Chad Treloar - Russia 2010

Quickie

2010-08-02T11:59:00.002-04:00

It feels like forever ago since I updated this blog. Things have been going really well here in the camp and most of the initial problems we've had have dissipated. Today it was ~36C here which is unbelievably hot and the administration cancelled all outside games for the day due to the heat and the humidity. Still, it's better than rain!

Each day drags a bit, but in general time has really flown and it's hard to believe that we're leaving Tyumen in one week. I really am going to miss not only the camp, but the counselors, and especially the kids. If I have the time and money next year, I hope to come back here next year :-)

Update from Ребячья Республика

2010-07-21T11:06:00.002-04:00

So... I had this huge blog typed up, but due to technical problems, I can't get it opened on this computer. I'm going to take it as a sign that it was never supposed to be posted.

I've been at the second camp for a little over a week now. I was placed with another girl from the UK, Joanna, and we've been getting along really well. She doesn't speak any Russian, so it's complete role reversal from last year however we're managing pretty well.

The majority of the deleted post was about how I hate this camp. The first five days were OK, then a fantastic day off, and then two days of absolute hell. Two more days that were slightly better... it's been slowly going uphill since Monday... Being here is a lot harder this year as they're expecting significantly more from us. We're being treated as actual counselors (which means 4 hours of sleep/night if we're lucky), expected to teach 2x/day, all with very little English instruction. Like I said, we're managing, but it's been hard. We're slowly changing things and making adjustments so it's getting better.

I don't want to say I regret coming here again because I don't know what the next three weeks will be like... but I know I came back for the wrong reasons. I returned to Cherepovets because of the relationships I made last year, both with the administration, counselors, and most importantly the kids. Although I made lots of friends last year, I chose to come back to Rebyachka because of the camp itself... I know that in the big plan, there's a reason I'm here again and I'm just waiting to figure it out!

Since leaving Cherepovets, I've become more confident in my ability to speak and understand Russian, and it really was an overnight change. On the train ride back to Moscow, I shared a room with a church restoration architect. He showed me lots of pictures about his work and we talked for a few hours and I understood almost everything he said. I was sooo much more confident the next day and my Russian has only improved since then. For anyone who is learning a foreign language: be confident and don't worry about mistakes.

Although I didn't want to leave, I wasn't sad when I left Cherepovets. There was just something deep down telling me that it wasn't goodbye forever... as if I was going to see them all again really soon....

That's about it for now!

We have hot water!

2010-07-07T03:41:00.000-04:00

Last Saturday the hot water pump broke so we've been without hot water for four days. No one has had a shower in four days, so we're all very excited right now!

Last week, six more Americans arrived. They're from a Christian organization that sends people abroad to teach English. Three of them are teaching English classes while the other three are 'counselors' which hold one or two activities each day.

In my last post, I ended on a rather sour note, but things have since gotten somewhat better. The kids have been a bit better behaved. Roman has also been here everyday too, which really makes my life easier. The camp administration is very nice and extremely helpful with anything that we need, so that's been a plus. Although things are better, we still have 'incidents' every now and then. The day after my last post one of the kids in my team started having seizures and was taken to the hospital. Then there's the night that one of the boys pooped their pants in the middle of the night and it was all over the floor of the team hall.

We held Indian Day again and had a 'counselor hunt' in the forest. The kids absolutely loved dressing up in face paint and sticks they found. Saturday was parent's day and we held a huge concert with many performances. Among them was the dance I taught my kids to N'sync's Bye Bye Bye. The dance was a hit with both the kids and the parents and we were asked to perform it again at the closing concert on Friday. The next day was Fourth of July. There was a ceremony in the morning and then a special concert for us Americans in the evening. It was a very different experience having all the kids congratulate us on our holiday, but I've been told that's how people say 'happy fourth of july'.

The really fun things about camp here are small moments, like playing frisbee while walking to an activity or waiting to eat. I've taken many walks along the forest shore with small groups of kids, just talking and watching them jump the cliffs into the sand. A few days ago, we took a hike into the woods and Oksana and I went swimming with the kids. Although it was just for a half hour, it was soo much fun and very special.

On Monday, Artyom, Roma and I woke up at 4:30A and went fishing on the Mologa river with Dmitri from the administration. We didn't catch much, but the boys were very excited when I invited them to go with us. Here, inviting people to do special things is worth more than the action itself and the boys and I had a lot of fun. Yesterday, we smoked the few fish we did catch and literally ripped off the head and cracked open the body. Never have I ever eaten a fish that I've caught, let alone like this!

I do think this camp was worth the $3000. It's hard to believe that I've only got two and a half more days here. It still seems like we just arrived a few days ago. Yesterday Roma asked me if I'll be coming back next year. Maybe I will. I came back to the Cherepovets camp this year because of the relationships and bonds I made with the people and kids here. So, if it's meant to be, I'll be back next year.

Update from Iskra

2010-06-30T02:51:00.000-04:00

Internet is extremely hard to come by here and this update was written a few days ago so more things have happened, but I'll put them in another post.

I am currently at the camp Искра 'Iskra' with kids from Cherepovets. Although the camp is located just farther down the road from Zhemchuzhina Mologi, the camp I was at last year, it is very different. While Zhemchuzhina had lots of open space and everything built from concrete, Iskra is much more rustic and actually in the forest. Almost all of the buildings are fully wooden, but luckily there is running water in them. Hot water is only available between 8am and 11pm. The only showers in the camp are in a separate building, and we have set times in which we can use them.

Our English classes are integrated very well into the main camp activites, however that may soon change since six English teachers are supposed to be arriving sometime soon with their own plans. The organization here has gotten better since the first day when NO ONE knew what was going on. It took us two hours to split up 135 kids into three teams, which was completely unnecessary. Each отряд consists of one teacher and two counselors. Last year, I was an 'extra' person since the team I was placed with had all three people already. This year I am one of the two counselors for the 4th отряд. Thus, I am actually an integral part of the camp. It's nice being 'needed', however I do think it is unfair to the other two in the team since I can't do everything they do simply because I don't know enough Russian. The teacher in my team is Oksana who was one of the counselors last year and the other counselor is Roman. We all get along pretty well and they both speak enough English for us to work fairly well together.

Now that we're more than halfway through camp, the routine is pretty much the same every day. There seems to be a lot more free time than there was last year, but the kids manage to stay busy. Every day it's an uphill battle to get to/through quiet hour, but after that the day just flies by. The VERY first day, Roman and I got into a fight with two drunk guys who walked into the camp and our house and wouldn't leave. Yay camp security... We're both fine, but as Roman said 'only my pride was hurt.'

The kids here are SOO much better than last year. In general, they all listen pretty well. Bedtime is still a nightmare, but we really can't expect much. Artyom from last year, whom Kathryn calls my 'little buddy', is in my team this year and was very excited to see me :-). Somehow he always manages to make me smile, and it really is these little things that touch the heart.

Although I didn't take a Russian class last semester and hadn't spoken it for nearly six months, I seem to be able to converse with everyone a lot better this year. I think it's a combination of being a bit more confident, and not worrying about grammar as much as conveying what I'm saying.

Kathryn and I have been very upset with the camp this year. It's a slew of little things, but there's enough that, at times, make us wish we hadn't come back. I've been trying to decide if spending $3000 to play with kids all summer is worth it. Kathryn says it's worth more than what I paid because I'm breaking barriers. Since the kids are at a young age, they'll form their own opinions about Americans which they'll carry into adulthood. I have to agree that she is right, but at the same time I still have to wonder how much impact a single person can have....

