Teaching Adventures

  • Places to See: Kyiv

    Kyiv (Russian: Киев) is Ukraine’s capital and one of the world’s most beautiful and ancient cities. It is Europe’s eighth most populous city after Moscow, London, Paris, Instanbul, St Petersburg, Berlin and Madrid. The city was founded in the 6th century and in the middle ages was the capital of a powerful East European state, Kyivan Rus, and was also the political centre of all the slavic lands. The city is famous for its magnificent golden domed Orthodox cathedrals, two of which, Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra and St Sophia from the 11th century are on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites.

     

    Museums

    State National Chernobyl Museum – Haven’t been yet.

    Peregova Historical Museum – Massive outdoor experience.

    State National Aviation Museum – About 50 planes, all outdoors, can enter a few of them if you pay.

    Microminiature Museum – Mykola has about 20 micro miniature pieces of art in a little room, some are quite amazing! (inside the Lavra)

    National History Museum – Haven’t been yet.

    National Art Museum of Kyiv – Haven’t been yet.

     

     

    Churches

    St Sophias –

    St Michaels –

    St Andrews –

    Pechersk Lavra –

     

    Entertainment

    Dream Town Aquapark – Excellent Water Park with a huge kids area.

    Nemo Dolphin Show – Haven’t been yet.

    Circus – Haven’t been yet, mostly a winter event.

    Opera / Ballet – Great experience, great value.

    Kyiv Zoo – Great for kids with lots of parks and a petting zoo. Not so many animals.

    Quest Room – 1 Hour to get free of the room through logic puzzles and riddles. Great for groups of 4-5. Kids can do it to, strength not required.

     

    ** There are lots of other activities available like bowling, parks with rides and beaches, etc.

     

  • Places to See: Lviv

    Lviv (Russian: Львов), The city of Sleepless Lions was founded by King Danylo in the 1256 and is known as the cultural centre of Ukraine. Being located in the centre of Europe it has always been a tempting prize so it is no surprise that it has been under control at different times to Poland, Habsburg emperors and the Russians. After WWII Lviv ended up in the Soviet Union and is now the informal capital of Western Ukraine. Since the 14th century Lviv’s heraldry has exploited the image of the lion (in Ukrainian the words “Lviv” and “lion” sound similar) and there are about 4500 sculptures, reliefs and paintings of lions in the city.

     

    Landmarks

    Lychakivsky Cemetary (Lychakivsky Ysvyntar) – Enormous cemetary and surrounded by beautiful gardens.

    High Castle (Vysokyi Zamok) –

    Market Square (Ploshcha Rynok) – Enjoy the European flavour. Climb the tower for a city view.

    Shevchenko Monument – Unmistakable black wave sculpture by Opera.

     

    Museums

     

     

     

    Churches

    Latin Cathedral (Roman Catholic) – Church by Market Square, Jesus is sitting down.

    Armenian Cathedral – Never been inside.

    Dominican Church (now Greek Catholic) – Beautiful inside. Only God be the Glory.

    Dormition Cathedral (Orthodox) –

     

    Entertainment

    Gloria Jeans Coffee – Great atmosphere. Find the big circle mirror.

    Kriivka Restaurant – Password: Glory to Ukraine. Authentic Ukrainian experience!

     

     

    ** Of course, there are lots of other things to do as well – coffee and chocolate are the things to find here.

  • Places to See: Donetsk

    Donetsk is Ukraine’s gate to the East. It is the industrial capital and now the city is also vying for the title of Ukraine’s football capital. The cities two major attractions, Shakhtar Donetsk football club and the Donbas Arena Stadium are both owned by Rinat Akhmetov, the richest Ukrainian and steel magnate. Shakhtar was the first Ukrainian club to win the UEFA cup.

     

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    Churches

     

    Entertainment

     

     

    ** Of course, there are lots of other things to do as well.

  • Places to See: Kolomyia

    Though Kolomyia (Russian: Коломыя) only a small town now, in the past it was an intersection on important trade routes east to Prague, Vienna and Mainz. The town has preserved distinctive Austro-Hungarian architecture and many unique stone buildings from the 19th and early 20th centuries

     

    Landmarks

     

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    Churches

     

    Entertainment

     

     

    ** Of course, there are lots of other things to do as well.

  • Places to See: Dnipropetrovsk

    Dnipropetrovsk (Russian: Днепропетровск) is Ukraine’s fourth largest city by population. Centuries ago the region was settled by Zaporizhzhya Cossacks but the city was founded by the Russian Empress Catherine the Great. Dnipropetrovsk, then named Yekaterislav, was supposed to become the Russian Empire’s third most influential city after St Petersburg and Moscow. Currently it boasts Europe’s longest embankment (23km) and is also known as Ukraine’s aerospace hub.

     

    Landmarks

     

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    Churches

     

    Entertainment

     

     

    ** Of course, there are lots of other things to do as well.

  • Places to See: Kharkiv

    This is Ukraine’s second largest city by population and the biggest in Eastern Ukraine. Today the former capital of Ukraine is an educational, scientific and industrial centre.

     

    Landmarks

     

    Museums

     

     

    Churches

     

    Entertainment

     

     

    ** Of course, there are lots of other things to do as well.

  • Every Boy’s Dream

  • Can You Guess?

  • Love

    Love Daddy and Jay!

    And Grandpa and Nanna and mommy too. And Grandma and Grandpa also. 4 Year old Cassie, 2 Year old Jay, 0 Year old Kai.

    Cassie has her own water bottle and she went on the sleeping train so you won’t see her for a few days.

