In a war torn and foreign country, you’d expect everything to be different, but some things in Ukraine are more similar to here than you’d think.
Federal Hocking’s MS Journalism class has been writing back and forth with students in Kyiv, which is Ukraine’s capitol.
“This experience has been really eye-opening,” Sebastian, who is a pen-pal of Maksym and Andrey, said.
Beginning in January 2024, Ms. Ripple’s MS Journalism class began writing back and forth with an English class in the Lycée Français Anne de Kiev, a French language school in Kyiv. Students have exchanged both written and typed letters, and have learned plenty through the exchange. Students have learned about life under war, as well as lighter topics such as their pen-pals’ interests.
Not only have the students exchanged letters, but they also exchanged presentations as well. Ms. Ripple’s class made a group presentation about the school, and then individual presentations about Appalachian culture, in response to the Ukrainian’s presentations about Ukraine culture.
Despite the differences, there are also many similarities. Students in Ms. Ripple’s class found out that Ukrainians like some of the same things as us, like the same sports, movies, books, games etc. Many of the Ukrainians have immersed themselves in the English media, with Sebastian’s pen-pal having his whole web browser and youtube in English. Max’s pen-pal and himself share the love of hot-wheel collecting.
While still continuing, this project has proved to be a remarkable experience for students, one they will remember for a life-time.