Hello from Cherepovets

2010-06-18T03:44:00.001-04:00

Hello from Cherepovets

I am currently in Cherepovets, a city about halfway between Moscow and St. Petersburg. The weather here has been pretty miserable at around 50F and rainy. The weather is supposed to clear up for the better next week at the out-of-city camp. Sunday night I took a train here and in my room were a mother and daughter from Cherepovets and an older woman from Vologda. Things started off shaky, but we eventually were able to communicate pretty well. The daughter told me that I must be a counselor at Orlyonok (in Vologdaskaya Oblast, not on the Black Sea) since she goes there.

Morning came fast as did a surprise - no camp on Monday. My first day here is a day off because of Russia Day last Saturday. So, I had a nice long rest in my room while watching movies. Kathryn (the American woman from last year who volunteers in Russia 6/12 months) invited John Mark and I to her apartment for lunch. I just met John Mark on Monday; he is a senior fellow in St. Petersburg through the American Consulate who teaches teachers how to teach English. He is here this week with us for the in-city camp. It was soo great seeing Kathryn again, and we were lucky that our paths crossed this year! After lunch, I was taken out for dinner by Yana and Iulia (counselors from last year) for pizza. We shared new swear words with each other and just had a very nice evening.

Tuesday I arrived at camp and was greeted by Roma, Dima, and Maya. All of their English has improved a lot in the last year. Roma caused us a lot of stress last year at camp, but has matured in the last year and is now one of the leaders in the team. Unfortunately, I can't say that everyone I knew from last year has matured, especially the girls who are now more and more trouble... :-( In general, the camp is being run slightly more efficiently this year, mainly due to Kathryn's planning. The kids overall seem more well-behaved and interested in English.

Yesterday we had an excursion to Belozersk, an old town in the oblast founded the same year as Moscow (1147). We found the world's worst toilets: no doors, no seat, no toilet paper, and a hole in the ground that had a hole so you could see *everything*. The tour inside the Belozersk Kremlin was cool because we were allowed to touch everything. I was 'chosen' by the campers to be dressed as a prince in authentic clothing. Kathryn laughed, but the joke was soon on her as I made her my 'wife' and then she had to dress up :-).

It is interesting that the means by which guys and girls bond are cross-cultural. Girls talk, and guys usually find other means of bonding/communicating. Last year, one of the Artyom's and I bonded over harmless 'fights', if you will. Yesterday on the excursion, I physically removed a talking Zhenya from an otherwise quiet group and forced him to stand near me to keep him quiet. Afterwards, his attitude towards me since then has changed, as he now follows me around like a puppy. I just think it's soo cool that even on another continent, in another culture, males still bond through physical means...

Today is the last day of the in-city camp! I've met with the directors for the out-of-city camp next week and I'm getting more and more excited! Tonight, I'm supposed to play football with the kids, plan stuff for the next camp with Kathryn, and get ready to go! It's been fun here, but it'll be nice not having to go to different places every night at the out-of-city camp. Sunday morning we'll be leaving for Искра, and hopefully the internet situation will be somewhat better there!

Quick Update

2010-06-12T09:25:00.003-04:00

I just posted the last entry for the chernobyl trip. They weren't posted immediately due to the lack of internet in the Exclusion Zone. The dates we were there were actually June 8 - June 10.

Currently I'm in Moscow and have met up with everyone else from CCUSA. The weather here isn't the greatest, but considering that we didn't have any rain in Kiev or Pripyat last week, I can't complain.

Tomorrow evening I will be taking an overnight train to Cherepovets. I'm very excited and can't wait to get there!

Chernobyl Exclusion Zone Day 3: ЧАЭС (Chernobyl Atom Energy Station)

2010-06-12T09:25:00.000-04:00

Privileged.

Today we visited inside the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Station. I say privileged because very few people ever get in. We did so through a combination of many letters translated into Russian, and a lot of luck. Outside, we met our guide, Dmitri. He is a civil engineer for NOVARKA, a French company that is working on the new safe containment structure for reactor 4. We received our visitor passes from the tour/visitor manager and proceeded through a series of security checkpoints. Once fully inside the administrative building, we went downstairs to the radiation bunker. This is the place were the upper management of the station met the day after the disaster to discuss the situation. The place was supposedly big enough to hold 3000, but only 1500 comfortably. Maybe we didn't see the whole thing, but it looked like it would have been uncomfortable for more than 200 people... We saw the generators and the water storage tanks as well as the engineer control room. Then we went to the management control room. It's basically a room with a huge table and telephones with direct lines to top government officials. The manager showing us the bunker seemed thrilled to be talking with and telling us about the bunker. I also feel the need to mention that while we were in the management control room, the song 'Barbie Girl' was playing over the loudspeaker. Irony at its finest...

After the radiation bunker, we went upstairs and changed into white coats, caps, and shoes. The standard station worker attire. I have many pictures with me in it that I'll try and post sometime. At this point, we started walking towards the actual reactor building (before we were only in the administrative building). We crossed a walkway and entered into the gold hallway. The walls are lined with very vintage/retro gold paneling from the 1970s, and the floors have ugly tiles from the same era... very Soviet. This hallway connects to all four reactor control rooms, and although we didn't go all the way down, there is a huge white wall at the end before control room 4 called 'The Mammoth' which marks the beginning of the Sarcophagus.

First we visited the main circulation pump room of reactor 3. We saw four of the eight pumps which force water through the reactor. These things are massive: at least 50 feet high, and with a radius of about 10 feet. After this we went to the main turbine hall. This is one large room that houses all eight turbines for the reactors (2/reactor). Again, there is a wall between 6 and 7 where the Sarcophagus is. The plant shut the final reactor down in 2000, and it shows in the turbine hall since everything is starting to rust over. It was a little unnerving because one of the ramps we walked across was split in two down the middle and wobbled when we walked on it due to the rust.

Last stop in the reactor building was the control room of the first reactor. Because of the age of the reactor, the room is filled with dials, screens, switches, etc. The reactor was originally run by a SKALA computer, which worked off of tape ribbons (that should define its age...) However it was upgraded later to run from a more modern computer. Like the manager who showed us the bunker, the main control room operator was thrilled to talk with us. He has been working at the plant for 15 years and knows everything there is to know about running these reactors. He basically told us about every panel and many of the switches on each one; very in-depth detail :-).

After the control room, we went to the mock-up hall in the administrative building where there is a diorama of the facility and the proposed reactors 5 and 6 (which were never finished). Lastly, we had lunch with the workers at the cafeteria next to the reactor 5 construction site. Food was surprisingly good. After lunch we were driven back to Kiev.

---

I'm very happy that I went on this trip. It's something I've always wanted to do, and I can now cross it off of my 'bucket list'. I definitely think the highlight was getting to visit 'the cave' or 'hell' underneath the hospital, despite being exposed to some radiation (it's all about exposure time... so I'm not worried). I got some great pictures, very unique pictures of some of the more common things, so I'm very happy. I wouldn't recommend this journey to everyone, however if you're interested about the disaster or anything related, it's well worth it to see it for yourself.

Chernobyl Exclusion Zone Day 2: Pripyat

2010-06-10T16:05:00.000-04:00

Irradiated.
That pretty much sums up the whole day. This morning we drove to Dom Kulturi (Palace of Culture) in the city of Chernobyl where the trial was held in 1987 and a few lead officials were sentenced to ten years of hard labor for the Chernobyl disaster. Next, we drove to the cemetery, however our driver would only take us part of the way due to the levels of radiation. We walked around the cemetery and saw many radioactive signs, however none of them were above typical background levels.