    Love Cassie (typed by Daddy)

    I love you Tonya, Sonya, Nadia and Derrick and Vicka.

  • Inukshuk

    “Inukshuk Mommy, that’s a big inukshuk.”

    A little context for you? About four days ago we built some inukshuk by the front gate of our house. They are small things, around the kids knees in size. But we had a lot of fun making them together. And of course, we used flat stones that balance together and they are piled up…

    So what made him remember the inukshuk today? We were walking through a cemetery today and he noticed one monument that was like stacked stones piled up. It reminded him of the inukshuk we had made, a really really big inukshuk.

  • Top 12 Photos from Year 1

    Please click here to see the pictures fullscreen!

    Happy Birthdayhttp://d1.scribdassets.com/ScribdViewer.swf

    If you really want, you can also view it on Issuu or just open up the PDF right here.

  • Prayer Chain

    Quote (from our prayer chain -July 28, 2012):

    From Sandy

    PLEASE… need huge prayers NOW.  All family has been called in.  Time is short.

    Gerald has not yet accepted Jesus as his Saviour.

    Mitch is broken!

    Tough to read that. Is this really the way Jesus wants it to work? That we become absolutely broken people when our family are on their deathbeds and they haven’t accepted Jesus as Lord and Saviour. What went wrong? Did he love too much? Is it somehow Jesus’ fault? Can he really be consigned to eternal separation from God?

    It’s tough to read that.

     

  • The Roll

    He’s done it! Note the date – July eight. Yes, it rhymes…

    Anyway, Kai rolled today, not for the first time but many times over. From his tummy to his back.

  • Titus Project 2012

  • Titus Project Prep

    Our Titus Training Program will be starting in just 7 weeks. We have 10 participants from all over Europe (like Sweden, Germany, Lithuania, Switzerland) in three teams heading to nations like Romania, Russia and Ukraine!

    We’re so excited to see these SBS graduates go out and teach the Bible and how to study it. After having put in 9 months of very intense study covering all 66 books of the Bible they are ready to begin training in how to present that information so people learn it and use it.

    Awesome! And we get to be a part of it! Please, pray that participants will have a good rest as they prepare for 3 months of travel, learning and teaching. Pray that the people they go to would be hungry for God’s Word, open to listen and determined to seek God and change their lives as He speaks to them. And pray for us as we do it for the first time as a family of 5!

  • I’m Watching You

    I’m watching you! Lately I’m becoming much more alert. I look around for Mom or Dad. Ooh, and I love watching Cassie and Jay do anything fun, like running in the backyard or colouring or playing with trucks.

    And yesterday afternoon I totally did a rollover from my tummy to my back. Now I make my parents put down pillows whenever I’m on the bed or couch.

    And I’m definitely smiling lots now but still haven’t done a really good giggle – I’m just keeping my parents in suspense. It’s fun being in charge!

  • The Value of Reading

    A really special thing happened today!

    Cassie has been having a lot of fun colouring in her colouring books but recently she got a few with some special games like color by number, etc. Anyway, she wanted to do one of them and came in and asked if I could read them for her. I asked her if she could read them which led to a little breakdown… :)

    After trying Mom too she finally headed outside. A few minutes later I went to check on her and she had done all the colours correctly. I asked her how she knew and she said, I read them. And she had!

    After almost 100 lessons in reading, Cassie has finally experienced the incredible freedom and independence that the skill of reading can bring! What a first! She now understands that her reading lessons have a bigger purpose than itself, that learning to read can help her have fun!

    Way to go Cassers! So proud!

  • Culture Guide to N. America

    When it comes to living in far off places there are so many things that we have to learn. So when I read an article about what people need to learn if they are coming to Canada or America I thought it kind of interesting.

    HSBC has a culture guide by country which is what inspired the McLeans article.

    Highlights:

    – (CAN) don’t compare Canada with America
    – (USA) [Don’t] stand too close to someone you’re speaking with, lest you impose on their sense of personal space
    – (USA) When Americans say “Yes” or “No” they mean it. “Maybe” means “It might happen”; it does not mean “No”.
    – (CAN) Most Canadians prefer business to be concise, and meetings begin with a minimal amount of small talk.
    – (USA) You may be told to make yourself at home, and you’re expected to do so, and to ask for anything you require.
    – (CAN) Communication is moderately indirect. Although most Canadians can disagree, they prefer to do so with tact and diplomacy.
    – (USA) Americans often used sporting analogies that are not easily understood such as (Ballpark figure, Play hardball or Drop the ball).

    Sadly, HSBC has no country guide for Ukraine.

     

     

     

  • Which is English?

    We have travelled and taught and studied multiple new languages with such variety as Mandarin Chinese, Indonesian and Russian. Of course, as teachers it is incredibly important to show humility by also being a learner, of culture and language, so that we don’t think we only have something to offer without also realizing that we have something to learn.

    Anyway, the point about all this is to say we came across a nifty little game (thanks to one of the language learning blogs we subscribe too) which I’m sure will become very popular in no time, especially with wordies (that is, people who love words – kind of like “foodies”). Anyway, the game is found at whichisenglish.com. You, as the player, are presented with two words, one is real English and the other fake. Pick it correctly and you’ll get a slightly more difficult pair, get it wrong and you’ll get an easier pair.

    Anyway, I thought I must mention this somewhere because all of our friends who teach English or learn English or Russian should have this up their sleeve for fun during class sometimes. I personally am looking forward to the Russian version which is on its way.

  • Surprising