Goodbye Baryshivka! (Training Site)

I will miss my training site - Baryshivka. This small town, with a population of 15,000 people, was welcoming and patient with me.

Here is one of the little shops I liked: The Coca-Cola shop. It was sort of like a mini-mart. The lady who worked here was always helpful.



This is a common site in the towns in Ukraine. There are many wild cats who roam around the garbage cans. It is sad to see, but I'm sure it is difficult to gain control of this situation (as it is in the US, too).

Here are some of the students from my 3rd grade class (there were 26 total in the class, but this picture was taken after school when many students had already left). For pictures, people generally do not smile, so I had to persuade these students for a funny face picture! They were a wonderful group to work with...energetic and bright!

Here is a picture of the counterparts I worked with while in Baryshivka. I shared these counterparts with two other volunteers (who are also in the picture). These teachers gave constructive feedback and even answered my phone calls on the weekend!

We met this artist in Baryshivka. Behind us is his shed, which held beautiful wood and rock carvings and many types of paintings and drawings. I bought the picture I am holding, which is a painting of Baryshivka from 1965.

Of course, I will miss my fabulous cluster and teachers! Here we are playing spoons...and no, I didn't win.

Here is the infamous electrichka. We would ride this at least every weekend to either Kyiv or a neighboring village to visit with other PC trainees. This train was often crowded, but I enjoy people watching, so it was perfect for me!

Ahhh...my Russian language classroom. What a mess! We covered the walls with our notes to help us speak. My poor language teacher - this was actually her temporary apartment!

Here is the Shevchenko Museum, dedicated to Taras Shevchenko, the world-famous Ukrainian poet (who is also on the 100 Hryvnia bill):

The supermarket where I would frequently do my grocery shopping:

The Administration Building for the region (with a statue of Lenin). We had a welcoming meeting, where the mayor invited us to the Children's Olympics, as well as a closing meeting before we left. I appreciated the mayor's hospitality!

Here is main street. If you were standing here, the bazar would be directly behind you, a good restaurant is on the left, and the WW II memorial is straight across the street on the left.

Well, training has come to a close and I am actually at my permanent site! Here are some quick details:

Town: I cannot put the name on the Internet for security reasons, but my town is in central Ukraine (which makes it easy for me to travel). The town is about the same size as Baryshivka in population, but it seems to be much more spread out.

School: I will work at an Engligh intensive gymnasium (this is a public, but specialized school). Because it is English intensive, students begin studying English in 1st grade, with two lessons per week. After 3rd grade, students have five lessons of English per week (compared to the typical 2 lessons per week at normal schools). There are seven other English teachers, so they split each class into multiple groups. The largest class size I will have is ten (this is wonderful!).

Counterpart: I work with an amazing woman! She has been so helpful for me. Currently, she is serving as a judge on the English competition for teachers (this occurs every four years). This began yesterday, so I was able to observe the lessons from the best English teachers in the region. It was very interesting and I was impressed!

My Apartment: 2 bedroom flat on the 3rd floor, with a large kitchen and, of course, bathroom with shower. I also have a walk-in closet, hot water, Internet, and even a washing machine! I am so thankful for my living arrangements.

Does anyone have Skype? If you do, we can talk for free and I can even give you a video walk-through of my apartment...send me an email if you're interested (natbrusseau@gmail.com).

I'm excited for this new adventure!

Take care,
Natalie