Fourth of July-Ukrainian style!
To celebrate the independence of my own fine country this year, I joined up with the large group of Peace Corp Volunteers in the region for a celebration at my friend Margo’s apartment in the nearby town of Dobropolia, Ukraine. Dobropolia is even smaller than Artemivsk and arguably, seems more ‘soviet’. It was really fun to see a new town in Ukraine and to get to know many new Americans that were all living pretty close by. We barbequed meat in the field next to Margo’s apartment building, drank lots of Ukrainian beer (and even some Miller Light we found at a nearby shop!) and capped off the evening with an obligatory setting off of fireworks. Her neighbors did not enjoy our fireworks as much as we did but we ended the evening on an amiable note with all.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Catching up on old posts: Easter
April 2010
Final thoughts on Easter celebration
So, 4 months later and I am finally posting some details about the rest of my Ukrainian Easter Celebration! Who knows, maybe it is better that I post them now so that I just include the good interesting stuff that has stayed with me!
In Orthodox tradition, worshipers take their Easter meals to the local Orthodox Church in the middle of the night on Easter day and have the meal blessed by an Orthodox priest. I did not get to witness this first hand but was told about it the next day as I sat down to share the blessed meal with my Ukrainian “family” Irina, Sergei, their son Sasha and his wife Lena and children Vlad and Eva. We all gathered at the home of Sergei’s mother and step father where we were joined by Sergei’s sister Oxsana and her husband and teenaged son and also by Irina’s mother. All in all it was a big bunch and we crowded around a table generously laid with various Ukrainian delights. We basically spent the whole day just sitting and eating together, sometimes wandering out of the room to have a little stroll (and give time to digest) but generally ending back up at the table. I tried lots of new dishes that day including Chicken Kyiv, braised beef tongue (I could still see the taste buds-shiver- I tried one piece because it was offered to me but tried as politely as possible to decline any further offerings of it), various salads, and finally, the special easter traditional bread. It is a bread had a taste similar to Challah bread but is decorated on top with frosting and colored sprinkles. Inside the bread are various dried fruits like apricot and raisin. As is the custom in Ukraine, there was a great deal of toasting throughout the day that included toasts to the health of the family and happiness in the year to come.
I tried as best I could to offer a small piece of our family tradition by trying to make bird-nest cookies from ingredients I found in Artemivsk. Bird-nest cookies are basically rice crispy treats that are formed in the shape of a nest, covered with some green frosting and green dyed coconut flakes with jelly beans pressed in (for the bird eggs). As long as I can remember we have enjoyed these treats at family Easter celebrations. I had quite a time trying to find the ingredients in Artemivsk. Long story short, they didn’t work out so well…looked pretty enough but didn’t taste too good. The marshmallows I found were nothing like marshmallows in the US and did not melt smoothly at all so at the last minute I decided to melt sugar to make a caramel. In place of rice crispies I used the Ukrainian version of corn flakes (which turned out to be really thick and hard, not light and crisp like the flakes I am used to in the US) finally, instead of jelly beans (nowhere to be found!) I had to used colorful sugar-candy coated raisins (looked pretty but tasted awful!). It was a fun and valiant effort but I found myself trying to explain to those I offered them to that I would need a do-over after having traditional ingredients sent to me from the US. Everyone tried to be polite and try them but the best comment offered was “we don’t have anything like this taste in Ukraine” haha! You mean the taste of crunchy burned sugar?!?! Oh well, at least I tried! I fear I am not the best ambassador for American cuisine….after a few more examples of my cooking I fear none of my Ukrainian friends will ever want to try American food again!
After our family meal ended, I was invited to a late meal with some friends of the family that I had met 4 years ago, Lora and Sasha and their children and grandchildren. The grandchildren Danil and Sasha were so much more grown up than I remember them from our first meeting….I showed them pictures I had of our first meeting when Sasha was just a toddler (he is now a rambunctious school boy!). It was fun to see them again, reminisce…, and share more food! I felt like I didn’t need to eat for a week after this day!
