It's been an excellent summer.
I am lucky that I've gotten to work with such great kids and women here in Russia. I'm also glad I've had the opportunity to travel, to meet new people from all over the place, and to work with the staff of CCS.
I'm so extremely fortunate, but I am also looking forward to going home. I'm excited to see everyone and to go back to school.
This will be my last blog post. I leave Yaroslavl in a few hours and I will land in Fargo Monday at 8:40 p.m. See you all soon. Take care.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Parrots
I can't think of a really great blog topic, so I think I'll tell a little story about the language barrier.
Yesterday I was volunteering at a city camp. City camp is pretty much summertime day care provided by the government for families with low incomes. The kids are pretty normal, just like any kids in the United States. We go there, do arts and crafts and play games. I've only gone to city camp three times all summer, so I don't have a whole lot to say.
Anyway, so we were working on our craft project and one kid held up a bag of feathers and said something to me. This is a bag of really colorful polyester feathers and I thought he might have been asking if he could use some. Of course I had no idea what he actually said. I was only guessing. And I said yes.
Later this really sweet little girl told me, with the help of our translator, that she had heard that we took feathers from parrots.
I'm guessing that is what the first kid had asked me. And I said yes. Oops. Accidentally lying to children in a foreign language.
Yesterday I was volunteering at a city camp. City camp is pretty much summertime day care provided by the government for families with low incomes. The kids are pretty normal, just like any kids in the United States. We go there, do arts and crafts and play games. I've only gone to city camp three times all summer, so I don't have a whole lot to say.
Anyway, so we were working on our craft project and one kid held up a bag of feathers and said something to me. This is a bag of really colorful polyester feathers and I thought he might have been asking if he could use some. Of course I had no idea what he actually said. I was only guessing. And I said yes.
Later this really sweet little girl told me, with the help of our translator, that she had heard that we took feathers from parrots.
I'm guessing that is what the first kid had asked me. And I said yes. Oops. Accidentally lying to children in a foreign language.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
1000 Years
I don't know why I haven't mentioned this yet. This year is the 1000th anniversary of the founding of Yaroslavl.
Legend has it that in the year 1010 Prince Yaroslav the Wise killed a bear on the confluence of the Volga and Kotorosl rivers and there he founded the city of Yaroslavl.
The city has been under construction all summer, fixing roads, building parks and hotels. There will be a big celebration for the millenial anniversary. I think someone told me that the Russian president will be visiting. Unfortunately the celebration takes place in September, just a few weeks after I leave.
Something that's interesting is that each ruble bill (Like dollar bills, but Russia's money is the ruble.) features a different Russian city and Yaroslavl is on the 1000-ruble bill. And it's 1000 years old. What a great coincidence.
Anyway, I think it is incredible that this city has been around for 1000 years. 1000 years. Sheesh.
Legend has it that in the year 1010 Prince Yaroslav the Wise killed a bear on the confluence of the Volga and Kotorosl rivers and there he founded the city of Yaroslavl.
The city has been under construction all summer, fixing roads, building parks and hotels. There will be a big celebration for the millenial anniversary. I think someone told me that the Russian president will be visiting. Unfortunately the celebration takes place in September, just a few weeks after I leave.
Something that's interesting is that each ruble bill (Like dollar bills, but Russia's money is the ruble.) features a different Russian city and Yaroslavl is on the 1000-ruble bill. And it's 1000 years old. What a great coincidence.
Anyway, I think it is incredible that this city has been around for 1000 years. 1000 years. Sheesh.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Weekend in Yaroslavl
I had a nice weekend in Yaroslavl.
Yesterday I went to the Museum of Music and Time. This Russian magician traveled all over Russia and Europe collecting stuff and he made it into Yaroslavl's first private museum. I paid US$2 and they gave me a private tour (in English!) of all his clocks, gramophones, instruments, irons (hundreds of irons), and bells. It was pretty neat. Apparently the museum owner is a pretty weird guy.
Last night I went out with some other CCS folks to a restaurant that serves Uzbek food. It was really delicious. Middle eastern, but a little bit Russian. Tasty.
This evening I went to the Volga river embankment were a children's orchestra from Exeter, England was performing. They were good for tweens.
It was a good weekend. The weather has been beautiful. I did some school stuff but also took naps. Good weekend indeed.
Yesterday I went to the Museum of Music and Time. This Russian magician traveled all over Russia and Europe collecting stuff and he made it into Yaroslavl's first private museum. I paid US$2 and they gave me a private tour (in English!) of all his clocks, gramophones, instruments, irons (hundreds of irons), and bells. It was pretty neat. Apparently the museum owner is a pretty weird guy.
