Student Conference
Last weekend I participated in what was probably one of the most rewarding things I've done here. I took two students to an English language student conference in Simferopol (located in the center of Crimea).
Both of the students presented and did well--they got asked questions that showed how interested others were in their presentations and they watched countless other presentations that were both at times interesting and boring (surprisingly good was the language of figure skating!). I thought that it was really a wonderful opportunity to expose the students to other Ukrainian students learning English and doing interesting research projects. One of my clustermate's was there and brought a slew of her students--which was nice--we could support each other and our students as well. A student from another local University here in N-- came (and is a friend of mine) too. She did an excellent job presenting, and commented on how nice my students were, something that I valued since it seems that the common opinion of my university locally is not very high.
The organizers of the conference entertained us with belly dancing, plays, live music, and Tatar dancing. We had an excursion to Bakhchysaray--the former Tatar capital and where the Khan's palace is located. Although we were too late to go inside and actually see firsthand the fountain built to ease the Khan's heartache over the death of a Polish beauty in his harem who died rather than acquiesce to the Khan's advances. Pushkin immortalized the fountain by writing a poem about it. I will go back and view it in person another time--and not just the palace--but the beautiful surrounding stone cliffs.
After the end of the conference, my clustermate and I took our students to a local mosque where we were permitted entry and a young Muslim man told us all about the mosque and his religion. The students seemed very interested and asked many questions. I had to grap my students and run to the train station to avoid missing our train back home. As we were walking quickly down the street, we heard him singing--calling all the faithful to come and pray. I asked afterwards what they thought--if they had ever been to a mosque before. "No," they said. As I pointed out to them before the trip, there were no mosques in N--, so why not go and check this one out?
On our way home we played cards and spoke English--which was one thing I noticed about this conference. If anyone else (or no one) accompanied them, they would have spoken Russian the whole time, but my presence required English--so they certainly had a lot of practice! And probably more spoke more of it then then they ever had.
Not only the English, or academic quality of the conference made it such a valuable experience for me, but what I appreciated the most about the weekend was the cultural exposure to groups who have been persecuted here in Ukraine. Tatars do not have a pleasant recent history, being forcibly removed from their homes during Stalin's reign and have only recently been able to come back to Crimea. Exposure to their culture and religion is something not only new to me--but also to my students.
I only hope that another such opportunity will present itself before my days here in Ukraine are up!
When I get some photos developed I'll be sure to put them up!
Both of the students presented and did well--they got asked questions that showed how interested others were in their presentations and they watched countless other presentations that were both at times interesting and boring (surprisingly good was the language of figure skating!). I thought that it was really a wonderful opportunity to expose the students to other Ukrainian students learning English and doing interesting research projects. One of my clustermate's was there and brought a slew of her students--which was nice--we could support each other and our students as well. A student from another local University here in N-- came (and is a friend of mine) too. She did an excellent job presenting, and commented on how nice my students were, something that I valued since it seems that the common opinion of my university locally is not very high.
The organizers of the conference entertained us with belly dancing, plays, live music, and Tatar dancing. We had an excursion to Bakhchysaray--the former Tatar capital and where the Khan's palace is located. Although we were too late to go inside and actually see firsthand the fountain built to ease the Khan's heartache over the death of a Polish beauty in his harem who died rather than acquiesce to the Khan's advances. Pushkin immortalized the fountain by writing a poem about it. I will go back and view it in person another time--and not just the palace--but the beautiful surrounding stone cliffs.
After the end of the conference, my clustermate and I took our students to a local mosque where we were permitted entry and a young Muslim man told us all about the mosque and his religion. The students seemed very interested and asked many questions. I had to grap my students and run to the train station to avoid missing our train back home. As we were walking quickly down the street, we heard him singing--calling all the faithful to come and pray. I asked afterwards what they thought--if they had ever been to a mosque before. "No," they said. As I pointed out to them before the trip, there were no mosques in N--, so why not go and check this one out?
On our way home we played cards and spoke English--which was one thing I noticed about this conference. If anyone else (or no one) accompanied them, they would have spoken Russian the whole time, but my presence required English--so they certainly had a lot of practice! And probably more spoke more of it then then they ever had.
Not only the English, or academic quality of the conference made it such a valuable experience for me, but what I appreciated the most about the weekend was the cultural exposure to groups who have been persecuted here in Ukraine. Tatars do not have a pleasant recent history, being forcibly removed from their homes during Stalin's reign and have only recently been able to come back to Crimea. Exposure to their culture and religion is something not only new to me--but also to my students.
I only hope that another such opportunity will present itself before my days here in Ukraine are up!
When I get some photos developed I'll be sure to put them up!
posted by Molly | 1:50 AM
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