We then proceeded to the 'cave' under the Pripyat hospital, which is affectionately nicknamed 'hell'. Soon after the disaster, the first response firefighters went to the hospital and removed their equipment in the basement and the equipment is still there today. Maksim decided that the levels on his dosimeter were too high for him, so he left but allowed the four of us to remain in 'hell' to search. Fourty feet into hell, we found a hot mattress of sorts in the hallway. Next, we found a pair of firefighter's boots which read 80 milli-roentgens (We have a video, just email me to see it). Next, we headed into a room off the main hallway and found even more equipment including firefighter helmets. Nearby, something read 250 milli-roentgens, which with think was another pair of boots. We continued on and found a hallway filled with rusty oxygen tanks, all spread haphazardly over the floor. At this point, we decided it would be hard to traverse the tanks, so we decided to turn around and return to the van. Carl and Mike both had to wash their shoes as they were reading slightly contaminated (mine were fine).

I would like to point out that 80 milli-roentgens is considered a radioactive zone in the US. We were standing by stuff with 250 milli-roentgens (a quarter of a roentgen/hr). Being exposed to 2 roentgens/hr is a lethal dose if exposed for a decent amount of time. Basically, we were in a highly radioactive area with no protection. Dangerous? Yes. Worth it? Yes.

After the commotion, we headed out to a place with a claw from a crane used to clean up some part of the disaster. Maksim said that the 10 milli-roentgens were too much for him (mind you, we were all okay with the 250 milli-roentgens on the boots earlier). The last place we went before returning for lunch was the city stadium complex. After lunch, we saw the swimming pool complex. This place was massive with two pools and many rooms underneath the large one. We could see the the cracks in the concrete beneath the pool; we don't think it has more than 10 years left in it...

Our next stop was one of the more well known schools. Here, we found tons of gas masks and gas canisters in the cafeteria. We then went to the city amusement park and saw the Pripyat ferris wheel (which was never officially opened before the disaster), the bumper cars, and the two swing rides. The whole place really feels like it was a resort, and it basically was. The Soviet Union built the city for the plant workers and it was actually a privilege to live and work here. Our next stop was a sixteen story apartment complex. We climbed to the roof of the complex and got a panoramic view of the city, the plant, and the Duga-3 station (the Russian Woodpecker). The lighting was absolutely beautiful here, and the view was simply heavenly. It was really calming looking over the evacuated city growing into nature... Last stop of the day was the 'Energetik', or the Pripyat Palace of Culture. This place was massive (I actually got lost in it towards the end). We saw the main auditorium, many stages, classrooms, and the scenic gymnasium with not only a splendid view of the ferris wheel, but a 24 year-old tree growing through the floor boards.

Sigh. It's still so surreal to be here in the abandoned city of Pripyat. The experience, although slightly hot (both the weather and the radiation), has been a lot of fun, and very calming.

I'm now back in the hotel room, chilling and sorting pictures for everyone (combined trip so far: 33GB, 25 GB from me alone). It's been a long few days, and it still continues tomorrow with a visit to the reactor facilities. Very few people get permission to enter the ЧАЭС (Chernobyl Atomic Energy Station) facilities. Be jealous!

Chernobyl Exclusion Zone Day 1: Pripyat

2010-06-10T09:33:00.000-04:00

Wow.

We woke up early, were picked up by the tour operators, and drove off to the exclusion zone. We switched tour guides three times within four hours... We rode to the zone with Macksim, who lived in Kiev at the time of the accident. It was interesting listening to his story of all of the uncertainty surrounding the situation. We arrived at the 30km checkpoint, were granted admittance, and drove to the Chernobyl Interinform headquarters in the city of Chernobyl. In case you didn't know, there is actually a city called Chernobyl in the zone, although it is not the abandoned city - that is Pripyat. We checked into our gated hotel and switched tour guides for the last time and wound up with Maksim #2. We drove through the 10km checkpoint and towards the ChNPP facility. We stoppped outside reactor #4 and took the standard pictures. Everyone has the same pictures because you are not allowed to photograph in any other direction there.

Off we went to Pripyat through another checkpoint. We stopped first at the Pripyat hospital. This thing was massive, and extremely moist. There wasn't anything too interesting there, pretty much what I expected from all of the pictures. It is obvious in some rooms that people moved objects to create scenes for pictures that didn't actually exist :-(. Next we walked through the grass (!) to the city morgue (Maksim had never been there before, so it was a trip for him too). We found the gas crematorium chamber... As we stepped outside, Carl was scanning the ground someplace and was ecstatic to find a 'hot' spot. Maksim said that we had better go as it was probably not safe to stay there long.

Next we headed to the Jupiter Plant, a metal factory of some sorts... Mike and I walked around the plant and into various rooms, finding all sorts of electrical equipment. We met up with Carl, Ed, and Maksim and proceeded to the basement. This was the second surprise for Maksim (he had never been there and was previously told there were no bomb shelters in Pripyat), as we found a bomb shelter underneath the factory. So here we are, five guys, four cameras, and one flashlight, walking around a pitch black bomb shelter. Judging by the equipment there, it appears that it may have been intended to be a bomb shelter, but that other 'experiments' were carried out there instead... Although the place was dark, scary-movie kind of creepy, moldy and disgusting, there was no radiation contamination there.

After we headed to the police station. Nothing too exciting here, except for a highly radioactive shoe outside. Across the street was an automobile workshop, and near the police station was a vehicle dump site. Again, leave it to Carl with his geiger counter to find the hottest spot in the place. As a worker for the Interinform, Maksim has been told about all of the really hot spots in the city, however he said that he never knew about the one Carl found.

Last stop of the day was a kindergarten. In order to get there, we had to walk about 200 feet into the forest... So typical one-day tours give you dosimeters and you're only allowed to walk on the pavement because once you walk off of it, the radiation levels jump high (not lethal, but high enough that you don't want to spend all day there). Needless to say, it was slightly unnerving walking through it. The kindergarten building is starting to become one with the forest around it with trees growing in it. Mike and I ventured off into various classrooms and realized that there weren't too many differences between American and Russian (USSR) kindergartens, despite the fact that Americans believe that everything here is completely different... It should be no surprise now that Carl found the hot spot there in one of the gutters, which was apparently the hottest place he had found all day (not lethal, but potentially close).

It's still hard to imagine what it was like being here when the accident took place... Being forced to evacuate the city, and imagining all the turmoil. No one knew the actual danger of the disaster. People were told that they were being evacuated for three days and would return. No one could see the danger that had fallen on their city, their lives. Yet I'm standing in an irradiated city and cannot see the danger that is lurking around me. Have I gotten close to something radioactively 'hot' today? Probably, but I just didn't know about it, like all fourty thousand inhabitants.

What have I learned today?
1. Mosquitoes suck
2. The city really isn't that 'creepy', I think a lot of it is psychological
3. Stay away from Carl, but note his location while he's hunting for radioactivite hot spots in an irradiated city.

Greetings from Kiev!

2010-06-07T16:53:00.000-04:00

I made it safely into Kiev two days ago. I'm proud that I was able to navigate my way to the city from the airport alone :-) They hostel chain in which we're staying moved our hostel, but it couldn't be better because we're paying less, and we have a balcony that overlooks independence square! It's quite funny since there's other hotels that you'll pay $200/night to overlook the same place and we're paying $20/night. Carl, Mike and Ed are here with me, and they are all ~7 years my senior. They're all unique, and what I imagine that Case graduates grow into... I know we're a show since we're foreigners, but I can't imagine how odd it looks for me walking around with three older men that definitely look like mid-30's... I pretend to play tour guide sometimes and I feel it appears less awkward.

