Featuring...Me

Last week one of my clustermates, Patrick, asked if anyone wanted to contribute to his blog. He decided for this post to have other volunteers talk about their own experiences so that he could share some first hand accounts to the followers of his blog. At first I was going to share with you just my submission, but asked if I could reprint his post for anyone reading my blog. I will have a new post in the next week or so. Until then, enjoy the goings on of some of my fellow volunteers- in their own words.

Here is Patrick's post in its entirety. See if you can spot me...

Protected: Peace Corps Volunteers = AwEsOmE

With just a few months remaining before I leave Ukraine, I thought I’d switch it up a little bit. I’ll eventually get around to writing the inevitable reflective piece on my experience here. But first, I want to highlight some of the great work being done by some of the other volunteers I’ve had the privilege to meet. First up, my training link-cluster mate from Group 41 Mike Dixon, from St. Charles, Illinois:

A TALE OF THREE COUNTRIES

Vinnytsia, Ukraine

As a historic preservation architect I have had a serendipitous match and good fortune to have been assigned by Peace Corps Ukraine to the Podolian Agency for Regional Development. From our office in the city of Vinnytsia I have had the opportunity to be involved in several villages with the construction of two outdoor theaters, a concept plan for a museum of folk architecture and customs of Ukraine, an oral history center and have helped to develop family play gardens for several locations.

The first audience at the outdoor theater in Severynivka

Construction crew in Dobrotvir

But the project which has initiated my extension for another year (until July 2014) is the restoration of a historic Gardener’s Cottage and Greenhouse, built in 1812. The structures are part of a “protected” park and gardens established in the village of Severynivka, in the Podolian region of western Ukraine. Severynivka holds an amazing story involving three countries: Poland, Ireland and Ukraine. Within this village you will find the estate of Polish Count Severin Orlovskiy, including his original palace, now used as a specialty hospital, stables and the cottage and greenhouse. These buildings were developed in conjunction with prolific Irish landscape architect Denis McClair, a designer who is responsible for creating over forty parks in Poland and the part of Ukraine which was previously part of Poland. These parks contribute greatly to a rich cultural heritage reaching deeply into the region. The cottage will be used as a museum of the work of McClair and the life of Count Severin as well as for a workshop for the greenhouse.

The Rotary Club of Lockport, Illinois, near Chicago, has shown a sincere interest in this project with its significant historical importance. They have taken the lead in spearheading a fundraising effort. Their new president is Mark Harmon, a former client of my architectural practice in Illinois and the Executive Director of a National Trust for Historic Preservation property. His Rotary Club has gathered support from clubs in Ireland and Poland as well as from the Irish, Polish and Ukrainian communities in and around Chicago. The Rotary Club of Vinnytsia has agreed to be a partner to ensure a local presence as required by Rotary International guidelines. The Rotary Clubs have committed their fundraising efforts for a total project estimate of $105,634.

This project will promote ecotourism in the region as well as establish Severynivka as important in the cultural histories of Ireland, Poland as well as Ukraine. Because of the efforts of the Lockport (Illinois) Rotary Club, an exciting global partnership has been developed to advance the importance of history, increasing an understanding for the citizens of the region while creating an element to be enjoyed by future generations. The Lockport Rotary Club has now made this “A Tale of Four Countries”, including their efforts from the United States.

1812 Gardener’s Cottage and Greenhouse elevation and plan

Gardener’s Cottage awaiting restoration

Next up, my training clustermate, Sim Morell, from Round Lake, NY:

Razdol’noye, Crimea, Ukraine

Like many Peace Corps Volunteers, I came to Ukraine with the attitude that I would create lasting change. While some come with the goal of “changing the world”, I tried to be a little more realistic. Maybe I would organize a project to build a playground in town or facilitate an English Language resource center in the local library. Something physical that once I was long gone could be looked at and attributed to my time here. Like Patrick, I have been chronicling my Peace Corps service through a blog and as my service begins to wind down, from time to time I review my past entries and realize that even though I have made several contributions to my community that could evoke my name, should anyone ask, I see that my service has been more about the changes it has made in me. Patrick recently asked if I wanted to share a story about any project in my community and, at first, I didn’t think that I could offer what he was looking for. Upon further reflection, I wonder if I can show his blog followers exactly what he is looking for. That what you end up with is not at all what you were looking for.

