here in ideas

28Dec11

I packed my bags, not really knowing where I’d end up for New Year’s. The original plan was to go to Hungary, but after a series of unplanned events took place, the possibilities became many – each with their own reality. In the end, I’m back in the States for a short stretch and then it’s back to my Ukraine life realities.

First up is the Partnership Project we have that’s in desperate need of your donations and fast. Once the grant is funded, this will become the main project for the new semester and my last semester in Ukraine. So please hurry and act to help support a well planned and quite sustainable project. The main idea is to build the use of technology in the classroom, which is a particular need in Ukrainian universities. What is crucial is to fulfill that desire through alternative means. This project will purchase recording and editing equipment and then train teachers and students to use that equipment, building an online media resource library. It’s ambitious, yet feasible. Please support this project as much as you can either by monetary donations or by asking others to donate. There’s still $575 left to raise. And not much time left to raise it in, so please please help. https://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=donate.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=343-272

At the beginning of December, we completed the series of seminars called “Writing Beyond Reality.” The founding idea to the project was to re-conceptualize one’s approach to writing through the lens of publishing.  Or in other words, paraphrasing the illustrious Melissa Krut, publishing for writers is the same as competitive events for athletes, and we should really cultivate writers to publish. (side note, Melissa’s awesome, an inspiring person and PCV and is up to some really cool stuff) Throughout the seminar, we presented as many possibilities to publishing as we could think of and even taught book making as part of the seminar. Although throughout, the number of participants was really small, it’s done some quite cool change: all of the teachers that have participated, have modified their teaching style to include a good amount of creative writing, we’ve started a creative writing club at the university, students have gotten more confident and interested in the aspect of writing and then there was a ton of my own self-growth that feels hubris to even mention in lieu of how cool the other results are… I’m not sure how the creative writing workshop will continue this semester – perhaps through classes, but we’ll see. For sure, there will be a creative writing club again. The other cool thing is that the idea behind the seminar has moved out west to another set of other universities whose volunteers were co-designers to Writing Beyond Reality.

Some new things this semester will be creating an Academic Writing Workshop for teachers and students, opening up the steps for a writing lab at the university, working with students in Voznesensk to design their own mosaics (we had alot of material left) and developing a citywide project for secondary school students to work with university students.

On top of all of this, I’ve got to do the last remaining steps to close out my service, and set up the next steps for life post-this. It will take alot to be able to put down my Ukraine life that feels like my home. But before any of that happens, it’s just good to be around family for a bit, to get re-excited about everything, and not feel the weight of missing. I’m just really glad my mom gave my grandmother what she most wanted for Christmas: me to come home for a bit.

 

Happy Ultimate Holidays. In the New Year, I hope it’s filled with great story-making events and joy in being able to create a new story out of old narratives.

Filed under: Uncategorized   |  1 Comment