Weekend in Kharkov

I went to Kharkov (pronounced 'Harcove') with a few friends last Saturday and Sunday...just in time for the end of all the crazy festivities of Euro 2012. I have to say we were all blown away by the city. It was quite laid back, without the usual hustle and bustle you ordinarily feel when visiting a good-sized city (2nd largest city here). It was calm, extremely clean (for all the tourists visiting for Eurocup, we were told by a long-time resident) and a city I would not hesitate to return to. I was told Kharkov was once the capital of Ukraine, so I did a little bit of research and found it to be true. In 1917 the city was the first in Ukraine to acknowledge soviet power and therefore was proclaimed the capital of the USSR (Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic) until 1934 when the capital was moved to Kiev. It was a 5 hour train ride and we arrived in mid-afternoon. We spent the night in a nice hostel, which was actually a converted apartment in a high rise on the outskirts of the city. It was clean and quiet but a bit far from the center and I quickly found myself exhausted and hot after the long walk to the city center. I think I need to acknowledge my age in these instances because I was with a group of people all under 40 who seem to have no problem negotiating the long trek and the sloping hills within the city. I never felt 53 until last weekend...and it hurts like hell to admit I felt every single year. Never-the-less it was a nice weekend and my companions were just great to travel with. They are members of my English club (some have become good friends) and I always enjoy their company no matter what we are doing. One of the girls went to university in the city and knew her way around and that was certainly a bonus too.

City Center

Cathedral in the Center

Julia and Me

Do I look like a tourist or what?

On the Train

Irena and Veronica

Irena's husband Vlad

A Visit with Friends

Yesterday I went to visit two friends in the nearby town of Gvodiesky, in what they call a "military settlement". It's a Ukrainian version of a gated community. All the residents are or were in the military. I had a nice visit with my friends, both English teachers at School #1 in my city. We were going to go swimming in the lake but the weather wasn't warm enough. Instead we had a pleasant stroll around the community and in the woods. We got caught in a good rainstorm and it was fun trying to dodge the drops.

Irena, me and Valentina

Book Club

Vica, Natasia, Masha, Dacha, Helen

Today was the first day of the Open Borders Youth Literature Club. We had a low turnout but this was expected. Hopefully as the word gets out we will attract more members. The club began with a few ice-breakers, as the members did not know each other. It is a good way to begin any new class. We played a few games and did some artwork as well. The members had a variety of books to choose from and decided to pick a selection of abridged stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Our first story is The Lost World.

The Long Hot Summer Begins

Yesterday began our real summer...hot and dry and oh so uncomfortable for folks like me who don't like the heat! However, for those of you back home who love the summer would kill for this weather. It's dry all day everyday, with the sun shining high in the sky from 4 am until 9 pm. It's perfect beach weather! I really can't complain, however, because there is none of the humidity we East Coast residents feel, which always makes for a really sticky and nasty environment.

Now for the news.....

Last Sunday the Open Borders English Club met in the park because the library was closed for yet another holiday. It was a lovely day and we really enjoyed the change of scenery. In fact, we were all in agreement that we should perhaps meet in the park another time or two. This Sunday we were only a group of five but it's enough for a lively discussion.

Valentina and I

Julia and I

Max, Julia, me, and Yuri

IN other news, Julia and I resumed our book shopping in Dnepropetrovsk this past Sunday. We acquired another 23 books for the library. I think I may have mentioned this before, but I have to say it again...it's great fun spending someone else's money! Our next excursion to purchase books will be to the city of Kharkiv. Julia, myslef, Veronica (another club member) and Anya the librarian will all go for a 2 day shopping excursion. Veronica attended the university in Kharhiv and has inside information about discount book sellers! We are planning our excursion for the 23rd of June.

More New Books!

The last bit of news is that our new computer equipment will be arriving in September! If anyone missed the big story back in February, I'll recap. Our libraries won a really awesome grant of computer equipment! We will be alloted computers, web cams, printers and scanners. Our community will have access to this equipment, and the internet, for free, with the help of a wonderful organization called Bibliomist. Bibliomist is responding to a need here in Ukraine by helping small communities like ours to modernize our public libraries. They provide different types of grants and programming and are successfully bringing Ukraine and the Republic of Crimea into the 21st century! If anyone is interested in learning more, check out their site. (It's now in English!)
http://www.bibliomist.org/en/  When I was investigating this great program, the website was in Ukrainian and it was difficult to figure things out and I was forced to call their central offices in Kiev. The response was positive and the people who work there was wonderful. I encourage all PCV's out there to check into this great program!

Thanks to all of you who are following this blog and helping me to assist my community, by giving them the tools they need for a really positive and bright future!

First Installment

I met my friend and community counterpart Julia in Dnepropetrovsk yesterday to begin the process of purchasing new books for our library!  The experience was great and we had a lot of fun buying English books for our young readers here in Novomoskovsk.  We went to 4 book stores and bought practically everything. The selections were limited to some great American and English classics, such as Jack London and H.G. Wells. My new goal is to locate books of the late 20th and early 21st century authors.  We still have a lot to buy and are looking forward to our next shopping trip...to Kharkiv! Thanks to all of you who have made this possible. I'd also like to again thank the Internation Book Project for helping us get our project off the ground with a wonderful donation of English books from America. They mentioned us in their blog and I am very proud!  http://intlbookproject.wordpress.com/