When I first arrived to my site in Razdol’noye, Ukraine in the summer of 2011 it took me some time to figure out what I was going to do to make the changes I had envisioned. To this end, I made contact with the regional children’s home [orphanage] and offered to start an English club for any of the kids who wanted to participate. I would go every few weeks and spend 2 hours with them, although truthfully it became more of an opportunity for me to practice my limited Russian, as their enthusiasm for English was remarkably low. I had to decide if I wanted to press on speaking English and have them gaze back with blank stares or whisper to each other trying to find if any of the other kids knew what I was talking about, or if I was going to do my best using what limited vocabulary I had. Well, the latter was an obvious choice and it didn’t take long for the kids to start laughing and asking questions about America and generally open up to the stranger who just wanted to spend some time with them. They would ask me questions about American culture and about the things I liked in Ukraine. Food was a popular topic and I started requesting specific items in care packages sent from home just so that I could share them with the kids. One such day was the time introduced peanut butter to the group. I have found very few Ukrainians who ever heard of peanut butter and even less that have tasted it before I shared it. In general, in Ukraine, it gets mixed but overall positive reviews. Not here, though. It was universally loved.

Here are some pictures of me introducing my personal favorite: JIF peanut butter to the lexicon and palate of the kids at the orphanage.

This is me explaining that many Americans like this food and many kids your age take sandwiches of it to school for lunch. Also, if you have an allergy to peanuts, DO NOT EAT IT!

Kate and Vika ready for a taste

Everyone took seconds and some cited this as the best food I had brought for them to try- edging out Oreo’s, banana bread, and brownies (all of which were also hits).

When I think about what this experience has taught me is that there are some curious minds that are as interested to hear about my culture and what is familiar to me as I am in learning about theirs. In fact, the kids had so many questions about contemporary American pop culture that were admittedly out of my depth, that I set up a penpal program so they could write some letters in Russian, which were then translated by my weekly English club, mailed to America for answers, translated back into Russian and delivered back to the kids. Mail call was always a big day.

Before I came to Ukraine, I had zero first-hand knowledge of the conditions and realities of orphanage living. As I get ready to leave and head back to my life in America, I know that I can confidently say that my mind- and my heart have been opened just from the time that I spent with these kids and, who knows, maybe that will shape the course of the rest of my professional life. So, I guess changes have been made that will be evident for some time to come…I just didn’t expect they would be in me. [ed. note--I LOVE IT]

Here’s a short note from my friend, Larry, who I served with as a counselor for Camp Leaders of the Future last summer. Larry’s from Silver Spring, MD:

Putivl, Ukraine

I’ve recently been galvanizing students at my school to help with fundraising for my project. The project involves buying laptops, a projector and headphones (you know, the typical stuff) for our English classroom. The school is specifically in charge of raising funds for the projector. To that end, we’ve held two movie nights, multiple bake sales and a disco-tech over the past 3 months. We only raised 800 of the 2,600 UAH needed, but our principal was so impressed by our collective efforts that she promised to find the funds in our budget. Out of a student body of 150 students, we’ve had easily more than 60 help out in some capacity.

First batch of cookies!

And finally, a few words from Connie Postelli, from Crown Point, IN:

Kharkiv, Ukraine

I did a presentation at an International Conference on Economics where I compared country economies to board games – some play chess, some play checkers and the danger comes when they are playing tic-tac-toe. It must have gone over well as I have given it 2 more times and I have been invited to another int’l economic conference in May to present it again!!!

These are just a few of hundreds of other examples of the creative, unique, and fun ways that Peace Corps volunteers in Ukraine are impacting their communities and the individuals we interact with every day!

Hope you enjoyed that little side trip into the lives of my colleagues. We’ll return to our regularly scheduled programming shortly. Poka poka!!