Last night I went out with some other CCS folks to a restaurant that serves Uzbek food. It was really delicious. Middle eastern, but a little bit Russian. Tasty.
This evening I went to the Volga river embankment were a children's orchestra from Exeter, England was performing. They were good for tweens.
It was a good weekend. The weather has been beautiful. I did some school stuff but also took naps. Good weekend indeed.
Friday, August 13, 2010
Miscellaneous
A couple of updates:
The last two days have been nice. Finally the sky is blue, instead of a grey smoky haze. Also, it rained for a few minutes yesterday. A refreshing and fragrant break from this Russian heat wave.
This weekend I am staying in Yaroslavl. I think I'll visit a few museums and just take it easy.
I've read some Russian literature while I'm here and it has been cool. Reading Pushkin or Dostoevsky at home wouldn't have the same feel. It is cool to read about St. Petersburg after I've been there. It feels more meaningful and interesting. Plus it makes me feel like a terrifically snooty literature student. It's great.
The last two days have been nice. Finally the sky is blue, instead of a grey smoky haze. Also, it rained for a few minutes yesterday. A refreshing and fragrant break from this Russian heat wave.
This weekend I am staying in Yaroslavl. I think I'll visit a few museums and just take it easy.
I've read some Russian literature while I'm here and it has been cool. Reading Pushkin or Dostoevsky at home wouldn't have the same feel. It is cool to read about St. Petersburg after I've been there. It feels more meaningful and interesting. Plus it makes me feel like a terrifically snooty literature student. It's great.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Hospital for kids
I've recently been doing work at a psychiatric hospital for kids. This is a post about it.
We go to a hospital that helps kids up to the age of 15. They can house up to 50 kids, but right now there are only 13. They stay for up to six months, then go back home or back to their orphanage. It is not uncommon for the kids to return to the hospital, though. Sometimes more than once.
In theory, the hospital can serve kids who have all kids of mental difficulties. 90% of the kids there now only have behavioral problems and/or minor developmental disabilities. In fact, most of the kids seem quite normal, if a bit attention deficit. If a kid's parents, teacher, or orphanage staff thinks he or she needs psychiatric help, they send them for a check up with a doctor. That doctor can send them to a clinic, and if the clinic decides it is necessary, the kid will go to live at the hospital. While they are there, the kids undergo play, art, and conversational therapy. Most of them are also medicated. They spend most of their day hanging out, playing or reading, watching TV, doing lessons (during the school year), and doing chores. When we go to the hospital, we do a craft with them, play board games or card games, then some of them are allowed outside to play basketball, frisbee, etc. Some of them have to stay in because they have a history of running away (from the hospital, from home, from their orphanage, from wherever). It is a shame to leave the others inside, so when we have a lot of volunteers at the hospital, some of us stay in and play indoor games with the indoor kids. I think what we do is useful. The kids get an opportunity to socialize and to get out of the regular routine. They have fun. They also get hugs from us.
The hardest thing about going to hospital for kids is knowing that most of them have problems that could have been prevented. I think that most of their behavioral issues are due to the stress of living in a low-income household or with alcoholic or abusive parents. Most of them are genuinely normal kids. It sucks that they are institutionalized. I don't mean to suggest that in America we have a better solution for kids with similar problems. Though we don't necessarily have hospitals for them, they might go to homes for "at-risk youth" or something, and that is only sometimes better. I really shouldn't cast any judgment because I don't know much about problems common to adolescents and how to solve them.
Mostly I think they need to be treated like normal kids and allowed to have fun. I enjoy hanging out with them not just because I like playing Uno, but also because I think that casual socialization does them some good.
We go to a hospital that helps kids up to the age of 15. They can house up to 50 kids, but right now there are only 13. They stay for up to six months, then go back home or back to their orphanage. It is not uncommon for the kids to return to the hospital, though. Sometimes more than once.
In theory, the hospital can serve kids who have all kids of mental difficulties. 90% of the kids there now only have behavioral problems and/or minor developmental disabilities. In fact, most of the kids seem quite normal, if a bit attention deficit. If a kid's parents, teacher, or orphanage staff thinks he or she needs psychiatric help, they send them for a check up with a doctor. That doctor can send them to a clinic, and if the clinic decides it is necessary, the kid will go to live at the hospital. While they are there, the kids undergo play, art, and conversational therapy. Most of them are also medicated. They spend most of their day hanging out, playing or reading, watching TV, doing lessons (during the school year), and doing chores. When we go to the hospital, we do a craft with them, play board games or card games, then some of them are allowed outside to play basketball, frisbee, etc. Some of them have to stay in because they have a history of running away (from the hospital, from home, from their orphanage, from wherever). It is a shame to leave the others inside, so when we have a lot of volunteers at the hospital, some of us stay in and play indoor games with the indoor kids. I think what we do is useful. The kids get an opportunity to socialize and to get out of the regular routine. They have fun. They also get hugs from us.