Final thoughts on Easter celebration
So, 4 months later and I am finally posting some details about the rest of my Ukrainian Easter Celebration! Who knows, maybe it is better that I post them now so that I just include the good interesting stuff that has stayed with me!
In Orthodox tradition, worshipers take their Easter meals to the local Orthodox Church in the middle of the night on Easter day and have the meal blessed by an Orthodox priest. I did not get to witness this first hand but was told about it the next day as I sat down to share the blessed meal with my Ukrainian “family” Irina, Sergei, their son Sasha and his wife Lena and children Vlad and Eva. We all gathered at the home of Sergei’s mother and step father where we were joined by Sergei’s sister Oxsana and her husband and teenaged son and also by Irina’s mother. All in all it was a big bunch and we crowded around a table generously laid with various Ukrainian delights. We basically spent the whole day just sitting and eating together, sometimes wandering out of the room to have a little stroll (and give time to digest) but generally ending back up at the table. I tried lots of new dishes that day including Chicken Kyiv, braised beef tongue (I could still see the taste buds-shiver- I tried one piece because it was offered to me but tried as politely as possible to decline any further offerings of it), various salads, and finally, the special easter traditional bread. It is a bread had a taste similar to Challah bread but is decorated on top with frosting and colored sprinkles. Inside the bread are various dried fruits like apricot and raisin. As is the custom in Ukraine, there was a great deal of toasting throughout the day that included toasts to the health of the family and happiness in the year to come.
I tried as best I could to offer a small piece of our family tradition by trying to make bird-nest cookies from ingredients I found in Artemivsk. Bird-nest cookies are basically rice crispy treats that are formed in the shape of a nest, covered with some green frosting and green dyed coconut flakes with jelly beans pressed in (for the bird eggs). As long as I can remember we have enjoyed these treats at family Easter celebrations. I had quite a time trying to find the ingredients in Artemivsk. Long story short, they didn’t work out so well…looked pretty enough but didn’t taste too good. The marshmallows I found were nothing like marshmallows in the US and did not melt smoothly at all so at the last minute I decided to melt sugar to make a caramel. In place of rice crispies I used the Ukrainian version of corn flakes (which turned out to be really thick and hard, not light and crisp like the flakes I am used to in the US) finally, instead of jelly beans (nowhere to be found!) I had to used colorful sugar-candy coated raisins (looked pretty but tasted awful!). It was a fun and valiant effort but I found myself trying to explain to those I offered them to that I would need a do-over after having traditional ingredients sent to me from the US. Everyone tried to be polite and try them but the best comment offered was “we don’t have anything like this taste in Ukraine” haha! You mean the taste of crunchy burned sugar?!?! Oh well, at least I tried! I fear I am not the best ambassador for American cuisine….after a few more examples of my cooking I fear none of my Ukrainian friends will ever want to try American food again!
After our family meal ended, I was invited to a late meal with some friends of the family that I had met 4 years ago, Lora and Sasha and their children and grandchildren. The grandchildren Danil and Sasha were so much more grown up than I remember them from our first meeting….I showed them pictures I had of our first meeting when Sasha was just a toddler (he is now a rambunctious school boy!). It was fun to see them again, reminisce…, and share more food! I felt like I didn’t need to eat for a week after this day!
Saturday, August 7, 2010
A funny thing happened on the way to the Mayor’s office
Dear loyal readers,
I cannot think of a way to apologize for abandoning my blog for the last three months. I have been writing things down on paper so I can share them with you later but I’ve been so busy this summer that I never could find the time or the cleverness to sit down and write to you all. Today, however, something glorious happened...the type of thing that when it happens, you want to call everyone you know and just squeal and giggle with them about it….but since that would be awfully expensive, I decided I would do it via my blog!
One of the reasons that this past few months have been so busy is that in June I received word that a local organization that I visited 4 years ago, a special rehabilitation center and social club for children in Artemivsk with disabilities, was closed down because of lack of funding. It was at this club 4 years ago that I first thought about the dream of coming back to work for a while in Artemivsk. When I found out they were closed down I was heartbroken for the children and their families. This was the only organization anywhere near the city that offered affordable support (both medical and psychological) to disabled children and their parents.
