Nativity's Delegation at the Airport At School #3 Ukrainian Folk Singers Visiting and Host Students Eugen, Roma, Vitali, Oleg, Dima Seniors at School #3 Our Guides at School #3 Members of the Leaving Class

On March 17 Nativity's Delegation left for a two week visit to School #3 in Kharkiv, Ukraine to complete this year exchange. The hospitality of the Ukrainian families is second to none. They shared their homes, their culture and their traditions with these American students and teachers. The two weeks flew by. From classroom visits to tours of area churches, from the Ukrainian Children's Ballet to a trip to Kiev, our days were filled with incredible experiences that certainly broadened our understanding and our world view.

Everyone at School #3 made us feel welcome, especially the English teachers and the members of the "Leaving Class" (Seniors in the USA), that took the opportunity to speak English with us throughout our stay.

We are grateful to the parents, staff and students at School #3 as well as the Cincinnati - Ukraine Sister Cities Committee for their assistance in making this exchange possible.

At the Great Gate of Kiev

March 19, 2007
Our journey to Kharikiv was without incident. All flights were on time and the students were real troopers across the Atlantic. They especially enjoyed the personal movie screen on the back of the seat in front of them.

We were met with warm welcome at the Kharkiv Airport. A former student of Valerie Backumenko made our trip through customs smooth. The families were very excited to see us. It was great to see all those familiar faces.

We met on Monday at school. We met in our own classroom for about an hour. Students reported sharing photos of home and dispensing the gifts. Some engaged in card games (Ask Ben about the grandmother's card game!) Students reported being surprised by the traffic (no lanes painted on the streets, many potholes). The outside of the apartments is not as well maintained, as we are accustomed to. Inside the apartments the homes are small but very nice. All but two are living with families who live in apartments.

We were all still a bit tired – it will take several days to get on Kharkiv time.

Older students gave us a tour of the school. Their English was excellent, though they were nervous and spoke a bit quickly. The students in 10th / 11th grade are very eager to talk to us and to practice their English. Mr. Herring engaged in conversations about politics (the Orange and the Blue political parties). Many hope some day to visit the USA. Future educational plans include college / university. Most of the students we spoke to plan on careers in international economics / business.

We then ate lunch – brown bags prepared by host families – sandwiches and fruit with the option of fruit drinks (peach, apple) or Coke / Sprite.

The Welcome Assembly was similar to what we do at Nativity in that the host students introduced each one of us. The Ukrainian kids shared songs, dances, guitar solo, and poetry. The 4th grade class sang a song of welcome. Mr. Herring and Mrs. Burwinkel spoke. There are over 1000 students at School #3. The building is not big enough to handle them all at the same time so they attend classes in shifts.

After the assembly our students in small groups spoke to those Ukrainian students that attended the assembly. It is obvious that the students want to speak English. Some are shy in approaching us; some speak out and ask questions.

Soon it was time to head home with the host families. Ukrainian host students made plans to get their American students together. The English language teachers hosted a lunch for Mr. H and Mrs. B. The food is quite good and plentiful – too much to eat!

Tuesday we start visits to classrooms sharing information about Nativity / Cincinnati / USA. The weather is good: warm sun, cool breeze / jacket in the morning, sweatshirt in the afternoon.

March 26, 2007
It's Monday afternoon and all is well. We had a great morning – tour of the cathedrals in Kharkiv, incredible architecture, icons. We lit candles in all the churches. Four churches: oldest in Kharkiv, the Monastery Church, the only one that was open during the Soviet times (a huge church made of bricks that were made by hand by the people – the brick factory was next to the cathedral and on the weekend the people would form a 'chain' and pass the bricks from person to person to the construction site – much like Old St. Mary in Cincinnati), and the one that has a spring that has cured folks (much like Lourdes in France).

Sunday we attended the children's ballet – a Ukrainian children's story with many children dances. Reminded us of The Nutcracker, though of course with different details (evil king, oppressed villagers, a battle scene, etc.)

At noon tomorrow we will attend the circus here in Kharkiv which promises to be very good. Then it's the night train to Kiev (a sleeper), all day guided bus tour in Kiev, and the express train back Wednesday evening.

Thursday is the final shopping day and Friday we depart.

You would be proud of your sons and daughters. They have overall made a very positive impression on the Ukrainian families and students. There is the 'typical Ukrainian mother' that thinks we all die of a cold if we don't wear shirt / sweatshirt / sweater / coat. Moms are the same the world over.

The money is holding out very well – no one has spent it all and they will have plenty for Kiev. It's hard to believe we'll be heading home soon – the time has flown by. Thanks and thanks again for providing the opportunity for you children.

