7/25/13
Getting Settled in the
Community
Presentation to 100 seniors
Playing Our National Anthem 7/4/13
Interpreter, Two Administrators, Myself and Counterpart Olena
Now What Do I Do
Since my last entry I have been getting settled in the community. I have done two presentations in Donetsk at two senior hi-rises. The reception has been very warm, with the seniors being intensely curious about life in America. Their questions ranged form "who pays for medical care" to the more personal "how much money do you make"! After one of my presentations, I had a very heartwarming experience when one of the older women in the audience came up to me afterwards and presented me with a very small (2" x 4") book in Russian of works by Alexander Pushkin, something that I will treasure always.
I know several of you had comments from my last entry about what my job actually is. Well, I'll have you know that we have a plan! I have sat down with my counterpart Olena, who has been a gem to work with, and complied a list of class topics for me to teach starting in September to the social work and sociology students at the Donetsk State University. At first I was a bit intimidated, not having taught classes before, especially at the university level. I hadn't done preparation for papers or classes for many years. When I was in college it was before computers as we now know them (just after the "horse and buggy" age!). However, after starting to discuss the expectations further and doing some internet searches, I adopted the attitude that many PCVs have, - "I can do this!" I now have drafts of my first several lesson plans, hooray!. The Themes that we have include: "The People of the Third Age in Modern Society", "Problems Older People Face", "Role of the Social Worker", 'Professional Education Options for Social Work/Gerontology Students in the US", "Social Protection for Seniors", "Social Service Options for Seniors", ""Facilities and Care" among others.
In addition to teaching classes I will be facilitating at least 2 (and possibly as many as 5 - yikes!) English Clubs. We are scheduling Clubs for the students as well as for instructors with the following topics to stimulate discussion:
1) Respecting the Right of Self determination 2) Starting where the client is at 3) Working with difficult clients 4) Advance Directives 5) Use of computer 5) Politics of Social Services 6) Active Listening 7) Working with people who have hearing loss 8) Working with people with vision loss 9) Using a social work assessment tool 10) Dealing with your own stress 10) What to do when it all falls apart 11) Peer support 12) Advocacy 13) When a client dislikes you 13) Creativity with resources 14) Rights and responsibilities 15) Except courtesy and respect 16) How to set limits 17) Attend regular training and seminars 18) To be determined by students and instructors.
Most PCVs are involved with English Clubs, and the goal is not so much "teaching" English as it is giving persons who are already somewhat conversant in English a safe haven to practice, as well as the cultural exchange that takes place during meetings. In addition to the two Clubs that I have mentioned, there are requests for 2 more clubs at a local secondary school and from an instructor working with international students. I know that when September comes I will be busier than a 2 headed rooster!
Experiencing Donetsk
Another experience has been getting "registered" which all PCVs need to do in order to remain as legal volunteers in Ukraine. My regional manager Oleg, along with staff from my dormitory, have been instrumental in getting me registered through all of the appropriate channels. I now have a registration card that I carry with me, in addition to my passport to show that I am "legally" here. A very important document, indeed!
I am starting to get to know my way around Donetsk, as I was only exposed to Chernihiv and Kiev until now. I have found Donetsk to be a very friendly city, safe and with many attractive parks. One of the first that I have visited is Pushkin Park:
Lovely Sculptures
Music
For my recorder friends, I continue to practice regularly at night in the dorm conference room. I have found another PCV in the Donetsk area who is a singer and loves to sing madrigals! We have found a couple of free websites with music and are currently trying to find a few other singers, recorder players, etc. that we can join with to create some interesting music, and have fun together. It is the proverbial "work in progress". More later...
Forged Figures Park
Another park in Donetsk that I recently spent an afternoon in is the Forged Figures Park. I took more than 100 photos of the various creations. Since Donetsk is a location for steel mills, coal mines and other industrial sites, this park is very interesting and very unique. I am only sharing a few photos here - let me know if you want to see more of them and I can email them to you. Enjoy:
Language and Cultural Moment
I am still working daily on my language skills, but my tutor is off until the beginning of August. I try to sit with the front desk dorm staff at night frequently to practice some words, listen to them and converse with them. It is still slow going for me, although I do OK going to the store. Speaking on the phone is especially difficult for me when you don't have any visual cues and where the reception may be not crystal clear.
Tamila teaching us Russian during PST!
I did have an experience last week in getting my train tickets at the local boczal (rail station) in Donetsk. I had been to Kiev last week for some urgent dental work (root canal) and needed to schedule a train to go back to Kiev again for a followup visit with the Peace Corps approved dentist there. Before visiting the boczal, I did prepare the sentences that I was to say at the counter, when I needed the tickets, etc. So I confidently went up to the counter thinking "I can do this myself!" with prepared sentences in hand with where and when that I was going, that I preferred a lower platzkart bunk, and when I needed a return ticket, etc. However, when I tried to explain what I wanted, the counter person kept asking me another question that I wasn't prepared for which was "which train do you want?" In the meantime the people behind me were getting anxious to move up in line... Finally a friendly person behind me who spoke a little English explained that there were 2 trains leaving at almost the same time and the counter person wanted to know which of these that I wanted - either was fine with me! So finally I walked away with the tickets, the people behind me in line grinning (at least they were grinning!) at my lame attempt. Another work in progress!
Future Project
I have another Project in mind that may take some time to see how it evolves. I have spoken with some of the staff, a few neighbors in the vicinity as well as the commandant of our dorm and the Oblast person in charge of our building about a difficult project to tackle. It is in general agreement that there is a problem with an overloaded garbage disposal system, graffiti on some of the buildings, some cracked roads in need of repair as well as 2 playgrounds with old play equipment. If we develop community support from the residents of surrounding buildings and the students in the dorm, we may be able to pursue some community development options. At present this idea is still in its infancy and we need to establish first that base of support and community initiative before proceeding. It is an exciting possibility! I'll keep you posted.
Friends and family, please keep those emails coming! You don't know how important it is to here from all of you. As Dorothy said, "there is no place like home...".
