THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, June 14, 1996 TAG: 9606120142
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 10 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY PHYLLIS SPEIDELL, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 205 lines
AS THE AIRPLANE circled Kaliningrad, Russia, Kirsten Aymer peered out the plane window and saw so much ice and snow that she wondered if the pilot had made a wrong turn toward Siberia.
Kirsten, a senior at Churchland High School, was one of 28 students and educators from Portsmouth, Norfolk and Chesapeake who flew to Kaliningrad for a monthlong exchange visit that immersed them in Russian education, culture and lifestyles.
The visit was part of a yearlong project that linked six secondary schools in Hampton Roads with six secondary schools in Kaliningrad. The program was funded by a grant from the U.S. Information Agency and administered by Old Dominion University.
Last fall, students and educators from Kaliningrad had visited Hampton Roads for a month, living with host families and visiting schools, tourist attractions and historic sites. It was late March and the end of a very long, blustery Russian winter when the Virginians headed for Kaliningrad to experience a culture that still evokes images of the Cold War and ``Dr. Zhivago.''
``We arrived in the ice and snow, and although I had been prepared for a bleak environment, I was really surprised at how gray everything was,'' said Raymond Lowther, a music specialist with the Portsmouth schools.
In contrast to the damp, chilly climate, the group received a warm welcome from their Russian hosts.
``They were a warm and loving group of people with whom we had an awful lot in common,'' said Mary Barnett, director of guidance at Wilson High School.
The visitors found Kaliningrad to be a city of contrasts, with many similarities to their home cities. Kaliningrad is a coastal city with a deep-water port. Bordered on the west by the Baltic Sea and to the south by Poland, Kaliningrad and its more than 900,000 inhabitants are separated from the rest of the Russian Federation by Lithuania to the north and east.
Although Kaliningrad is perhaps best known as the world's major source of amber, the region's economy relies on other industries, including fishing, shipbuilding, shipping and tourism.
During the weekdays the visitors toured some of Kaliningrad's 800 schools, visiting classrooms and talking with Russian students, teachers and administrators.
In Kaliningrad, students take placement tests in the ninth grade to determine if their education will continue on an academic or vocational track. Many of the schools are operated as magnet schools, a familiar concept that was particularly interesting to the Portsmouth contingent.
``I have no doubt that we were shown only the best, but I was really impressed with the system in a lot of ways,'' Barnett said. ``Classes were small, competition was high among the students, and the students seem to make a great effort to excel.''
``The kids in school were focused on school because you have to do well to stay there,'' Kirsten said.
In the evenings and on weekends each member of the group stayed with their Russian host families, sharing their apartments, meals and social lives.
``I have never eaten so much or walked so much in my life,'' said Glenda Brown, a grant development administrator for the Portsmouth schools.
Like the other visitors, Brown was amazed by their hosts' generosity.
The tap water might have been too contaminated to drink, but the tea, juice and vodka flowed liberally as the visitors frequently were offered up to eight meals a day - and expected to savor each one.
Striking differences between the ordinary citizen struggling for a living and the wealthy ``New Russians,'' former communist bureaucrats, were evident to the visitors.
``The schools in the city have few materials, no financing, and the teachers' paychecks are two months behind,'' said Bradford Andrews, an English teacher at Churchland High School.
Among the ``New Russians,'' however, there is money to be spent on elaborate vacation homes and expensive cars.
``There must have been 10 times as many Mercedes and BMWs in Kaliningrad than in Tidewater,'' Andrews said.
He caught a fleeting glimpse of everyday Russian traffic as he was chauffeured around by Dima, the 20-year-old son of a Kaliningrad host. Dima drove his compact Russian-made sedan with a daredevil flair that earned him the nickname ``Air Dima.''
``He drove at a mile a minute, through potholes, up on the sidewalk and riding on the streetcar rails to get us wherever we were going to,'' Andrews said.
Kirsten and Meredith Watts, also a senior at Churchland High School, had a chance to visit some of the city's nightclubs and to socialize with the local students.
``The language may be different, but the lines are the same,'' Kirsten said after meeting several young Kaliningrad men who wanted to date her. One component of the grant program was to provide the six Kaliningrad schools with computers and modems capable of linking to the Internet and beginning an E-mail correspondence with the Hampton Roads partner schools, providing a lasting link between the two communities.
John Turner, ODU associate professor and grant administrator, had hoped for continuation of the grant to provide a similar exchange program for the 1996-97 school year. However, federal budget cuts have made that impossible. Although the E-mail portion of the project will remain in place, the school districts in Portsmouth, Norfolk and Chesapeake will have to fund the student/educator exchange portion of the program individually.
Newly aware of Russian politics, the local exchange group will follow Sunday's Russian elections carefully and with concern for their newfound friends.
