Gabfest plays kickball

The Gabfest club members had their first kickball game on the stadium of the local University. 
The WOA's volunteer Mr. Josh introduced this popular American game during the session dedicated to the American sports. The Clubs activists selected a stadium and Mr. Josh provided the ball that may substitute the proper ball. The colours of the ball were carefully selected by Josh – they are the national colors of Ukraine. The initiation to this popular in America game brought a lot of fun to all the participants. 
The group intends to have several more games on Saturdays while the weather permits
Number of participants – 12 persons.

Session with American guest

Today’s session of the Gabfest Club (at Window on America center Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine) was attended by a big group of newcomers including new American guest ' Ms. Jennifer. All the club members had an opportunity to introduce themselves.
The American guests had to do it in a more profound way. We mostly talked about the cultural shock the Americans experience in Ukraine and recommended them things that might help to overcome this shock. Ms Jennofer impressed everyone with her list of countries that she visited through her job.
 
The session was a ‘full house’ and enjoyed by all the participants. Especially by the newcomers who met real Americans for the first time.
Number of participants – 22 persons.

Hawkeye, p.III

The Wednesday Movie Club screened the third part of the TV series "Hawkeye". 
The movie was based on the novel of J.F.Cooper.
James Fenimore Cooper (September 15, 1789 – September 14, 1851) was a prolific and popular American writer of the early 19th century. His historical romances of frontier and Indian life in the early American days created a unique form of American literature.

Ukraine's Independence Day

Today's session of the Gabfest Club Club (at Window on America center Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine) was dedicated to the topic “Independence Day of Ukraine”. 
The group highly appreciated that some of the club ladies were dressed in national outfits (embroidered blouses) or in national colors. We were particularly thankful to our American guest Mr. Josh who also wore a Ukrainian shirt for the occasion. Besides Mr. Josh invited his friend Michael to join the club.
The presence of the American guests gave a wonderful opportunity to talk about the Ukraine’s independence in English. The session started with watching the video in which the US Ambassador in Ukraine and the Embassy staff congratulated the Ukrainians with the Independence Day. They have performed the Ukrainian anthem in 17 different languages. The task for the group was to guess why those 17 language were selected. The rest of the session was dedicated to the explanation of the symbolism of the Ukrainian national symbols - the flag, the coat of arms, the anthem, the currency, etc.
 
The group was asked to tell the American guests any interesting legends about the Independence of Ukraine. They were offered a Ukrainian video and a book trailer as a tip. Two club members recognized the legend about the Hetman’s gold. In 1723, Hetman Pavlo Polubotok was recalled to St. Petersburg by Tsar Peter I of Russia. The story holds that suspecting his imminent arrest, Polubotok secretly deposited 200,000 gold coins (presumably the treasures of the Cossack’s Sich) in the Bank of England, under 7.5% annual interest. The amount, the bank, and the interest vary in different versions: some sources cite two barrels of gold, or 2.5% annual interest, or the Bank of the British East India Company. In his will, Polubotok allegedly bequeathed 80% of the gold to the future independent Ukrainian state, and the rest to his successors.
To wrap up the conversation we told our American guests about the Ukrainian brands that globally market Ukraine and our region – the Cossack heritage and Petrykivka painting. The session was educational both for the Ukrainian and the American Club members.
Number of participants – 22 persons.

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Hawkeye - p.II

Window on America center Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine offered screening of the second part of the film Hawkeye.
Natty Bumppo is the protagonist of the series. Although he is the child of white parents, he grew up with Native Americans, becoming a near-fearless warrior skilled in many weapons, one of which is the long rifle. He respects his forest home and all its inhabitants, hunting only what he needs to survive. When it comes time to fire his trusty flintlock, he lives by the rule that one must shoot only once to bring down a target. He and his Mohican "brother" Chingachgook champion goodness by trying to stop the incessant conflict between the Mohicans and the Hurons. He is known as "Deerslayer" in The Deerslayer, "Hawkeye" and "La Longue Carabine" in The Last of the Mohicans, "Pathfinder" in The Pathfinder, "Leatherstocking" in The Pioneers, and "the trapper" in The Prairie. The novels recount significant events in Natty Bumppo's life from 1740-1806.

Energy Evolution

Today’s session of the Gabfest Club (at Window on America center Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine) was dedicated to the topic “Energy Evolution”. We discussed the modern trend in Ukraine to treat the energy efficiency issues very seriously .The slogan: “Save Energy, save Ukraine!” was explained to those who had difficulties in understanding it.

