Questions and Answers

     Alright everyone, here it is. The first Q&A post for this blog. Not a whole lot of questions so I'll try to make the answers extra long. The first few are about Walking English but I did get one about the elder class and a few others that I'll share. I'd like to make this a regular feature so I'll let you know ahead of time when the next one with be. Other than that, I'll be answering questions right in the comments. So, let's get started.

1. How many people take part in Walking English?
     It depends on the night. The first time we had six. One I had not met before. The online group seems to be growing quickly. The last time (before the retreat) we had five. All were people I had met at camp or the previous Walking English get-together.
     The staff are trying to get more people involved. Many of the students are even inviting their friends. Even if they aren't proficient, students can still come and learn. In my case, just hearing Russian spoken helps me to more quickly translate the words I do know. I believe the same is true for many of the students. Hearing me speak, along with the others, should help them with their comprehension.

2. Are any if them proficient English speakers?
     I guess by proficient you mean they can convey their thoughts and opinions with little difficulty? Then yes. All of them know English to some degree or another. Actually most of them already have a good grasp of the language. Each could get along just fine without a translator if they visited an English-speaking country. Obviously they aren't going to be speaking perfectly. That's the whole point of getting together to talk. They get to practice as well as ask question about grammar so they can add to their knowledge.

3. Do any staff come?
     Yes. The first time there were two staff from camp as well as me. The second it was just one. A small group met while we were away this weekend. That meant it was just students getting together. More of a study session than class. I guess the idea of walking around the city and speaking English appeals to a lot of people and they want to continue it as often as possible. We'll be going out again Friday night. Possibly a river tour. So I might have a captive audience. (Insert evil laugh here)

4. Does the elder class take place in English or do you have someone translating?
      The person who taught it was a PCA pastor in Texas for about 20 years. His name is Jerry Rahm. He does fill-in preaching now for churches who need a pulpit filled on Sundays. So that means the classes were in English with translation for the elder candidates. Pastor Max translated twice and the other two days were shared by two women from Big City, Dara Nikitiuk and Katya Lavrinchuk.

5. How many people on average come to church on Sunday?
     On average, between 25 and 30 people come to church each Sunday. Like a typical church, there will be people absent. But attendance, compared to membership, seems to be higher relative to churches in the US. I can't say with certainty, but it seems like the percentage of regular attendees is higher than normal. That might be because of a range of reasons; the demographic, the ages, or just culture.

6. Were there more or less at the retreat?
     I'd say there were over 30 at the retreat. My guess is about 33. Some couldn't be there because of work or other commitments.

7. What is the age demographic?  
     The age range seems is roughly between 18 and 35. At 28, I seem to be among the oldest at church although there are a few who are older (like Max, his wife Nina, and my language tutor Nadia). However most are in university or have recently graduated. Before the retreat, I thought one or two of the elder candidates were older than me. Now I'm almost certain I'm older than all of them. Despite that, I feel like what ever age difference there is, it's not a problem.
     I'm at the age where I can easily relate to people ten years younger than me all the way up to ten years older. I'm not so far removed from college that I don't know what it's like to study for hours on end. But I also have six years of real-world career experience that I can draw from. <Bryan Mills voice ON> I have a certain set of skills. <Bryan Mills voice OFF> More specifically, a range of experiences that makes relating with the people of the church easy. We like similar music and movies. We are at similar points in our lives. Many of them want to change to a better career that offers better opportunities. I've been at that point for the last three or four years. But the best thing is that I feel like I'm a part of the group. It's not like I'm trying to fit in with the cool crowd at highschool. I've said this a few times already but I don't remember to whom. So I'll just repeat this (very unoriginal) thought here. Ukrainians are like watermelons. They have a hard shell but once you break through, they are very sweet. By sweet I mean kind, welcoming, caring and friendly.

     OK folks, that's all I have for now. Thanks for the questions. I really enjoy writing in the blog. I'd consider writing one of my many hobbies although I do sometimes suffer from a lack of inspiration. However, that hasn't been much of a problem so far for the blog. It's also helpful to know people are reading it and enjoying it. I hope by the time I'm done here, there will be a huge pile of posts that I can look back at and have a good record of the time I was in Ukraine. This is my third time here. The previous two times I wrote in a journal what all I did plus some personal thoughts. But this has been a first. Well, other than my Tumblr page. That got a few opinion posts but nothing substantial like this. It feels good to write a lot about the things that are going on here.
     Finally, I'd like to point out that yesterday, the 25th of August, marked one full month of being here in Ukraine. It doesn't feel like it. I don't want the time to go fast. But it's helpful that I don't feel overwhelmed by the length of time (past or remaining) either.