«Почта»

Автор: Дженнифер
Мне очень нравится почта на Подоле в Киеве. Она не очень далеко от моего дома. Мне можно гулять там. Я посылаю откритки, письма, и посылки от туда. Я тоже покупаю марки и иногда я посылаю подарки. Например, когда у кого-то из моей семы или у друга ден рождения, я могу купить что-то и послать. Девушка там мне помагает когда я посылаю посылки в Америку. Она мне даёт листок бумага для адреса и мне продаёт ящик. Больше всего, я люблю почту потому что я покупаю марки. Можно купить только одну или много. Я всегда покупаю только одну или две. Я не покупаю конверты на почте. Я предпочетаю купить их в магазине. Один час в день, почта закрыта на обед. Но она открыта ежедневно кроме не воскресенья.
*********************
This is my first (very short) essay in Russian - really! See my tutor, Nina, holding my precious work after her corrections. Can you guess what it is about? Below you will find my translation:

"The Post Office"

Author: Jennifer

I really like the post office in Podil (my neighborhood) in Kyiv. It's not very far from my home. I can walk there. I send postcards, letters, and parcels from there. I also buy stamps and sometimes I send gifts. For example, when someone in my family or a friend has a birthday, I can buy something and send it. A woman there helps me when I send parcels to America. She gives me the piece of paper for the address and sells me a box. Most of all, I like the post office because I buy stamps. You can buy only one or many. I always buy only one or two. I don't buy envelopes at the post office. I prefer to buy them at a store. One hour a day, the post office is closed for lunch. But it is open every day except Sunday.

Mite-y Hospitable

OK, there's a double "entendre" in the title (gosh, I wish I could say that in Russian, or even Ukrainian for that matter)... so hold tight and it will be worth it. So, we are back from the 'way out west' and it was truly a 'red carpet' welcome. The teachers from the pedagogical university barely let us out of their sight not only organizing a great room for my presentations, but inviting us to a birthday bash (see feast photo), but also escorting us on excursions (in a van!) which included a trip to "Pochayiv Monastery" near "Kremenets" and the small town of "Zbarazh".

The main city of Ternopil is a great hideaway with a lot of potential for someone wanting to get away, be an artist, or just relax. There is a really picturesque church in the center, a lake, and many old buildings crying out for renovation. The first outing was to a famous monastery, about 90 minutes from Ternopil, called Pochayiv. It is Russian Orthodox in the middle of 'very Ukrainian' western Ukraine, however there are famous relics that people come from miles around to see... and bow over... and kiss. The first of these relics is an imprint of Mary's (yes, that Mary) foot. It was apparently found in the mountains, a cast was made and brought to the church. Also, there is a mummified saint (his hand is left out during a certain period for touching, but we were too late) , and a "miracle icon" of the Virgin and Child. It was a more intense experience than we anticipated.

First of all, Joe (knowing that men's heads are NOT to be covered and women's heads ARE to be covered) forgot to take of his knit cap as we were entering one of the churches. A man from across the floor ran toward him saying "something something shopka" reaching for his head. To quote Joe, "his cat-like reflexes" went into action whipping off his own cap before the "devotee" was able to. Not to mention, that before entering I had seen a woman who had just fainted. She was skinny as a rail with a green-blue tinge to her skin. I was really worried that she was, in fact, dying. I called someone to go back outside with me to call someone. But the woman that had been slapping her and throwing water in her face had managed to revive her. Whew... Well, the adventure continued with the monk who was skeptical about selling me holy water (you can buy it in plastic bottles with a souvenir label) and asked if I had been baptized. He finally accepted my 85 cents and sent me on my way. After our church visit, we were treated to, yes, more food at a charming restaurant in the small town of Kremenets.

On our second day, our guides (again, teachers from the university) were eager to treat us to a castle tour. It was great as this castle, in Zbarazh, is also a historical musuem - with many colorful textiles from the region. We then ate delicious wholesome food at a Garden Restaurant. The girls made sure we had souvenirs of Ternopil such as a hardback picture book and a flyer from the famous restaurant (which, I forgot to mention, was owned by the adjoining sugar beet factory). All the teachers met us at the train station to bid us farewell. It was very sweet. I was ready to get back to Kyiv and get back into our routine. But I didn't count on the dust mites.

