Mother’s Day

Today’s session of the Gabfest Club in Window on America Dnipropetrovsk (Ukraine) was dedicated to the introduction of important dates: Mother’s Day (May, 10) and the International Day of Families (15 May). The session was visited by our friend - the Fulbright exchange lecturer Brian Chung (Dnipropetrovsk Mining University).
At the beginning of the session the group was offered a video about the history of the holiday in the USA. The club members discussed the controversy of this holiday for its founder A. Jarvis. The American song about mother’s love was also offered for auditing.  The group defined mother’s qualities those are valued in the USA.
 

The presence of the American guest allowed the moderator to offer a challenging activity to the group - they had to introduce the iconic Ukrainian songs about mother’s love. The task was difficult. Besides the song’s plot the group had to explain the symbolism of objects mentioned in the song.
Certain family traditions in USA and in Ukraine were compared to observe the Day of Families.
At the end of the session the newcomers had a chance to introduce themselves and to ask questions to the American guest.
Number of participants – 19 persons.
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Monopoly

Monopoly @ American Teen Club.

Today’s session of the American Teen Club in Window on America Dnipropetrovsk (Ukraine) was dedicated to the Monopoly (board game).
 
Monopoly is a board game that originated in the United States in 1903 as a way to demonstrate the evils of land ownership. The current version was published by Parker Brothers in 1935. Subtitled "The Fast-Dealing Property Trading Game", the game is named after the economic concept of monopoly – the domination of a market by a single entity. It is now produced by the United States game and toy company Hasbro. Players move around the gameboard buying or trading properties, developing their properties with houses and hotels, and collecting rent from their opponents, with the goal being to drive them all into bankruptcy leaving one monopolist in control of the entire economy.
Number of participants – 12 persons.
 

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Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure. From mines to the art heights - 11

«The funniest comedy in the history of history»
Within the framework of the “From mines to the art heights” project the "Window on America" Center (Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine) was visited by the group of National Mining University students. The group was accompanied by the English language lecturer - Mr. Brian Chung, the Fulbright academic exchange lecturer from New York.
The WOA Center premises were used as a site for an out-of-class training session. The freshmen continued to watch and discuss an American comedy film Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989).
The group watched and discussed an American film. Mr. Chung explained to the students the colloquial phrases and idioms that were difficult for the understanding of the ESL students.
Number of participants – 10.
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Night at the Museum

To the International Museum Day “Wednesday Movie Club” at Window on America center Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine offered screening of film to all who wish to improve their language skills.
Night at the Museum is a 2006 American fantasy adventure-comedy film based on the 1993 children's book of the same name by Milan Trenc.
Number of participants – 8.

Star Wars, IV. A New Hope. From mines to art heights - 10

Within the framework of the “From mines to art heights” project the "Window on America" Center (Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine) was visited by the group of National Mining University students majoring in IT studies. The group was accompanied by the English language lecturer - Mr. Brian Chung, the Fulbright academic exchange lecturer from New York.
The WOA Center premises were used as a site for an out-of-class training session. The freshmen continued to watch and discuss an American movie Star Wars, IV. A New Hope.
Mr. Brian stopped the film on a regular basis to explain to the students American idioms and cultural phenomena presented in the movie. He also asked questions on the content of the film to check the students’ comprehension.
Number of participants – 7.

VE Day

Today’s session of the Gabfest Club at the "Window on America" Dnipropetrovsk / Ukraine was dedicated to the upcoming celebration of the VE Day’s 70th anniversary. The terms “VE day” and “VJ day” were introduced in the context of the WWII events. The Club members shared their knowledge about USA’s participation in the WWII in Europe. The information was illustrated with a history video about D-Day.
Voice of America’s videos were offered to the group about V Day and started the discussion about the controversy of this year’s celebration.

The information about VE celebration in the USA was presented. To honor the heroes who fought in the War and those on the home front who produced the tanks, ships, and aircraft that enabled the United States and its Allies to achieve victory, one of the most diverse arrays of World War II aircraft ever assembled will fly above the skies of Washington, D.C. on Friday, May 8, 2015. The flyover will include dozens of World War II aircraft flying in 15 historically sequenced warbird formations overhead. The formations will represent the War’s major battles, from Pearl Harbor through the final air assault on Japan, and concluding with a missing man formation to “Taps.” Never before has such a collection of WWII aircraft been assembled at one location, to honor the large assemblage of veterans gathered at the WWII Memorial for a ceremony. The video of the similar event was presented.

At the end of the session the group was introduced to the book and image display “VE Day- the 70th Anniversary”. The vocabulary introduced during the session will enable the participants to keep a conversation about the WWII events.
Number of participants – 7 persons.
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The Good German

On May, 6 the world commemorated the victims of the WWII. On the eve of this day «Wednesday Movie Club» at Window on America center Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine offered screening of the drama film «The Good German» (2006). WOA’s patrons who wish to improve their language skills enjoyed the film and the discussion that followed.
Plot: While in post-war Berlin to cover the Potsdam Conference, an American military journalist is drawn into a murder investigation which involves his former mistress and his driver.
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Writers: Paul Attanasio (screenplay), Joseph Kanon (novel)
Stars: George Clooney, Cate Blanchett, Tobey Maguire.
Number of participants – 7.

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VE Day – the 70th Anniversary

To commemorate the victory over the German Nazis in Europe  anniversary the Window on America center in Dnipropetrovsk presented a new book and image display “VE Day – the 70th Anniversary”. It  displays the books and videos from the WOA’s collection that deal with the events of World War II and the Cold War.
US soldiers took part in WW II, American historians researched the wars’ events  and published their findings in books, American libraries store the information and provide researchers with materials.
The films about the events of World War II include such movies as "Schindler's List" (director Steven Spielberg), "The Pianist" (Roman Polanski), "The boy in the striped pajamas " (Mark Herman), "Good German" (Steven Soderbergh).
 

 The displayed  films tell about the tragic events, ruined human lives, they urge  to honor the dead, to appreciate peace  and to do  everything possible to prevent  the horrors of war.
The display will  provide the WOA’s patrons with important information and will touch  their emotions.

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May - 2015