So, along with a partner here in Ukraine and some friends back in Omaha (Artemivsk’s sister city), I embarked on a quest to find the club a new home and fine funding to keep it going. This leads me to another reason I’ve been so busy the last few months….For the past year or so a good friend of mine (also an OT who graduated from Creighton) have been organizing a service-learning trip for OT students in the Omaha area to come to Artemivsk, learn about Ukrainian culture and work with a few community organizations here. They arrive on Monday (in two days!!) and I am so excited for them to get here. It has been a tremendous amount of work to get everything organized for them. The group signed on to help with the kids club project and were able to secure numerous donations from Omaha organizations…something I never could have done from way over here. It is because of their hard work that this project has come to fruition…and so quickly!
Basically what my Ukrainian partner and I had to do was find a space, find out how much it would cost to renovate it, search for sponsors, start the renovations and…and this is the biggy…get permission from the mayor of Artemivsk to let us use the space that we found. The timing was stress-inducing because as of the date we stopped talking and starting acting on these items (July 14) the Mayor left for summer vacation (usually one month long) and we had until August 10 to get everything finished (that is when the group from Omaha comes to see the finished product).
So for the past 3.5 weeks I have been having all sorts of “grown-up” experiences like interviewing general contractors, getting estimates, checking for quality of materials, overseeing construction, writing official documents for sponsors and the mayor. Finally, today I had a face-to-face meeting with the mayor during which he had all the power to completely shut down our whole operation and lose thousands of dollars of sponsors’ money on a project we didn’t have permission to complete. I wore my best dress and did my hair really nice…all to have it ruined by the 100+ degree weather we are having here, and marched into the mayor’s office. We lucked out because he is technically still on vacation but happened to be in his office for a couple hours on a Saturday morning so we sort of ambushed him (the man, whom I’ve met a few times and have never seen in anything but a full suit, was wearing a t-shirt, shorts and sandals). I struggled to follow the rapid-fire Russian that was hurled back and forth across the table and tried my best to intelligently answer any questions that he asked of me (terrifying!!). Finally, I crossed my fingers as he rustled around on his desk and found a pen….I kept them crossed until all 6 copies of our program agreement were signed and he stood up to shake my hand. Those of you who have been to Ukraine and know this man (or men like him) know that it is a big sign of respect if the mayor shakes a young woman’s hand. Every other time I have met him he greeted me with the culturally accepted greeting of a kiss on the hand.
I’ve been reserving my excitement just waiting for the other foot to drop on this whole project but now I can firmly say YIPPPPPPPPPPPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!
Hooray for the women that lost their jobs and are now re-employed, hooray for the children who again have one place to feel safe and learn from others who know what life is like to be handicapped in Ukraine, hooray for the parents who can go back to work while their children have a safe place to hang out and learn, Hooray for Occupational Therapy!!!!!
I cannot think of a way to apologize for abandoning my blog for the last three months. I have been writing things down on paper so I can share them with you later but I’ve been so busy this summer that I never could find the time or the cleverness to sit down and write to you all. Today, however, something glorious happened...the type of thing that when it happens, you want to call everyone you know and just squeal and giggle with them about it….but since that would be awfully expensive, I decided I would do it via my blog!
One of the reasons that this past few months have been so busy is that in June I received word that a local organization that I visited 4 years ago, a special rehabilitation center and social club for children in Artemivsk with disabilities, was closed down because of lack of funding. It was at this club 4 years ago that I first thought about the dream of coming back to work for a while in Artemivsk. When I found out they were closed down I was heartbroken for the children and their families. This was the only organization anywhere near the city that offered affordable support (both medical and psychological) to disabled children and their parents.
So, along with a partner here in Ukraine and some friends back in Omaha (Artemivsk’s sister city), I embarked on a quest to find the club a new home and fine funding to keep it going. This leads me to another reason I’ve been so busy the last few months….For the past year or so a good friend of mine (also an OT who graduated from Creighton) have been organizing a service-learning trip for OT students in the Omaha area to come to Artemivsk, learn about Ukrainian culture and work with a few community organizations here. They arrive on Monday (in two days!!) and I am so excited for them to get here. It has been a tremendous amount of work to get everything organized for them. The group signed on to help with the kids club project and were able to secure numerous donations from Omaha organizations…something I never could have done from way over here. It is because of their hard work that this project has come to fruition…and so quickly!
