August 2011
August was a bit of a jumble of activities - ranging from working at the English Refresher camp for
teachers in Uzhgorod, to celebrating Ukraine’s Independence Day, to English Club meetings in the park.
Uzhgorod
You may recall that this is where Megan and I went for a weekend in May to help with planning for the
English Refresher camp for teachers. And now, once again, we were housed in an apartment with other
PCVs there to work at the camp.
Camp started on Monday, 15 August, and we arrived the prior Saturday in order to meet the other PCVs
and to help with preparations. The activities were held at a school in Uzhgorod, right beside the river
and in the downtown area, which made it nicely convenient to coffee shops, a marvelous chocolate shop,
the plaza with a shawarma shop, and the cafeteria where we went for lunch.
Imagine an auditorium filling - only in two of the three seating areas - with excited, nervous campers all of whom were English teachers. Really, except for their age, you would have thought they were
teenagers - such typical behavior to being in a new setting, not knowing quite what to expect.
Introductions were made, registration was completed, groups were assigned, ice breaker activities were
completed, and one session of elective classes was conducted.
The typical schedule for Tuesday through Thursday was having a morning staff meeting, morning
announcements for all, a one hour methodology session for each group - that being communicative
teaching, classroom management best practices, student engagement methods, & classroom challenges;
a 30 minute coffee break (quick, get to the café), a one hour elective - active skills and grammar session,
an hour for lunch, a one hour elective - passive skills and grammar session, and a one hour elective
session. My responsibility - help out wherever needed, present ideas for reading and following
instructions (passive activity) based on recipes and making paper airplanes, and present an active session
on speed dating. Other active skills sessions included debate and pronunciation; passive skills sessions
included reading poetry and listening to American music; elective sessions included American culture,
art in the classroom, and line dancing - the latter being a major hit.
To wrap up on Friday there was a competition. It’s not really a good Ukrainian camp unless there’s
some kind of competition. This went well, followed by the handing out of certificates (always necessary
in Ukraine - and that they be signed and stamped).
The warm weather made comfortable sleeping somewhat of a challenge, but that really was the only
downside to the week. Even the rainy day wasn’t much of a problem since the activities all took place
inside the school - and while Megan and I trekked to the train station to exchange tickets that day, it only
rained while we were inside the station, of course taking us some time to determine which kasa window
was the correct one for doing exchanges.
Highlights in Uzhgorod included the Mrs. Greenwich coffee shop and its delicious pastries, the Lviv
Chocolate Shop, beautiful paprika in the bazaar (evidence of the proximity to Hungary), playing
Bananagrams, and having the opportunity to meet other PCVs and some delightful and talented
Ukrainian teachers of English. I also attended a Rotary meeting - my first since being in Ukraine The content of this page in no way reflects official PC policies or programs or those of the governments of Ukraine or the United States. It
is solely my own interpretation of my experiences. JM
which turned out to be a birthday celebration for one of the members, a number of whom spoke English.
And the overnight train back to Chernivtsi had some beautiful moments - watching a lovely sunset in the
foothills of the Carpathian Mountains and, since we were in the very last car of about 30, being able to
watch the train go around some good sized curves and also disappear into the tunnels in the mountains delightful!
24 August - Ukraine Independence Day (not to be confused with 28 June, Ukraine Constitution Day)
I knew the date for Independence Day here, and that it was a holiday when the rada office would be
closed. What I did not know was that there would be a celebration at the Fortress on the day before.
Last year, 2010, I was visiting friends in Vinnitsa during the Independence Day celebrations, so had not
participated in the Khotyn festivities before.
At about 9:30 on the morning of 23 August I was told it was time to go outdoors at the rada office.
Well, there was a microphone set up, the top elected folks with their binders containing speeches, and
local groups dressed up in their folk tradition clothes. After the speeches and some songs, the majority
of those present set off to walk down to the Fortress. Was I invited along? Why hadn’t I worn
comfortable walking shoes? How long was this going to last?