The hardest thing about going to hospital for kids is knowing that most of them have problems that could have been prevented. I think that most of their behavioral issues are due to the stress of living in a low-income household or with alcoholic or abusive parents. Most of them are genuinely normal kids. It sucks that they are institutionalized. I don't mean to suggest that in America we have a better solution for kids with similar problems. Though we don't necessarily have hospitals for them, they might go to homes for "at-risk youth" or something, and that is only sometimes better. I really shouldn't cast any judgment because I don't know much about problems common to adolescents and how to solve them.
Mostly I think they need to be treated like normal kids and allowed to have fun. I enjoy hanging out with them not just because I like playing Uno, but also because I think that casual socialization does them some good.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Back
Thought I'd let you know I got home from Moscow safe and sound. Though I smell like a campfire.
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Smoke and Tolstoy
I have surprise internet access here in Moscow, so here's a blog post.
This city is unbelievably smokey. As I mentioned before, Russia's hot, dry summer has caused a fire crisis. Not only are forests burning, but also a lot of swamps that are full of spontaneously combusting peat moss. Don't worry. I am still not in danger. I will not go up in flames and neither will my stuff. However, I do have to see a lot of smoke. In Yaroslavl, everything looks kind of a hazy and the sky is blue-grey at its clearest. Here in Moscow, the smoke is so thick it stings my eyes. It looks like a dense fog. All the time. A lot of people are wearing masks outside. It's lucky I'm only here for a couple days. I'm sure breathing this smoke is not good.
In better news, today I went to the estate of Leo Tolstoy, one of Russia's most famous authors. He wrote War and Peace, in addition to other important literature. This year is the 100th anniversary of Tolstoy's death, so it was neat to visit his home. Tolstoy spent quite a bit of his long life trying to be a peasant. He had this idealized vision of how wholesome and pure it is to work long hard hours on the land, but over and over again he went back to his material pleasures. I don't think peasants are peasants because they want to be. Tolstoy didn't understand that. Silly guy. Anyway, his estate was really nice, foresty with a pond and apple trees and horses. The smoke (which wasn't quite as dense as it is in Moscow) made the woods look really hazy and mystical. He was born and buried on that estate and we visited his grave, which was very peaceful. It was a nice trip. Tomorrow we're doing a few more Moscow things then its back to Yaroslavl.
This city is unbelievably smokey. As I mentioned before, Russia's hot, dry summer has caused a fire crisis. Not only are forests burning, but also a lot of swamps that are full of spontaneously combusting peat moss. Don't worry. I am still not in danger. I will not go up in flames and neither will my stuff. However, I do have to see a lot of smoke. In Yaroslavl, everything looks kind of a hazy and the sky is blue-grey at its clearest. Here in Moscow, the smoke is so thick it stings my eyes. It looks like a dense fog. All the time. A lot of people are wearing masks outside. It's lucky I'm only here for a couple days. I'm sure breathing this smoke is not good.
In better news, today I went to the estate of Leo Tolstoy, one of Russia's most famous authors. He wrote War and Peace, in addition to other important literature. This year is the 100th anniversary of Tolstoy's death, so it was neat to visit his home. Tolstoy spent quite a bit of his long life trying to be a peasant. He had this idealized vision of how wholesome and pure it is to work long hard hours on the land, but over and over again he went back to his material pleasures. I don't think peasants are peasants because they want to be. Tolstoy didn't understand that. Silly guy. Anyway, his estate was really nice, foresty with a pond and apple trees and horses. The smoke (which wasn't quite as dense as it is in Moscow) made the woods look really hazy and mystical. He was born and buried on that estate and we visited his grave, which was very peaceful. It was a nice trip. Tomorrow we're doing a few more Moscow things then its back to Yaroslavl.
Friday, August 6, 2010
Moscow
I won't be posting for a few days because I am going to be in Moscow for the weekend. Just so you know.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Camille
It's been a while since my last post, so I feel like I should post something. Unfortunately, I can't think of anything other than the news that today is the birthday of one of my favorite babies at the orphanage. Camille is one today. Hurray! Happy Birthday, Camille!