Basically what my Ukrainian partner and I had to do was find a space, find out how much it would cost to renovate it, search for sponsors, start the renovations and…and this is the biggy…get permission from the mayor of Artemivsk to let us use the space that we found. The timing was stress-inducing because as of the date we stopped talking and starting acting on these items (July 14) the Mayor left for summer vacation (usually one month long) and we had until August 10 to get everything finished (that is when the group from Omaha comes to see the finished product).
So for the past 3.5 weeks I have been having all sorts of “grown-up” experiences like interviewing general contractors, getting estimates, checking for quality of materials, overseeing construction, writing official documents for sponsors and the mayor. Finally, today I had a face-to-face meeting with the mayor during which he had all the power to completely shut down our whole operation and lose thousands of dollars of sponsors’ money on a project we didn’t have permission to complete. I wore my best dress and did my hair really nice…all to have it ruined by the 100+ degree weather we are having here, and marched into the mayor’s office. We lucked out because he is technically still on vacation but happened to be in his office for a couple hours on a Saturday morning so we sort of ambushed him (the man, whom I’ve met a few times and have never seen in anything but a full suit, was wearing a t-shirt, shorts and sandals). I struggled to follow the rapid-fire Russian that was hurled back and forth across the table and tried my best to intelligently answer any questions that he asked of me (terrifying!!). Finally, I crossed my fingers as he rustled around on his desk and found a pen….I kept them crossed until all 6 copies of our program agreement were signed and he stood up to shake my hand. Those of you who have been to Ukraine and know this man (or men like him) know that it is a big sign of respect if the mayor shakes a young woman’s hand. Every other time I have met him he greeted me with the culturally accepted greeting of a kiss on the hand.
I’ve been reserving my excitement just waiting for the other foot to drop on this whole project but now I can firmly say YIPPPPPPPPPPPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!
Hooray for the women that lost their jobs and are now re-employed, hooray for the children who again have one place to feel safe and learn from others who know what life is like to be handicapped in Ukraine, hooray for the parents who can go back to work while their children have a safe place to hang out and learn, Hooray for Occupational Therapy!!!!!
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Sorry for being MIA
Hey loyal readers~
I am so sorry for leaving you disappointed the last several days. I know I promised to update you all on the details of my Easter celebration (which was awesome by the way) and I have not updated since then! My work at the orphanage has increased lately now that I am getting ready to start my data collection. All my internet time has gone to planning for that, reading literature from science journals and planning my upcoming travels. Tomorrow I leave Artemivsk to do some traveling around Ukraine. I won't return for three weeks so much of my time has been spent packing and making other arrangements. Tomorrow my journey will be begin by taking a 2 hours bus ride to Donetsk-the nearest large city- where I will board an overnight train to Kyiv. I arrive in Kyiv Tues. morning and will spend the day with some other Fulbrighters until we board another overnight train to the south-western city of Ivano-Frankivsk. We will stay there from Wed. to Sun. for a Fulbright Graduate Student Retreat and Symposium. We will do some sight seeing and cultural excursions as well as present our initial research findings at some local universities. After Sunday I will head back to Kyiv until my flight leaves early early on wed. morning to take me back to St. Louis for a short visit with my husband and our families. I am so excited to see Jeff especially; it has been hard to be away without the comfort of easy internet access to call or email whenever we want to. I will return to Kyiv on the 5th of May and will stay with a Fulbright friend for a couple days. Then over the weekend she and I will go to L'viv, a large city on the westernmost border of Ukraine. I was invited to go there and meet a Fulbright Scholar who specializes in disability rights. He works with a rehabilitation center in L'viv that is highly progressive for Ukraine and they are working together to create autism-friendly classroom environments. I hope I will learn much from them that I can then share with organizations in my community on the eastern side of the country. I will finally return to Artemivsk on May 12. I don't know what my access to internet will be like but if I get the chance I will share some pictures with you of my travels and of my Easter celebration. Take care all of you and thank you for reading!
