{i noticed} my blog needs some photos to liven it up, so, відпускний (Graduation/Prom) came and went and with it, the students I’ve been working with for two years now. It was an emotional day for me, though it would have been worse had I gone to the dinner with the graduating class in Truskavets. Unfortunately, standing in heels and walking around town through the event wore me out after my operation and I just didn’t have the energy in me to go. I did, however, get some pictures with the beautiful and handsome graduates.
two of my {advanced english} girls
^ I had the most English classes with this group from my first day at the Lyceum. They’re one of only two classes that will have had me for two years of teaching. They specialized in English and were pretty advanced by the time I arrived and took over. In English, these girls have progressed so much! I’m proud of the entire class, which includes two students that took first and second place at the region Olympiad, one of which advanced to the oblast (~state Olympiad) and missed going to the national Olympiad by {ONE POINT!} They patiently put up with me making them do unheard of things like getting up out of their seats during class and moving around the room for different activities.
{beautiful girls} from the lyceum
^ These aren’t actually my students, just some very sweet girls from the Lyceum. There’s one {definite advantage} of working at the Lyceum, it’s a small school. Everyone knows me, even if I’m not their teacher. It’s nice to walk down the hall and be greeted with “hi”s from every direction (though I’d love to practice my Ukrainian more). I’ll miss their smiling faces around the halls next semester!
student from my {IT specialized} English class
^ The other class I’ve had for two years was a specialized Information Technology class with their required basic English course. At the beginning of the year they skipped class {a lot}. I understood their frustration with general requirements especially in light of my not being allowed to differ from the curriculum long enough to show them how English can be directly applicable to IT. It must be said for them that once the co-teacher talked to them about the waste of my time, they did their best to come. That’s saying something considering one of their classes was the absolute last period on Friday afternoons when only some students had class!
sunset at {L'viv} train station
^ Kelly and I spent some time in L’viv. First we saw my amazing RPCV friend NPO for his birthday who came loaded up with American goodies to share. I missed him terribly and almost cried when I had to say bye once again. We also worked with our fellow PCVs in L’vivska oblast to clean up a women’s center associated with one volunteer’s NGO. We worked side-by-side with the women living in the center doing different jobs, from scraping and repainting a fence to hauling away a huge pile of wood. I got to clear the weeds around the fence with a {real scythe}, awesome, right? Besides getting nettled until I thought my arms were going to fall off, the day was wonderful. We ended the event with a cookout and singing happy birthday to Peace Corps for its 50th Anniversary!
{monsoon season} has arrived in drohobych
^ For about a week and a half straight, this is what it looked like from my balcony. I was caught in downpours three days in a row and not a happy camper. Today is much the same weather, only a little lighter. My umbrella now has a permanent place in my purse.
I’ll have plenty of updates for my cooking/health blog here in the following days, so check back if you’re interested. All this rain has put me in the perfect mood to cook, cook, cook {and bake, bake, bake} not to mention an aversion for going out into the flooded and grime filled streets.
Enjoy Father’s Day & appreciate your dad today; I wish I could be home for it.
*Music: “I Love the Rain the Most” -Joe Purdy
