Crimea's Past at Play

Days Six and Seven:  Work and Play!



Picture this scene: A teacher enters the classroom and all the students stand until she says "good morning." They repeat the greeting and sit only after they are given permission. Hmmm.....this is a routine I might have to implement in room 327 at JSEC! It works very well at Gynasium #9 and was one of many surprises I encountered after sitting in on three classes. In all the classes, the 45-minute lessons offered a variety of activities that fostered fluency in English. The students seemed comfortable with their conversational skills and one impressive student translated a Greek monologue into English while asking a few questions in his native Russian. Wow!

Teachers also make time to relax with each other and during the day one of the vice principals, Svetlana, served Dana and I tea with sweets before we talked about her responsibilities and classes (yes, administrators also teach here!).  In fact, I sat in on Svetlana's class, English for Tour Guides, which focused on museums. So, it was a great introduction and lead-in to our weekend activities.

                                             Tea with Marina, our host, and the vice principal

Today, Saturday, was a chance to leave Simferopol to visit a few sites west of here. Cynthia, a Peace Corps volunteer from Georgia who teaches at the school, came along. First, we toured Bakhchisaray Khan Palace, a spiritual and political center for the Crimean Tartars. Here is an excellent website about this compound, which is undergoing restoration:   http://www.hansaray.org.ua/e_index.html

                                                           Part of Bakhchisaray Khan Palace

                                        Peace Corps Volunteer Cynthia and Dana Desjardins
                                                               at the Harem's balcony


Next, we stopped at a monastery, built into high cliffs. The visit afforded a well-needed, but short hike up a steep road. At the top we were able to continue our short trek up to the small chapel that's carved into rock. Although we didn't see any monks, the monastery is still active and the resident monks still live in cliff side dwellings.

Stairs to the Monastery Chapel

Finally, we went to Balaklava, a once top-secret Soviet nuclear submarine repair base. The underground facility is now a museum and walking into the deep passageways felt like walking onto a film set for a spy movie. The base closed in 1993, but was originally built to survive atomic impact. When it was operational it was one of the most secret areas of the Soviet Union and nobody could visit the city without top security clearance. So, seeing it in person today gives a fantastic opportunity to view a piece of "Cold War" history. http://www.kawapanga.com/balakclava-crimea-ukraine/

                                             Sign at the entrance to the submarine museum

These are replicas of nuclear missiles situated in front of the door to the chamber which originally housed the real nuclear submarine missiles

Question to ponder:  What areas in Rhode Island would you share with visitors from the Ukraine, or elsewhere, to give them a unique perspective on our history?