Today’s session of the Gabfest Club was dedicated to the topic “Pow-Wow – the traditional festival of Native Americans”. We have read and translated an article about the structure and rituals of this ethnic event, watched several You Tube videos with the songs and dances of Native Americans. We also reviewed the list of 10 most famous Native Americans.
The WOA’s books on different aspects of Native American history were introduced to the group.
Big help was offered by our volunteer Mr. Jason who answered numerous questions of the Club members about modern life of Native Americans.
After the conversation about the Native Americans we continued to discuss the phenomenon of “indigenous people” in Ukraine and provided our volunteer Jason with a lot of useful info about the unique ethnic groups that live on the territory of the modern Ukraine.
The session dealt with difficult topic, but it refreshed the knowledge of the Ukrainian public about the history of the Native Americans.
Number of participants – 32 persons.
“Wednesday Movie Club” at Window on America center Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine.
The film “Two of a kind” was presented to all who wish to improve their language skills.
«Two of a kind» is a 1982 American romantic comedy film, starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John.
God has had just about enough of the human's attitude so he will destroy the planet very soon. It is up to a struggling inventor and a bank teller, both with very amateur criminal minds, to save the world...
WOA’s patrons enjoyed the film and the discussion that followed.
On August, 10 Window on America center Dnipropetrovsk welcomed a big group of FLEX program graduates from Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia oblast. FLEX (Future Leaders Exchange Program) celebrated its 20th anniversary recently and is popular in many countries of the world among the high-school students who wish to spend one academic year in the USA.
The FLEX alumni had a chance to meet each other and share the experiences of their life in the USA. To break the ice several out-door activities were offered to the participants in the beautiful park near the DOUNB Library. The WOA Dnipropetrovsk’s activist and Flex graduate Olga Chychykalo was in charge of the meeting’s preparation and the key-note speaker. American volunteer Mr. Jason joined us and had a pleasant time talking to FLEX alumni.
The full-day agenda of the meeting allowed the FLEX alumni to make new friends, to exchange ideas and reminiscences about the USA student exchange program.
The networking of the FLEX alumni in two neighboring oblasts will be very beneficial for promotion of volunteering projects that the young people will initiate in their respective towns and Universities.
Moreover, we've talked about opportunities for youth in Ukraine and therefore, had a charming guest from youth organization AIESEC.
Number of participants – 17 persons.
On the eve of the Ukraine’s Independence Day in the "Window on America" Dnipropetrovsk / Ukraine Speaking Club “Gabfest” was a session dedicated to the heroic heritage of Ukrainian Cossacks. Our American volunteer Mr. Jason, a fan of history and cultural tourism, was very interested to learn more about the Cossack sites in Dnipropetrovsk region. At first each Club-member mentioned the important thing that should be known about Cossacks. The group told Jason about Cossack’s role in the Ukrainian history, their recognizable dress and head gear, their holy guardian – Virgin Mary, the warrior skills and dances derived from the martial art (Gopack, Polzunets, etc.).
Particular tribute was paid to a legendary Cossack whose death anniversary is observed by patriots in Dnipropetrovsk oblast on a regular basis. Ivan Sirko (1610–1680) was a Cossack military leader, Koshovyi Otaman of the Zaporozhian Host. It is believed that he participated in 55 battles and won all of them. After his death, Ivan Sirko — one of the most popular Cossack leaders in Ukrainian history— became a hero of many myths, folk songs and poems.
In 1967 the Kakhovka water Reservoir was threatening the Otaman Sirko's burial site, so he was reburied near the village of Kapulivka, 70 miles from Dnipropetrovsk. Each year on August, 01 modern Ukrainian Cossacks and patriots visit the burial site to commemorate the anniversary of Otaman Sirko’s death.
The presence of our American volunteer Jason motivated to Ukrainian Club-members to reveal interesting facts from the local history and improve their conversational skills.
The topic was complicated, but educational for all participants.
Number of participants – 18 persons.
Windows Go Biking in Poltava.
Svitlana Usenko presented the city Dnepropetrovsk in the event.
“Wednesday Movie Club” at Window on America center Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine.
The film «Оne Fine Day» was presented to all who wish to improve their language skills.
«One Fine Day» is a 1996 American romantic comedy film directed by Michael Hoffman, starring Michelle Pfeiffer and George Clooney. The title comes from the 1963 song «One Fine Day» by The Chiffons. Michelle Pfeiffer served as an executive producer on this film.
The plot: Melanie Parker, an architect, and Jack Taylor, a newspaper columnist are both single parents. One day their children miss school field trip and are stuck with the parents. The two adults project their negative stereotypes of ex-spouses on each other, but end up needing to rely on each other to watch the children as each must save his job. Humor is added by Sammy's propensity for lodging objects in his nose and Maggie's tendency to wander.
WOA’s patrons enjoyed the film and the discussion that followed.
The "Window on America" Center Dnipropetrovsk presented to the patrons a new book display "Summer reading".
Today’s session of the Gabfest Club ("Window on America" Dnipropetrovsk / Ukraine) was a pleasant surprise for the regular members and new-comers. Our American volunteer Mr. Jason was back in Dnipropetrovsk from his trip around Eastern Europe and came to share his travel experiences.
It turned out that Jason is interested in Roman history and was fascinated with the legend about Count Dracula .So he planned a trip to Transylvania via Ukraine’s neighboring countries – Transnistria, Moldova and Romania.
The photos of Transnistrian towns Bendery and Tiraspol returned us back to the USSR, but Jason was rather interested in the artifacts of this bygone era. The stay in Moldova was not particularly exciting for Jason as he was not interested in wine tasting which is the main tourist attraction in the country .The greatest impression was produced by Romania. This big country boasts beautiful landscapes, Carpathian Mountains and rich history. One of the tourist brands nowadays is Transylvania and Dracula tours. Jason told the group a lot about the castles and fortresses that he visited in the homeland of Dracula. The legends about the famous vampire became popular after the Bram Stoker’s book was published. But historical background was rather controversial.
The tourist’s story about Romania made the Ukrainian part of the group remember the facts about the neighboring country – the things we have in common and the things we dispute about. The session was educational as the participants immersed into the authentic American English speech and had a chance to evaluate their own skills of speech comprehension.
Number of participants – 25 persons.