Saturday was pretty much getting acquainted with Kiev, and walking along Kreshchatyk, the main city street. There was some sort of children's festival in Independence Square with a parade, performances on a stage from 1-10 and performances in the street. While in the street, a girl came up to us, handed us light blue cards and gave us very specific instructions on what to do. None of us understood a word. We walked a few more blocks and ate at an authentic Ukrainian restaurant and it was pretty decent, albeit a bit expensive. Oh, I almost forgot to mention that less than two hours into Ukraine, I made my first meal a Big Mac meal at McDonalds :-)

Sunday was an extremely long day. We spent all morning searching for two flea markets so Carl could try and buy something radioactive. Of course, he brought his geiger counter to the flea market and has been carrying it around Kiev the whole trip (!). The first wasn't there, and then we walked ~2 miles to find the next one out in the middle of nowhere, the whole time being assured that they knew where we were. This is what happens when you let other people hold the map. We found the flea market, which was pretty much filled junk that people must have removed from their apartments.. mostly plug sockets... We also found a lot of puppies for sale.. I was extremely tempted to buy one, however since dogs also need passports, it would be difficult... Next we took a tour around some of the famous parks and statues, the most notable being a monument to Stalin's genocide of the Ukranians and the World War II statue to the motherland. Also of note, we got lost in the park and wound up walking through the back gate of a Cathedral palace of sorts...

Today we went to the Chernobyl museum in the city. It housed a lot of personal effects from the reactor operators who died during the disaster. There was some hostility between us and the museum guards over a photography dispute (surprisingly, I wasn't actually involved!), however all that was wiped away when Carl pulled out his geiger counter and started sweeping items for radiation and the guards were asking us to go individual items to check the levels. Afterwards we split up; Carl and Mike went to the monastary and I to Hydropark. This place, although partially a waterpark, is pretty much like spring break all summer in Kiev. I sat on the young adult beach for a while, just watching as people climbed the bridge and jumped 80 feet into the Dnipro river... although the Cuyahoga river and Lake Erie are cleaner, it didn't stop everyone from swimming in it... At one point a random old guy near me started mumbling about the hot young girls on the beach and then started talking to me about them... it was a 'special' experience to say the least. Dinner again was at an Ukrainian restaurant... an expensive one, much to my grumbling... Long story short, it was good food, but not worth the money, however I got to watch Carl eat a cooked eel, which is probably one of the most disgusting foods I've seen eaten...

Tomorrow we're getting picked up at 8AM to head to the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone for three days.. it's gonna be great!

Less that 48 hours away

2010-06-02T20:17:00.000-04:00

I can't believe it's so close! It just doesn't feel real. Last year I was very excited, scared, and anxious for the trip. This year I'm excited, however somewhat apathetic. I guess it's to be somewhat expected since it's not a completely new adventure. It really just feels like another date on the calendar. Still, I'm starting to get more excited as the clock ticks away...

I've verified my placements and the schedule in the previous post is correct. I've been in contact with lots of people about this summer: Anna, Kathryn, Rodion, counselors, kids, and my new co-counselor at Rebyachka. I'm placed with Jo, a girl from the UK. It's definitely going to be an experience at Rebyachka this year since Jo doesn't speak any Russian. It's pretty much going to be a complete role reversal from last year!

Finally purchased the last items on my list yesterday and now have all of my gifts and crafts squared away for camp. I'm almost finished learning the new dance to teach the kids: Bye Bye Bye by Nsync. It's going to be good :-). I finally started packing things up last night. We bought one of those digital weight checkers for suitcases and it's amazing. I found out that all of our medium-sized suitcases weigh 10 lbs! It really does suck that the case is 20% of my allowed weight limit :-(.

I think I'm looking at this trip as more of a photographic journey. I know what to expect and I know what I'm going to be doing. There's not as much guesswork as last year. Heck, the first week in Kiev is pretty much all photographic! I want to challenge myself to portray Russians in a different light (no photographic pun intended). Many people think that Russia is cold all year (it's not) and that the people themselves are cold. Fun fact: they're not. To strangers they are, but their soul is full of warmth. I want to try and capture that this year. It'll be a fun project.

First Post for Russia 2010!

2010-05-27T23:04:00.000-04:00

Well, here's the first post for my next trip to Russia with CCUSA. I got my placements the other day, however I'm still unsure which camp I will be going to first. I'm pretty sure this is my itinerary for the summer:

June 4-11: Week in Kiev
June 8-10: Three day tour to Chernobyl and Pripyat
June 11-13: Moscow Orientation
June 14 - July 10: Cherepovets (in-city camp and Искра 'The Spark')
July 12 - August 9: Tyumen (Rebyachya Respublika)
August 11: Flight back to the US

Kiev/Chernobyl
The planning for this started back in February and is the final result of many letters in Russian written to the Director of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Station. There's a total of four of us. Two days will be spent outside the facilities and in the abandoned town of Pripyat. The third day we will be visiting places inside the facility.. more on that to come later. Aside from Chernobyl, I'm excited to visit Kiev and check out a new country!

Cherepovets
This is the first place I went last year. I think I'll have a week in the in-city camp. Then we'll move to the out-of-city camp. Last year we went to Zhemchuzhina Mologi. This year, we're going to Iskra aka 'The Spark'. Like last year, I'm the only CCUSA participant going here. I'm really excited for this because I've been keeping contact with counselors and kids from the camp and I'll get to see a lot of them again!

Tyumen
I'm returning to Rebyachka again with a girl from the UK. Again, I've kept in contact with a lot of people from here, so I'm naturally excited to return and see them all again.

more to come soon!

8 days until Kiev
15 days until Russia

Final post for my Russia adventure 2009

2009-08-14T12:30:00.003-04:00

Well, this will be the final post for my Russia trip.

The last day at Rebyachya Respublika was beyond fantastic. I brought my nice camera to Melissa and I's divisions. The kids had an absolute blast playing with the camera and getting their pictures taken. Before leaving, the camp gathered on the totalski plats for a farewell to Melissa and I. Each division presented us with something, ranging from songs to smiles to posters to a flash mob hug. It was really touching, and of course I started crying during it, as did some of our boys. My boys started crying as I said goodbye to them, which was extremely touching.

The flight back to Moscow was pretty uneventful, except for almost missing our shuttle because we were too busy buying food and souvenirs. My ear was fine during all three flights because Melissa convinced me to head to the first aid place one last time. They poured something really strong into my ear (we think it was vodka) which cleared it up overnight.

The first night in Moscow, Melissa and I walked down some of the pedestrian streets. We almost went and saw Harry Potter, but didn't. Back at the hotel, I reconnected with many of the 8week-ers as we shared our experiences at camp. I was upset to hear that a lot of them had less than fantastic times at their camp with problems ranging from the camp administration to kids to counselors to theft. After listening to everyone complain for a few hours, I decided that we should just compile a list of what we thought needed to be changed about CCUSA to make next year's experience better. The list was not received as well as we had hoped when we presented it the following morning, but I think there is still hope :-)

We had free time the rest of the day, which was spent with Zoe and Kieran souvenir shopping. We bought something at each store, and seemed to get good deals at each store. We also walked a long time to "dom knigi" (lit. House of Books), only to find that it was close to the street we were on before. We had our final closing dinner at the hotel, where we each received certificates for working/volunteering at our respective children's camps.

