Back to the USA with Open World!

Good news: Going back to the US in January as Open World facilitator - don't know where exactly yet! 

On my Facebook page i started a small competition: The one who will correctly guess my destination will get a souvenir from me!

Just received the LFP Outbound Project Award Notification!

Yesterday got the news that the US Embassy in Kyiv authorized the Alumni Resource Center to support my Center's initiative to conduct an essay competition on the Bill of Rights, and today got the news from LFP!

The project's title is "Empowering Citizens, Strengthening Communities: Civil rights and local democracy in Ukraine"

Donetsk students experienced a touch of Aloha spirit

During today's meeting of American Club @ Center for Political Studies we discussed Hawaii, recent elections in the US and played Aloha Bingo!

Next meeting will be on Thanksgiving, New York and multiculturalism.

Next stop - Tibet!

On the train Kyiv-Donetsk met with Dr. Pema Dorjee, associate and former personal physician of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. 

About Dr. Dorjee on his blog @ tibetmedi.blogspot.com

Received my certificate!

Mahalo nui loa to American Councils and the US Department of State!

Program speech @ Rotary Club of Pearl Harbor

It was exciting to meet today Rotarians from Pearl Harbor!

As I mentioned in my brief speech, it is inspiring to see so many people who instead of simply enjoying life on heavenly islands, devote their time and effort, and also financially contribute (I liked their "Happy Bucks" express fundraising rally) to make their community a better place for all.

Teaching and learning @ Waianae High

Yesterday I was teaching (through games, mostly) at a high school in Waianae.

Thanks to that experience, I was also able to learn a lot about US schools and native Hawai'ians' life.

East meets West in Hawai'i @ EWC

On Friday I had a meeting with Jill Takasaki Canfield and Natasha Schultz from Pacific and Asian Affairs Council.

Their office is @ the highly acclaimed East-West Center, and they do amazing job, in particularly, in bringing youth closer together.

Tsunami in Hawai'i - emergency management in action

Yesterday experienced how emergency management works in the US. 

First news came as a notification about Tsunami alert from Google (usually i get annoying weather updates). In 10 minutes the regular TV programming was stopped and live coverage on tsunami began. Later the sirens and loud speakers from vehicles (and perhaps helicopters) were heard.

Ty mene pidmanula - girls play and win

This famous Ukrainian folk song we were singing as a contest in artistism and performance skills, today on a party for all LFP host families in Hawai'i @ the Fischlowitz-Leong house.

Winning was the girls' team, led by Natalia from Moldova and Zalina from Russia. The prize was a breath of canned air from Odessa, Ukraine. ;)

Great seal of the State of Hawai'i

All LFP interns, based in Hawai'i, gathered today @ State Capitol for a tour of the legislature.

Mahalo nui loa to Governor's office for the tour!

Ukrainian LFPs in DC

Finally I can share official photos from the orientation session in DC. 

For other pics please check out my G+ page @ http://gplus.to/shtukarin

Ukrainians on key positions in Hawai'i

Visit to Honolulu city hall turned out to be perfectly timed to meet US Congresswoman Mazie Hirono and the Lieutenant Governor of the State of Hawai'i Brian Schats.

Mr. Schats, having learned that I was from Ukraine, exclaimed that his grandparents came from Ukraine too. 

Policies can be changed - proved by ACLU!

Yesterday I volunteered at the Hawai’i Harm Reduction 2012 conference, which took place in Ala Moana Hotel in Honolulu. 

Most active NGOs and agencies working on various issues related to State's community problems gathered to share views, exchange best practices, and find support for their advocacy activities. Laurie Temple from American Civil Liberties Union of Hawai'i opened the discussions.

Interns @ ACLU of Hawai'i

Here is me (in center :) with 2 other interns of American Civil Liberties Union of Hawai'i. 

Mahalo to Kit Grant for the photo! ;)

Aloha spirit conquers LFP interns

After myself buying Aloha shirt, saw a sign that Hawai'i won - in the way Natalia from Moldova was dressed today @ lunch ;)

Amicus curiae @ Hawai'i State Court

Was observing court proceedings on the occasion of ACLU of Hawai'i's involvement as third party (friend of the court).

First lunch @ office

Got my lunch from Subway - will explore more local options tomorrow

Internship starts @ Keiki Caucus Meeting

Thanks to open wifi, twit-conference @ twitter.com/lfpdonetsk

X-Men? - Never heard of them!

On a walking tour around DC yesterday I learned a lot, in particular, was impressed by accomplishments of Thomas Jefferson (unlike all other monuments, hadn't visited his one before). Was he some kind of a super-human?

Thanks to Ken, history was omnipresent and talking to us, we saw the tree that impacted the legal system, church where you can meet and talk to presidents, dogs which are hailed in Congress, etc.

More photos of the day @ https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/111989549835072476930/albums/5798025822385594225

Romance in DC

The day brought many new friends, new impressions from places re-visited, as well as some extra points on Foursquare :)

Final impression was from a rather unexpected view of the historical vehicle going up the Massachussets Ave late at night, with two elderly persons, one as a driver (male), and the other as the only passenger (female).

For some reason, it seemed quite romantic :)

More photos of the day @ https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/111989549835072476930/albums/5797536257981078609

Morning tea in KBP

Sharing early teas and coffees with 2 Taras'es ;)

En route 2 Honolulu :)

@ Donetsk Railway Station) [pic]: http://4sq.com/SDMqiL

To pay or not to pay? Hamlet's Dilemma on Taxes

When I was filling in a survey by State Dept today, there was a question implying that paying taxes is part of democracy (at least it was my reading of it). 

I liked the question a lot, as it provoked some deliberations a la Hamlet of Elsinor.

American Club @ CPS - Happy New Year!