March 31, 2007
The trip home was uneventful unless you count missing luggage and an overbooked flight. By Tuesday all the luggage had been delivered.

Bell Tower built to celebrate the victory over Napoleon in 1812 Interior of the oldest Russian Orthodox Church in Kharkiv The Nativity Delegation at the World War II Memorial Monument to commemorate the establishment of Soviet power in Ukraine in 1920

Nativity Welcomes Delegation from School #3 in Kharkiv, Ukraine
To view photos of their visit click here

Speeches from Ukrainian Students Valeriy Bakumenko addresses the students. The Ukrainian Delegation sings their anthem. Nataliya brings greetings from Kharkiv

Partnership Renewed after Twelve Years
Nativity students, staff and parents welcomed the students from Ukraine in ceremonies on January 8. It had been 12 years since these two schools exchanged student delegations. The Cincinnati - Kharkiv Sister Cities Project helped arrange the two exchanges that took place in the mid 1990s. The 15 students are accompanied by Valeriy and Irena Bakumenko and Nataliya Maltseva.

Ukrainian Students Arrive after Traveling 36 Hours
The students never dreamt of crossing the Atlantic, but we've done it and it was great! Though the trip was rather long and tiring, we've had new experiences. In spite of some challenges with the flight delays, we managed to see the skyline of New York at night as we transferred from JFK Airport to La Guardia.

Our host families spent hours in the Cincinnati airport waiting for us and we were struck greatly seeing all of them at 2:30 a.m. waiting for us as we arrived in Cincinnati. The Ukrainian students were very happy to see their host families in spite of having no sleep for 36 hours.

Our First Day at School
After a short rest we arrived at Nativity at 9:30 in the morning. This was the first time that we were glad to wake up early to go to school. The Welcome Ceremony started this unusual day at school. The huge Friendship Bell gave the signal to the beginning of the visit to Nativity. For t he firs time in our lives we sang the anthem of Ukraine, feeling that we are real representatives of our nation here in Cincinnati.

Our first impressions of the meeting with the first grade students reminded us our first days at school in Ukraine. The Nativity 1st Graders were so funny! They asked interesting and philosophical questions. We enjoyed it greatly. We also meet the 6th Grade students. Working in groups with them we leaned much about the United States and tried to share our knowledge of our country with them.

We've make a lot of friends the very first day and we hope to continue communicating with them during our stay here.

What the Students Have to Say
Hi, I am Nastya Bundur.  I’m 14 years old.  I’m from Karkiv.  I’m from School #3.  I didn’t expect to come here, but I’m here.  I saw a lot of different places and it touched my heart.  In American all people are friendly.  They are happy because they live in America.  They are kind-hearted people.  My family opened their heart for me.  Thanks God that I have such a nice family.  They do all things for me.  When I visited Nativity School classes impressed me because all children are smiling.  They always say, “hi” or “hello”.  They are all curious, funny, kind, talented, they are interested in our tradition, culture, our holidays.  When we represented our country, our school, they asked a lot of questions.  I like Mr. Herring because he spends all his time with children.  He wants to give all love, all good things in the world to little children.  I’m proud that in Cincinnati they have got such a person as Mr. Herring.  He is a very good director and interesting man.  We spent a lot of time in museums.  The history of America is sad but interesting.  I’m happy that I’ve learned culture and history.  We saw a lot of interesting things.  I like America very much.  I didn’t expect to visit a far away continent.  My dream has come true.  I love Cincinnati.  I like Nativity School.  I want to go to America again, to meet my new friends again.

Hello!  My name is Maria Prykhodchenko.  It was my old dream to visit America.  And now my dream has come true.  I think America is marvelous!  I like it very much.  I heard much about America.  But what I’ve seen here is beyond my expectations.  American people are always smiling and happy! That’s great!  We have got very interesting visits to the classes.  Children wanted to learn a lot of things about Ukraine.  It was very pleasant to me.  We told them about our traditions, culture, and about our way of life.  Also, we had a lot of trips.  My favorite was Freedom Center.  I was touched by the history of American slavery.  I like Mr. Herring, and his care about us.  He is a wonderful and very interesting person. Most of all I like my American family.  They do everything to make me feel comfortable.  I have never met such amazing and hospitable people.  I feel sad when I think that I can leave my family and America.  So America, I’ll be back! I’m looking forward to seeing Sam in my house.

My name is Alexander Masolitin.  I’m a student of School #3.  I’m 15 years old.  I think that the USA is marvelous.  To tell the truth I don’t like museums.  But I was greatly impressed by the Nature Museum.   I learned much about the animals and about what wildlife looked like many centuries ago.  My host family is very nice and hospitable.  I am thankful to Mr. Herring who takes much care of us.  I’ve never seen such a principal.

