Greetings and Salutations

So many things to do and say, yet so little time! I’ve been working diligently to restore my computer to its earlier state. I am learning that although I may never get everything back to the way it was, nor retrieve all that was lost, I am learning to live with it. My nephew went to my house in America and uploaded the documents from my desktop computer to a virtual file cabinet where I was able to retrieve a lot my lost data. Luckily, when I went home to visit for Christmas, I brought home a flash drive and updated everything. My mom also sent me a box of CD’s containing my Microsoft Office, The Print Shop, Book Exchange Pictures (needed to finish my website!) and my Russian lessons. I sent my external hard drive home to a mechanically and digitally savvy friend who I am praying can crack that sucker wide open to get the missing documents and pictures. All of the pictures from this past year have vanished!  Such a shame…a whole year in Ukraine and no pictures!

So, while I patiently wait for news on that front, I have begun a few new projects here. First, I have begun advertising for a new English Literature club for youth, to be held once a week all summer long in the youth library. The club will consist of reading and writing, and also we plan to write and publish a bi-lingual newsletter about the clubs in the library. What will we be reading you ask? We received a small shipment of free books from an organization called the International Book Project
http://www.intlbookproject.org/ and have established the new English section of the library. I am still in the process of raising money for new books but that money is not yet available. (Just $340 to go…and thanks to all of you who have made a donation! If anyone else is feeling generous today, $10 will go a long way here, I promise.
https://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=donate.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=343-322

My friend and community counterpart, Julia

"Open Borders" English Club

Next new idea I am proposing is to set up an “Alcohol Free Zone” in our yard, which is where all the children in the neighborhood play. I feel it is inappropriate to allow drinking in front of them so after discussing this with a few neighbors, we have agreed it is a sound idea and I will be writing a proposal so we can bring it to the local authorities to have signs printed. Who knows? If it works for us, perhaps it will work in other yards? Or perhaps reach to other public places such as parks and the beach?  We’ll see. It’s too early to tell.

Some of our neighbors

On school: The 11^th formers will be graduating this Thursday and I have been asked to give a speech. I will do this in English and not everyone will understand but I have kept it short and simple.  The remainder of the students will finish up on May 25^th and I am looking forward to a long awaited respite. I’ve been planning some English camps with the teachers from School #1 and perhaps my own lyceum but that information has not yet come to my attention.

I applied to be a part of the World Wise Schools Correspondence Match Program back in October and I have finally been matched with a classroom in Sunapee, NH. I am really excited to begin this new program. Both the teacher in NH and I are going to have our students correspond with each other starting this fall. I am proposing a blog for everyone to contribute to, as well as e-mail. More on this as the time nears.