July 28, 2017- друзья
From Mr Binder
This was our last full day with our guests. And I feel this is a great word for today. This word is pronounced like droo-see-ja. It means friends.
With our Iceberg tv partners, we began the day visiting a library where people with disabilities come together to take part in community activities. We all broke into groups and played some board games. (One of them was Spot It, though it has a name in Russian I can't recall). Then we went outside to participate in a samovar, a kind of gathering for tea common in the Ural Mountains.
This was our last full day with our guests. And I feel this is a great word for today. This word is pronounced like droo-see-ja. It means friends.
With our Iceberg tv partners, we began the day visiting a library where people with disabilities come together to take part in community activities. We all broke into groups and played some board games. (One of them was Spot It, though it has a name in Russian I can't recall). Then we went outside to participate in a samovar, a kind of gathering for tea common in the Ural Mountains.
The Urals are also known for gold discovery and mining (a but earlier than the CA Gold Rush by the way) and we got to tour of a local gold mine with a funny guide. Following that, the two groups began working on their first episode of the web series that will focus on disability advocacy in both countries (which will be called DPTV).
Our final activity was a visit to a local journalism camp. We participated in a press conference, and then took a short stroll to the lake. The welcome we received as their guests was beyond explanation. There were wonderful questions and an honest exchange of ideas. Then at the end, there were hugs, social media exchanges... and I won't forget how we were cheered in friendship as our bus was leaving.
So that circles back to today's word...
Friends
It is evident that friendships and impressions were made throughout this trip. Though we live far apart, we met people with different cultures, activities, interests, and abilities. And it comes to the fact that people are simply people and I firmly believe we all seek the same thing. It's not hard to find common ground, and the feeling of friendship I received here will travel with me back home and into the future.
From the students:
Out of everyone in our group I believe that I was the most nervous about coming to Russia. I cannot express how mistaken I was for my anxiety before this trip, the Russian people that we have met exceeded any expectations I could have had. The friendships that have been formed and the connections made over the last two days with our counterparts will last a lifetime, and that could not make me happier. Eurasia Foundation and SEE are doing exceptional things by bringing students from different nations together to raise awareness for disabilities and to connect each other across the world. They have my upmost gratitude. We have one more day with our new friends and we will make every minute count, after that we have no choice but to count down the days until we see them again in a when they visit us on our soil.
Our final activity was a visit to a local journalism camp. We participated in a press conference, and then took a short stroll to the lake. The welcome we received as their guests was beyond explanation. There were wonderful questions and an honest exchange of ideas. Then at the end, there were hugs, social media exchanges... and I won't forget how we were cheered in friendship as our bus was leaving.
So that circles back to today's word...
Friends
It is evident that friendships and impressions were made throughout this trip. Though we live far apart, we met people with different cultures, activities, interests, and abilities. And it comes to the fact that people are simply people and I firmly believe we all seek the same thing. It's not hard to find common ground, and the feeling of friendship I received here will travel with me back home and into the future.
From the students:
Out of everyone in our group I believe that I was the most nervous about coming to Russia. I cannot express how mistaken I was for my anxiety before this trip, the Russian people that we have met exceeded any expectations I could have had. The friendships that have been formed and the connections made over the last two days with our counterparts will last a lifetime, and that could not make me happier. Eurasia Foundation and SEE are doing exceptional things by bringing students from different nations together to raise awareness for disabilities and to connect each other across the world. They have my upmost gratitude. We have one more day with our new friends and we will make every minute count, after that we have no choice but to count down the days until we see them again in a when they visit us on our soil.
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