Ostrih Academy students comment on their stay in Ontario (01/31/99)

Ostrih Academy students comment on their stay in Ontario

A group of eight students from Ostrih Academy in Ukraine spent three months in Brockville, Ontario, on an exchange program organized by Canada World Youth, a non-profit organization supported by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). About 1,000 students from Canada and various countries around the globe participate annually in this program whose purpose is to promote inter-cultural understanding by immersing young people in ways of life that differ from their own.

Small groups of foreign students are assigned to communities throughout Canada, where they live with host families and work with Canadian students - their partners - in local businesses and community organizations. After three months they return with their Canadian partners to their own countries and spend three months working in a small community.

Represented by Ostrih Academy, Ukraine participated in this exchange program for the first time in 1998. Founded only four years ago, Ostrih Academy has established itself as an innovative and attractive small university. Cooperating closely with the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, it is introducing academic curricula and degrees based on Western models. Its five faculties have a total enrollment of 700 this year.

On the eve of their return to Ukraine with their Canadian partners, the Ostrih students were interviewed in Toronto on December 5, 1998, by Taras Zakydalsky. The group was supervised by Svitliana Novoseletska, lecturer in English at Ostrih Academy, and comprised Lesia Kotsiuk (beginning lecturer in English), Vladyslava Mandrykina (law sophomore), Natalia Khmilevska (economics senior), Oksana Ryzhuk (culturology senior), Pavlo Mikula (economics senior), Andrii Yanushevsky (economics sophomore), Anton Matiuk (culturology senior) and Ihor Naumets (economics senior).

Q: Tell me something about Brockville, where you spent the last three months.

IHOR: It's a small, peaceful town with a population of 21,000 about 335 kilometers east of Toronto, on the St. Lawrence River. It has several high schools and St. Lawrence College, several companies like Proctor and Gamble, and Black and Decker. The area is picturesque and has a well-developed tourist industry. The nearest Ukrainian community is in Kingston.

Q: How did you get along? Could you describe your daily routine?

NATALIA: We lived with families like their own children. The families varied in economic status. Only one of them was French, the rest were English. Some had children, some didn't. Each family supported two students one from Ukraine and one, our partner from Canada. I was very lucky.

Q: Did you notice any differences between typically Canadian and Ukrainian families?

OKSANA: Of course, there are significant differences because of the different cultures. What strikes one immediately is that family relations are not as close as in our families. Here everyone is independent; that is each member has his or her work, activities and interests, and the means to pursue them.

IHOR: In general, relations among members of Canadian families are more reserved, not as emotional as in Ukrainian families. This was unexpected, particularly for me, but after three months we realized that parents here love their children no less than our parents, they merely express this differently. Here people are individualists. Even children are more independent than in Ukraine: they have their own activities, interests and even income.

Q: Yes, here students often work during summer to pay for their education or other expenses. How do students in Ukraine pay for their studies?

IHOR: My partner, Louis, from Montreal can earn enough in the summer to support himself for the rest of the year. Under the present conditions in Ukraine, I can't earn enough in three months to cover my schooling for a year. I am completely dependent on my parents.

MRS. NOVOSELETSKA: We began to employ students at our academy. Many students who cannot cover the minimal fees for educational services can work them off. They work a given number of hours in the library, department offices or the dean's office. We have a Saturday school in which children of different ages are taught English. Most of the teachers there are students.

Q: Tell me about your main occupations during the week. What kinds of jobs did you select?

LESIA: We worked three days a week in various social institutions and Brockville businesses: TV-Cable 10, Sherwyn Park Nursing Home, the Heart and Lung Association, the Business and Employment Journal, VN Instruments, the YMCA and the Brockville Theatre. Each one in a different firm. On Thursday and Friday we met and prepared different activities in subgroups: visited a maple syrup, egg and dairy farm; did volunteer work in community organizations, for example, organized a tree festival, a fall fair, fright night on Halloween; visited patients of a nursing home; helped the United Church send parcels for the children of Chornobyl in Belarus, and met a representative of the local Indians. On Saturday and Sunday we came together to discuss things. We spent our days off with our host families, who invited the whole group to their home.

Q: What did you learn from your work in the various companies and organizations? Do people here work differently than in Ukraine?

NATALIA: Our main purpose was not to gain professional knowledge, but we did acquire some habits. We learned to get along with others and improved our English. We loved volunteer work, which is lacking in Ukraine. The main thing is to help people who need help.

ANTON: Here is an interesting fact: in Canada the day is organized quite differently from that in Ukraine; for example, in Ukraine the lunch period has no definite limit. Here, you can take your lunch break whenever you wish, but for a maximum of one hour. Here punctuality and personal responsibility for one's job are a matter of course.

LESIA: I did volunteer work at the YMCA, and what I liked very much was that everyone was encouraged to evaluate the work. Even if you are not a permanent employee, your suggestions are taken into consideration and changes are introduced. You feel that your work is appreciated by someone.

ANTON: I worked in the theater. During the winter season there were no performances, but we were busy mailing information about the coming season and invitations to the coming performances. We should do something like this in Ukraine.

