This month we were a traveling attraction. The attraction was English Club. We made an appearance in a little town near
Russia and in the big city of Odessa on the coast of the Black Sea. We spent at least a week in each place and
did English clubs for the neighborhood and also for children in their schools.
So you may be wondering…what is an English club? No worries, I’m here to tell you.
The first and most exciting part of English Club is inviting
people. They won’t come unless they know
it’s happening. And even better we get
to broadcast that native speakers are teaching it. I think that’s the best part. We basically roam the streets and stick
fliers in people’s faces. Most of them
refuse us by completely ignoring you and walking by you, yelling at you in
Russian because you’re obviously an unwanted specimen, or sticking out their
hand and staying in perfectly clear English “No thank you, I don’t speak
English.� Yes this process is a real
confidence builder. But there were a few
kind souls that felt sorry enough for us to take the flier, and even some of
those that took the flier actually showed up!
I would say that is success!
The club was actually a real blast! The subjects we covered were travel, seasons,
traditions, schools in the U.S., fashion, and leisure time. We would play games, have presentations, and
have small group discussions. I would
say overall every club went very well.
We made lots of new friends that loved meeting real life Americans (I
know we’re very fascinating-especially with our interesting wardrobe
choices). I proved what a fool I was in
almost every club. My favorite was when
we dressed me up in lots of different clothing on top of each other for me to
do the fashion dash (see photo below).
It helped them practice colors and articles of clothing, and I got to
look like an idiot. Definitely a win-win
situation.
I will always have good memories from English
club. It’s always sad to leave new
friends, but seeds were planted and who knows when we’ll get to see them again.
English club in the school.
English club in the church.
Fashion Dash
Playing Ninja in English club.
