" Let the globe, if nothing else, say this is true:
That even as we grieved, we grew."

Amanda Gorman

Wednesday, June 26, 2002

The day started as usual. We had a panel with U.S. schoolteachers at Jurys Hotel. We asked them questions about education in their country, and I asked about the role of psychologists in high schools. Then we worked in groups, and each group had one of the American panelists as a coordinator. I presented one of the U.S. teachers with a decorated Easter egg. While in Kyiv, I was asked by a former alumna Olena Tarasova to pass regards to Catherine Megyeri, one of the teachers. I did that, and she was really delighted to hear from Olena! I could not forget her name, as it reminded me the name of my native town in the west of Ukraine – Mageriv.

I liked one of the teachers more than others. She told us how to handle the situation with kids who misbehave in class and how to deal with their parents. She suggested using the principle of a “sandwich.” First, you tell parents something positive about their children, then you say what is wrong, and finally one should conclude with a positive decision to this problem. She advised us not to be quick in punishing students, but instead to try first some positive tactics: praise a student for his/her achievements in any sphere; give him/her a ticket which means some privileges, etc. A student may get one-day permission not to do homework, he/she may be allowed to read a magazine for five minutes during a lesson not paying attention to the work, or they may receive candies as a prize.

I also admired a teacher of World History. She was interested in our history, asked questions about Stalin, and told us about her fear of the nuclear war in her childhood. She also told us a story about Vasyl Stus, a Ukrainian dissident poet.

After lunch, we went sightseeing. We took a group photo in front of the Capitol. We wanted to see the Capitol interior, but the guard did not let us in because we had no IDs with us. Unexpectedly, our guide (Catharine Cashner) met some acquaintances of hers who happened to be in the Capitol staff, and they took us on a staff-led tour. It was tremendous! We were in different halls (the statue room, for instance), but the greatest surprise was visiting the third room: we were led to the visitors’ gallery of the House of Representatives and watched the work of Congressmen in session. A speaker took the floor, and her topic turned out to be connected with education issues.

We didn’t have enough time to visit other places of interest, besides the Botany Gardens, because the bus was already waiting for us in front of the Museum of American History. We walked by the Museum of American Art, the Natural History Museum, and that’s all. All of them belong to the Smithsonian group.

We had only little time to change and again we went by bus – this time to the theatre. It was a real treat! We saw the musical “Saturday Night Fever” – who could have imagined that! Music was created by Bee Gees in 1977. The tunes are quite familiar to me from my youth.
Everything is nice here, but we are very tired at the end of the day – the program is so intense!

Thursday, June 27, 2002

Again, the conference room, lectures, filling in tax forms. We were supposed to make a five-minute presentation from each group. I composed a song to the tune of “My Bony” (I had to do it, because nobody else wanted to make a single effort):

My country is over the ocean, my country is over the sea.
I miss it but still I am happy with all that has happened to me.
Happy, happy,
To stay in your capital (all week) long. (Twice)
We learned many things at the lectures, we toured the city a lot,
But we would be simply in raptures if it weren’t so awfully hot.
The winds have blown over the ocean, the winds have blown over the sea,
The time has flown terribly quickly, and we must depart from DC.
Bring back, bring back,
Oh bring back my best days to me. (Twice)

Then we went to the banquet where we, Ukrainians, and other “peoples” had to present about our countries. Nobody from our group wanted to make a rehearsal, and I had to run from room to room in order to coordinate our preparations… Armenians were the first who made their presentation, concluding it with their national dance (I danced with them, too). Then came Georgians (they were not so well prepared). And finally, Ukrainians. We were not bad, perhaps even the best. Maryna Pervova made a short speech presenting Ukraine, then Svitlana Genkuzen said a few words about Taras Shevchenko citing his famous poem “Учітеся, брати мої” (“Read, study and discern…”). I interpreted it into English. Then she recited an extract from his poem “The Lily,” and I sang a Ukrainian folk-song “I Am Going ‘Cross the Meadow.” It was a huge success. After that, our tables ‘competed’ in group singing.
After the banquet, we had to do packing. Good-bye, Washington DC! We will return some day!

Friday, June 28, 2002

We went to Williamsburg by bus; signed in at the hotel (Best Western Patrick Henry Inn), which is not as posh as Embassy Suites in DC, and went straight to Busch Gardens. It is so unusual: divided into the ‘countries’: England, Scotland, Ireland, France, Italy and Germany. There are a lot of attractions: Alpen “Hills,” a mini-train, river boats, games (where one can win a prize), various performances, concerts, etc. Even “Oktoberfest” with beer and Tyrolean dances! The stereo film entitled “The Pirates” at the “Globe Theater” (which is near “Big Ben”) impressed us greatly with its unusual effects.

The hotel served us only breakfast today, and we had lunch and dinner on our own. However, some of us tried to save their money and ate whatever they had in store.

I share the room with another girl, not Maryna. She is a bit introverted but nice, approximately my age (Iryna Yamayeva, a teacher from Zhovti Vody). In the evening, we came back separately from the rest of the group, and they were afraid that we might have lost our way, so they waited for us, but in vain. These shuttle buses are so confusing!
P.S. Someone stole our soap, shampoo and conditioner! Oh my!

Saturday, June 29, 2002

Today we are supposed to visit Williamsburg Colonial. People dress here in old-fashioned clothes, pretending they still live in those times. There is even an army, Red Coats and the Revolutionary American Army, and Indians, too. I was disappointed at first with our unprofessional guide. But then we managed at last to reach some interesting sites; then got on a Blue Line Bus, found our restaurant and went to the hotel to shower and change clothes.

Now we are going to the King’s Arms Inn to have dinner. The old-style dinner, accompanied by the sounds of old instrumental music was excellent, but I could not eat even half of my portion. I was sitting next to Julie Rotherham and her mother. She was a very pleasant interlocutor, so I will have fond memories of this evening.

Well, good-bye, Williamsburg. Tomorrow we are going to Montana, to grizzlies, as they joke here. To be continued...

Я вела цей щоденник під час стажування у США влітку 2002 року. Поїхала тоді в складі делегації вчителів англійської мови - переможців конкурсу у сфері викладання іноземних мов. Незабутні враження! Маю зазначити, що 2002 рік в моєму житті був зовсім не схожий на карантинний 2020-й...