The Borderland Chronicles

Too cool for school. I mean that quite literally. With the temperature hovering around -24 degrees Celsius (-10 degrees Fahrenheit) this morning, most schools cancelled lessons all together. My school, however, thought they’d give it a shot and see how many students would show up.

In my first lesson of the day, usually a rowdy bunch of 28 12-year-olds, just 5 girls showed up. The teacher I work with was running around like a mad woman trying to figure out where everyone was while also dealing with parents of children calling her mobile to explain that they were keeping they’re kids home from school today. “It’s too cold to be outside today,” my partner teacher explained. “And some of the students live on the edge of town and would have to walk in.” (What’s funny was the number of phone calls from mothers worried their boys would catch their death if they were to go outside. Contrastingly, only a few mothers called to explain they were keeping their daughters home. And like I said, the students that did brave the weather to come to class were, in fact, all girls. I’m seriously beginning to question who’s tougher in Ukraine.)

Proof to the severity of this eastern European cold snap can be found with a quick scan of the international news. A Reuters story published yesterday reported that already 30 people have died in the past week. Most of those were homeless people, but still. I tried running some errands yesterday afternoon, but quickly gave in, turned back and went home when my snot and mustache froze just five minutes after stepping outside.

Being from the Pacific Northwest, I’m not used to this type of weather. We get rain, fog, and at worst maybe some sleet. But the temperature rarely drops below freezing, except for maybe a few times and during the night. Having spent the previous winter in Ukraine, though, you’d think I’d be prepared. But nothing prepares you for this extreme chill.

I’m home now, curled up in a blanket a few feet from my radiator. This is where I plan to stay for the remainder of the day. Maybe this afternoon I’ll make some mulled wine. Here’s to hoping it warms up soon.

Posted in Artemovsk, Culture, Donetsk, It's Cold!, Life, School, Teaching, Ukraine |

The Interfax-Ukraine news agency reported this week on a project that will bring new and innovative technologies to secondary schools throughout Ukraine.

The Open World project, which Ukraine officially rolled out yesterday, will be implemented in 704 schools around the country, including schools in rural areas.

The Interfax-Ukraine story lacks significant details regarding what exactly the program will entail, but any help rural schools can get is a step forward for education in Ukraine.

Many schools here lack what most would consider bare necessities – blackboards, chalk sticks, projectors, computers, Internet and even books enough for an entire class. In some 12 classrooms at a nearby village school, where I taught for 10 months, four were without chalkboards and all were without chalk sticks. Students actually went to local quarries to find pieces of calcium carbonate to use in their place.

Whatever the program provides to the secondary schools involved will no doubt be a big help. And hopefully in the not so distant future the rest of Ukraine’s public schools will receive the same assistance.

Posted in School, Teaching, Technology, Ukraine |

Today is World AIDS Day. And while I didn’t spend the afternoon teaching lessons to students about HIV/AIDS in Ukraine like I did last year, I did have some conversations about the situation here with some friends and colleagues.

In case you’re unaware, at 1.3%, Ukraine has the worst HIV infection rate in all of Europe. About half of those infected in Ukraine are drug addicts.

Despite this, the government does little in the way of prevention programs and anti-retroviral treatment.

Trawling my daily online sites, I came across this story in The Economist which does a good job of highlighting the HIV/AIDS problem in Ukraine.

From the story:

Ukraine and Russia account for 90% of all HIV cases in the region. Fewer than one-fifth of Ukrainian HIV patients receive anti-retroviral treatment. Botswana and Rwanda manage more than 80%.

In both Russia and Ukraine the epidemic is driven by intravenous drug use, with addicts accounting for around half of all cases. Yet the Ukrainian government seems uninterested in prevention programmes. “There’s a line in the national AIDS programme budget for prevention,” says Andriy Klepikov, head of AIDS Alliance Ukraine, “but its value is set at zero”.

Some believe corruption in Ukraine to be a reason for the lack of prevention programs:

Ukraine’s government has recently agreed a co-funding deal with the Global Fund, an international organisation, worth $85m over the next two years, but AIDS Alliance says that the government’s bit will be spent almost entirely on medical treatment rather than prevention. “They usually procure medicines at a higher price than they need to,” says Mr Klepikov. His (widely shared, if unproven) suspicion is that kickbacks are at work.

Among the Ukrainians I’ve spoken with about prevention programs, there seems to be a clear split. Some acknowledge that something needs to be done to put an end to rising infection rates, and prevention programs and education are it. On the other hand, fearful perhaps of admitting there’s a problem, succumbing to the stigma of HIV/AIDS that exists here, some believe that the situation in Ukraine is being blown out of proportion. One woman told me it was only morally bankrupt drug fiends that had HIV, and that no truly decent person could contract the virus.

