I had an appointment to come back to the LT English Language School, and sit in on some of their classes. Took the Marshrutka to Uzhgorod. The marshrutkas are one thing I DON"T like about Ukraine. They're cheap, convenient, and reliable, but these little buses are stuffy and hot; you could bake bread in them. I don't expect air conditioning, but please! at least open a window when it's 90 degrees out!!
Met with several of the Ukrainian born English teachers - Lesya, Sam, Lyuda, Mira. They all spoke excellent English, very friendly people. They have a different philosophy on teaching English, one that makes very good sense to me. They don't believe in teaching Grammar, but rather emphasize speech. They told me about various techniques they use to help their students speak English automatically and naturally. Sounds a lot better than the 2 years of Russian Grammar I had in college; knowing the various cases and declensions did nothing to help me speak the language.
We spent about an hour talking about their teaching methods, then they invited me to come back to sit in on some of their classes. I had an hour to kill, so I explored Uzhgorod some more. Photo of Shandor Petofi, in Petofi Square:
Petofi was poet and hero of 1848 Hungarian Revolution.
Another sausage shop:
I stopped at one of the sidewalk cafe's; while there I was approached by a crazy woman begging for money. First, I tried telling her that I didn't understand Ukrainian. That didn't work, because she used gestures to show me she was asking for money. I told her, in Ukrainian, that I didn't have any money, that I was a "bidnyak" (pauper). She said, "Yeah, and I'm the President." Several tables over was sitting a man who came to my rescue and told her to get lost, this was a restaurant, not a place for begging. After she left, he asked me where I was from. I said "America". He answered "Me too." I went and joined him at his table. I found out that he was born in Armenia, came to America as a child, and had been living in Los Angeles. Pleasant conversation about Zakarpattia. My new Armenian friend thought my idea of possibly living in Zakarpattia was good idea, he said, since Zakarpattia was the center of Europe, and the gateway to the EU.
Back at the school, the first class I sat in on was for teens. There were 3 girls and one boy. Two of the students - Anthony, 14, and Kathy, 15, were incredibly bright, talkative, and engaging. The other two girls hardly said a word. Lesya had told me that many Ukrainians won't speak English, even though they know it well, because they are afraid of making mistakes and looking stupid. Anthony and Kathy were very mature, and had great command of English. If you didn't know anything about them, and heard them talking on the telephone, you might think they were American college students. Kathy told me that she plans to attend Beria College in Kentucky to study International Relations and Political Science, then continue education in Kiev, with goal of becoming a diplomat. I have no doubt that some day she will play a role in Ukraine's government.
We spent a couple of hours talking about ourselves, our families, what we like to do for recreation, how Americans live, how Ukrainians live, Putin, the War. Anthony used my laptop to show me several Anti-Putin YouTube videos. I showed Anthony and Kathy a video of my nephew Gregory playing a hook mandolin. Greg, if your reading, Anthony and Kathy were impressed with your talent. I also told them about my brother's son, Matthew, who played trumpet in America's National Youth Orchestra. These kids were really intelligent, interesting, and interested. I'm looking forward to meeting them again.
The next class I sat in on was all eight year old MONSTERS! Maybe they were acting up because I was there; the first half of the class I wanted to shoot myself, but during the second half they had settled down. I learned that their favorite things were swimming, football (soccer), basketball, video games, card games, and EATING!
I spent about 5 hours total at the language school, with the teachers, the teen class, and the 8 year old monster class. It was a really enjoyable experience, and I look forward to going back on Monday.
Back at Klara's, I saw that Klara and Ivan had finished sorting the potatoes, separating eating potatoes, seed potatoes, and potatoes to feed to the pigs. They had all been bagged and taken down into the cellar. Now that the potatoes are finished, Ivan and Klara are getting ready for the next project - wine making. The old oak barrels, six of them, totaling 600 liters, were brought up from the cellar to be rinsed and cleaned. Harvesting and pressing the grapes might begin in about a week.
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