After dinner, a bunch of us headed out to see Red Square at night. I have to admit, it wasn't as beautiful as I thought it was going to be. I had some last things I needed to buy, so I split off from the group and walked around Moscow by myself. I passed one subway station in search of a bookstore. After not finding anything worthwhile in the store, I decided to continue heading down the road in search of a different metro station. I found the station, and I didn't realize how far I had walked until I looked at the map. It must have been at least a good mile. So I took the metro to the souvenir street we were on before. After buying what I needed, I decided it would be quicker to head out to the main street that "dom knigi" was on since we earlier found out how close they were. After passing three dark alleys, I headed down the brightest one I could find that looked like it opened up to the road. The road never opened up, so I turned left, then right... in total, I think I walked down something like six dark alleys, had three police cars pass me, and saw many less-than-reputable figures. I finally found an exit by a skeezy gentleman's club. After walking around shady parts of Moscow by myself I took a 30 minute metro ride back to the hotel. Upon returning, others were happy that I showed up because apparently there were many people that were uncounted for that night because they decided to consume lots and lots and lots of alcohol. It was very evident at the hotel as five or so people were well beyond sober.

The next morning, we said our final goodbyes as we headed off to the airport. Melissa and I agreed that we'll see each other at the 2014 olympics in Sochi! At the airport, we passed through three separate security checkpoints on the way to the plane. The plane ride over was quite long; I was dead tired, but unable to sleep. I sat next to a very nice woman who teaches Russian and ESL at a university in New Jersey. I also watched the new Star Trek movie, which turned out better than I imagined. Once at JFK, the four of us rechecked our bags and didn't have to pay the fee for domestic flights! Karen and I headed up the stairs after security to wait for Zack and Kristine, but unfortunately they never came up the stairs so we were separated and never got to say goodbye.

Karen and I loitered around the Delta terminal, eating and shopping, until her father called and said that her flight was cancelled. Thus, I spent the next hour helping her try to get some new arrangements. We said our quick goodbyes as she had decided to take the train to Washington. Later, I found out my flight was also cancelled and quickly got a flight to Cleveland the next morning. Consequently, I spent the night on the floor in JFK. It turned out to be not that bad. I guess many flights were cancelled that night because I talked to lots of people the next morning who we supposed to fly out to different cities the night before.

The flight to Cleveland was pretty uneventful, except that I read National Geographic in Russian, which I decided I'm going to subscribe to. I tried to pick up my bags, only to find that they went to Pittsburgh instead. A short five minute conversation later and my bags were going to be delivered to my house the next day (today). I was really impressed with Delta and how easy it was to reschedule a new flight and how quickly they handled my lost luggage.

And thus ends the story of my trip to Russia in 2009. I loved every part of this trip, and I wouldn't trade it for anything. The people, the camp, the kids, everything was fantastic. Thank you to everyone who made this summer amazing; I will never forget this summer. I can't wait to return next summer!

Last 24 hours at Rebyachya Respublika

2009-08-09T06:16:00.000-04:00

Well, tomorrow is my last day at Rebyachya Respublika. It's been a fantastic month here, and I'm really going to miss the kids and counselors here. The best times I've had have just been sitting in the common room with the kids, just having fun. Melissa and I have a game planned for tonight to give out our gifts to our teams, so that will be a lot of fun. Our flight leaves tomorrow around 5PM, but no one has told us what time we're actually leaving the camp :-(. After that, I'll have two days in Moscow for sightseeing and souvenir shopping. Then my flight to JFK, a four+ hour wait at JFK, then my flight to Pittsburgh. I'm actually really worried about all three flights because my left ear is killing me. And it's not in my best interest to be flying since I don't know what's actually wrong. Anyways, I'm sure everything will be fine in a few days :-) I hope.

My thoughts about Russia have drastically changed since being here. Before leaving, I was warned about not doing this or that, that it smells horrible in Russia, that the country is very poor financially. They've been true to some extent, but everything is very liveable. I came over with the notion that Russia is a struggling country and that its people were always having to struggle with this or that. And now... well none of it is true. The people here are amazing beyond belief. The people do have lots of discrepancies with their government, but hey, who doesn't have discrepancies with ours... I've been constantly asked the question: Is Russia or America better? And I truly hate having to answer that question because everyone 'knows' that America is better. But honestly, it depends on what you're measuring. Financially and anything government-related... yea, America is probably better. If you're talking about the sheer beauty of each country, Russia wins. If you're talking about the culture and the nature of people, I think Russia has us beat. I don't have anything against America, so don't misinterpret, but there are some areas that we can definitely improve upon.

To sum up, it's been a fantastic experience and I wouldn't trade it for the world.

The end is near :-(

2009-08-05T06:26:00.001-04:00

I think it's time for another update. Things have been going pretty well here the last few days. They've been really relaxing compared to the rest of the summer so far. If I haven't mentioned it yet, the current shift is for kids that are training for sports. It seems a little overkill that eight year olds can't stop 'training' for sports for 19 days, but I guess that's the Russian way. Every morning and afternoon there's two hours of training for the kids, which means that I have an extra four free hours each day to do anything I want! I've been working diligently on planning and timing out the RTS video that I need to start the minute I get back. I also finally finished reading The Shack. Overall it was a good book that I'd recommend to anyone looking for an easy, insightful read. Melissa, the girl from the UK, read through it in less than twenty-four hours. I like this shift better than the last because I don't feel like a guest and instead feel like I truly work here. Since I have more free time, I've spent it in my team's hall doing all the relaxing that I can.

I can't believe that it's almost over! I only have another 5 days here and two more in Moscow before I return to the US. It's been a great experience, but it's time for it to end and return back to the real world (at least for a little bit). I'm really glad that before I came here, I decided not to pursue a medical career. I've had a lot of time to think about what I truly want to do, and it's nice because it's a blank slate. I've decided that business school is where I'm heading after Case. After that I would ultimately like to work as an expat in Russia with an international company of sorts.

Okay, I think that's it for now.

New Shift at Rebyachya Respublika

2009-07-31T01:56:00.000-04:00

Today is the first day of the new shift. The kids won't arrive for another two hours, at 13:00. I'm really excited because it's been really boring here without kids. On Tuesday the kids left, and overall, I was really sad to see them leave (most of them anyways). Everyone told me that I have to come back next year. I rode into the city with the kids to see them off and watch their parents take them home. Afterwards, Melissa and I got to see the city of Tyumen for the day. It's a very westernized city because of all the oil and gas in the region. We saw some sites and whatnot, but it was pretty boring. Sightseeing is the same after a while. We went to an 'amusement park' in the middle of the city and rode a ferris wheel and a cable drop ride (similar to Power Tower at Cedar Point). We also went shopping at a huge indoor mall (which is very uncommon for Russia). Then we returned to camp for the night and I had an amazing time sleeping in.... thank heavens.
On Wednesday, the new counselors arrived, and on Thursday, we had a 'counselor camp'. It essentially was eight hours+ of rehearsal for the opening concert. Yesterday was actually a very bad day for me because I really just wanted to be home. I felt like I had been wasting the whole day at the rehearsal. I just have a lot of things to do when I get home, and I'm anxious to do them! I'm feeling better today though, because the kids are coming and it'll be really busy here, so that's always good. Yea, that's pretty much it....

End of the (third) session at Rebyachya Respublika

2009-07-26T04:32:00.000-04:00

Well I guess it's time for another update. As of today (26th) there's only one full day left of this session. Then my day off!!! (thank heavens). Since my last post, a decent amount has happened, I guess. I've started to enjoy my guitar lessons more. The same two boys, Ilya and Roma, come everyday and we just have a good time. It's more like play a little guitar, and then talk to Chad in a combination of Russian/English. As far as Melissa and I's dance class.... Melissa started teaching choreography to Britney Spears' 'Hit Me Baby One More Time', which was interesting to say the least. It's not done yet, but it looks... well, pretty Britney-ish. For the final concert tomorrow, we're dancing the Thriller dance. It looks pretty good right now :-).