We have discussed the tips that are suggested by US experts to make a private house energy efficient. The club members shared their own ways of saving on electricity, gas and water bills. The illustration to the topic was a video about cold climate house construction and materials. We have learned some new facts about energy saving tips for people who live in Alaska.
The introductions of the new comers followed the official topic.
Number of participants – 15 persons.

Hawkeye

On August, 13, 20, 27 at the Movie Club we screened the «Hawkeye».
Natty Bumppo is the protagonist of the series. Although he is the child of white parents, he grew up with Native Americans, becoming a near-fearless warrior skilled in many weapons, one of which is the long rifle. He respects his forest home and all its inhabitants, hunting only what he needs to survive. When it comes time to fire his trusty flintlock, he lives by the rule that one must shoot only once to bring down a target. He and his Mohican "brother" Chingachgook champion goodness by trying to stop the incessant conflict between the Mohicans and the Hurons. He is known as "Deerslayer" in The Deerslayer, "Hawkeye" and "La Longue Carabine" in The Last of the Mohicans, "Pathfinder" in The Pathfinder, "Leatherstocking" in The Pioneers, and "the trapper" in The Prairie. The novels recount significant events in Natty Bumppo's life from 1740-1806.

Wars’ Lessons

The Gabfest club session was dedicated to the topic “Wars’ Lessons”. 
To start the conversation we remembered several war anniversaries observed in 2014 – the 100th anniversary of the WWI, the 70th anniversary of the D-Day, the anniversary of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombing, etc. We watched and discussed several posters about the war and tried to formulate the lessons that were learned by the mankind.
 
The main part of the session was a presentation by WOA’s moderator Tamara about her visit to the US island territory – the Saipan island in the south Pacific. The story about a visit to the Northern Marianas allowed introducing the information about the 70-th anniversary of the Saipan battle. The group was presented information about a war hero Guy Gabaldon who was called the “Pied Piper of Saipan” for his exploits during the Saipan battle.  Mr. Gabaldon used his knowledge of the Japanese language to imprison over 1000 Japanese military and civilians. They were saved from the death at the “Suicide Island” as Saipan was called during WWII. We talked about the shift from military presence to tourism on the island.
The last part of the session was a chance for the new comers to introduce themselves to the Club and share their plans for the future that involves English – studying abroad, teaching English and others.
Number of participants – 15 persons.

Field of Dreams

Today's Movie Club film was "Field of Dreams" with Kevin Costner starring. This movie suggests: "if you believe the impossible, the incredible can come true". The movie also introduced the basics of baseball and was a good illustration to the ESC topic "American sports".

Field of Dreams is a 1989 American fantasy-drama film directed by Phil Alden Robinson, who also wrote the screenplay, adapting W. P. Kinsella's novel Shoeless Joe. The film stars Kevin Costner, Amy Madigan, James Earl Jones, Ray Liotta, and Burt Lancaster in his final film. The film was nominated for three Academy Awards including Best Original Score, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Picture.

  

Book display “Wars’ Lessons”

"Window on America" center presented a new book display «Wars’ Lessons» to commemorate the centenary of the WW I beginning and several anniversaries of the WWII.
It presents books and films from the WOA’s collection covering events of the Civil War for Independence in the USA, the events of the WWI and WWII, other conflicts which involved the American military in Vietnam and Korea.
The exhibition makes one reflect on the tragic events and consequences of the war, teaches to appreciate peacetime. The display informs the visitors and changes their attitude towards war…
The exhibition was viewed by  80 people.

«Sports»

Today’s session of the Gabfest Club (at Window on America center Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine) was dedicated to the topic “Sports”. The Book and image display “American Sports month” was presented to the group.  We have talked to our American friend Mr. Josh about most popular summer sports in the USA. He was kind enough to explain to us the basic aim of a baseball game and the difference between American football and rugby.
When we tried to rate the sports baseball was named America's favorite pastime, but so was basketball, and football. Mr. Josh explained the basics about less known in Ukraine sport – NASCAR races. NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing) is one of the world's most watched televised sports.
The most recent trend in active sport in the USA is the popularity of kickball. Kickball is a playground game similar to baseball, invented in the United States in the first half of the 20th century. It is similar to baseball where players kick the ball to bat it instead of using bats, making it more accessible to young children. The adult version of kickball becomes very popular for keeping fit and meeting new people.
The discussion touched upon other topics: popular winter sports in the USA, unique water sports popular in Dnipropetrovsk, popular winter sports in Dnipropetrovsk and places for winter entertainment.  The conversation was funny and enjoyable. The group will consider Josh’s suggestion to try a game of kickball in Dnipropetrovsk.
Number of participants – 8.

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