I am so sorry for leaving you disappointed the last several days. I know I promised to update you all on the details of my Easter celebration (which was awesome by the way) and I have not updated since then! My work at the orphanage has increased lately now that I am getting ready to start my data collection. All my internet time has gone to planning for that, reading literature from science journals and planning my upcoming travels. Tomorrow I leave Artemivsk to do some traveling around Ukraine. I won't return for three weeks so much of my time has been spent packing and making other arrangements. Tomorrow my journey will be begin by taking a 2 hours bus ride to Donetsk-the nearest large city- where I will board an overnight train to Kyiv. I arrive in Kyiv Tues. morning and will spend the day with some other Fulbrighters until we board another overnight train to the south-western city of Ivano-Frankivsk. We will stay there from Wed. to Sun. for a Fulbright Graduate Student Retreat and Symposium. We will do some sight seeing and cultural excursions as well as present our initial research findings at some local universities. After Sunday I will head back to Kyiv until my flight leaves early early on wed. morning to take me back to St. Louis for a short visit with my husband and our families. I am so excited to see Jeff especially; it has been hard to be away without the comfort of easy internet access to call or email whenever we want to. I will return to Kyiv on the 5th of May and will stay with a Fulbright friend for a couple days. Then over the weekend she and I will go to L'viv, a large city on the westernmost border of Ukraine. I was invited to go there and meet a Fulbright Scholar who specializes in disability rights. He works with a rehabilitation center in L'viv that is highly progressive for Ukraine and they are working together to create autism-friendly classroom environments. I hope I will learn much from them that I can then share with organizations in my community on the eastern side of the country. I will finally return to Artemivsk on May 12. I don't know what my access to internet will be like but if I get the chance I will share some pictures with you of my travels and of my Easter celebration. Take care all of you and thank you for reading!
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Good Friday in Ukraine
Last night was Good friday for us and I was invited at the last minute to go to a traditional Ukrainian Cuisine restaurant with Britt the Peace Corp volunteer who has been here in Artemivsk for the last 2 years. She and I had only met once before (the first week I got here) and hadn't been able to meet up since because she travels a lot for her Peace Corp project. Anyway she invited me to dinner with some friends and it was the craziest collection of people...Britt from the States who speaks fluent Russian, Vlad from Ukraine (Artemivsk) who speaks fairly fluent English, Ana and her mother Mary from Ireland (Ana is part of the European Volunteer Service and has been here 6 months but will leave next week) who also speak English fluently (but with an awesome Irish accent), and finally Yulia from Artemivsk who also speaks fluent English. We stayed so long and ate so much that we closed the place....literally all the staff members were hovering around our table sort of just waiting for us to ask for the check and then when we left the restaurant and Britt tried to quickly run back in to use the restroom they had already locked up behind us! Ha! Probably all anxious to get home for Easter festivities.
I had the most interesting conversations at this table with people from three different countries...we talked about Easter traditions and shared in an Irish tradition by sharing a large hollow chocolate egg that Ana's mother had brought for her for the holiday....you should have seen the faces around the table as Britt and I described the "easter egg hunt" talking about plastic eggs and giant rabbits with baskets....it was priceless! Ana also had a box of Cadbury cream eggs which she shared with the table (even gave one to our pre-teen waiter whose sour face indicated that he was in need of a sugar rush from some friendly foreigners). Britt and I ordered a traditional Ukrainian dish called verianki...they are basically giant dumplings that are steamed (so they are super fluffy) and stuffed with mashed potatoes and bits of bacon meat). This was my frist time trying them and I am officially hooked now. Britt and I were so in love with our verianki that we actually asked for doggie bags...something our Ukrainian friends Vlad and Yulia said "is just not done!" However our cadbury cream egg must have done the trick to sweeten up our sullen teenager of a waiter because after dissapearing to who knows where he came back with two tiny plastic carryout dishes and Britt and I rejoiced in a way that firmly identified us as American foreigners :) As I type now I am looking forward to enjoying my leftover pockets of potatoey goodness when I go home for lunch!
