History of Texas: from the Old to Modern Time

July 10, 2011 at 2 p.m. we had English Speaking Club “Dialogue” with Andrew Brož, Peace Corps Volunteer. Andrew is a new volunteer, who comes to our corner and helps us in our work. Not all of the members of English Speaking Club knew Andrew, that’s why we decided to make an acquaintance with him. Andrew also wanted to tell about his state Texas. So the theme of our meeting was “The History of Texas: From the Old to Modern Time”. There were 13 people among them students and teachers. The group talked about the state of Texas, especially about its development during the centuries, about being it depended from other countries, about the revolution and War for Independence from Mexico. We used the projector and screen and watched a presentation about Texas, listened to some songs (Ballad of the Alamo – battle of the Alamo in San Antonio) which symbolized different periods of the history of the state. Andrew Brož also told what Texas is now, shortly described its landscape, cuisine and differences in language. The visitors liked this theme and actively participated in the discussion, asked a lot of different questions. This meeting was an interesting one for the visitors, they got useful information about the state of Texas, deeply understood the history of this state and got an idea how what modern Texas is.

Celebration of the 4th of July

 

July 3, 2011 at 2 p.m. we had a session of English Speaking Club “Dialogue” with Jun Blore and Andre Brož, Peace Corps Volunteers. It was a session devoted to Independence Day of the USA. There were 17 people among them students, schoolchildren and teachers. A book exhibition “Live for the freedom, America!” and an exhibition of posters “Independence Day” were made to this event. At first we were speaking about the holiday itself, Ukrainian students told what they knew about it and how they understood it. Then Jun and Andrew presented a power point presentation about the meaning of Independence Day, its background, symbols, traditions and show some videos about the holiday. Then we have a Skype connection to one of the friends of Jun, his name is Matt Cobos. He tried to describe the atmosphere of the holiday, told us what Americans usually do on this day and described his planes as well. Matt also told us about the history of this day and emphasized that the American Flag was the most important symbol of this day as well as the national songs such as the national anthem "The Star-Spangled Banner", "God Bless America", "This Land Is Your Land", "Stars and Stripes Forever ". We also listened some of them after the Skype session. The attendants were interested in the information they got in the process of communication with Matt Cobos and asked a lot of questions about the Fourth of July. They got answers on all the questions they had. The atmosphere of the meeting was warm and nice. The importance of this meeting is in deeper understanding of such a great holiday of the USA as Independence Day and new opportunities of communication with American society due to Skype technology.

New Peace Corps Volunteer Andrew Brož. Glad to Meet You!!!

Andrew Brož, Peace Corps Volunteer, came to the English Speaking Club for the first time, that’s why the first thing was an acquaintance with him. Evebody was glad to meet him and to communicate with a new person. Andrew told us about himself, his hobbies and plans. We hope, that we will communicate and cooperate with Andrew Brož. Welcome to Mykolaiv Window on America Center!

Speaking About American Art and Architecture

June 26, 2011 at 2 p.m. we had English Speaking Club “Dialogue” with Jun Blore and Andrew Brož, Peace Corps Volunteers. Andrew Brož came to the English Speaking Club for the first time, that’s why the first thing was an acquaintance with him. This time we spoke on the theme “American Art and Arcitecture”. There were 14 people among them students and teachers. We used the projector and screen, so the visitors watched the presentation and videos to the theme and discussed the theme of the session during the presentation and after it. The group talked about most famous American artists: Andy Warhol, Norman Rockwell, Jackson Pollock, special attention was devoted to movements and trends of the American art, Jun told about the most popular movements and named the representatives of all these genres. The attendants liked the theme and actively participated in the discussion, everybody also told which genre he/she liked most of all. This session was important and useful for the visitors, because they got a lot of interesting information about American Art and Architecture, as a part of the US culture.

Speaking About Two Holidays in the USA: Flag Day & Father's Day

 June 19, 2011 at 2 p.m. we had a session of English Speaking Club “Dialogue” with Jun Blore, Peace Corps Volunteer. This time we were speaking about the Flag Day and Father’s Day in the USA. There were 12 people, among them teachers, students and schoolchildren. We were speaking about both holidays, because Flag Day was celebrated in the USA during the week and Father’s Day was celebrated in the USA exactly on the day we have met. At first we spoke about the Flag Day in the USA. Jun told us about this holiday and explained how it was celebrated in the USA, and then asked questions concerning the flag, its parts and their meaning. The attendants tried to guess what different parts of the flag symbolized, Jun helped them in this process. He also told us the history of the USA flag and the way it changed during the centuries. After discussing the Flag Day, we spoke about the Father’s Day. Jun told about the typical presents on this day and described most popular activities. He also told that this day is not as popular as Mother’s Day, notwithstanding it is an important holiday in the US. The attendants got a lot of information about the celebration of the Flag Day and the Father’s Day, about the way Americans celebrate these days. The importance of this session is in deeper understanding of the USA holidays, the history of the country, USA flag and the meaning it has.

Flag Day in the USA

Today Americans celebrate Flag Day. This day commemorates the adoption of the flag of the United States, which happened that day by resolution of the Second Continental Congress in 1777. On June 14th, 1885, Bernard J. Cigrand, a 19 year old teacher at Stony Hill School, placed a 10 inch, 38- star flag in a bottle on his desk then assigned essays on the flag and its significance. This observance, commemorated Congresses adoption of the Stars and Stripes as the flag of the United States on June 14, 1777. This observance was also the beginning of Cigrand’s long years of fervent and devoted effort to bring about national recognition and observance of Flag Day.  In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation that officially established June 14 as Flag Day; in August 1949, National Flag Day was established by an Act of Congress. Flag Day is not an official federal holiday, though on June 14, 1937, Pennsylvania became the first (and only) U.S. state to celebrate Flag Day as a state holiday, beginning in the town of Rennerdale.

Memorial Day

June 5, 2011 at 2 p.m. we had a session of English Speaking Club “Dialogue” with Jun Blore, Peace Corps Volunteer. This time we were speaking about the Memorial Day in the USA. There were 10 people, among them teachers, students and schoolchildren. Jun told us about this holiday, explained its meaning and importance of this day in the USA. It is celebrated on the last day of May, however we decided to speak about it a little bit later. The group also talked about the history and traditions of the holiday in the United States. We were watching the video about the history of the holiday and also were watching a Power Point Presentation. The attendants got a lot of information about the celebration of the Memorial Day, about the way Americans honor all veterans and express respect and gratitude for them. The importance of this session is in better understanding of the Memorial Day by the visitors. The quotation of the session became: “I think, it is not just the day of memory in the USA, it is the day, when everybody can think about all wars and about the way in which they have changed our planet.”