A few days ago, sirens went off and everyone had to gather on the common square, as the camp administration planned a surprise war game for the camp. Thus, as part of the Red Army (the others being the Blue Army), we hiked far into the forest. I thought the game would last an hour or so.... wrong. We got there and kids were hauling logs from the forest, and counselors were sewing paper onto campers' shirts while others set up tents and tables. The game lasted a total of six hours, and was very anti-climatic to say the least since there was never really any 'war' aspect to it. Most of the kids just sat in the base camp the whole time.

New topic. I've started hanging out with Melissa and her division more often now since I'm not too fond of mine. There's some nice kids in it, but no one really ever wants to do anything, so it's just a bunch of fighting and yelling. Even getting kids outside to eat is a hassle; they hide under the beds, in the closet, behind the drapes. The younger kids are better behaved :-(. Putting the kids to bed is another hassle which involves a lot of yelling, and last night one of the directors came and pulled kids into the hall for a long overdue scolding. Most nights I leave well before the kids are asleep because I'm usually at the point where I want to hit one or two of them. Maksim and Katya (the other counselors) are usually at the same point with me, but instead, they just slam doors and whatnot. (I haven't hit a kid yet here, and don't plan on it, but some kids truly deserved to get the crap beaten out of them... we let the other campers take care of that for us). Still, there are a few nice kids in my division and it showed last night at our campfire. We wrapped yarn around our wrists then cut it and gave it to someone special in our division whom we felt really close to. I got one from both Mark and Ruslan, so that was very touching.

So this morning, a camera crew from Tyumen camp to camp to film the foreigners teach English (Melissa) and dance (me). It was awkward at best, but the worst was the one on one interviews. Melissa did hers all in Russian but I had a translator for mine since my knowledge of Russian is pretty slim. They asked me about kids in Russia vs. America as well as differences between camps in the countries. They mentioned mentioned the old pioneer camp system in Russia and related it to Boy Scouts, then asked me if every Russian kid wants to be a Boy Scout.... (if the sentence doesn't make sense, it's okay because the question didn't make sense either). So, if anyone at home has access to Tyumen, Russia television broadcasting, I'll be on tv!

Okay, I think that's it for now.... Things are overall better here, but I'm excited to come home.

Greetings from Rebyachya Respublika!

2009-07-19T10:59:00.000-04:00

There was a last minute change of plans back in Moscow. Thus, I'm now in Tyumen at a camp called Rebyachya Respublika (Children's Republic).

Leaving Zhemchuzhina Mologi was really hard. Katherine and I were sent off in a special circle something where everyone sang to us. The most touching moment was seeing Maksim, Igor, Artyom, and Artyom cry as they hugged me goodbye. Nastya (another counselor) came up to me and told me that I was a true Russian camp counselor because my leaving actually made the kids cry.

So now I'm in Tyumen, which is a really rich region because there is a lot of oil here. I've heard this place called 'New Russia' because it's supposedly very western. I've only seen the camp so far since my plane landed at 1am, but the camp is definitely nothing like Zhemchuzhina. All the buildings are brand new; everything looks very western. In some ways it's disappointing because it feels like living in a hotel and I feel that it detracts from the 'camp experience'. Also, the kids in the team here don't seem to be as connected to each other :-(.

I'm here with a girl from the UK, Melissa. She speaks very good Russian since she's lived here before and has been learning it for eight years. We're both teachers and counselors, which is very time-consuming because we have to split time between our teams and planning lessons for the next day. In the mornings, Melissa and I both teach a dance class where the kids are learning the thriller dance and eventually will learn some other line dances. In the afternoons, Melissa teaches English and I have a guitar class. Guitar class is more like 'come play whatever instrument you want and have fun'.

Melissa is working with team 8 (younger kids) and I'm working with team 5 (older kids). My co-counselors, Maksim and Katya, are very nice. Katya speaks no English, and Maksim only a little. Likewise, all of the counselors here speak either little or no English. It's great actually because I've learned so much Russian since being solely at this camp because it's the only way to communicate with anyone! This shift (camp session) ends on July 28th, and although I like my team right now, I'm going to request to work with the younger kids for the next shift, just to get a different experience.

Had I written this entry a few days ago, it would not have been this cheery. The first 4-5 days were pretty much hell here. Mostly because the camp wanted us to do things, but didn't bother telling either of us. Also, partly because I was really missing Zhemchuzhina. But it's better now. Still, I really rather be home, working on the RTS video for Beta.

Anyways... I'm sorry, this post is really jumping all over the place. One of the biggest differences I've noticed since being at this camp happened yesterday. We went swimming in the indoor pool here. That was an interesting experience. First off, I didn't have a towel, and when I asked Katya about it, she said I didn't need to worry about it because 'something about counselors.... idk'. Turns out, I did need one, so that was interesting. I was told just to steal one of the kids' towels... Secondly, before you get in the pool, everyone must shower with soap and shampoo (but not after the pool.. strange). Anyways, there's me and the other counselor Maksim with 15 naked boys running around. The interesting thing was that none of them cared that they were naked, they were just talking to each other like it was ordinary. Also, in our team there is a very, very big boy, Ruslan. No one said a thing about his weight or anything. Everyone here is very comfortable with their bodies, which is very different from America where everyone's worried about this and that.

My experience here has been extremely different from that of the previous camp. I don't really feel any personal connections to anyone here. We both feel more like we can just come and go as we please, which is nice some of the time, but others... ehh. Here, I feel like I'm growing through having to actually get along in a foreign environment and through all the troubles I'm encountering. Whereas at Zhemchuzhina, I felt like my experience was more about personal growth and building friendships. Speaking of which, I was invited back to Zhemchuzhina to be a counselor next summer, regardless of whether I go through a program!

Anyways, that's about it for now I think. More to come later!

Last day at Zhemchuzhina Mology

2009-07-11T05:44:00.002-04:00

Well, as stated, today is my last day at Zhemchuzhina Mology. It's been a great last few days, definitely better than the previous ones. I don't have much time so I'm going to keep this short. The last few nights we played pranks on the kids.... from stealing all their clothes at night and tying them all together, to scaring them at 3am today. Today, we have the final camp concert... I and ten other kids are doing the Thriller dance for the camp. lol.

Some of the boys here have already started crying because they don't want camp to end. Last night Katherine and I gave out presents to most of the kids, but I still have some extra presents to give out. It truly is amazing how close you can get to people in less than 21 days. And it's rewarding to know that somehow, their lives have been changed for the better because of camp.

This may be my last update until I return to the US since there isn't access at the next camp. I'm hoping that one of the counselors will have their notebook and internet through their cell phone, but no guarantees. This experience has already been one of the best things in my life, and I wouldn't trade it for anything. I can't wait for what the next four weeks holds!

3 days left.

2009-07-08T15:08:00.000-04:00

Camp is almost over here at Zhemchuzhina Mology. There’s been a lot of ups and downs and leaving is going to be bittersweet. I’m really sorry that the following is not going to be well connected, but I’m just trying to hit the highlights… Let’s see… since the last post….

We held a rope course for our kids which consisted of stations of walking on logs, walking solely on ropes (off the ground, of course), and the last station, we all were in a ‘well’ (surrounded by ropes). We had to get everyone (30 people) out of the ‘well’ without touching the ropes. Needless to say it was very hard, but in the end, there was some definite bonding among the team, which was desperately needed at the time.

One of the other days there was an ‘Indian Tribe’ day. Each team built tepees and painted themselves and then had to present the chief god with some gift (we did a dance). At the end, the kids hunted and rounded up the counselors, dressed as mammoths.

