Hugs and hellos!

Because I am having difficulty with the commuter (it has gone haywire!) I am going to combine several things into one post.

Yesterday ws another very interesting day.  We spent the morning at a school for students with disabilities. They attend a separate school and are usually diagnosed early in life. Sometimes they are not seen until they go to Form 1 at the age of six or seven.  Most of the students with special needs are day students, but a few of them actually live at the school.  They go home once a week to see family and take a bath.  There are no facilities to bathe the students at the school.  All of the students seem happy and well cared for and the teachers are loving and have great lessons.  It seems strange that they do not come to a general education school like we are used to in our country but they are receiving services in an alternate setting.

We also visited a school that has a focus on English.  The students must take exams to enter and maintain grades to remain.  They are highly motivated, hard working, and dream of college and good jobs. They were very curious about American students and asked many questions and all hope to visit our country some day!

In the evening, we attended a play in Russian about a fictional character called Mamai.  He was separated from his family as a child by Turkish invaders.  His mother was killed and his brother was held by the Turks and became a Muslim and Turkish warrior.  In the end, they fought and killed each other before they came to realize that they were brothers.  Very sad!!  There is also a real warrior from the Cossacks called Mamai. This is a picture of me standing with a statue of Mamai!

Tomorrow we will see a concert of the local symphony in the morning and the school's end of year concert in the afternoon.  The Principal has asked that we talk about our experience at the school and I will be presenting a U.S. flag to the school.  After the concert, Sara and I will board the overnight train back to Kyiv for a day of meetings and a 2:00 am flight home.  I will try to post again from Kyiv but I am having to borrow a computer so it might be difficult.  So...if I do not post again, I will see you on Monday!!