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Be Brave - Cultural Events


Birthday Dinner
"Cucumber Pizza"
This week was Mama Tanya's Birthday (she stays with Sasha and I on days when Marina works 8-8 or Lyosha works in Kiev). We went to Mama Tanya's house where she lives with her parents because her mothers health is declining. Their house is in Chernihiv near St. Trinity Monastery and I was "warned" before we arrived that the house wasn't pretty because they built it in sections and had recently added a "hot wall" (a hollow brick wall where a fire burns), I thought the house was great and pretty large. The table was full of food when we arrived and I was immediately told to sit down. Mama Ana, Mama Tanya's mom, is very hard of hearing because of her health issues but spoke to me all night. The real issue though was that everyone was speaking Russian and I have been learning Ukrainian and my skills are still rather poor. I smiled and nodded most of the night except the times when Marina wanted to translate things for me. Mama Ana made sure my plate was always full and I always had something to drink, she wanted to feed me more than anyone else so far and everyone wants to feed me. I am working very hard to eat or at least try everything that is put in front of me, so far it has worked out. This was until I ate liver. It was breaded and fried which made it taste a bit better but it was still rough and dry and not really something I want to eat again. I didn't ask what it was though because I was afraid to find out but Marina and Mama Tanya liked and told me what it was. My favorite new food was a cucumber/squash "pizza" that was rice, meet, onion, and a few other ingredients topped with cheese. When I told Mama Ana this she proceeded to tell me, step by step, how it is made. We also drank strawberry juice, which is delicious! I told them I loved that too and I was told that Mama Ana's garden grows the largest strawberries, almost as big as my fist! The strawberries that big get eaten as soon as they are picked in the summer. I ate some of the strawberries in the juice and they were delicious because Mama Ana has the best, biggest garden ever! She told me to come back in the summer and eat all of her produce. All in all it was a wonderful night where everyone laughed and I continued to smile and nod.
Trinity Monastery 

Teaching is slow going and planning is always hard. I will be teaching the 7th Form until December and there English is better than my Ukrainian even though our class topics are almost the same right now, food and kitchen items. The activities we are coming up with seem to work we are just not always as prepared as we should be and haven't quite gotten a handle of the resources the school has, which are limited. The hardest part, I think, is simply the classroom space, the desks are rather close together and large with students sitting in rows. This Thursday we will be giving out first grammar lesson and I am feeling pretty confident that I at least understand what I am teaching and have well planned activities to help the students understand the principles.
Defenders Day in Red Square, Chernihiv

*** October 14th was Defenders Day in Ukraine a holiday which is only two years old and celebrates the heroism of those who continue to defend Ukraine's independence and "territorial integrity"




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