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Comparison
I can't help but compare this summer in Russia with last summer in Guatemala. Here are the main differences:
1. My organization here (CCS) puts a lot of effort into teaching me about Russia's culture. We have weekly lectures on a variety of cultural or historical topics and we also have weekly learning-and-fun-filled field trips. They also provided some Russian language classes. I have also paid for extra language instruction and have taken other trips during my free time. CCS has really made my time in Russia educational. When I was in Guatemala, the organization (GCP) did not offer formal learning opportunities. That definitely doesn't mean I didn't learn while in Guate. The learning I did was a result of experience and of asking my own questions.
2. I do so much less work here. With the GCP, I was able to put in 40 or 45 hours of volunteering per week. Here in Russia I do about 15. It's kind of funny that I do so little volunteering here. our time is limited, of course, by all the other stuff they have planned for us. Also, while I was in Guatemala, I had the opportunity to spend extra time (weekends or overnights, if I wanted) helping at Casa Jackson, the clinic for malnourished kids. Here it is much more difficult to arrange independent volunteering. Whenever I go to a placement with CCS, it is with a group of volunteers and a Russian translator. I read in one of my handbooks that I might be allowed to arrange extra volunteering, but it is a lot of work because of the language barrier and because I'd have to find transportation to the facilities. Work and home are much farther apart in Russia than they were in Guatemala. It might be possible that I could volunteer more, but I'm a bit too lazy to actual try. So here I am, working less than part time.
3. I feel like the people I helped in Guatemala had far greater need than those I'm helping in Russia. That is a crude statement. I know that in Russia, the women at the hospital benefit greatly from the therapeutic socialization and artsy work we do with them, and I know that the walks and hugs the babies get from us at the orphanage might help them stave off psychological problems in their adulthood. However, the kids I worked with in Guatemala were literally starving. Consider Maslow's hierarchy of needs. People need food before they can appreciate or even benefit from socialization. I don't think need is black and white, but I cannot deny the overwhelming feeling that volunteers are more necessary in Guatemala and with the GCP.
Those things being said (and rather thoughtlessly so), I kind of, sort of conclude that I like last summer better. I love Russia. It's interesting. I am doing good work. I am having lots of fun and seeing beautiful things. I am learning. But last summer was all of those things, and then some.
I apologize to anyone who sees this as the unappreciative, crude hogwash it is.
Oops.
1. My organization here (CCS) puts a lot of effort into teaching me about Russia's culture. We have weekly lectures on a variety of cultural or historical topics and we also have weekly learning-and-fun-filled field trips. They also provided some Russian language classes. I have also paid for extra language instruction and have taken other trips during my free time. CCS has really made my time in Russia educational. When I was in Guatemala, the organization (GCP) did not offer formal learning opportunities. That definitely doesn't mean I didn't learn while in Guate. The learning I did was a result of experience and of asking my own questions.
2. I do so much less work here. With the GCP, I was able to put in 40 or 45 hours of volunteering per week. Here in Russia I do about 15. It's kind of funny that I do so little volunteering here. our time is limited, of course, by all the other stuff they have planned for us. Also, while I was in Guatemala, I had the opportunity to spend extra time (weekends or overnights, if I wanted) helping at Casa Jackson, the clinic for malnourished kids. Here it is much more difficult to arrange independent volunteering. Whenever I go to a placement with CCS, it is with a group of volunteers and a Russian translator. I read in one of my handbooks that I might be allowed to arrange extra volunteering, but it is a lot of work because of the language barrier and because I'd have to find transportation to the facilities. Work and home are much farther apart in Russia than they were in Guatemala. It might be possible that I could volunteer more, but I'm a bit too lazy to actual try. So here I am, working less than part time.
3. I feel like the people I helped in Guatemala had far greater need than those I'm helping in Russia. That is a crude statement. I know that in Russia, the women at the hospital benefit greatly from the therapeutic socialization and artsy work we do with them, and I know that the walks and hugs the babies get from us at the orphanage might help them stave off psychological problems in their adulthood. However, the kids I worked with in Guatemala were literally starving. Consider Maslow's hierarchy of needs. People need food before they can appreciate or even benefit from socialization. I don't think need is black and white, but I cannot deny the overwhelming feeling that volunteers are more necessary in Guatemala and with the GCP.
Those things being said (and rather thoughtlessly so), I kind of, sort of conclude that I like last summer better. I love Russia. It's interesting. I am doing good work. I am having lots of fun and seeing beautiful things. I am learning. But last summer was all of those things, and then some.
I apologize to anyone who sees this as the unappreciative, crude hogwash it is.
Oops.
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