"American in Lepetykha"
That the world is becoming more open to each of us, and we more open to the world, is undoubtedly good. This is one of the signs of modernity. Twenty years ago one could not have imagined that a citizen of the USA would be living and working in Velyka Lepetykha, and that we would all accept this as an every-day fact. But just that has happened. In December 2005 the first American to live and work in Velyka Lepetykha became the twenty-three year-old Benjamin Arthur Hanes. Today he is an English teacher at school #1.
Officially students address him as Mr. Hanes, teachers and friends simply by his shortened name-- Ben. Tall, likeable, with an athletic build, an open appearance, and always a friendly smile, Ben has somehow naturally inserted himself into the pedagogical and student collectives of the school and at first acquaintance he appears like one of us, like a Ukrainian. He speaks pure Ukrainian, though sometimes, true, he must pause to search for a word.
There is an organization in the USA called the Peace Corps. Its goal is the humanitarian progress of connecting the USA with the world, and the broadening of knowledge about the USA throughout the world. Ben is one of the present 300 Peace Corps volunteers in Ukraine. Ben's parents live in the city of Neenah in the state of Wisconsin. His father is a partner at a local
law firm, his mother works as a secretary at a different firm. They have four children, all male. Ben is third of the four. By American standards this is a middle-sized family. Ben is of international lineage: his mother's ancestors are Danes and Swedes, his father's from Scotland, Ireland, and England. His parents' forebears came to the USA in the middle of the nineteenth century.As Ben answers: "I finished college with majors in Russian and music at a college in the state of Iowa in 2005. I applied to the Peace Corps immediately after finishing college. They don't accept everyone who applies. They are fairly exclusive, since it is prestigious and may be useful for a future career. I wanted to see the world, and secondly, to have time to decide what to do with my life. I also wanted to learn a another Slavic language. I chose Ukrainian. At first I studied for three months in Ukrainian schools." Plans for the future? "After returning home, I want to continue studying, perhaps journalism. The term of my work at the Velyka Lepetykha School No. 1 lasts until December 2007. I don't receive payment from the school, Peace Corps pays me a living allowance. It's a modest sum." (The phrase "living allowance" struck me with its depth of national meaning(?). We rarely use it).
I ventured to ask the question -- is Ben married? "No. Americans marry late, usually around the age of 27-30. But it does happen sometimes right out of high school. My friend got married when he was 21. That's too early for me: I want to have some life experience, finish my education, start a career, and find an apartment or a house first." In their culture it isn't acceptable to "hang on the necks of our parents" (as they say in our culture).
Lepetykhans know Ben from his amateur artistic performances at the regional Culture House. More than once he has performed on our stage as a singer of Ukrainian folk songs and bandurist. "I started doing these performances on my own initiative. For a few months I learned how to play the bandura with an excellent teacher at the music school named Olga Valentinivna Mihley." Why did he learn this instrument? "Because this is one of the oldest Ukrainian stringed instruments. Learning it helps me gain a deeper understanding of the Ukrainian soul. Also, the bandura is very melodic. Learning the instrument was made easier by the fact that I studied music in the past, although it was the trombone." Now he plays the bandura too. As a duet with Olga Valentinivna they have played "Vzyav by Ya Banduru," "Ishli Voly iz Dibrovy," "Oy chy to Kin' Stoyit'" and others. In the evening he also plays basketball in the school gym.
Olga Valentinivna Mihley comments: "Ben is a gifted musician, sings beautifully, and learns quickly. He is mastering the bandura well, though the instrument is much different from the trombone. Listeners respond to Ben with 'bravo!'" Antonina Viktorivna Krivov'yaz, English teacher, and 10th grade student Inna Drobot agree: a pleasant, polite person. "His teaching methods are based on games, the lessons are interesting."
How do his parent's feel about Ben's stay in Ukraine? "Like any parents: mom worries, dad is more interested in what I'm doing. They both plan to visit Ukraine, maybe sometime next spring."
At the end of our meeting I asked if he would be against naming the article "American in Lepetykha." He smiled sincerely: "And why? As I see it, that's the truth!"
And that's how I see it, too: a concrete, good example helping us put in context the large political and moral problems of international relations between people of different cultures. The task of uniting the peoples of the world is both ours and theirs -- Ukrainian and American. This is how it should take place in civilized communities.