Other topics we spoek about included the recent suicide bombers in the Moscow metro (which then led to a discussion about racism and stereotyping about Muslim people...which then led to a discussion about racism and prejudice about African Americans...). Mary and I had a side conversation about the differences in choosing a college in the US vs. Ireland. They do it on a lottery system...everyone takes the same exams and fills out the same application and then you rank your top three choices. You are placed in a University based on a points system that fluctuates by demand for that University your particular year. She explained how they pay for college and was shocked when I shared how much my private US university cost even with grants and scholarships.
We talked about business practices in Ukraine (and the lack of honesty surrounding them) and all the holidays they have here (I have already had 3 long weekends here because of holiday celebrations...many of which are religious and yet everyone takes a day off work no matter if they are religious). The Ukrainians at the table explained that they thought it was because when Ukraine was part of the Russian empire people weren't allowed to celebrate Ukrainian holidays (especially religious ones) and so now that they are independent they celebrate them as grandly as they can. There is also some undertone of fear that maybe someday they will be controlled again and so they better celebrate now while they can and create some long lasting memories. It is a collective understanding that I imagine rivals the feeling Americans had on Independence Day in 2002.
It was a really fun evening and now I have more people here that speak english to be friends with! Britt will leave in just 6 more weeks and then a new volunteer will come...hopefully someone nice...it is a shame she is leaving so soon but after being here almost 2 years I am sure she is anxious to get home.
Today I am going to try and make an easter dessert for my friends here (something my mom always used to make-rice crispy birds nests) you should check my blog in the next few days to see pictures of the baking extravaganza....also yesterday I cut open a coconut all by myself....who would have thought the first time I would cut open a coconut it would be winter in eastern europe!
I had the most interesting conversations at this table with people from three different countries...we talked about Easter traditions and shared in an Irish tradition by sharing a large hollow chocolate egg that Ana's mother had brought for her for the holiday....you should have seen the faces around the table as Britt and I described the "easter egg hunt" talking about plastic eggs and giant rabbits with baskets....it was priceless! Ana also had a box of Cadbury cream eggs which she shared with the table (even gave one to our pre-teen waiter whose sour face indicated that he was in need of a sugar rush from some friendly foreigners). Britt and I ordered a traditional Ukrainian dish called verianki...they are basically giant dumplings that are steamed (so they are super fluffy) and stuffed with mashed potatoes and bits of bacon meat). This was my frist time trying them and I am officially hooked now. Britt and I were so in love with our verianki that we actually asked for doggie bags...something our Ukrainian friends Vlad and Yulia said "is just not done!" However our cadbury cream egg must have done the trick to sweeten up our sullen teenager of a waiter because after dissapearing to who knows where he came back with two tiny plastic carryout dishes and Britt and I rejoiced in a way that firmly identified us as American foreigners :) As I type now I am looking forward to enjoying my leftover pockets of potatoey goodness when I go home for lunch!
Other topics we spoek about included the recent suicide bombers in the Moscow metro (which then led to a discussion about racism and stereotyping about Muslim people...which then led to a discussion about racism and prejudice about African Americans...). Mary and I had a side conversation about the differences in choosing a college in the US vs. Ireland. They do it on a lottery system...everyone takes the same exams and fills out the same application and then you rank your top three choices. You are placed in a University based on a points system that fluctuates by demand for that University your particular year. She explained how they pay for college and was shocked when I shared how much my private US university cost even with grants and scholarships.
We talked about business practices in Ukraine (and the lack of honesty surrounding them) and all the holidays they have here (I have already had 3 long weekends here because of holiday celebrations...many of which are religious and yet everyone takes a day off work no matter if they are religious). The Ukrainians at the table explained that they thought it was because when Ukraine was part of the Russian empire people weren't allowed to celebrate Ukrainian holidays (especially religious ones) and so now that they are independent they celebrate them as grandly as they can. There is also some undertone of fear that maybe someday they will be controlled again and so they better celebrate now while they can and create some long lasting memories. It is a collective understanding that I imagine rivals the feeling Americans had on Independence Day in 2002.
