Christine spent a memorable summer teaching English in Khust and Rokosova, Transcarpathia. It's was a special experience. Here's what she felt.

Most kids receive for their graduation present money, car, stereo or 
some items such as that.  But I feel that I was given the best present of 
anyone, and that was being able to travel overseas to the Ukraine to a 
village named Khust, where I was to teach eager young Sabbatarian 
children the English language.  I was sent there on a mission to help 
these children, but soon realized I probably learned more from those 
youngsters than they learned from me. 

The first day of classes I was a bit nervous not exactly knowing what I 
was getting myself into.  I was given a certain number of children and my 
very own classroom.  I looked around the room and realized something 
here was different, and I soon came to the conclusion which was these
 children were really wanting to learn and were excited to do so.  

These kids did not have the workbooks with the pretty colored pictures 
or the neat colored pen and pencils that we have here in the U.S., all 
that they came to school with was a dull pencil and paper that was half 
written on most of the time but to them it would serve the purpose just as 
well.  It made me feel a bit guilty of how much we have living in the U.S.  
And a bit embarrassed at the fact that students here don’t want to go to 
school and feel it is a drag.  But not the Ukrainian student that I thought 
they were able to soak information up like a sponge in water. A few times 
I found myself not having enough to do in my lesson plans because they 
learned the new material so quickly. 

At the end of my unforgettable summer experience my students knew a 
few sentences and a lot of vocabulary.  I was very proud of them and felt 
a sense of accomplishment, but they did it themselves we just provided 
them with the materials that they were not able to receive in the small 
village that they lived in. Someday I would like to return to the Ukraine 
and see what my former students are doing know. I hope that with the 
small amount of help that we gave them that it will make them want to 
pursue their life long dreams.

                                            Christine Horchak