April in a Photo

This photo says April to me. Ukraine is glowing and growing now, just like the warm colors in this photo and my little host brother Vanya who can now speak and call me and Logan тётя и дядя! 

Foot Punches to the Face*

Well, this just keeps happening--the end of the month shows up and I haven't updated my blog! All the pour souls just waiting at the edge of their seats to hear about the next in-school celebration and dance-a-thon, or the blonde vs. brunette Ukrainian beauty contest, or the time I didn't leave my apartment for 24 hours on the most beautiful day just because...I'll spare you from all the details of what I've been doing this month and just give you some highlights that are affecting my current mood on the last day of April which is slightly frustrated but hopeful. Is there a smiley for that?

1- I watched Edward Scissorhands (Едвард Руки Ножницы) in Russian and it still made me cry (and not because Russian is still giving me a foot punch to the face).

2- I have been studying Russian and whenever I feel OK about my progress, I leave the apartment and realize that I have a long way to go before I get there. But, I'll get there. Wherever there is. Maybe Brighton Beach?

3- I really like my new Ukrainian friends in Melitopol. They are so bright and funny and fun to be around and it makes me happy--especially on summery evenings conversing about Ukraine and all the uses of the word/expression "daayyyyumn" in the "English" language.

*Awesome quote from an awesome Ukrainian in response to, "Oh, she kicked him?":
"No, it was like a foot-punch to the face."

I have titled this blog Foot Punches to the Face so I never forget this phrase and to remind me to keep studying Russian!

Oh, I Keep Forgetting

I'm sad to say that my brain is not a good diary. The moth that's living up there is leaving little holes. So, before I forget everything, I've got to blog it out.  No more excuses. A lot has happened in the merry month of March. The bare bones of what I've been doing can be seen in the outline below, but if it's meat you're looking for, read on. And don't worry--there are lots of pictures! 

International Writing Contest through Peace Corps
English club at School 16

St. Patrick's Day in Konstantinovka

6 hour school concert

Lecture on gender roles at the local Pedagogical University

A visit from Zap's finest
A visit to Zap Our Visa's into Place

International Writing Contest through Peace Corps

Logan was the oblast coordinator for a writing contest sponsored by the Peace Corps. I proctored and judged the competition at my school and some of my school level winners are being passed on to the next level, so I'm excited. I gave my classes one lesson on creative writing before they participated in the contest and they were some of the best lessons so far. All in all, the contest was a lot of fun, but some students had a lot of difficulty tapping into their creative sides. It's my goal to help them do this over the next two years.

English Club at School 16

Thursdays are my craziest days. I have six lessons in a row and they are filled with ups and downs, but that's what makes being a secondary school teacher fun, right? Anyway, it keeps me on my feet and I'm grateful for that. Sometimes, I'll be walking down the hall to my next class and I'll hear a few "Hello Miss Kerries" from students that I (sometimes) don't even recognize because I do not have classes with them. I only teach the linguistic-track students so I don't usually get the chance to speak with the students who are on a different track (like economics, science...etc). But, some of them are just as eager to talk and practice their English so I decided to start an English club, with the help of my counterpart. It's for older students, 9th grade and above, and I had my first club meeting a few weeks ago. It was wonderful. After such a long day, I ended up staying about two and a half hours more just talking and listening. They even played music for me and sang! I love Thursday suprises!

My goal for the English club is as follows:

to improve listening, speaking, and writing skills

to talk about topics that matter to students

to help students go outside their individual experiences and learn new things based on their pupils' interests and talents. 

to provide an online forum for their words and ideas

In short, I want them to go outside the box and be creative. I want us all to teach each other new things, to take their skills and share them with the class. Maybe we'll throw all our skills and talents into a hat and learn something new at each meeting. I'm still working out the goals in my head. Next week, we're talking about food and I'm going to bring in some chocolate chip cookies!!!

St. Patrick's Day in Konstantinovka

I've been told that Konstantinovka (константиновка) is the biggest village in all of Europe. Wikipedia did not tell me this (so I don't know if it's true or not) but the sky definitely feels bigger there. As we left our fellow Peace Corps Volunteer's house in the evening, the stars were shining and I remembered what it was like to see stars! Maybe I haven't been looking up enough lately. Anyway, my St. Patty's day was filled with peeling potatoes and carrots, making stew, drinking Guiness, hanging with good friends, and an Irish ditty on the ukulele while waiting for the bus to take us back to Melitopol.

I'm a Leprechaun!

St. Patty's Bunch

6 hour school concert

I sat and watched a 6 hour long event. Each class at school 16 presented on different culture topics while a panel of judges chose the winners. 6 hours. I didn't leave the assembly hall once. I said to myself, if the panel of judges can do it, so can I...and I'm still alive. Some of the older forms did presentations on Cyprus,  Japan, Australia...accompanied by dancing, singing, and powerpoint presentations.

Lecture on Gender Roles at the Pedagogical University

This was a really great, yet difficult day at a local University. When I first arrived in Ukraine, life here didn't seem that different, but just the history of Ukraine alone has paved a different path for its citizens and this has created complex roles that I try every day to understand. I know we have common threads that hold us together, but the differences are what define people as a culture. Things here are different here in Ukraine and I truly felt this when Cynden and I gave a lesson on gender roles, stereotypes, and breaking "out of the boxes" that "society" puts us in. It was two American go getter gals up against 50 Ukrainian women with different ideas of gender roles, different traditions, different histories. It was a challenge, and although we had our differences, the students liked the lecture and welcomed us back to give another in the not-so-distant future.

