Счастливого Рождества и Нового Года

7 January 2011
Hello Everyone!


Ukraine follows the orthodox religious calendar so today is Christmas Day.  Lucky me as I have had two Christmases this season- December 25 in London and now today, January 7 in Luhansk.


To celebrate, I was asked to come to the local Swim and Diving Club Christmas celebration this morning.  One of my Peace Corps pals here in Luhansk has started an English Club with the young diving team and so the diving team members asked us to join in the holiday celebration.  I hope you enjoy the photos below- This was a very fun morning, the synchronized swimming was interesting, the divers were great, and the "relay races" for entertainment were hilarious.

Here is Grandfather Frost (дедушка мороз) and his grand daughter (the blue coat).  Grandfather Frost goes everywhere with his granddaughter.    The pair welcomed all the families and friends to the festivities.
The Municipal Swimming pool- to the right- was decorated for the holidays.  The tree was decorated with garlands and hanging from the ceiling!

 

The Synchronized Swimming team began the festivities.  

I loved the Spider"girl" suits.  And just like home, there were lots of young cheerleaders "cheering" on the participants and the spectators.

 The Diving team performed several fun "numbers".  Grandfather Frost's elves did acrobatics on the platform diving boards.   

 

And then the synchronized divers performed from the lower "springboards" and also from the three high platforms.  

Then, the the diving team positioned themselves around the deep end of the pool and across the diving platforms and dressed as Pirates and Captain Hook,  and did a synchronized "dive in" or "A walk the plank"  to the "Chicken Dance".  For those of you who do not know the Chicken Dance, it is a group dance- with silly antics and then Dosey-Doing ala Square Dancing.  It was good fun to watch the children diving in "rhythm"!

And the grand finale had swimmers with candles and then fireworks!  

 Below are a few of the young divers!

And it would not be a party without a Champagne Toast!  

Other items of GREAT INTEREST......
Q1.  Mom-- do you really braid your hair now?????
A2.  Yes-- I can braid my hair now -  I have to in order to keep it in place.  


Q2.  Is it really cold over here?  
A2.  Yes, it's cold NOW - -10 Celsius (14 Farenheit).   I now sleep with my window closed. And the last time I wore this many clothes, I was skiing in Utah.


Q3.  Is there lots of snow in Luhansk?
A3.  No, we do not have lots of snow in Luhansk.  I think my family in Boston and in New York have more snow that I do.  BUT as I type it is snowing.


Q4.  Is it hard to walk around in winter?
A4.  YES.  We had rain last week, and sleet-- about +1 C (33 F) and then at night the rain turned to ice.  I have a new dance I will patent when I come home.. "The Ice Shuffle".  Thanks goodness I have Yak Trax (studded chains -- Like snow tires for shoes) and my walking stick.  See photo of the sidewalks in front of my flat.


Q5.  When do I return to work- considering I have been celebrating the Holidays since Dec. 23 when I left for London?  
A5.  I will be back at work on Monday, Jan. 10.  


On the note of work, my organization wrote an article about having a Peace Corps Volunteer and what it means for them.  I am attaching the link so that you can read it. 
http://www.ami-cxid.org.ua/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=285
I am very flattered and very honored.  


We have lots of work to do together for 2011.  If you read the article from my organization's web page, you will see why English and especially, business and communication English are requested everywhere in Ukraine.  Students must take two foreign languages in school; most choose German and English.  Classes are not taught by "native speakers"  whih explains why so many "TOEFL"  - Teachers of English as a Foreign Language" are here in Ukraine.


I start English classes with my organization on Monday, Jan. 10 when I return to work!


All the best to everyone.  I hope that 2011 is a wonderful year for all of us.  


Come visit.


Caroline

Santa is Alive and Well in Ukraine

20 December 2010 

Happily Santa Claus and his elves are alive and well in Ukraine.  As you can see from the above photo, Santa's elves are enjoying a brief visit in my "Christmas" garden and admiring my Ukrainian ornaments.

The Christmas tree photo was taken at a local hotel where I attended a conference two weeks ago ( 5 Dec to 10 Dec).  

Just like home, the supermarkets, home supply centers and local bazaars have holiday merchandise for sale.  Even in Ukraine,  I can hear Johnny Mathis and Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire  and Bill Haley and the Comets with Jingle Bell Rock.. in English no less!

I took the photos of the Christmas crafts (above) at the Luhansk District Education Office.  All the local elementary students submitted crafts for display in the District Office.  Almost all the projects use "recycled stuff" for materials.

I am now "9"!

December has been a very busy month - starting with my birthday celebration- and in keeping with Ukrainian tradition, I had a dinner party for 15.  We toasted in Ukrainian tradition and I toasted the "absent members" as my family tradition.  I need to market the fireworks birthday candles in the USA.  These candles are spectacular!!


In addition to many parties, I have actually worked quite a lot this December.  I met with many of the local regional educational and rehabilitation services and the superintendent of the Luhansk school district.  The reason:  my organization has been advocating for inclusion of disabled children in the local schools. 

