UKELODEON: For The Next Generation (04/11/04)

UKELODEON

For The Next Generation

Traveling to England and France as a People to People Student Ambassador

by Nicholas Fedyk

ROCHESTER, N.Y. - This past summer, I traveled with 38 other fifth and sixth grade students to England and France for 14 days as a People to People Student Ambassador. It was a trip I will never forget. In the fall of 2002, I received a letter saying that I was being offered a chance to be part of the program. After submitting recommendations from my teachers and going through an interview, I received the exciting news that I was accepted into the program.

The People to People Ambassador Program was founded in 1956 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in an effort to bring citizens around the world together to work toward world peace. He believed that ordinary citizens of different nations, if able to communicate directly, would solve their differences and find a way to live in peace. He wanted people to know and understand that while we are all very different, our values, goals, and day-to-day issues are very much the same. This simple idea that people can make a difference where government cannot is People to People's foundation.

Currently, President George W. Bush is an honorary chairman of People to People. Mary Eisenhower, granddaughter of former President Eisenhower, is People to People's chief executive officer. She is also a global traveler and goodwill ambassador, and works to continue her grandfather's legacy.

On my trip we had a chance to see many famous landmarks and sites. In London, some of my favorite sites were Big Ben, Winston Churchill's Cabinet War Rooms and Buckingham Palace.

At Westminster Abbey we had a briefing with a government official. He told us about the government of England and how politics work. He also told us what the queen does and what her responsibilities are.

We had a chance to ride the world's highest Ferris wheel, the London Eye, which gave us a breathtaking view of all of London. One evening, we even saw a famous play, called "Joseph and the Dreamcoat." It was an amazing performance at the London Theater. We attended a theater workshop, which gave us an insight into what it takes to put on a play.

We visited Christ Church College in Oxford University, where parts of the movie "Harry Potter" were filmed. We also toured Warwick Castle and visited Stratford, where William Shakespeare was born. I also enjoyed learning about the Roman Baths and the mysterious Stonehenge.

We took an overnight ferry to France. In Caen we saw the Normandy beaches, which was my favorite site on this entire trip. We learned about the best known battle of World War II, the Battle of Normandy. I learned a ton at the Le Memorial de Caen Museum about the Normandy Invasion and Hitler's plan in taking over Europe.

We also went to the Omaha and Utah beaches, where we got a chance to see the bomb craters and even the underground bunkers. I went through one of the bunkers and looked at all the rooms that were made to protect the Germans from air raids.

Most of the time I spent just gazing over the cliffs and wondering how it would feel to fight in this battle. I couldn't believe that I was standing on the soil that our many brave Allied soldiers set foot on to fight and free France. I wondered how they could have had the strength to climb those tremendously steep cliffs and still have the energy to rise up and fight their enemy.

It probably took lots of courage and bravery to make it this far into the war. I realized from this experience that they paved for us and the world a better future. Our People to People founder, President Eisenhower, was the four-star general who planned the invasion at Normandy against Hitler.

At the American Memorial we had a chance to look at the 9,387 perfectly aligned crosses of the soldiers who fought and died in the Battle of Normandy. It was an absolutely breathtaking view! I and three other ambassadors were chosen to lay a wreath underneath the statue dedicated to the unknown soldiers. Our group even got to lower the American flag and fold it at the end of our visit.

Visiting Normandy was a great experience! It was my favorite because I learned so much. I've read books and have seen movies about the Battle of Normandy, but nothing could replace experiencing the real thing. It brings different feelings and thoughts about the topic when you're there instead of just reading something about it in the paper or a book. Seeing a part of history so important makes you want to imagine what it was like during World War II. The wall in the back of the cemetery with all the names of the unfound soldiers adds to the momentum of that time.

Some of the other landmarks and sites that we saw in France were the Chateau Versailles, the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame Cathedral, Sacre Coeur and the Montmarte district. We also toured a perfume company and learned how perfume was made. We even took a French class to learn a few common words and phrases in French. We spent the last day of our trip at Disneyland Paris.

Being a student ambassador was a great experience for me. I learned a lot and enjoyed every part of my trip. I think that it is important to explore the world and make peace with other countries. This is done by appreciating each other's cultures and setting good examples of how we behave like good Americans. I think that anyone who is chosen to be a People to People Student Ambassador should definitely consider going on a trip. It's a great once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

I created a website to share the details of my trip and I just found out that I won the People to People Student website of the Year 2003 contest (StudentAmbassadors.org.xa).

Nicholas Fedyk, 12, is a sixth grader at St. Joseph School in Penfield, N.Y. He is a member of Plast and the Yevshan Dance Ensemble, serves as an altar boy at St. Josaphat's Ukrainian Catholic Church and enjoys playing soccer, baseball and basketball.

Young equestrian works toward success

NEW YORK - It might be known around the world as the sport of kings, but 13-year-old Stepha Martynuk is showing signs of being taken seriously as an equestrian jumper and competitor.

This past summer, the young rider won first and second place at the Wayne County Fair in Pennsylvania for English equestrian riding and jumping, and did equally well in the GDS County Fair in northeastern Pennsylvania.

The riding bug bit the young Martynuk when she was only 8 years old and already attending summer horse camp at Overpeck Equestrian Center in Leonia, N.J. Things got more serious when she bought her very first horse, a pure-bred Arabian by the name of Rage.

"It was rather obvious why his name was Rage," says Stepha. "He was actually not approachable at a very early age but by the time I got him at age 9 he was already a gelding and I worked hard to bond with him. Bonding is everything between a horse and a rider because that is what makes a winner and also keeps you safe."

To date, Stepha has been thrown 22 times by Rage, but she sees it as simply part of the training. And her training is where it counts: summers are spent at the Old Westbury Equestrian Center in Long Island, a professional Grand Prix training facility with Olympic level trainers; the rest of the year is spent at the Lake Equestrian Center in Lake Ariel, Pa., where she rides several days a week after school.

While she attends eighth grade at Lake Wallenpaupack School in Pennsylvania, Stepha splits her life between living in Pennsylvania and New York City with her father, George Martynuk, an operatic agent, and her mother, Rosemary Musoleno, an operatic soprano, and her 6-year-old sister Svitlana.

Philly kids learn lesson in self-defense

by Irena Pelech Zwarych

PHILADELPHIA - On Saturday, January 24, the youngest plastuny, novatsvo and ptashata, in the Philadelphia Branch of Plast Ukrainian Scouting Organization had the opportunity to participate in a karate lesson presented by Action Karate from Jenkintown, Pa. This unique activity was organized by the Sorority's branch in Philadelphia.

Sestrychka Marusia Kolodij led the children in warm-up exercises, which led directly into the lesson. The children had the opportunity not only to learn some basic karate steps, but also a chance to participate in a discussion with the instructor about bullying and self-defense.

The fun-filled and informative session concluded with light refreshments. Reactions from the kids included the following:

"I thought the karate lesson was good. I was only a little sad because my sister Vera wasn't there." - Marta Penkalskyj, age 5. "I liked the karate lesson so much that I would like to learn more." - Marchyk Luchanko, age 10.

Mishanyna

To solve this month's Mishanyna, find the words on the list below in the Mishanyna grid. Hint: these are all items that Ukrainians would have in their Easter baskets.

egg, cheese, butter, salt, horseradish, smoked meat, kovbasa, pysanky, rushnyk, pepper, lard, krashanky

BONUS: find the word "paska" five times!

OUR NEXT ISSUE: May 9. Deadline for materials: April 30.

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