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Students line up in three teams to prepare for the Earth Day competition.

“My lyceum had a very unique way to celebrate Earth Day this year, which is why I’d like to nominate them for the Earth Day Network Environmental Award.  On April 21st, three teams of students (about 40 total) competed in an “igra-quest”  (игра-квест: game-quest) competition.  The competition consisted of a scavenger hunt around town.  When each team arrived at a destination, they had to complete a task before receiving the clue to send them on to their next location and task.  The tasks included composing a poem about Earth Day, making an art composition out of trash, sidewalk drawing with chalk, and picking up trash from a designated part of town (in the park, near a cafe/bar, behind the house of culture).  Additionally, each team of students came up with a little chant/cheer and all wore green ribbons or paper designs in honor of Earth Day.  At the end, awards were given to the “fastest” team, “most creative” team, and “most active” team.

Class ОКН-КС 2/9 writes their Earth Day poem.

“My original plan for Earth Day consisted of a simple lesson plan and trash cleanup in town.  Fortunately, my co-workers had a better idea!  The igra-quest, planned with the help of a few older students who led the teams, was much more effective in getting students to consider the Earth and the responsibilities they have to it.  By turning it into an entertaining competition, a greater number of students were involved and participated more actively than had they just been sitting in class or picking up trash.”

My school has done a number of igra-quests, as well as some geocaching competitions.  The geocaching games are similar, except that each task point is programmed into a GPS receiver.  (Borrowed from a UN organization located in a nearby city.)  The teams use the receivers to locate each point.  The students really enjoy these activities.  There’s definitely potential for some sort of geocaching club next year; maybe I’ll even write a grant for us to buy our own GPS receivers.

Vita shows off the "living art composition" made out of trash by Class ОКН-КС 2/9.

Class ОКН-КС 2/9 filled up their large bag with trash collected from behind a local cafe/bar.

A few weeks ago was a big week for the lyceum.  We were finally able to open our Youth Center Nadiya (Hope) – something the staff had wanted to do since before I came.  They had a few rooms available in the lyceum building, which we painted last summer, but we didn’t have enough resources to actually get it completely prepared for student use.

Then, last October, my counterpart Jenya and I attended a PEPFAR conference hosted by Peace Corps.  (PEPFAR = President’s Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief.)  After learning more about project planing and available funding, we designed a project that involved doing intensive trainings with lyceum students about HIV/AIDS prevention.  We also wrote a grant so that we could purchase materials for these trainings, as well as complete a “training center” as part of the youth center.

After a few months of tweaking the grant, it was finally approved, but we had to wait a few more months for the money to finally come in.  In the mean time, we started doing trainings with materials we had on hand.  (Materials such as markers, paper, printer ink, etc.)  We completed trainings with 6 different groups of students.  The trainings consisted of 6 hours spent watching films about HIV in Ukraine, learning about biology and transmission, talking about tests and medications available, and discussing discrimination against people living with HIV.  Jenya led all sessions herself, in Ukrainian, and I provided backup support.  For example, I passed out papers and pencils when needed. 

Finally, in April, we learned that the grant money would arrive any day now.  Part of the grant agreement was that the community had to contribute a certain amount of their own resources to the youth center/training center.  A private donor in town had donated linoleum, baseboards, and new glass for broken window panes.  New desks were purchased.  Lyceum staff provided labor to complete the rooms, while students and Jenya put the finishing touches on the paint.

And then, at long last, we had money!  We made a trip to Metro (a Costco-like store in the nearby city) and purchased chairs, bookshelves, a white board, paper, markers, etc.  We put some PEPFAR-provided posters up on the walls, blew up some balloons, and we were ready to go!  Jenya planned a grand opening for the youth center, which was held on April 20.

In addition to our Lyceum staff and students, we invited the head of the local government, representatives from some local social service organizations, a group of Cossacks (who attend every big event in town), and the Peace Corps staff member who deals with PEPFAR related activities.  A bunch of people gave speeches, including yours truly, who managed not to stumble over too many big Russian words.  After that, our director and the head of the local government did a red ribbon cutting and we had a little reception in the Youth Center.  We did presentations on our various projects, then the students demonstrated a flashmob.  Ideally, at a specified time, all the students run to a designated spot, form a line, and hold up letters spelling a word or phrase.  (Such as, “learn more about HIV/AIDS.”)  They chant the phrase, then hand out informational pamphlets to everyone present.  Although our first flashmob was a little rough, I think they understand how it works and could pull one off in the future, maybe in the market or town center.  Lastly, that evening, we held an awareness-raising disco-tech.  Some students prepared red ribbons to hand out, and we provided stickers and pamphlets.  Attendance wasn’t super great, for a number of reasons, but the kids who came had a good time.

