March 26, 2003

Yesterday I visited a school here with three other Peace Corps trainees. We were investigating possible internships. The school director and English teachers were all eager to have us come talk to the students in English. They were also enthusiastic about telling us about the Ukrainian education system and how great their school is. And they wanted to know things about the American education system like how many subjects are studied and what types of exams are administered. I tried to explain the variety of options available in the American education sytem. I also made good progress communicating our need to do a project in addition to speaking English with the students. Actually, we ended up coming to an agreement on doing some sort of Environmental project. The level of Environmental education is quite high. I think we will be able to transform the knowledge that the students have into action. What we can offer as American's is the idea that things can change, that an individual can make a difference. I was thinking of the Kmart scene in "Bowling for Columbine" (and was pleased to learn upon checking my e-mail today that MM won the Oscar!) The visit to the school was a fun cross-cultural experience.

Several of you have also asked about the weather. Today is bright and sunny, and the weather had been similar for several days. It is cold (to me) but getting warmer. April is supposed to be warm and sunny, and May may be rainy. I spend so much time inside at lessons, anyway. Have taken some nice outdoor walks.

Sunday I had a field trip to Kiev with my host sister, Galya and her boyfriend, Misha. Kiev is a nice city. I took pictures, and by the time I develop them and send them home to be scanned and put on the website (I'll send the link sometime) it will probably be summer. For now I'll try to describe Kiev in words. Architecture is a mix of Soviet style and older European flavor. The streets are wide. There are many trees, which are now in their winter state, but should be flowering soon and green in the summer. The whole city is on the banks of the Dneipro River. Hilly yet more spread out then, say, San Francisco. Churches are a big attraction. I saw three on Sunday. They are quite beautiful, brightly painted on the outside. Insides feature detailed paintings of biblical scenes.

Thanks for all the letters, notes and news. Please keep them coming. I'm listening to the BBC for about 10-20 minutes each day and feel fairly up to the war news. Still thinking of you and home, but also feeling more grounded here.

More later!

L'Shalom/Salaam/Peace, Delilah

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