(Please note:  the embarrassing clothespin-

 which keeps the charging unit charging the computer--- 

will be a thing of the past when Santa brings my new laptop to London!)

My role during the last week of  meetings has been to show Ukrainian teachers and district administrators what has happened in American schools as a result of the Individual with Disabilities Education Act of 2004 (IDEA)--- inclusion in classrooms, the Individual Education Plan (IEP) and transition services for the disabled to independent living, employment, and community participation.

The television program moderator asked  me 1) if American school age children were afraid of the disabled children in the classroom (NO) and 2) if there actually are disabled children in the classroom (YES). 

I continue to do research for my presentations and  it is amazing what I am learning about our educational system- even with all our budget cuts. The fact that our classrooms are open and include children with special needs is fascinating to my Ukrainian counterparts. Our children in the US are very lucky when you compare our educational system to the educational system here.

Caroline showing off her
18-year old holiday Christmas lights necklace!

Several of my Peace Corps friends and I were asked to come to a University English Class and talk briefly about our American holiday traditions.  The students LOVEd my "December christmas lights necklaces" and my "December holiday socks."  I am very glad I packed a few fun holiday items from home to share.  Even my Santa hat is a big hit!  


My cooking club had an American-style cookie exchange to start the holiday season here.  The idea was a big hit - there were about 20 us, and 20 varieties of cookies.  And of course a Ukrainian toast or two!

Samples of the cookies from the Cookie Exchange.
WE WILL BE HAVING THIS AGAIN NEXT YEAR!
GREAT FUN!

I have learned that Ukrainians love to toast at family gatherings and special occasions:  The first toast is to family; the second toast is to health and the third toast is to love!  

And to add my family's traditional toast:

To all the absent members- 

to Family and to Friends -

where ever you are who cannot be with me this Christmas - 

May all of you enjoy your Christmas 

and New Year's Holidays with your families and your friends.  

I hope to see many of you in 2011!

Lots of love to everyone.

Caroline

More Interesting Facts

Luhansk City Hall at night

10 November 2010

Hello Everyone!

It is nice to know that some things do not change no matter where you live around the world.  Your washing machine or dryer will always eat something:  a sock, a wash cloth, underwear.  No matter where I have lived- Italy, Singapore, USA, Belgium and Ukraine - I can vouch for the truth of this!  Just today doing my laundry, I am missing one black sock.  I KNOW it was there at the start of the washing cycle.

More interesting facts:

1.  Ukrainians are like Hawaiians. You must remove your shoes before you come in the house.  I feel at home.

2.  A good plumber really adds to one's quality of life.  Considering I have flooded my downstairs neighbor's apartment TWICE, the pipes and "Rube Goldberg" construction in my remodeled flat leave a lot to be desired.  And of course, the international incident I created by flooding my downstairs neighbor's flat not once, but TWICE did not really help the  "get to know your neighbors" policy.  On the bright side, I did learn every Russian swear word that is not part of my Russian studies handbook.

3.  A good butcher is also essential for life in Ukraine.  There are LOTS of supermarkets, but as I have learned the quality control on meat products is not quite up to the USDA.  Thanks to my Ukrainian cooking club friends, I have found great butchers.  Each one has a specialty-- Pork, Beef, Veal, Lamb, Poultry. I can even find a whole turkey for Thanksgiving.  LUCKY ME.

4.  Children on a school field trip are the same no matter where in the world.  I ran into a class going to local history museum today and the entire class had more fun climbing all over the canon rather than standing in line to go inside!

Museum Field trip - The canon is cool!

The class checked out the canon!

5.  Cars decorated for weddings are also universal- Stretch limos to hot-rods with flames!

6.  There is always an abundance of "not-quite English" sayings on shirts, trousers or posters!

"Babiy Boom" Poster

Sort of    "Smile- Got Milk?

7.  You never know what hides behind a tree until all the leaves fall off!  I have walked by this park every day since July and I had NO CLUE the plane was hiding behind the trees!  I am sure my aviator pals can tell me the make and model of the plane.

Interesting playground structure!!!

The entire plane, propellers and all, was hidden behind the trees!!!

8.  Artisans are everywhere.  The cat in the tree is made entirely of PLASTIC FORKS!

9.  There is always a silly statue somewhere that reminds me of my friends.

10.  The Thanksgiving holiday approaches.  Thanksgiving is not a holiday here, but 14 of my Peace Corps buddies will be here in Luhansk for the weekend and we will have our feast on Saturday, Nov. 27.  Almost everything we need is available  here in Luhansk to have the traditional feast!

Chocolate - a requirement- is definitely available!

I will be thinking of everyone on Thursday, Nov. 25 as I am so thankful to my family and my friends.  So many have sent me letters, emails, photos, surprise boxes, and talked with me via Skype.  

Thank you all.

Caroline

The Blog Author