So, that’s that!  Unfortunately, the youth center won’t be put to much use until next school year.  The majority of students aren’t in class anymore, but are off doing their “practicums” – kind of like internships or apprenticeships.  Those who are still around aren’t interested in much beyond going to required classes before heading outside to enjoy the beautiful spring weather.  But, I’m excited to have a mostly completed youth center and training room that can be put to use next year.  We will continue doing HIV/AIDS prevention trainings, hopefully including peer educators from the students who attended the trainings this year.  Other clubs and trainings will also take place there, students will be able to use computers and internet, and I’ll even have my own little office!  It’s nice to finally see something tangible come from my collaboration with the lyceum!

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Ready for spring! The snow is gone, so people are cleaning up and burning their trash in the background.

So, what does it mean when spring comes to Ukraine?  Spring cleaning, of course!  First of all, everyone is cleaning indoors in preparation for Easter, which will be celebrated April 4th.  Secondly, everyone is cleaning outdoors!  Individuals in their own yards and town maintenance workers in the parks and streets.  They are raking up dead leaves and trash from their yards and the park.  They are cutting down trees.  They are tilling their gardens in preparation for planting.  And at the end of the day, they make small (sometimes large) piles of dead yard waste and trash and burn it.  That was something I noticed when we first came to Ukraine – the smell of all this smoke.  At that time it was annoying to breath it in all the time, but I don’t mind it this go-round.  It’s become a sign of spring to me: we’re getting rid of all the dead stuff and trash and preparing for a fresh, new year!

This is pretty much what our yard looked like through most of February and the beginning of March!

This time of year can also get pretty dusty, if it doesn’t rain.  The snow is gone, the ground has dried, yards and fields are cleared, and only a few flowers are starting to push up through the dirt.  But, again, I don’t mind!  So long as it’s not snow, ice, or mud that I have to trudge through to get to school every day, it’s all good!

April first marks the anniversary of our arrival in Ukraine!  It’s hard to believe, but we’ve experienced a whole year here – we know what each season brings; we know what to expect.  Obviously anything can still happen, but it’s nice to be in somewhat familiar territory.  Now, for comparison: a few pics of our backyard through the 3 seasons we’ve experienced while living in our town.

After just moving into our apartment in August, our backyard looks pretty green.

Alex plays with the neighbor boys in September, and some wild flowers are all that remain as fall approaches.

A couple of cats wander through our first snow in early November.

December offically brings winter to town with a snowstorm.

First in our Winter Wrap-Up series: Ukrainian kids.  We have come to the conclusion that kids in Ukraine are the cutest beings on the planet.  Ukrainian parents don’t let the winter stop them from taking a stroll with the kids.  If the temperature drops below 60, they just stuff their children into enormous coats, hats with ears, and baby carriages with enough padding to protect the kid from a 7-story drop.  Picture Ralphie’s brother Randy in A Christmas Story, and you have the right image.  These kids can barely manage to waddle along next to their parents, so out come the sleds.  Words cannot convey the appropriate amount of cuteness, so please sit back and enjoy our pictures.

This typically dressed Ukrainian kid was hanging outside our apartment on January 9th with Grandma. (FYI, the ground hasn't been clear since then, and even that was just a brief spell.)

The first time we really took note of kids on sleds was in Budapest. You can tell this kid's not in Ukraine because she can move her arms.

While talking to Luda outside the Lyceum on voting day, this little gem was getting ready to go.

Off he goes, down our town's main pedestrian drag.

In front of the skating rink in Chernihiv's downtown square, we caught sight of this little one enjoying a nice ride.

Since Chernihiv has some small hills, the kids actually got to ride down, instead of just being pulled around everywhere.

The hill beside one of Chernihiv's famous churches provided an afternoon of fun for these kids and families.

The only hill in our town (covering two huge water basins behind the lyceum) attracts school kids in the winter, who don't need sleds to slide down the side.

Alex tries sliding down the ice patch left behind by the students. Unfortunately, he just doesn't quite exude the same amount of cute.

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Needless to say, after 9 months without good ethnic food, we were super excited about the opportunity to spice up our meals.  On our first night in Budapest, after finally arriving late in the midst of a snowstorm, we made it to a Middle Eastern restaurant not far from our hostel for some kind of delicious schwarma/gyro wrap.  (Not sure exactly what it was, since the menu was in Hungarian.)  It just got better from there, and we have the photos to prove it.  Although these meals may not look special to you, step into our shoes and imagine the enjoyment our taste buds got from a little change of scene.

Let it be said, however, that living for so long with Ukrainian food does leave an impact.  When we finally had some famous wiener schnitzel (veal/pork/chicken pounded flat and breaded, similar to a Ukrainian “cutleta”) at a Vienna pub, Alex’s first remark was, “I hate to say it, but I think this needs some mayonnaise.”