jpm

Summer Tour, 2004

A week of rain has descended on me here in Mukachevo. My tan is quickly fading and the work of another semester is looming in the not-to-distant future—a perfect time to remenecse on my first summer in Ukraine.

In Ukraine, there are no after-prom parties, no “Celebrations” that offer students an alcohol free evening. Oh no no no. In Ukraine, students and families and friends and teachers rent out a hall, bring their own food and drink themselves silly. I, of course, enjoyed every minute of it—I suppose our fears of drunk driving accidents and alcohol poisoning are squelched by the fact that, well, no one owns cars here, and these kids already have a few years drinking experience under their belts.

In June I organized a seven-day health and American sports summer camp for pupils and students her ein Mukachevo. We gave lessons on AIDS and safe sex and nutrition and such. I was impressed by the campers’ (about 30 of them) knowledge of English, but equally astonished by their lack of information and supply of misinformation on those subjects. For example, it is taught in Ukrainian schools that the threat of contracting HIV or AIDS from sex is reduced if you are over 18-years-old (perhaps a clever way of preventing young pregnancies but really…). We played Ultimate Frisbee, kickball and American football in the afternoons—and though not quite like my camp days on Nantucket, I put my experience to the test.

I then spent July 4th on the Black Sea in the Crimean town of Yevpatoria (from Mukachevo a stifling 30 hour train ride with no open windows or temperature control). Other volunteers and I spent the day on the beach playing Frisbee, swimming and grilling real beef burgers (quite a treat in these parts). Even out here in center of Europe I spend another holiday on the beach—perfect!

From Yevpatoria I traveled to Budapest, Hungary, which is only five hours west of Mukachevo—though I and two friends were taken there in a car from the boarder in less than four hours, and for only $20 a piece! Budapest is a beautiful city with many old churches and a spectacular castle settled on the Danube River. And up behind the castle, down a narrow cobblestone street the Hungarians have hidden their House of Wine—and, being the young diplomats that we are, my friends and I sent an American delegation to investigate. We went into the wine cellar with a small tasting cup and a bag of crackers and emerged two hours later…well, I’m not quite sure where my crackers went.

Budapest also hosts a plethora (if I may say so) of luxurious spas and thermal baths that were simply amazing. And though Budapest was rather expensive, and with no public intoxication and long abandoned construction projects a startling contrast to our own Kyiv, it was amazing.

So now we come to now, where I am waiting in Mukachevo to work at a leadership camp for Ukrainian boys in the Carpathian Mountains. Then I may venture back to southern Crimea to play on the beach and in the mountains there. And then, I return to Mukachevo School No. 6. Fortunately, my grant for proper English textbooks has been fully funded, and I’ll receive $800 on August 9th to purchase 120 Oxford University Press books.

So I’m getting’ there.

Posted by jpm at August 18, 2004 01:50 PM