This is not at the Pedagogical University, but at School # 5, where Cynden had a leadership seminar.

A visit from Zap's finest

A weekend with good friends, pizza parties, Lenin statues, and talk about good ol' Melitopol honey and days to come.

We'll call her the Gorky guest who is supposed to be in charge of the playlist.

P-I-Z-Z-A...did I happen to say, "I want pizza?!"

A visit to Zap Our Visas into Place
Travelled to the Zap to apply for new Visas. I think everything is going smoothly with the whole process of getting new visas, thanks to my amazing regional manager, the Peace Corps, and my lovely counterpart.

Pinkish Haze All in My Brain

My dearest U.S. of A, why didn't you say anything to me about International Women's Day? You left it up to Wikipedia to tell me that it started on your soil and is now celebrated by women (and men) all over the world EXCEPT in the United States? I'm disappointed. I'm also disappointed that I didn't do some kind of

women's rights seminar or something. My woman's day was filled with dancing, bonding with my female colleagues, watching wonderful performances by my students at School 16, and watching some of the AFI's top 100 films "of all time." 

I have a confession to make, though--I used the fact that it was woman's day to not do something. I asked Logan to do all the shopping for dinner that night so I could relax and sit like any normal woman would sit on the couch. But, if I wasn't being so womanly on the couch, I wouldn't have missed an interesting site on the streets of Melitopol. Apparently, there was a pinkish haze, like a fog, hovering in the air. When I asked Logan what it smelled like, he said "It didn't smell right." Anyways, a few days later, a student of Logan's said that he wasn't feeling well because of a strange radiation cloud/sand/storm that hit the city. Yikes.

So, what do I get for abusing my womanly powers on woman's day? Well, I tell you what I don't get. I don't get to become the womanly mutant super hero of all our womanly dreams because I missed out on that pinkish haze. I haven't lost all hope, though. Let's just say my kids are going to be awesome...and 10 times better than x-men.

Moldovan Valentine Wine

On Valentines Day, I traveled to Kiev and Moldova with a number of Peace Corps Volunteers to take the first step towards fixing our Ukrainian Visas. After 22 train hours and 28 bus hours, I was back in my little city of Melitopol.  Here are some pictures and a few words about my Moldovan adventure.
I should have posted these a while ago so things could have been fresh in my mind. I was lazy and I'm still lazy now because it's middle March and so many things have happened that I haven't written about. I'll try to recap things in my next post. But y'all know you like looking at pictures!

Finally, after sleeping a bit on the bus, I woke up, took a quick classic (and obligatory) shot of my fellow sleeping bus riders, and looked out the window to admire the rolling hills and sparkling snow in Moldova.

History Museum of Moldova: Doors to World War II.

History Museum of Moldova: Logan's War

History Museum of Moldova: Battle Scene

St. Volodomir Cathedral: Swept Steps

St. Volodomir Cathedral: Frankincense and Light

St. Volodomir Cathedral: Admiration

St. Volodomir Cathedral: Frankincense II  

Placinta (Meat Pie) and Vareniky in Moldova.

     

Me, as a red-headed well-balanced Moldovan Wine.

Man trapped in wine bottle. SOS. 

Back to the Zap

I forgot to post pictures of my day in Zaporozhye, filled with hanging with friends, making cookies, riding busses, walking both aimlessly and with aim, and feeling more ambiguous than most days. The Zap is about an hour-and-a-half away from Melitopol, by bus. Below are some photos. I'll be heading back to Zap on Monday, as I make my way to Moldova with some other volunteers to fix our visas. I'll write about my Moldovan Valentine when I return!

Fire breathing dragon approaching the grey winter in Zap.

Logan helping me make cookies for Rachel's bday treat.

First wet, then dry. Look at those bright beautiful eggs! I forgot to take a picture of the finished (delicious) product mainly because cookies are meant to be eaten and, in my opinion, quickly.

It does exist. Now that's a creepy king.

Lover's Lane 

"I'm by the statue. You know, the one with the head."-Me. This guy's looking towards Moscow.

Finally, A Look That Fits Me!

I have three different pairs of glasses to alternate wearing when I want to convey a different kind of teacher. I have sleek glasses for the serious, sophisticatedly sarcastic teacher. I go with the lavender glasses for the caring, soft, motherly look. My giant framed beasts are reserved for the fun creative teacher with just the right amount of quirk. Observe:

Another look I have been sporting is chalk all up on my body. What? It’s a fashion statement. And I like making it. Every day. Some teachers ask me if I still like teaching after some of the more rowdy classes and I always answer yes. Even when my all-black attire has multiple ill-placed chalk prints. I’ve got students pointing to different parts of my body all day long. “Miss Kerry, you have chalk on your—” I usually cut them off and say, “Yes, I know.” “I’m used to it.” “It’s OK.” “I’ll live!” Also, they don’t realize this, but I’m trying for the Yeti look, which is fitting because it’s so cold! 5 degrees Fahrenheit today.

My earlier classes were canceled due to “frostiness.” I have to go in for my fifth form class this afternoon. I think I’ll sport the fun creative teacher look today…mainly because I’m hoping my trusty frames will shield me from the wind which has the potential to freeze my face off. I’m not sure if I should go for the intimidating, Freddy Krueger burn face look, but hey, maybe I could make that work, too…