Contrary to that woman’s belief, I happen to have known a truly decent woman who recently died from complications with AIDS. And I’d be willing to bet that her son, a hard-working young student now living with his grandmother, would agree.

On the HIV/AIDS front, it’s great that in parts of the world – Africa, for instance – we’re making big strides toward ending the AIDS epidemic. But there are still some places, even places that are in many ways more developed than, say, Africa, that have a long way to go. I hope a year from now we’ll be reporting a decreased infection rate in Ukraine.

Posted in Culture, Kiev, Life, Media, Peace Corps, Recent reads, School, Teaching, Ukraine |

I’m in Kiev this week for my Peace Corps mid-service medical examination, and also to help my girlfriend move into her new apartment in the city. Both have gone swimmingly thus far. I’m TB free, 15 pounds lighter than when I arrived in Ukraine 18 months ago and the apartment is very cozy.

The weather as warm and sunny as it is, this morning I opted to walk from my girlfriend’s apartment in the Perchesk region, near the monastery, to the city center, past Independence Square, along Khreschatik, up Shevchenko, down through the botanical gardens, to the Peace Corps office.

During this time I observed children dressed in their best – girls in black and white jumpers and blouses, their hair in tight braids with large white bows atop their heads, and the boys in black suits and ties – hand-in-hand with parents and each other on their way to their first day of school. The first of September is the inaugural first day of school in Ukraine each year. It’s commonly known here as First Bell.

Last year on the first of September I was at the small Krasne village school near my home in Artemovsk, being welcomed as a new teacher and giving a speech in Russian to curious students, parents and faculty. This year I’m in Kiev taking a break from the festivities. But while watching these students in Kiev file into their schools this morning, a thought came to mind. It was 10 years ago today that I began my first day of my senior year at Gresham High School. Time, indeed, does seem to fly by.

Another observation. While walking along Khreschatik Street, I noticed voices coming from a loudspeaker and flags and banners being waved. I went to get a closer look and accidentally found myself in the middle of a large group of Yulia Tymoshenko supporters rallying and protesting for her release. Things in the rally seemed calm; I didn’t observe anyone acting hostile. Even if the rally would have turned violent, there were plenty of police around to take control of the situation. For those of you that aren’t aware, Tymoshenko is the former Ukrainian prime minister who was recently jailed for contempt of court during the first days of her corruption trial. You can read more about what’s going on in this New York Times article.

Posted in Culture, Holidays, Kiev, Krasne, Peace Corps, Politics, School, Ukraine |

Posted in Culture, School, Teaching, Ukraine |

While dining at the local pizzeria last weekend, I noticed that Exit Through The Gift Shop was going to be playing at my local movie theater. I later learned that it would be screened as part of a monthly Art House Cinema event, in where the local cinema shows foreign films (usually dubbed in Russian) and holds a discussion about the context of the film after the showing. Tonight was the January Art House Cinema film, so I took my pal Igor along to check it out.

Attendance was sparse, which I find hard to understand, given the table full of champagne, wine and cheese. Before the flick started each person was given two slips of paper. One read, “I liked the film.” The other, “I did not like the film.” On the back sides were numbers. Mine, for example, was number 14.

After a short introduction from the host, a glass of red champagne and a triangle of cheese on toothpick, we settled in for the flick. Surprisingly, I understood more than I’d hoped. Perhaps it was due to the fact that I’d seen the film already. But I like to think it was because my Russian language skills are improving. Either way, the experience was enjoyable. A couple times during the film I even found myself translating for Igor.

Afterward, each attendee dropped one of their cards into a jar. I put in my “I liked the film” card. Once everyone had dropped their card in, a drawing was held. The host read the chosen card. ”Number 14,” she said.

“That’s you!” Igor said, his finger pointed at me.

“Someone?” The host said.

Igor pushed me forward. “Me,” I said. “I have number 14.”

And so, in front of a crowd of non-English-speaking Ukrainians, I walked up front to accept my prize. But that wasn’t it. Once there, the host began asking questions. Who was I, what did I think of the film, yada, yada, yada and more in Russian that I didn’t understand.

“I liked the film,” I said. “But I’m sorry. It’s difficult for me to explain why I like it in Russian. I’m American, and I speak Russian poorly.”

But my attempt at being coy was met with extreme exuberance, something I should have expected.

“American!” the host said. “So, you came all the way from America to see this film here tonight?”

Laughter.

“No,” I said. “I live and work here in Artemovsk.”

