Farewell and Easter Session

Today’s session of the Gabfest Speaking Club (at Window on America center Dnipropetrovsk) started with the Peace Corp. Farewell Tea Ceremony of our friends Kathryn, Patrick and Samantha. Their term of service in Ukraine has come to an end. They have come to say good-bye to the Gabfest Club which was an important part of their life in Dnipropetrovsk.
Kathryn was kind enough to bake a huge assortment of vegetarian cookies for the club members. The cookies were delicious and the conversation was very enjoyable. The Americans shared their plans for the future – about staying with friends and families in the US, about further employment and study aspirations. The club members enquired about the news from other American volunteers who had been visiting the club on a regular basis. It was fun to learn that some volunteers found their soul mates in Ukraine – some people are getting married, some people are moving in together… The group photo with our American friends at the library entrance steps was the highlight of the farewell ceremony.
 
The second part of the session was dedicated to the forth coming holidays in Ukraine - the Orthodox Palm Sunday and Easter Week. One of the youngest club members Sasha (aged 10) prepared a slide presentation “My pilgrimage to the Holy Land” – Israel. The focus of today’s presentation was on Easter and the city of Jerusalem. 
Sasha commented his photos and answered questions about his impressions of the worship places in the Eternal City. He presented Jerusalem as the city of 3 religions – Christianity, Judaism and Islam. The English equivalents of religious names enriched the vocabulary of club members irrespective of their faith.
The session was both funny and educational.
The number of participants – 26 persons.
Have a look at more pictures, please