``Five years of democracy have influenced Russian young people who will be reluctant to accept communism again,'' Lowther said.
An enhanced appreciation of the American standard of living was common among all in the exchange group after the month in Russia.
As Frances Genera, a Wilson High School senior, said, ``We are spoiled over here.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color cover photo by Gary C. Knapp
Making the trip, and bringing back souvenirs, were, front row from
Left: Meredith Watts, Frances Ganera, Kristen Aymer; back row:
Glenda Brown, Ray Lowther, Mary Lowther, Mary Barnett and Biff
Andrews.
Photo courtesy of students
The Kaliningrad skyline can be seen from the waterfront, where a
tour boat is docked. The region is known for its amber, but the
economy also relies on fishing, shipbuilding, shipping and tourism.
Churchland English teacher Bradford Andrews, center, stands with
Churchland seniors Meredith Watts, left and Kirsten Aymer in front
of German World War II fortifications.
A vendor waits to sell beer to customers on a Kaliningrad street.
The city's tap water was contaminated, but tea, juice and vodka (and
beer) were plentiful.
Graphic
PORTSMOUTH CONTINGENT
Portsmouth participants in the Secondary School Linage Program
between Kaliningrad and Norfolk, Portsmouth and Chesapeake:
Bradford Andrews, English teacher, Churchland High School.
Mary Barnett, director of guidance, Wilson High School.
Glenda Brown, grant development administrator, Portsmouth Public
Schools.
Raymond Lowther, music specialist, Portsmouth Public Schools.
Kirsten Aymer, senior, Churchland High School.
Frances Genera, senior, Wilson High School.
Meredith Watts, senior, Churchland High School.
Graphic
JOURNAL NOTES
Kirsten Aymer and Bradford Andrews kept journals of their visit
to Russia and shared a few of their observations:
Bradford Andrews ...
Arriving in Kaliningrad was a bit of a jolt. As we got off the
plane, Russian army or police guards shepherded us into the terminal
... and then onto a medium comfortable bus and into the city on a
two-lane ``highway'' like a 600 numbered road in Virginia. The
snow-covered expanses of field were straight out of ``Dr. Zhivago.''
...
Russians plant rows of tires along the highway, like lining a
driveway in Tennessee. ...
I had pictured a dacha as a cabin in the woods. Instead, the
dacha area looked like four acres of chicken coops. Yuri's dacha
(Andrews' host) is a cinder-block two-story hut on a square of land
125 feet by 125 feet. ... He has 10-15 fruit trees, strawberry
vines, and grows many potatoes. ...
I cannot imagine the logistics in a country like this where just
getting a tank of gas for a delivery truck is nearly impossible.
Youth crime is up, so they are building alternative schools, and
orphanages have gone from four to 17 in the last four years. ...
Sunday, April 14, Orthodox Easter. Into the car and away we went
to Svetly, where we drove right down to the canal and walked along
it on a bright sunny day as shipping passed ... watched swans being
fed ... ice is everywhere, and we watched a ``walrus,'' like our
polar bears, go for a swim. ... Off to the amber factory at
breakneck speed with the most skillful bus driver I have ever seen.
The roads are packed in ice and only 1 1/2 lanes wide. Trucks,
buses, farm wagons and old men on bicycles are everywhere. What a
ride! ...
If the purpose of this trip is partially to learn about each
other's education, that has been accomplished. More important than
that by far is that we have learned about each other personally. We
know that we all have problems, struggle to deal with them and meet
only partial success. The Russian teachers greatly appreciated our
attention and genuine interest.
Kirsten Aymer ...
To describe a grocery store, just picture Farm Fresh with only
counter service and one-tenth the selection. You pay the cashier
before you shop, and you can drink beer while you shop. We also went
to a department store, which resembles more our indoor flea market
or garage sale. ...
Katye (Kirsten's student host) is very curious to learn about me,
and I feel the same way about her. I think that these next few
weeks will prove enlightening for both of us in more ways than I can
now see. ...
As for food in Russia, the diet seems fairly simple: carrots,
cabbage, beets and potatoes, with the optional meat products to
accent. Cold salads are very popular, and they contain the same
ingredients as the soup, which is popular, too. ...
After an evening at a Russian friend's home the impression that
remains constant is how friendly everyone is. ... As we were leaving
to go home the mother came over and handed me a ceramic figure of a
Ukranian national hero. I thought I was just supposed to admire it
and hand it back, but my translator informed me it was a gift. This
woman I had never seen before and who spoke no English at all felt
it in her heart to give me a gift for coming to her home. I was
blown away. ...
I knew coming to Russia would change my life and probably change
me. I did not, however, have any idea how or to what degree or by
what means. What I have gained in these few weeks is a new
understanding of people. by CNB