The Project Begins and Picks up Steam!
Yesterday the project began. I went to the school and met with the school principal and the teachers who will be overseeing the new sports equipment and programs. Though the school consists of barren hallways and cramped classrooms, smiles of joy resonate from all of the faculty that I met. There is an atmosphere of optimism surrounding the project and I am very inspired to see the school community so excited for it. As they take me on a tour of the school students stare at me as if I were an alien from outer space. To be fair I am speaking bastardized Russian and my clothing, NIKE sneakers, khaki shorts, and a Polo shirt, are all very foreign and make me stand out. When they took me out to the school yard my jaw hit the overgrown weeds and grass. The condition is worse than the photos showed. Everything is overgrown and where it looks as though there was once some sort of hard top surface there are craters of asphault cracked with thick collections of weeds bursting out of the ground. Maybe there was some sort of a court many years ago, but clearly harsh Russian winters and decades were not kind and now the principal and I have to walk around it as he explains that some kids have sprained ankles cutting across it to leave school. A new asphault basketball court is now the first priority! We discuss the placement of a play ground structure of some sort. Space is much more limited than I had imagined. There is also a large square of overgrown brush. The Principal and I have discussed mowing this area and painting some lines to create a soccer field. There are definetly many possibilities and we are we both excited about designing and constructing this new space.
After the tour, the Principal and I sat for three hours getting acquainted and discussing the mission of the project. He is a young, energetic, and dynamic personality. He unfortunately speaks no English so at first it was a bit rocky communicating fully, but after about thirty minutes we figured out a sort of Russian/gesture code and discussion flowed freely. For the first hour we had a tremendous cultural exchange. He explained to me the ins and outs of the education system in Russia as well as the nuances of education at his very school. I then shared my experiences and discussed the American model at the elementary, middle, high school, and university levels. We were both captivated by the many great similarities and stark differences between the two experiences. We then transitioned to talking about social problems surrounding the school and Suzdal. The problems at the school are very similar to the problems that our underdeveloped schools in the US face. Things like a great lack in funding, motivated personal, and problems with students experimenting with drugs and alcohol...etc.
I presented him with the Alcohol educational posters that I brought with me. He was very excited by them. His favorites were the images surrounding drinking and driving. In Russia children begin driving at the age of seventeen and he told me that these posters are very important for the 9th through 12th grade students. Underneath are the images that I have had blown up into poster size and laminated to hang in the school. I chose pictorial representations of alcohol education because a telling image transcends language and cultural barriers. He immediately called in the art teacher to look at the images and they decided that she would show these images to her students and have them paint their very own anti drug and alcohol posters to also hang about the classrooms! This is going to be a tremendous addition to the positive impacts of the project. The students are extremely talented in painting. The principal's office is covered with gorgeous museum quality landscapes by students from ages 9 to 18.
Right now the high school students are taking their end of the year examinations, so construction will not begin until this coming Monday. I completely agree with his concerns. For the 11th and 12th grade students, these examinations will determine whether or not they will be eligible to receive a diploma and matriculate into higher education. Having the smiling American bouncing around the halls and loud construction going on in the school yard are definitely distractions, so for the next few days I am getting acquainted with the many warm families of Suzdal and helping my mother harvest the vegetables for our dinner after her nine hour day of work.
Right now I am also carefully writing my speech for Monday. On Monday the graduating kindergartners from the kindergarten next door to the school will start a summer camp to get acquainted to their new school and new type of education come the fall. At the opening assembly of the camp I will be making a presentation to them and presenting them with the fifty soccer balls, basketballs, jump ropes, and sports equipment that I have brought as a gift from their fellow children and friends from America. I am very excited for this moment for this type of interpersonal on the ground cultural exchange is what builds strong diplomacy and respect among the foreign peoples of the world.
Full Steam Ahead!!!!!
After the tour, the Principal and I sat for three hours getting acquainted and discussing the mission of the project. He is a young, energetic, and dynamic personality. He unfortunately speaks no English so at first it was a bit rocky communicating fully, but after about thirty minutes we figured out a sort of Russian/gesture code and discussion flowed freely. For the first hour we had a tremendous cultural exchange. He explained to me the ins and outs of the education system in Russia as well as the nuances of education at his very school. I then shared my experiences and discussed the American model at the elementary, middle, high school, and university levels. We were both captivated by the many great similarities and stark differences between the two experiences. We then transitioned to talking about social problems surrounding the school and Suzdal. The problems at the school are very similar to the problems that our underdeveloped schools in the US face. Things like a great lack in funding, motivated personal, and problems with students experimenting with drugs and alcohol...etc.
I presented him with the Alcohol educational posters that I brought with me. He was very excited by them. His favorites were the images surrounding drinking and driving. In Russia children begin driving at the age of seventeen and he told me that these posters are very important for the 9th through 12th grade students. Underneath are the images that I have had blown up into poster size and laminated to hang in the school. I chose pictorial representations of alcohol education because a telling image transcends language and cultural barriers. He immediately called in the art teacher to look at the images and they decided that she would show these images to her students and have them paint their very own anti drug and alcohol posters to also hang about the classrooms! This is going to be a tremendous addition to the positive impacts of the project. The students are extremely talented in painting. The principal's office is covered with gorgeous museum quality landscapes by students from ages 9 to 18.
Right now the high school students are taking their end of the year examinations, so construction will not begin until this coming Monday. I completely agree with his concerns. For the 11th and 12th grade students, these examinations will determine whether or not they will be eligible to receive a diploma and matriculate into higher education. Having the smiling American bouncing around the halls and loud construction going on in the school yard are definitely distractions, so for the next few days I am getting acquainted with the many warm families of Suzdal and helping my mother harvest the vegetables for our dinner after her nine hour day of work.
Right now I am also carefully writing my speech for Monday. On Monday the graduating kindergartners from the kindergarten next door to the school will start a summer camp to get acquainted to their new school and new type of education come the fall. At the opening assembly of the camp I will be making a presentation to them and presenting them with the fifty soccer balls, basketballs, jump ropes, and sports equipment that I have brought as a gift from their fellow children and friends from America. I am very excited for this moment for this type of interpersonal on the ground cultural exchange is what builds strong diplomacy and respect among the foreign peoples of the world.
Full Steam Ahead!!!!!
Alcohol strangles your Mind, Conscience, and Future
Bury Alcohol or it will Bury You
Addiction to these poisons causes harm to oneself and to all who are near!
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