I decided to join some of the School 5 teachers I’d gotten to know during summer camp in June - and
who speak English, and we trekked down to the Fortress together. Goodness - there were display booths
from the different villages in this rayon (county), many people - young and older - in traditional dress,
and an obvious place for performances. What fun!
One older woman made a point of seeking me out, wanting to introduce me to her granddaughter. This
young lady was with her parents - her mother was from Khotyn, her step-father was Italian, and they
were here for a visit from their home in Naples, Italy. She had very good English, and we had a
delightful chat.
About 1:30 I headed back to my apartment - after enjoying the dancing, singing, food, chats with friends
- all typical components of a Ukrainian celebration.
The Apples of August
Ah, Ukrainian apples - plentiful (especially this year) and tasty.
I actually discovered that Gravensteins, which my mother always liked for making pies and applesauce,
and which also come into season in New England in August, are common in Ukraine and Russia.
Apparently the weather this spring and summer made for fortuitous apple growing conditions, and we
were blessed with loads of these and other varieties at bazaar - one kilo (2.2 pounds) for 4 hriven (50
cents). Lucky me - literally another taste of home.
In Ukraine there’s even a celebration for apples - Apple Day - on 14 August. I was in Uzhgorod then
and did see blessing ceremonies at churches there. From what I could tell, apples and the harvest in
general were the basis for the blessings.
And here in Khotyn, the apple transfer facility near my apartment went into full swing in August. Local
growers bring their truckloads of apples to the facility, where the middleman buys them and then loads
The content of this page in no way reflects official PC policies or programs or those of the governments of Ukraine or the United States. It
is solely my own interpretation of my experiences. JM
even larger trucks to take the apples to a juice factory (I couldn’t quite figure out where that is). How
did I know the facility was operating - the gentle rumbling as the apples went along a conveyor belt up
to a chute then dropped down into the truck. For whatever reasons, the Khotyn facility, which started
out as a cheese factory and was later an apple juice factory, only operates during apple season and only
as a transfer point. This year, with the bountiful apple harvest, it did operate from August until
November - rumble, rumble, rumble - I woke up to it and went to sleep to it.
Jewish history connection
I’d known there was a Jewish cemetery in Khotyn, but had been unsuccessful in finding it. And then I
saw mention of it in an op ed piece in The New York Times, of all places! (see attached) Stay tuned for
more about this saga …
A combination of events
Number one: When I returned to Khotyn from Uzhgorod, I encountered a very slow internet connection
in the rada office. Not a major problem, but certainly annoying because keeping up with e-mails and
news web sites were among my daily activities there. Remember, the only work I had at that office was
to look for grants for tourism, specifically for a paddle boat, and sporadically to do some translations
into English.
Number two: To take advantage of the weather, we usually had English Club meetings in the park - the
same park where we enjoyed beverages at the beer tent after summer camps in June, where the lovely
blue Russian Orthodox Church is a prominent feature, and where the Fortress Office is located, in a
building beside the church. English Club generally consisted of my answering questions about the
United States, asking the students what they had done recently, and playing Uno.
Number three: One afternoon at the end of August - actually 30 August - I was sitting on a park bench
with 3 of the high school girls in English club. A woman I recognized, but did not really know, came up
and asked to speak to me. With the translating help of the students, she explained that the Fortress
Director - in that building right there - would like to meet with me. OK - I had met the Director the
summer before and, of course, was curious about being summoned.
The next morning 2 of the students accompanied me to the Director’s office. Aha - there was a different
Director than the one I had met. Interesting. He explained that he had a 14 page document in Ukrainian
that he needed to have translated into good English, and the English teachers he had asked to help do
this were afraid to attempt it. He needed it by 20 September - could I do that? Sure - with the help of
the English Club students.
Whoa - time to get things moving. I went back to the rada office, explained that I needed a faster
internet connection to do a translation project for the Fortress Director, so I’d be working at my
apartment - and basically cleared out the few items I had there. Maybe not good form, but it was so
great to have something to do, I figured I’d deal with the consequences later. That afternoon the girls
and I got down to work.
The content of this page in no way reflects official PC policies or programs or those of the governments of Ukraine or the United States. It
is solely my own interpretation of my experiences. JM