Volozhin

Volozhin was a town with a renowned yeshiva, known throughout the Jewish world. The photos show the yeshiva building and some village scenes.

Mir Castle and Village

Mir Castle! A site designated by UNESCO as a world heritage site and a major source of Belarussian pride, it was built in the 16th Century, subsequently obtained by the Radziwill family and is a reflection of the mixed cultures and history of Belarus, a pastiche of Lithuanian, Polish, and Belarussian cultures. Not far away was Volozhin, a village with a rich history. Although Mir seems to have been a more prominent location, both villages still show remnants of an unchanged lifestyle.

Culture

From classic Belarussian folk dance to operas, ballets and concerts, the city of Minsk enjoys and appreciates its culture and makes it available, inexpensive, accessible, and most of all, professional.
The artists as well as the production values are often world class. We won't soon forget the smugglers gradually appearing through the fog in 'Carmen' nor the whirling dancers of the Khoroshky troupe.

Students and Teachers

Teaching, lecturing and consulting has been a load of fun as well as a rewarding experience. The level of motivation and enthusiasm I've experienced from students, teachers, and the general community has been truly marvelous. I've done classes in Business English at the Minsk Jewish Community Center, lectures and showings(together with Fulbright scholars) on American film at Minsk libraries, 'English Nights' at the corporate offices of British American Tobacco, classes on American business practices at the Belarus Academy of Public Administration, and several classes at Minsk State Linguistics University, which is where I am on the faculty as consultant/senior lecturer. Especially edifying have been the editing tasks that have helped faculty members here to feel confident concerning the English texts of various papers that they are publishing in professional journals, the ongoing work on a major Belarussian/ English/ Belarussian dictionary in the early stages, and the minor, but important clarifications that I've been able to provide to a wonderful Belarussian poet in the process of publishing an English translation of some of her poems.
It's been quite an eclectic experience!

A Night at the Minsk Philharmonic(or, a night with Ronald and Natalia)

Culture in Minsk is inexpensive, accessible, and most importantly, world class. Both the Philharmonic Hall and the Ballet/Opera House are first rate venues. The acoustics and sight lines are wonderfully thought out, the seats comfortable, the audiences knowledgeable and enthusisatic.
We've gone several times without our camera, but a few nights ago our friend Natalia, a colleague from the Belarus Academy of Public Administration, joined us, replete with camera and determined to record the evening. We took pictures everywhere!
The evening's featured artist was Ronald Ebrecht, an American organist of note, and consisted of organ masterpieces by Bach, Frank and Jenkins... as well as an unscheduled photo op thanks to Natalia!
At intermission, while some of the audience hovered at the foot of the stage, taking photos as the organist made some adjustments to his instrument. Natalia, taking advantage of the opportunity, sweeping Rena along with her enthusiasm, strode across the stage and asked Mr. Ebrecht if he would pose for us. I hung back, not wanting to be exposed as 'the Ugly American,' but Natalia was not to be denied this evening as we posed for shots with the help of a stagehand (or maybe he was Security-I didn't want to know!).
Anyway, Mr. Ebrecht, in addition to being a magnificent musician, was wonderfully gracious, and we chatted a bit while Natalia, intent on her mission, posed everybody.
In the end, apparently Mr. Ebrecht was pleased to meet another American and the unscheduled encounter with a Belarussian fan. After the show, he spotted us in the Cafe Lido, and made a point of coming over to say hello and to leave his email address so we could send him the pictures.
All in all, a very interesting evening.

Seminar in Kiev

Kiev was chosen due to its central location for the local regional meeting of the English Language Fellow program. In addition to sharing ideas and success stories, we got to meet our colleagues and associates who arrived from such exotic locales as Tbilisi(Georgia), Chisinau(Moldova), Yerevan(Armenia), and Nakhchivan(Azerbaijan) as well as Kiev. The seminar was organized and led by the RELO (Regional English Language Officer)
Everybody at the State Dept talks in acronyms-since my job description is English Language Fellow, that makes me an ELF, which has a rather peculiar connotation.I guess Rena would be an ELFette
Since all work and no play would have been disappointing, we all got together for a wonderful evening at the apartment of the CLO(Cultural Liaison Officer), a huge and magnificent two level duplex.
The photo shows most of our group, which includes ELFs, SELFs, FSNs,a CLO and a CAO, as well as spouses (I haven't yet learned that acronym but I'm sure there is one).

Kiev, Ukraine

An overnight train trip (think Orient Express without the frills) brought us to the ELF seminar in Kiev.
Kiev is known as a religious city awash with golden domed churches and monuments to a variety of warriors of the past. And it is spectacular!
What we also found, though, was a great bakery tucked away on a side street, across from the Armani and Versace stores, and down the block from 'Puzata Kata.'
Ah, Puzata Kata! An endless variety of (mostly) Ukrainian specialties-outstanding for quality and freshness, not to mention value; a meal for the two of us with main dishes, beer and dessert for the equivalent of $10.
A big and bustling city is Kiev, great monuments to the past as well as high end current fashions; more expensive than Minsk, but with some nice surprises.The photos include Lou on the steps of the 'golden gate,' a partially restored remnant of an original entrance to the city; some of the domed churches; and some architectural embellishments, replete with gargoyles on one of Kiev's older apartment buildings.