It was a really fun evening and now I have more people here that speak english to be friends with! Britt will leave in just 6 more weeks and then a new volunteer will come...hopefully someone nice...it is a shame she is leaving so soon but after being here almost 2 years I am sure she is anxious to get home.
Today I am going to try and make an easter dessert for my friends here (something my mom always used to make-rice crispy birds nests) you should check my blog in the next few days to see pictures of the baking extravaganza....also yesterday I cut open a coconut all by myself....who would have thought the first time I would cut open a coconut it would be winter in eastern europe!
Friday, April 2, 2010
Busy week!
Busy week for me this week!
I have still been in the orphanage every day and this week I got to shadow the small group of "linguist teachers." After observing them I can say that they are sort of a cross between a pediatric occupational therapist and speech therapist. I loved being with them since so much of what they do is exactly what I do with my patients back home. Since I worked with many children who also had speech delays I would often use techniques I learned from the speech therapists in my work. We definitely "spoke the same language" and I didn't feel the impact of a language barrier nearly as much this week. It may have been because these women are accustomed to speaking very very slowly and enunciating words with almost comical precision (who am I kidding...this is EXACTLY why the language barrier shrunk this week!). They also seemed to enjoy teaching me new words and correcting my pronunciation...."no no no Saritchka, not like that, like this!" HAHA!
They seemed just as interested as I did to discuss the similarities and differences between practices in Ukraine and in America. They seemed reluctant to let me go today but asked me to come back next week for some more conversations. Next week I am scheduled to spend time with the physiotherapists as well so they may end up being long days! I am excited!
Also this week my friend Margo (a gal I met in Omaha actually when I came on the Ukraine trip 4 years ago). How is this for a small world...she and I met 4 years ago when we both came to Artemivsk and then now she is a member of the Peace Corp in a town not too far from here. We got reconnected though the Peace Corp volunteer who is stationed in Artemivsk now. So now we talk on the phone all the time and when her old host family here invited her for Easter she came early and stayed with me for a few days. She came to the orphanage with me today and we had a blast playing with the children! It was fun to have someone around to speak english with at a normal speed and volume....when I do rarely speak english here in Artemivsk usually I have to speak slowly and enunciate and use simple words. Having her in my apartment felt just like a typical evening in the states!
I have still been in the orphanage every day and this week I got to shadow the small group of "linguist teachers." After observing them I can say that they are sort of a cross between a pediatric occupational therapist and speech therapist. I loved being with them since so much of what they do is exactly what I do with my patients back home. Since I worked with many children who also had speech delays I would often use techniques I learned from the speech therapists in my work. We definitely "spoke the same language" and I didn't feel the impact of a language barrier nearly as much this week. It may have been because these women are accustomed to speaking very very slowly and enunciating words with almost comical precision (who am I kidding...this is EXACTLY why the language barrier shrunk this week!). They also seemed to enjoy teaching me new words and correcting my pronunciation...."no no no Saritchka, not like that, like this!" HAHA!
They seemed just as interested as I did to discuss the similarities and differences between practices in Ukraine and in America. They seemed reluctant to let me go today but asked me to come back next week for some more conversations. Next week I am scheduled to spend time with the physiotherapists as well so they may end up being long days! I am excited!
Also this week my friend Margo (a gal I met in Omaha actually when I came on the Ukraine trip 4 years ago). How is this for a small world...she and I met 4 years ago when we both came to Artemivsk and then now she is a member of the Peace Corp in a town not too far from here. We got reconnected though the Peace Corp volunteer who is stationed in Artemivsk now. So now we talk on the phone all the time and when her old host family here invited her for Easter she came early and stayed with me for a few days. She came to the orphanage with me today and we had a blast playing with the children! It was fun to have someone around to speak english with at a normal speed and volume....when I do rarely speak english here in Artemivsk usually I have to speak slowly and enunciate and use simple words. Having her in my apartment felt just like a typical evening in the states!
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