We had a huge Fourth of July celebration. We had two opening performances in the morning for the rest of the camp where we put on a skit about the brief history of America. Later that day, we had a ‘potluck performance’ which was basically having every team put on a different skit of some sorts. We taught our kids the Hokey Pokey as well as the Electric Slide. One girl from another group sang ‘my heart will go on’, and I was thoroughly shocked how everyone in the audience loved that song… they all stood up swaying back and forth holding each other’s hands in the air… it was, well awkward actually.

I’ve been sick since 4 July with a head cold. I’m pretty sure it’s from the weather because it was really nice until the third, and ever since, it’s been 50-60 degrees here :-( I’ve still got a bit of a cold, but I’m doing a thousand times better than on the fourth.

I’m definitely ready to go to the next camp. There’s too much drama here. There’s tension between our camp and the large camp we’re living at, between counselors, tension among children, and some tension regarding the organization of the camp :-( At this point, I’m done being a counselor at this camp since I don’t want to deal with all of their drama. I now consider myself a special camper since I get along better with the kids. And I am perfectly okay with that because ‘camp is all about the kids’.

Thus, what I’m taking away from this trip is the little things. I can talk about other activities, but they don’t matter because none of them have really made the trip worth it. What has made the trip worth it since the last post? Just interacting with the kids. Whether it is walking between activities, in the mess hall, in the dorms, waiting around for something. Sometimes it’s talking to them in a combination of English and Russian, sometimes it’s just playing around with them.
This also extends past our own campers. Katherine and I have campers from other teams come up to us in the mess hall and always say ‘hello’. The excitement on their face just saying that word is indescribable.

I have three days left, and the eleventh can’t come soon enough. I’m going to really miss the kids, but everything else… ehh, but hey, it’s for the kids (as the great Jake Ruth once said). I’m excited for the new challenges in Chelyabinsk, for the new people I’m going to meet, and for a change. And for everyone who reads this, I hope you’re having a great summer doing whatever you’re doing!

Greetings from Zhemchuzhina Mology! (Pearl of the Mologa)

2009-06-27T15:43:00.002-04:00

It’s been a while since I last updated this because I thought I was going to have internet access once more before I left for camp. Anyways, before I left Cherepovets, I received a guided tour of the city from some of the university students (as well as more slang words). I also went to a night club, Жара. Boy, are Russian night clubs better than American ones; everything from the music to the people to the location.

Before leaving, I met up with Anna, the camp director, and Katherine, a long-time colleague of Anna’s who has been to Russia many times over the last ten years. We had one of many long-winded meetings on Sunday for planning the first week of camp. It was a 4.5hr meeting, no joke.

So now I’m at Zhemchuzhina Mology. I am one of five Americans at the camp this week. In addition to Katherine and I (who will be here the full three weeks), there is the Fay family (Fatima, Alan, and Emre). Fatima’s husband works at the US Embassy in Moscow and they’re here to take part in the camp for the first week, as well as check things out. It’s been an absolute blast so far, and we all mesh really nicely. Unfortunately, they left this evening for Turkey :-(

The camp is nice and big with supposedly around 500 kids, but I don’t believe it. The Leader XXI camp that I’m with is actually a separate camp since we have our own activities and lessons, but we occasionally take part in the main camp’s activities. Zhemchuzhina Mology is of course on the Mologa River in the Vologda region. It’s what you would expect from a summer camp, except that all the buildings are concrete instead of traditional American ‘cabins’.

I’m living in a concrete building along with the rest of the counselors and campers. Although I’m supposed to be solely an English teacher, I’m more part teacher / part counselor / part foreigner, and as such, I’m leading the ninth group on the first floor more since I live there. The kids have been absolutely wonderful and I’m having an amazing time.

As expected, there’s a lot of trouble here at the camp. There’s a group of kids from orphanages in Vologda who thought they were going to a traditional Russian summer camp, not an intensive English summer camp. As such, they’re less than thrilled to be here and are disobedient (most of them). Of the kids, there are two who absolutely stand out from the rest (in my mind at least). First is a twelve year old boy, Artyom. The other counselors say we act like brothers. The first day he sat down next to me and spoke some English with gestures. Katherine commented that we can communicate very easily without language, and we both instantly agreed and a big smile ran across his face. It was one of those moments that made the whole trip worth it. Second is a boy from the orphanage in Vologda, Dmitri. This boy has had absolutely no English contact whatsoever in his life. He came here thinking it was one thing and it turned out to be something different. Every day he comes into the counselor room to ask us to write down English words and simple sentences so that he can learn English. It’s really amazing because this camp is working, at least for him. Again, it’s one of those single things that would make the whole experience worth it.

Even though I’m at an intensive English summer camp, I’m still learning a lot of Russian. I’m beginning to stop relearning things and am now learning new things. One of the counselors, Oksana, told me that she’s only going to speak to me in Russian, even though she’s fluent in English (and German too). It’s hard, because she’s actually giving me responsibilities (all in Russian, of course), such as yelling at the boys to clean rooms in the morning and afternoon. Although it’s tough, it’s good for me because I’m actually being forced into having to use Russian. In general, even just sitting in the counselor’s room listening to Russian conversations is extremely helpful.

Well, I think that’s about it really. I can’t believe that the first week of this camp is almost over! It’s been soo much fun!!

подарки (Gifts)

2009-06-18T17:35:00.001-04:00

I will be bringing back gifts from Russia for everyone, so if you have any requests, please post them here!!!!

Update from Cherepovets!!!!

2009-06-18T16:47:00.003-04:00

Hello again!

I didn't think I'd have internet again so soon, but I do! Tak.... Tuesday the camp took an excursion to Kirillov (1.5 hrs away from Cherepovets). It's the place of some famous monasteries that held off various invasions about 400 years ago. The monasteries were absolutely B-E-A-utiful! We toured both museums at both monasteries, and unfortunately, I didn't understand any of the things they said since it was all in really fast russian! Regardless, the items they had on display were interesting (or about as interesting as items in a tiny museum can get!). The trip was a real turning point for me. Monday night I was beginning to feel a bit down about being here for various reasons... But I had a lot of fun on the trip and connected with a lot of people and made a lot more friends! They say russians are very proud people, and it's very true! After lunch on the trip, I started speaking russian to a few of the girls, and a crowd quickly gathered as they were all amazed at how much Russian I knew. They also admitted that they think it's very funny when I speak Russian because I have a funny accent (well конечно [of course], I'm not Russian!)

I've had some amazing food while here... Blini (similar to pancakes), pelmini, and a lot of non-traditional Russian food like buckwheat and soup. But if they give you food, you eat it!

Yesterday at camp, it was the birthday theme, so I had to come up with a traditional American birthday game. I decided on pin the tail on the donkey, so the night before, Masha and I drew and painted a picture of Eeyore with no tail. (Masha informed me that all cartoon donkeys in Russia look like Eeyore!) Alas, the game was a big hit!

Last night, I went with Boris, Iulia, and Yana to eat pizza. During the dinner, we exchanged 'choice words' from our respective languages... Let's just say that I'm now the proud owner of five pages of Russian slang (to put it nicely)! Afterwards, we went to a pool hall. We played American billiards for a while, but the real fun was playing Russian billiards. Now, Russian billiards is VERY difficult. The balls are about twice the size, and the pockets are significantly smaller than traditional billiards. The hole is literally only about 7 millimeters larger than the ball. wow.