Well, to make a long story short. We made our beds with the fresh sheets and pillow cases provided (actually the 2 dollar fee had been included in our train ticket price). We fell asleep in our tiny compartment (usually sleeping four, but we had paid for the whole compartment). This is a feat considering that these trains are pretty old, rickety, squeaky, bumpy, well ... you name it. At least they are dark and affordable. In the middle of the night I felt like I couldn't breathe very well. I didn't know what to think so lay very still hoping the pressure in my chest would go away. In the morning, breathing was ever-so-painful and I couldn't breathe deeply at all. I have never had asthma before... but I just know that's what I was experiencing.

When we got back to our apartment, Joe researched on the Internet and we were able to find out that many people are allergic to dust mites that live in "bedding and pillows". According to the Mayo Clinic Website: "Too small to see with the naked eye, dust mites thrive in warm, humid environments — eating dead skin cells and nesting in dust-collecting bedding, fabric, carpet and furnishings." Wikipedia goes on to say, "The... dust mite's partially digested food, and fecal matter, is one of the most significant sources of allergens, implicated in allergic asthma."

Now, two days later, I am starting to feel a bit better; it's easier to breathe and I don't feel so much pain in my lungs. I am happy to know what it was (see evil mite photo on Wikipedia)! I said it would be worth it (reference suspicious looking pillow in the photo). Now, I hope you get the title. Till we meet again...

Go West!

"Elope, Peter with Natalka" A folk painting by Fedir Pohorilyj
We will be heading by all night train to Ternopil (out west) next week. I'm going to give presentations on "How to Teach Presentation Skills" and "Error Correction: Breaking Bad Habits without Breaking Spirits". I can't help but think that it will look much like the folk art of the traditional Ukrainian folk tales out there. We will see. Apparently, the organizers are planning a trip around the area by car. Wow! a car! I can count the times I've been in a car (it's usually a taxi and the total is about 5) since I arrived here last September.

Anyhow, I'll leave you with a video of the Pet Shop Boys doing "Go West", a song that came out when we lived in Bulgaria (the first time we lived in Eastern Europe).

Marching On . . .

It's raining outside, not snowing. It also got up to 47 degrees today (Fahrenheit)! Is spring really here? Oddly, this time of year brings a "quarantine" of school age youth, which in turn, brings a sort of vacation for teachers. Let me explain the best I can... when the medical clinics have come to the conclusion that 30-50 % of the school age youth have the flu, the Health Minister is informed and the schools close down for a two-and-a-half-week quarantine. One teacher told me that although kids don't attend school (all classes are cancelled), teachers show up to "do planning and drink tea." I guess that may be one of the reasons that my workshops had high attendance and new faces this past week - teachers were free from some of their usual responsibilities. Apparently, some 'higher-up' has determined that the flu epidemic quarantine will be lifted next week... which conveniently dove-tails into Women's Day which is next Thursday (day off). So why go to work next week at all? I'm giving a presentation to Pre-Service teachers at the Pedagogical University on Tuesday, so we'll see how many 'students' show up.

And now for a bit of "shop talk" - something I try not to do too much of since my life is practically conSUMED by it! I started teaching a seminar course (every Thursday morning over the next 6 weeks) at the US Embassy. The topic is: Publishing & Presenting in TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language). The first day went great, and I love the group of teachers! They have great ideas, brought me flowers, and are very eager. We talked about submitting articles and presentation proposals, plagiarism, and teachers did demos of pre-writing, including free-writing, techniques - something they had never done but loved! Since we will meet only once a week, and a few of the teachers come from outside of Kyiv, I created an online community on a free website through www.nicenet.org
It's extremely cool and teachers can self enroll, make their own password, etc. It is very low tech, but that only works better for us as some of the computers can be quite slow. So we'll see if we can actually stimulate all to join and discuss online. I can also post homework and summaries of sessions on the webpage. I'm looking forward to my first experience conducting some distance education in conjunction with our traditional classroom activities.

Well, that's about it for now. до свидания! (dah-svidanya): Goodbye!