Monday, May 15, 2006

Ukraine: My Day

Actually, the last three days have been very cool and I've got some feel-good Ukraine culture stories to put up, but no internet time (and I'm hungry).

So here was today: As a teacher trainer, I "manage" the ten Zhytomyrska Oblast volunteers in Practical Project and that includes observing their teaching once a semester. When I envision a manager, I envision this guy in a suit and tie, suitcase on his lap. And then I envision him in Ukraine, cramped on an archaic bus lurching in the rain down a road of broken asphalt, dodging around horse-drawn carts to get to a small village on the outer edge of the oblast to watch one 45 minute class.

It's not that bad: I planned lessons and studied Russian on the way there and back, but all told I was gone from Zhytomyr for seven hours and only saw my volunteer for a total of 75 minutes. The rest was on buses, waiting on buses, finding her school in the rain and standing in a hallway for 45 minutes waiting to speak with her after her lesson.

Yeah. That was my day.