This morning, we said our final farewells to villagers as they headed home. It’s hard to believe how fast our five wonderful weeks at Lesnoe Ozero have gone by- it’s been great seeing friendships form and language knowledge grow as villagers try out new activities and skills. It’s definitely been a memorable summer and we can’t wait to see everyone back next year.
It was great meeting so many friends and family members of villagers who were able to stay for the closing program. However, we know many villagers travel quite far sometimes to come to Lesnoe Ozero. For villagers and parents/guardians of villagers unable to make it, please check out the videos in this post.
Sadly, today was our last full day of camp at Lesnoe Ozero this summer. The villagers attended their last classes and last activities, and began saying goodbye to all of the friends they have made this summer.
After many days of rehearsal, today the students finally performed their play - Ревизор (The Government Inspector) by Gogol. The play is a comedy about mistaken identity, corrupt officials, and unscrupulous townspeople.
Today we had beautiful, warm weather and the villagers enjoyed the sunshine outside between classes and at the beach during free time. Having finished their exams, the credit students spent the day rehearsing for tomorrow’s play. The two-week students continued with their classes, and many of them chose to be Heroes of the Russian Language and speak only in Russian during the day. In the cultural hour classes, some groups began preparing presentations for our closing program this Friday.
This evening the villagers learned about the various republics in Central Asia. At different stations, the families got to experience the cultures and languages of Казахстан (Kazakhstan), Киргизия (Kyrgyzstan), Таджикистан (Tajikistan), Туркмения (Turkmenistan), and Узбекистан (Uzbekistan). The families learned about Central Asian holidays, learned words in Kazakh and Tajik, and looked at the locations of the republics on a map. They also played soccer, which is an essential part of Central Asian culture.
