On December, 2 – Gary Becker’s legacy at Dnipro Window on America.
An outstanding US
economist Gary S. Becker was introduced to the Gabfest Club members. Mr.
G.S.Becker was a Nobel Prize (1992) winner. Gary Becker was an outlier in
economics. At a time when the discipline – and all of the social sciences –
grew more mathematical, narrow and esoteric, he offered broad and powerful
insights into everyday life. His career is a reminder of how and why academe
can enrich American society.
The patrons has
translated the titles of G. Becker’s books and watched several videos to
illustrate his famous theories. After translating several popular quotes by G.
Becker the group shared their own investments in themselves – from health
activities (fitness, swimming pool visits) to
new qualifications courses.
During the Speed
English activity, the Club members shared their views about economics as a
science and its effect on our everyday life.
Participants number – 28 persons.
on December, 8 – International Anti-Corruption
Day.
Today’s session of the
Gabfest Club in Dnipro Window on America center (Ukraine) reminded the club
members about the International Anti-corruption Day observed on December, 09.
Corruption is a
serious crime that can undermine social and economic development in all
societies. No country, region or community is immune to this crime.
We raised the
awareness about the global campaign against corruption that focuses on how
corruption affects education, health, justice, democracy, prosperity and
development. The campaign’s title is
"Corruption: An impediment to the Sustainable Development Goals".
The group was
familiarized with the phenomenon of “whistleblowing”, its definition and
practices in the USA and other English-speaking countries.
The aim of the
anti-corruption communication campaign is to support a positive and pro-active
stance against corruption.
During the Speed English activity the club
members shared their stories about corruption cases in Ukraine and
opinions regarding fighting this crime.
Participants number – 37 persons.
on December, 15 – A marvelous and fascinating trip to Boston with Mrs. Tetiana Kraplina
and Henry Longfellow poem.
Today
we participated in special session of the Gabfest Club in Window on America
center Dnipro (Ukraine) devoted to Boston – one of the first cities of
the United States of America, the capital of the state Massachusetts, which has
a big and rich history, and which is known as “the smartest city” in the USA,
as it is the place of famous and well-known Harvard University and
Massachusetts Institute of Technology and many other higher educational
institutions, and which is also known as the place of such key event of the
American Revolution as Boston Tea Party.
The
member of club Mrs. Tetiana Kraplina has been to Boston four times to visit her
brother’s family, so she gladly agreed to be our guide to this city with
European architecture and well-developed industry.
Mrs.
Tetiana loves Boston so very much that she happily presented us the photos that
she took in there with all the buildings, museums, tourist attractions. We all
were thrilled how she told us about the above mentioned Harvard University, in
which in the very beginning there were only nine students, MIT, the Charles
River, Massachusetts Old State House and New State House, Harvard Bridge, also
known as MIT bridge, which united Boston and Cambridge, the Longfellow Bridge
and many other ones, which she visited, Third Central Artery / Tunnel Project
or Big Dig – the most expensive project in the history of construction in the
USA, which was built so carefully that no house was destroyed and environmental
situation improved. Also Mrs. Tetiana attracted our attention to John Hancock
Place (Tower), Prudential Tower, considered to be one of the highest
skyscrapers in the USA, Old North Church, Custom House Tower, Quincy Market –
to name a few. Mrs. Tetiana told us that Boston was built in the area in which
there were many swamps and hills which builders had to cut to create the
architecture which we enjoyed seeing today, just like the Bostonians themselves
enjoy nowadays.
In addition to Mr. Tetiana story Mr. Vitaliy shared some information
about the famous citizen of Boston – the famous poet Henry Longfellow, who is
also one of the well known graduated of Harvard University. Everyone joined in
reading and translating one of his beautiful poems.
In
the second part of meeting the speaking club’s member started asking question
to Mrs. Tetiana. Since the topic of Boston is pretty huge, it turned out that
we had lots of questions: about her visits to Boston, the local climate, her
impressions, the public transport, how long did it take her to get Boston, so
many questions, that Mrs. Tetiana was a bit tired, but everyone was happy and
satisfied with answers, and so we are looking forward to new impressions about
Boston from Tetiana to share with us.
Participants
number – 32 persons.
on December, 22 – Human
Rights Declaration -70!
This year we celebrate
the 70th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).
Today’s session of the
Gabfest Club in Dnipro Window on America center (Ukraine) reminded the club
members about UDHR.
The Gabfest Club
members were offered an opportunity to promote, engage and reflect on the
Declaration and its relevance in everyday life. We have read and translated the
list of human rights and discussed their importance.
The second part of the
session was dedicated to the conversation about St. Nicolaus Day celebration in Ukraine. We have compared
the facts about the real Saint with the mass culture image, describes the
celebration events in Ukraine and watched YouTube videos illustrating the
topic.
Participants number – 31 persons.
on December, 29 – US Xmas Celebrations in 2018!
Today’s
session of the Gabfest Club in Dnipro Window on America center (Ukraine) was
dedicated to Christmas holidays in the USA.
We
have introduced the club members to several wonderful traditions popular with
the American people. We started with the official White House videos. First we
learned a lot of interesting things about the Xmas Tree delivery ceremony by a
Clydesdale’ horse-drawn wagon. The Mountain Top Fraser Fir from Newland, NC,
was named Grand Champion in this year’s selection contest overseen by the
National Christmas Tree Association. The highlight of the session was the
guided tour of the lavishly decorated White House from the First Lady. The
group enjoyed her pleasant voice and the explanations about the symbolism of
the Xmas decorations.
This
year at White House the decorations follow the theme “American Treasures,”
which celebrates patriotism and honors elements of the country’s heritage. The
theme honors the heart and spirit of the American people. In the Green Room of
the White Houses, a tree decorated with fruits, vegetables and grains
represents the country’s “bounty and harvest”. The choice of red for the hall
is an extension of the pales, or stripes, found in the presidential seal
designed by our Founding Fathers, it’s a symbol of valor and bravery. The Xmas
tree lightening tradition was illustrated with the Rockefeller Center’s tree
named Shelby. The Club members learned a lot of new things about Xmas
celebration in the USA.
In
the second part of the session we remembered the International Movie Day and
illustrated it with a YouTube video about the Lumier brothers’ invention. The
Speed English activity offered a conversation about favorite films and actors.
The
Xmas after-party was enjoyed by all participants. We had a lot of fun with a
delicious cake and Xmas karaoke.
Participants number – 27 persons.
