S A T U R D A Y,  M A R C H  7,  2 0 0 9

Highlights of My Visit

Wow, I can’t believe my week in Ukraine has already come to an end; time really flew by! I met some of the nicest people, saw some amazing places, shopped (ok, so that’s my secret vice), and had some wonderful meals. It will be great to spend some time at home and catch up with my family, but the trip was definitely worth the time and effort.

So, what were the highlights? Well, one of them had to be the lunch we had at the school in Bakhchiseray. When the embassy told me where we would be eating, I had visions of stereotypical horrible cafeteria food. Instead, we were treated to the best of Tatar cuisine, with wonderful fresh vegetables, delicious soup, and fresh bread. As was true everywhere we went, the teachers, students, and administrators were tremendously welcoming – in this case it made the perfect dessert.

I also really enjoyed the chance to meet with the FLEX (Future Leaders Exchange) Alumni. These are kids who have spent a year in the U.S. on a U.S. government sponsored high school exchange program. I met with FLEX alumni in Kyiv at the reception Ambassador Taylor held in my honor, and again in Odesa on my last full day in Ukraine (my super interpreter, Sasha, was also a FLEXer). One of the things that gets stressed while the FLEXers are in the U.S. is the idea of community service, and the alumni that I met in both Kyiv and Odesa were actively bringing this tradition to Ukraine. In fact, in Odesa I was privileged to participate in an activity with the FLEXers, in which young orphans (they ranged in age from five to twelve) were brought to an Odesa ice skating rink for a couple of hours of fun and attention. The FLEXers work regularly with these orphans, playing with them and working with them as much as possible. I was only able to spend an hour with the children, helping them learn to navigate across the ice, but we all had a lot of fun. One little boy in particular captured a piece of my heart! I am firmly convinced that these FLEXers are going to be among Ukraine’s future leaders. This is a great program; it advances mutual understanding and respect among people, which I think is so important in making the world a better place.

It wasn’t just the FLEX group, however, that impressed me. I got to meet with high school students and university students from around Ukraine, and I was consistently impressed by their curiosity, their positive spirit and energy, and their enthusiastic welcome. One of my goals as an American Public Diplomacy Envoy is to share my personal story and hopefully inspire others through it. In Ukraine I really feel like I connected with young people; not just skaters, but everyone who is trying to attain their dream – whether it be in sports, academics, or in achieving personal goals.

Michelle Kwan ice skates with a young orphan as part of a FLEX Alumni community service program

One of the things I tried to do during my time in Ukraine was to dispel some myths about Americans. But it works both ways. The people that I met the past week also hope that I will be able to dispel some myths about Ukraine to the people of the United States. For the record, I saw no bears running down the streets.

The World Figure Skating Championships are coming up, and I look forward to seeing some of the Ukrainian skaters compete in Los Angeles. Hopefully I’ll also meet some of the other people I met in Ukraine as we travel through this world together. Truly, I had a wonderful time and want to thank the State Department in general, and the people at the embassy in Kyiv in particular for all the work they did to make this trip a success. I hope I made a little bit of a difference.

 

F R I D A Y,  M A R C H  6,  2 0 0 9

Odesa, Ukraine

Off to a five am start today, as it turns out that it’s just not that easy to get from Simferopol to Odesa (transliteration of the Ukrainian spelling, in Russian it’s Odessa). We flew back to Kyiv, transferred planes, and then made our way to Odesa.

Today I got to go to the rink where Ukrainian Olympic stars Oksana Baiul and Viktor Petrenko trained. After touring with them, and talking about them to students across Ukraine, it was great to see where they came from. Odesa Figure Skating School Director Melnychenko was rightly very proud of them, but after skating with some of the juniors from the school, I won’t be at all surprised if he soon has new photos to add to the school’s wall of champions. These kids have great coaches and a lot of determination to succeed in school. When I talked to them after the clinic, it was clear that they are definitely preparing themselves for life in a global neighborhood, whether it is on or off the ice.