Today was mainly preparing for the final show tomorrow since it is the last day of camp. I am in three skits! In the first, I'm helping Masha's group sing 'make new friends'. In the second, I somehow landed a part as Lady GaGa singing a snippet of Poker Face (in orientation they say that if someone asks you to do something, you say yes... well... maybe they should tell you to think before you agree to a twelve year old's ideas....). In the third skit, I'm serenading one of the camp's directors with 'I Want It That Way' by the Backstreet Boys. I'm playing the guitar and singing along with a group of 8 campers and counselors. I'm bringing Beta's serenading skills to Russia! Be proud brothers!
I'm normally brought to the camp by one of the other counselors since camp is on the other side of town. Well, today the girl was late so I left on my own. I knew the way, and wanted to test it! I took the tram to the bus station where she caught up with me since the buses were running late, lol. Anyways, tonight I went for a ride with Lyuda, Marina, and Alyosha (Marina's boy friend). They showed me around the city and Cherepovets State University (it costs 1500$/yr, fyi). It was a lot of fun and I think I now have plans to visit a nightclub with them this weekend!

I am also now the proud owner of a profile on 'в контакте'. It's the Russian equivalent of facebook! It was my second day and everyone was telling me I needed to get one! I'm excited because it means I get to stay in touch with everyone!!!!

Some more reflections from my trip. I will admit that Monday night I wasn't feeling the greatest about being in Cherepovets since it resembles what we Americans perceive small towns to be like: worn-down, dirty, unkept. But alas, by Tuesday night I was already regretting having those thoughts. The people here are absolutely amazing and they've changed the way I first perceived the city. Although the town IS dirty (there's a huge factory in the middle and it blows junk everywhere, so the comment is legit), it's still picturesque because of the sky. They sky here is SOO different than in Ohio. In Ohio, the clouds are flat, straight, dull, and boring to say the least. Here, the clouds are very fluffy, and shaped as such. There's also always a mix of white clouds, grey clouds, and black clouds, and all three are clearly distinguishable from each other in a clear sky. These clouds are things a photographer could only dream of in Ohio... they're the clouds you see in postcards! Two more things. Mullets are still fashionable here and I don't know why. Girls always wear high heels. It doesn't matter if they plan on walking on brick roads; they wear high heels.

I hope to have one more post before I leave for Zhemchuzhina Mology (Pearl of the Mologa) on Monday!

Greetings from Cherepovets!

2009-06-15T13:40:00.002-04:00

Currently, I am in Cherepovets, Russia at the camp, Leader XXI.

On June 9th, I started orientation for CCUSA in New York. I met a lot of amazing people there from all over the country, and a lot from Georgia. Among the many things we did were going to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to see the Temple of Dendur and going to Times Square.

We flew to Moscow on June 11th, and landed on June 12th, Russia Day. There were big celebrations in Moscow and all over Russia. Our Moscow visit was mainly touring the city... we saw the Kremlin, Red Square, the Russian Orthodox Cathedral, Moscow State University, St. Basil's Cathedral, and Victory Park. We were led around by a handful of teenagers who spoke only some English, so it was an experience in and of itself.

Yesterday was very sad since everyone left for their respective camps. I was the last to leave, as I had a 9:05p train to Cherepovets, Russia. Riding on the train was tons of fun, and I was in a room with a family of three. They spoke very little English, but we were able to communicate pretty well through a combination of Russian and English. We even played UNO!

This morning I arrived in Cherepovets. I am currently staying in the dormitories of Cherepovets State University while working at the day camp of Leader XXI. All of the campers, including the counselors were very excited to meet me and kept asking me tons of questions about my life. It was very weird to be the 'special person' at the camp. The first questions was 'are you married?'... of course asked by one of the teenage girls. The camp mainly teaches English, so most of the kids speak more English than I had anticipated. Overall, I'm really enjoying this experience.

On Monday, I will be at another camp 120km from Cherepovets. The new camp is called 'Pearl of the Mologa River' and is under direction of the same camp director as Leader XXI. I'm excited for even more experiences of Russian culture!

Some thoughts about Russia and Russian people.... In preparing for my trip, everyone kept asking me 'don't russians hate americans?'. I can definitely say that the statement is absolutely false. On a governmental scale, maybe things are different, but on a personal level, everyone has been very excited about meeting Americans. I think they're even more excited about meeting me that I'm excited about meeting them! (And I'm very excited). Also, Russian people are very friendly. They are always willing to share anything and everything they have with you, no matter how much (or little) they have. Also, it's not cold here. The two days I spent in Moscow were somewhere around 90% humidity and 80-something.

I hope that everyone who is reading this is in good health and having a fantastic summer! More to come as soon as I have internet again!

-chad

2009-06-08T00:41:00.001-04:00

in new york!

Begins in 11 hours!

2009-06-07T00:58:00.000-04:00

The adventure begins in 11 hours with my flight to New York!

Adventure begins in less than 48 hours!

2009-06-05T12:35:00.002-04:00

It's been a while since I last updated this and there's a lot that's happened.
Placements:
I got my placements on the 26th. I will be at Uralskaya Beryozka (Ural Birch Tree) in Chelyabinsk for the first four weeks. This is a traditional summer camp with some off-road adventures thrown in as well. Apparently, the camp also has professional ballroom dancers come in and teach during the sessions, so I'm going to learn to ballroom dance this summer! I will be there with two other counselors from the UK who are also in the CCUSA program. The second four weeks, I will be at Leader XXI in Cherepovets (120km from Moscow). I will be at their in-city camp for the first week then in their outdoors camp for the next three weeks, Zhemchuzhina Mology (The Pearl of the Mologa River). I will be the only international counselor there since I was supposed to be placed with a girl from the UK, but she backed out at the last minute.

Medical Problems:
Earlier this week, I got an email stating that I had to have this battery of medical tests before I could work at the second camp. These tests included syphillis, gonorrhea, parasites, typhoid fever, chest x-rays. All of these were to test for the H1N1 virus cause everyone in Russia is paranoid about it. Now, I have no idea what any of these tests have to do with H1N1, but it was all resolved after a doctor's visit, multiple emails between me, california and russia, and even a call to moscow. In the end, luckily I didn't have to spend the several hundred dollars on the tests!

I should actually be packing right now instead of updating this cause I'm leaving for Pittsburgh in 3 hours, but oh well. Packing has been so stressful. I can only take 100 pounds with me. It seems like a lot, but when you have 1.5-2 weeks of clothes, in addition to teaching materials and gifts (giving gifts is the norm in Russia)... it adds up quick. Gifts from clothes to hats to keychains to candy to cheap toys.. you name it, I've got it.

I'm actually starting to get reall nervous about this trip. I've been wanting to do this for so long, but it's just starting to hit now that I'm going to be in a foreign country for 8 weeks.. no one speaks english, my russian isn't that great, etc. ugh. oh well, i'll deal with it. no backing out now!

2009-05-17T00:14:00.002-04:00

Less than 30 days until I will be in Russia and I'm already starting to learn more and more about the Russian culture. Apparently Russians place a high value on everything being 'official', even seemingly unimportant things... I had to have my health form returned because it had to be stamped by the office to be 'official'. My visa application and passport need to be sent in on Wednesday, so I gotta start filling it out soon.
After looking over the packing list provided.... I've got a decent amount of shopping to do. Shopping not for myself, but for things to share with the camp and things to use as teaching aids.. Postcards, pictures, small gifts for directors, etc...

22 days until New York.
26 days until Russia.

First Post

2009-05-07T01:47:00.000-04:00

Hey everyone, this is going to be my official blog for my trip to Russia this summer. I'm going with CCUSA (Camp Counselors USA) to Russia for 8 weeks to work as a counselor in a Russian children's camp. I'm really excited to go abroad again, and I'm really excited to use what I've learned in Russian class the last two years