As the new academic year 2012/13 has started, we @ the Center for Political Studies, restarted our regular English-speaking club - rebranded as American Club in Spring 2012. 

A full dozen of participants showed up, both regulars and fresh ones, including a group of first year International Relations students @ Donetsk National University.

Fellows - Sergiy Shtukarin

Human Rights Officer - UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine 

LFP/PFP Intern in Fall 2012, based in Honolulu, Hawaii (American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii)

Graduate of the Central European University, Budapest (International Relations and European Studies)

Survival Hawai'ian: Aloha

Decided yesterday - the idea came to me in the train from PDO to Donetsk - to start posting Hawai'ian words. 

Definitely, the first one is Aloha!

Aloha in the Hawaiian language means affection, peace, compassion and mercy. Since the middle of the 19th century, it also has come to be used as an English greeting to say goodbye and hello. Currently, it is mostly used in the sense of "hello".*

International Book Week - what are you reading now?

"The warriors would set bonfires to see and fight by, driving off the cold of the desert night, but there would still be great pockets of shadow where the demons, which could see in the dark, would hold every advantage."

It's international book week. Grab the closest book to you, turn to page 52, post the 5th sentence in the comments. Don't mention the title!

Dustin Hoffman and other famous Ukrainians. New Exodus post-2012?

During the PDO, the 3 fellows were taken on a tour of the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv, and shown the gallery of photos of famous Americans with Ukrainian roots.

Oleksandra Iegorova, Cultural Affairs Assistant, who was hosting us at the Embassy, told that this gallery was their favourite exhibition.

LFP-2012 Pre-departure Orientation took place in Kyiv

Took part in the PDO for Ukrainian participants of the Legislative Fellows Program - Fall 2012.

First day of the PDO took place in the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv (hence no photos), where we met with the American Councils' Country Director Yarema Bachynsky and Assistant Cultural Affairs Officer at the U.S. Embassy Arthur T. Evans.

Educating colleagues to use online tools in learning

iTeach - Art of Teaching in the XXI Century: Donetsk team educates colleagues to use online too...: Members of the Donetsk team were teaching their colleagues from the Deparment of International Relations and Foreign Policy of the Donetsk...

- this is a short update on the Swiss-funded project on state of the art teaching.

Aloha!

Finally, I received the confirmation - I am going to Honolulu, Hawai'i! (hence the recent change of the blog's name)

The hosting organization is American Civil Liberties Union of Hawai'i, available @ acluhi.org.

"We are civil servants - we don't travel abroad!"

Was giving a lecture to local civil servants on Ukraine's European integration for the second day in a row. 

At the end of the talk played the game "Euro-Bingo" with the audience, and when discussing the correct answers touched upon the issue of Schengen visas...

Civil servants perceive European integration with growing scepticism

Today I was teaching at the Regional Center for In-Service Training of Civil Servants. The seminar was on Ukraine's European integration, the audience included administrative officers from local self-government bodies of the Donetsk Region. 

Less than half of my audience today - when asked if they want Ukraine to join the EU - raised hands without hesitation, the share got up to almost 3/4 when the question was phrased as "Do You want Ukraine to join the EU in the future, for your children and grandchildren?".

Nice test on sharing political views with the US Presidential candidates

Pass your own test here: www.isidewith.com

Fences, redistribution and political corruption: a comparative sketch

Trip to Norway - for an Advanced Planning Visit within a Youth Exchange "Future of Europe" (EU Program "Youth in Action) - provoked some comparisons between this northern Kingdom, the United States and my native Ukraine. 

First time I was struck with the concept of fence-less community when in February 2012 during the Open World Program visit to Atlanta, Georgia, my host family mentioned that in their neighborhood one could not build fences, and that was considered normal.

Babushka and a cat - humor posters in Ukraine

A poster in the city of Dniprodzerzhynsk - with an old lady and a cat - spurred a wave of similar political humour posters around Ukraine.

The original poster was citing an anonimous "babushka", saing that she signed in her cat into her last will to own a house instead of her grandson - after she learned he voted for ruling Party of the Regions (elections are coming in Fall).

The news are now full of stories that after the regional government officials saw the poster, they demanded it to be taken down, and at night it was partially destroyed.

The author is now criminally prosecuted, and the owner of the advetizing company which put up the poster is in hospital reanimation ward.

Some links:

http://maidan.org.ua

http://dndz.com.ua

http://golosnoy.com.ua

One window approach - Donetsk style

Today I witnessed the work of the State Registrator's office of the Donetsk City Council. The attitude towards small business in Ukraine is highlighted by the inhumane conditions at this pivotal office. 

The absurdity of the lawmaking in Ukraine resulted in that the "certificate of a private entrepreneur", issued by this office is invalid without several other senseless documents, introduced by the new laws, without deleting the previous ones. To get all these papers, one needs to waste time and money, and nerve cells - as it turned out.

Just learned who were the other LFP finalists

List of Legislative Fellows Program's cohort of Fall 2012 is available @ http://lfp.americancouncils.org/?q=content/lfp-fall-2012-finalists-announced

We are 32 in total, coming from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine

Hooray! LFP Finalist Award Notification

Last week I received a letter, inviting me to travel to the United States as a participant of the Legislative Fellows Program: 

Dear Sergiy,

Congratulations! American Councils for International Education: ACTR/ACCELS is pleased to notify you that you have been selected as a finalist to participate in the Legislative Fellows Program (LFP), sponsored by the U.S. State Department Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.  Should you accept, you are invited to travel to the United States this Fall for a five-week professional development and cross-cultural exchange...

Having confirmed my willingness to participate in the LFP yesterday, I decided to start this blog as a tool to take record of my experiences during the coming internship in the US, and also as a bridge between my home community and the site of my future placement.