“We know!” the host said. “You are Chris, yes? You work at the Krasne Village School? And where in America are you from?”

I said, “I’m from Portland, Oregon.”

The host said, “And tell us what you think about the film.”

With Igor translating, I went on to explain the unique role alternative art plays in America and Western Europe, that it’s not for everyone, of course, but some people really connect with it. I elaborated on some of the Banksy pieces shown in the film, explaining how one could view them as social commentary. This raised some eyebrows. Luckily, it didn’t prompt any questions from the audience. I wanted to step out of the spotlight as quickly as I could.

“Thank you, Chris, for joining us tonight,” the host said. “Are you ready for your prize? We are giving you a gift certificate worth 70 griven to use at City Pizzeria. We hope you come back for the next Art House Cinema. Everyone, congratulate Chris!”

Applause.

A moment later, as people began filing out, I was stopped by a young man inquiring about private English lessons. Then a woman from the local paper approached me for an interview. I didn’t mention this earlier, and perhaps I should have, but this whole time I’d had a bladder full of beer. Before the film Igor and I killed an hour’s time by drinking in the pizzeria. Now I really had to release the demon, but was forced to chat.

After scheduling a tutoring session and a newspaper interview I finally made it to the toilet.* As I relieved myself in the urinal I couldn’t help but think that this might be the first time I’ve won a raffle or lottery of any sort. If I’m wrong, and I have won before, I certainly couldn’t tell you when that last time was. But anyway, as I stood there, this prideful feeling came over me. I was being recognized for having my number drawn, sure. But these people knew who I was even before that. I was more than a raffle winner; I was a member and valuable asset of the community.

(*Note: Read about and watch my past encounters with the Ukrainian media here, here and here.)

Posted in Artemovsk, Krasne, Life, School, Teaching, Ukraine |

Yes, this post is a day late. World AIDS Day was yesterday, Dec. 1. But My mobile Internet USB drive needs to be topped up on the first of every month. To do so, I must pay a fee and then wait a day. Hence the timing of this post.

The Krasne Village School celebrated World AIDS Day by drawing and painting HIV/AIDS awareness posters. Each form (grade) created a poster of its own to display around school. Afterward, the teaching staff, including myself, broke the students into to large groups – older students and younger students – and showed videos provided to me by Peace Corps. Sveta, the school’s information and technologies teacher, had a video of her own that she showed, too. After a bit of coercing (I’ll explain in a minute), I was allowed to speak about HIV and AIDS to the older students. I explained the importance of education, protection and awareness. I gave some real-life examples of situations in which people have contracted HIV, and discussed with students what those people could have done to prevent such a thing from happening. Despite a few chuckles when discussing sex and condom use, the students handled it well.

Two weeks ago, when I approached my director about conducting some sort of project for World AIDS Day, I was all but shooed away. The volunteer that lived in Artemovsk prior to me had done a small HIV/AIDS education project in Krasne before, which sparked outrage among students’ parents. She taught the older students how to properly put on condoms by practicing on bananas, but then passed out condoms to students as young as 10. That last bit was what my director had a problem with. She told me she’d think about allowing me to conduct a lesson or two and let me know.

On Nov. 30, my director got back to me. She said I could speak about HIV and AIDS to the students and share whatever information I had with them. But no way was I to pass out condoms, she said. Fair enough. I could at least highlight the importance of using a rubber. And so I did. I was just pleased that my school participated in this day of awareness at all, because the attitude I was met with when bringing up the idea of a project for World AIDS Day was so discouraging. In the end, it turned out alright. In fact, my director and I are now planning a PEPFAR project for next year. We sat down for our first meeting regarding it this afternoon.

Posted in Krasne, School, Teaching, Ukraine |

Got a call this morning as I was walking out the door. It was Nikolai, my counterpart. Chris, he said, are you at home? Don’t come to school, he said. We’re on break this week. I asked him to repeat what he said just to be sure. He shouted into the phone NO SCHOOL! He tends to shout when I ask for him to repeat things, thinking I’ll understand better if the words are spoken loudly at me. What he doesn’t understand is that it’s not the volume of the words that prevents me from understanding him, but rather his pronunciation of Russian words, which tend to align more with Surjic – a mix of the Russian and Ukrainian languages – or Ukrainian. For instance, any word that begins with what would be a hard “G” sound Nikolai speaks with an “H” sound. Also, his unorthodox speaking patterns prevent me usually from comprehending what he says on the first go-round. Anyway, we worked it out. I’ll be on vacation this week.

Posted in Blogtober, Krasne, School, Ukraine |