My name is Misha.  I’m from Ukraine.  I live in Kharkiv and I study in the school-gymnasium #144.  Now I’m living in America.  I like this country and family, where I’m living.  I like teenager’s life.  America is really a cool country.  We went to many interesting places – Cincinnati museums, tubing.  We went to the hockey match.  I have a lot of friends.  With them we went shopping.  In general I like America very much.  I like Mr. Herring too.  He is very clever.

My name is Ayman Barakat.  I’m from School #3.  I’m happy to be here because I hope to improve the level of my English and learn more about traditions of America.  I enjoy America very much because there are a lot of places of interest here.  My host family is very kind.  During this trip I learned some new words and idioms.  In general America is a very beautiful and powerful country and I enjoy it very much.  Thank you for your care and patience.

Hi, I’m Alexandra.  I’m ten.  I’m very happy to be here.  I like America very much.  America is very nice and beautiful.  I like to learn English language.  American people are very happy and friendly and hospitable.    I like Nativity School because the children are very nice.  I like teachers.  They are clever and happy.  Mr. Herring is super and kind.

My name is Katryno.  I’m 13 years old.  I like America very much.  At first I didn’t want to go here, but now I understand that is a great chance because I have some practice in English.  I met new friends and learned something about America and Cincinnati.  I was at the tubing with my family.  We were in the wonderful museums in Cincinnati.  Mr. Herring was with us all the time.  I like Mr. Herring very much.  We visited the first grade students.  The children are so wonderful and pleasant.  The listened to us very attentively.  All the people in America are nice, friendly and hospitable. They smile all the time because they have a great life here and they are happy.  I live in a wonderful family.  At first it was difficult to speak with them but not it is all right.  I am happy to be her and I don’t want to come back to Ukraine.

My name’s Evgeniy.  I’m 13 years old.  I’m from Ukraine from School No. 3.  I think America is a great country.  I think I’m happy to stay in a very good family.  They did a lot of things for me.  They took me shopping.  We ate out a lot.  American McDonald’s is great.  I liked tubing.  It was great.  The Air Force Museum and Aquarium was very good.  Thanks a lot for everything.

My name is George.  I am 11 years old.  I have a brother.  He is 6 years old.  I have a great host family.  I like presents from my host family.  I was in Air Force Museum.  I liked tubing and a lot of shops.  USA is my favorite country.  I love America!

I’m a student of School No. 3.  My name is Bodgon Bolousov.  I’m 13 years old.  I’m from Kharkov, Ukraine.  I like this country and this city very much because people who live here are very hospitable and generous.    I like my host family very much because when I come to them they gave me what I wanted.  I like Nativity school.  The principal, Mr. Herring, is very good.  Teachers in this school are very kind helpful and they like their pupils.  Pupils in this school are very clever, quiet and they love their teachers.  There are very interesting museums in this city.  I love Cincinnati.

My name is Eric.  I’m a student of School Number 3.  I’m 12 years old.  I like America very much.  I liked teenager’s life, people are very hospitable.  The Cincinnati Museum is very big and cool.  The aquarium is very cool.  Nativity School is very big and nice.  I like it because in this school there are good teachers and students.  I live in a good family.   In my family there are two little sisters, one elder sister and a boy.  His name is Dwayne Wilson. He is 11 years old.  I like America very much.  Thanks a lot for everything.

I am Igor Kolesnik.  I am 13 years old.  I am student of School #3.  I like it in America.  There are city buildings.  The people are very hospitable. .  I enjoyed visiting American families.  They are very hospitable, open hearted.  I enjoyed visiting the freedom museum and I learned much about the history of the USA there.  I was impressed by the unhappy life of slaves and by their courage in struggling for freedom.  I like to visit little kids in their classes.  I like schools and cars there.  But I don’t like food there.  Americans have a clean city.  They always take care about something.  I like entertainments, their tubing.  They have a beautiful city.  They do everything to make their city better.  I like my host family in the USA.  They are very kind.  They have a little girl, Julie by name, and a boy of my age – Jackson, and their mother.  Their father is very busy.  I haven’t seen much of him.  There is a very good principal, Mr. Bob Herring.  He spends much time with us.  He is a good principal.  Their teachers are very kind.  There are very interesting museums in the city.  I like Nature Museum most of all.

My name is Arsen.  I like this country and my family because people in the USA are very hospitable.  During my trip I attended many museums, I saw Ohio River, I was in Freedom Museum.  We like the principal of your school, Mr. Herring.  I like the Nature Museum with dinosaurs.  I like my host family very much because they are very good and kind.  They met me very warmly.  I feel that they are my second family.