Michelle Kwan in Odesa, Ukraine

I was very impressed by a young lady (13?) who came up to me after the clinic and asked me if she could interview me for an Odesa newspaper. When one of the adults in the room said she was a “child reporter,” with great dignity she replied, “No, I’m a reporter.” Her questions were among the best I’ve been asked, so I agree with her – nothing at all childish about her reporting. I hope she continues to scoop older reporters.

Tonight I’ll be having a celebratory dinner with the team that has been traveling around Ukraine with me, and then hopefully we’ll get a chance to explore Odesa some. I know we’re staying near the Opera House, so at a minimum I plan to take a look at that tonight. Tomorrow’s the last day of our Ukraine program, and then back home to Los Angeles.

T H U R S D A Y,  M A R C H  5,  2 0 0 9

Ukrainian Hospitality, Diversity, and Good Food!

After visiting three cities in Crimea now, I’ve got to say, I’ve had the warmest possible welcome wherever I’ve gone. This is pretty terrific, as there’s not even an ice skating rink in this region! Last night we all went out for dinner (I’m traveling with a couple of people from the Embassy, my interpreter Sasha, and my manager Shep). The people at the restaurant heard us speaking in English, and the DJ played “America the Beautiful” over the sound system in our honor. I don’t think they had any idea who was in the restaurant, just knew that it was a bunch of Americans. I’ve got to say, it both choked me up and made me a little homesick.

One thing that has really impressed me during my time in Crimea is the amount of diversity I’m finding. Yesterday we saw Livadiya Palace – home to the tsars, and site of the World War II Yalta Conference. Today I was at the home of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, as well as the Ukrainian fleet. I also got to tour the amazing Greek ruins at Khersones and the Tatar Khan’s Palace at Bakhchsiray. The diversity of the places I’m visiting is reflected as well in the people that I’m meeting.

Michelle Kwan with students at School #3

Today I visited schools in Sevastopol and Bakhchiseray, in the heart of Tatar Crimea. School #3 is housed in a marvelous old building that has been a school for over 130 years. The kids in the auditorium gave me a truly raucous welcome. As usual, I was impressed by their level of English – they asked good questions and weren’t the least bit shy.

Courtney, my Embassy colleague, thought the students in Bakhchiseray might be timid – she was wrong, they were among the most outgoing we’ve seen so far. The students here participate in a special English language program funded by the Embassy, and it’s the really dedicated teachers and staff that have made the program work. What’s especially interesting is that this afterschool program brings together children who speak Russian and Tatar at home, uniting them in their efforts to learn a foreign language.

Speaking of new experiences, which believe me, this trip has been full of, in Bakhchiseray I got to try Tatar cuisine. The school offered to feed us lunch today, and I’m glad we said yes. I had the tastiest salad (a crunchy cabbage salad), and a delicious soup. They also tried to get me to eat a rice dish called P’lov, but the first two courses filled me up.

Tomorrow we head to Odesa/Odessa (depending on which spelling you prefer).

W E D N E S D A Y,  M A R C H  4,  2 0 0 9

Crimea, Ukraine

Sadly we are experiencing technical difficulties today, with only very limited Internet access. A frustrating end to an interesting day. At any rate, a short entry this time with no pictures. I'll get those up as soon as technology is my friend again.

Today -- after a two hour drive over the mountains that separate Simferopol from Yalta - I got to visit Crimean Humanitarian University. The deputy rector (equivalent to a university vice president or maybe dean of students) was hilarious, cracking jokes and entertaining us the whole time we were there. He clearly has a great rapport with the students. It turns out that he participated in a U.S. government exchange program previously -- an experience he clearly relished. I bet he cracked jokes then, too. The students he introduced me to were also a lot of fun. The room was absolutely packed, probably over 100 people there, and they asked great questions. I was impressed by how many people were using English - which I had really not expected.

