local schools, have two days scheduled next week to sub at the Christian school connected to my parents' church (my church, I suppose, now that I'm living here again), and another potential job that I'm not going into details about here because the family consensus was that one of my readers would think it highly entertaining if they found out in some other fashion. (Yes, it's legal.)
On the grad school front, I found out yesterday that I've been accepted to MSU's MATESOL program for the fall. I'm not making any decisions yet, as I haven't heard from UMBC and won't find out if I have a TA position at MSU until March, but it's great to know! I'm hoping to visit the department next month when I'm down for some Quiz Bowl stuff, so that should be good.
I've recently found Ukrainian-themed scrapbook paper online, so I hope to start working on my Peace Corps scrapbook soon. Maybe that will help organize all the piles of stuff I have around my desk.
On the subject of Ukraine, here's a good article about evangelicalism in Ukraine from Christianity Today.
Also on the subject of Ukraine, I made the mistake of listening to some of my Russian hymns last night and I got really really homesick. I guess it's part of the readjustment process, but it stinks. If I don't listen to my music and watch my DVDs (which I can't do right now because my disk drive won't open), I'll forget my language. But when I do, I just really start to remember how much I loved Ukraine and how much I miss it.
It's really cold these days. At least here, I don't have to walk everywhere like I would in Ukraine.
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