ANDRII: I worked for VN Instruments and learned a lot of valuable things. I was a member of a small team, only three people like a small family, tightly knit. Each of us felt responsible for the firm. I learned to work as a team, accept responsibility and realize my potential. Of course, I also learned to work on a computer, to measure physical parameters and to choose various attachments to computers.

VLADYSLAVA: I worked at the office of a business journal. I picked up some habits such as never to give up. I edited the advertisements and attended a trade show in Kingston. I learned a lot.

OKSANA: I worked at the local Heart and Lung Association. With my Canadian partner I helped prepare the Tree Festival before Christmas, solved various problems, prepared presents for the children, and decorated the Christmas tree. I was very impressed by the work atmosphere everyone was always gentle, no bad moods. Although we were volunteers, we were treated as members of the office staff and were consulted. Recently we heard that this association raised $30,000.

NATALIA: We did all kinds of jobs at the local TV station: planned programs, conducted interviews, and made a videofilm of our jobs and families. I worked in various capacities: as a video operator, editor and scriptwriter.

MRS. NOVOSELETSKA: This will prove to be very useful. Our academy is planning to set up a small studio and its own TV channel.

IHOR: I worked at the Sherwyn Park Nursing Home. At first I was down; the average age is 89, almost all residents are invalids and mentally deficient. But with time my attitude changed. I visited and talked with the residents, some of whom were perfectly reasonable and told me a lot of interesting things. When we were saying good-bye I realized how fond I had become of them. There are similar homes in Ukraine, but not as many.

LESIA: A large sports complex like the YMCA was something new for me. I organized and conducted activities like arts and crafts. This experience will be very useful for me in my work as an English instructor.

Q: In your opinion, what are the benefits of volunteer work? Is it necessary for society?

NATALIA: For some people it's a way of gaining professional knowledge and skills, for others it's an opportunity to associate with people and to feel useful.

OKSANA: First of all it benefits the community and the needy. I helped organize the Tree Festival. With the help of volunteers, mostly senior citizens who worked into the night, two professional staff in three days raised $30,000 for a social cause. This kind of work is quite necessary for society, even a rich society like Canada one, because it unites people.

NATALIA: Volunteers put in more energy and fresh ideas.

ANTON: Volunteers relate to each other differently they are more independent and work of their own free will.

IHOR: Here any criticism is accepted and put to good use, while in our country it is often seen as an accusation.

Q: Besides working, did you do any studying? Did you attend any lectures?

NATALIA: The only formal lectures we had were two full days of lectures at Queen's University about the political system, history and economy of Canada. We had eight lectures on psychology at the Academy of Learning in Brockville and we learned a lot: how to determine our interests and abilities, find a job, write a resume and prepare for an interview. This is a new field for us. Then we learned how to start up one's own business, advertise it, find a partner, etc.

MRS. NOVOSELETSKA: The Academy of Learning trains businessmen how to run a small business. We received a lot of instructional materials from it and will maintain contacts with it.

IHOR: At City Hall we listened to lectures on the economy and history of Brockville and attended a session of the City Council. In Ottawa we heard the prime minister speak in Parliament about the student demonstration in British Columbia.

Q: And what did you teach your Canadian hosts?

IHOR: For six weeks on Tuesdays we held Ukrainian classes for our partners and the residents of Brockville. They were attended mostly by our host families, co-workers and a few older people of Ukrainian descent. Each one of us talked on a different subject: Anton and I taught Ukrainian, Natalia and Pavlo on Ukraine's economy and politics, Oksana and Lesia on culture and our traditions and they taught songs, carols, and how to prepare Ukrainian dishes, Vladyslava on the history of Ukrainian cities, Andrii on Ukrainian literature.

LESIA: There were always a lot of questions. At first few people had heard of Ukraine. Of course, they all thought it was Russia, but now they know that Ukraine is different. Our Canadian partners now know how to greet people in proper Ukrainian and can sing Ukrainian songs.

Q: Were there any problems, conflicts, or misunderstandings?

OKSANA: No, we came as guests and behaved appropriately and we were treated well. Everyone tried to help us.

MRS. NOVOSELETSKA: I was very pleased that all the people we met regarded Ukraine much more positively than Russia.

IHOR: Many people in Ukraine are a bit ashamed to be Ukrainians, to be citizens of such an impoverished country, and want to emigrate. In Canada I became more aware of myself as a Ukrainian and felt proud to be Ukrainian. I want to return home and to tell everyone what I did here and what I accomplished and to build a better life in Ukraine.

MRS. NOVOSELETSKA: The most important result is that we learned to love and be proud of Ukraine even more than before. In encountering a different culture and way of life, we became more aware of what distinguishes us from other people and we saw that people respect the things that distinguish Ukrainians.

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To support the development of the Ostrih Academy, a special Ostrih Academy Fund has been set up under the Petro Jacyk Educational Foundation. Checks may be made out to PJEF-Ostrih Academy Fund and mailed to : Petro Jacyk Educational Foundation, 1260 Eglinton Ave. E., Mississauga, Ontatio L4W 1K8. Contributors will receive receipts for income tax purposes.

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