At the university, we also toured their Special Department for Disabled Students, which focuses on students with primarily physical disabilities. One of their students, Oleksandr Petrenko, was in Beijing for the 2008 Olympics with me -- although our paths didn't cross. He won a silver in single sculls rowing. Unfortunately, our paths didn't cross this time either. Oh well. The Department is the only institute of higher education like this in Ukraine. Conditions at the school are pretty basic, but you can tell the staff is doing the best they can with what they've got. Hopefully they'll get further resources soon, so that they'll be able to accomplish some of the stuff they've got planned and build on their current accomplishments.

Before closing, I should also mention having the chance to visit Livadiya Palace, site of the 1945 Yalta Conference and the former vacation home for the last Russian tsar and his family. They let me sit in Roosevelt's chair, and we got a slightly behind-the-scenes tour of the museum. I really enjoyed getting to see the Romanov family photographs -- what a sad story.

Hopefully we'll have photographs soon. In the meantime, if you are interested in history -- read about the Yalta Conference and Livadiya Palace, and imagine me there!

T u e s d a y,  M A R C H  3,  2 0 0 9

Kyiv, Ukraine
I finished things off yesterday with a reception at Ambassador Taylor's lovely residence. He and his wife were very welcoming, and I got to talk to lots of people from the skating world, as well as alumni of Department of State programs such as FLEX -- which takes young Ukrainians to the U.S. for a year of high school. We found a great fish restaurant for dinner after the reception, so all in all, a good evening.

Today -- what a day! I kicked things off bright and early with an appearance on the Ukrainian morning television show "Wake Up," which is sort of similar to "The View." The three hosts had crazy energy, so I can see why the show is so popular with people getting ready to start their day! I had a lot of fun both joking around and getting to talk seriously about why I'm here in Ukraine, so it made a good start to the morning.

Michelle talks with student from Draomanova Pedagogical University

Later I got to talk to athletes studying at Dragomanov University's Institute of Physical Education and Sports. I wish time had permitted me to tour the Institute more completely, as I'm curious about what facilities it makes available to its students, but the part that I saw looked great. One very cool thing about my visit to the Institute -- they wanted to share Ukrainian culture with me, as well as hearing about my American experience, so they brought in some students to perform for the whole group. The male a capella group was fabulous, and I loved the two women who sang and played the bandura. Very cool.

We're off later this evening for Crimea, which should be very interesting. I'll be curious to see if the women there wear heels as high as they do here in Kyiv!

M O N D A Y , M A R C H  2 , 2 0 0 9

My first two days in Ukraine                  

Yesterday was my first full day in Ukraine (got in slightly before midnight on Saturday). The embassy took it easy on me to begin with, but I did get the chance to explore some of Kyiv. Just as I was getting ready to go for a walk, there was a brief snow flurry, which caused me some concern, but it passed quickly, leaving a beautiful landscape behind. Svitlana, my friendly guide, showed me St. Sophia's, St. Michael's, and St. Andrew's - which were all absolutely gorgeous - gold domes against blue skies, with snow covered trees. Absolutely amazing. Later we walked down to the Maidan, the epicenter of Ukraine's 2004 Orange Revolution. A fun, informative day that that also included the chance to indulge in some "retail diplomacy."

Our first stop today was at Kryzhynka Skating Rink, where I had the opportunity to meet with some Ukrainian figure skating students. These kids were really impressive, especially some of the younger ones. The rest of the world better look out, because these guys definitely are going to be contenders.

Michelle Kwan with Ukranian skaters at Kryzhynka Rink

The students at School #155 were equally impressive. My student guide described her school as "humble," but there was nothing humble about these students. They've all been studying English since they first started school, and they were completely fluent. They and their teachers were so welcoming and enthusiastic, which was great - it gave me so much energy to sit and talk with them. Only one of the group had ever traveled to the U.S. - but it seemed like pretty much everyone had done some travel outside of Ukraine. Their enthusiasm and openness to new experiences and new people was maybe what was humbling about the experience.

Off to Ambassador Taylor's tonight, will fill you in tomorrow!