Yesterday I went to the Ivano Franko National University here in Lviv to look into the possibility of teaching English.
It was a bit confusing finding my way as the roads kind of wind around and go off on angles and it's easy, for me at least, to get a bit lost.
And I also found the same confusion on the winding stairways and extensive network of hallways within the great building that houses this grand old Ukrainian university.
The guard on the first floor spoke no English, so I showed him the number of the room I was seeking and he seemed to indicate that no one was there. It being Saturday this is what I was kind of expecting anyway but, on a chance, I decided to check further.
I wandered the halls and walked up and down the stairways, asked questions of people I saw on the way and eventually found room 304, the room number given to me by the Canadian I had met last evening.
It was an empty classroom.So I wandered around some more asking more questions and ended up on the fourth floor where I was taken by a woman to the end of a hallway where I met the chairman of the department of English.
He went to some pain to tell me they could not pay me for teaching, but was delighted to learn that I was not expecting to be paid.
We talked about my qualifications, but just briefly, there being none other than the ability to read, write and speak American English which appeared to be more than sufficient.
There was no discussion of forms to fill out, or academic credentials other than my mentioning of my majors at the college and graduate schools I attended, but this was only an off the cuff mention and there was no real discussion of these.
Thinking about this now, it occurs to me to be a wonderful and exceedingly rare case of bureaucracy not rearing its ugly head. And, amazingly, in the academic world of all places.
The chairman indicated that I could teach as much or as little as I wanted to, probably a couple of days a week. They have one American doing this now although he is a "workaholic" and teaches a full day every day which I certainly would not want to do.
As for the course material, there doesn't seem to be any and no fixed curriculum. He indicated the course material could be along the lines of whatever interests me, like say, politics or history. Or teaching from newspapers.I mentioned the Kyiv Post, but, quickly got the idea that it should be American newspapers and maybe local American newspapers as opposed to say the New York Times. Maybe the Financial Times would be good. Not sure how this would work or be done. Most unusual.
There probably would be one class that I would teach of say 50 students and then also a smaller class of say 5 to 10.
He then took me to the office of, and introduced me to, the Dean of Foreign Language Studies. The three of us sat at the end of a small conference table. The dean and I across from each other and the chairman at the end. The dean, if I recall correctly, may have started off talking in English but was very soon talking wholly in Ukrainian with the chairman translating to English.
This was, at first, a bit confusing as they were both speaking to me and it took me a few minutes to realize the chairman was not speaking for himself but instead translating at the same time the dean was speaking. Pretty impressive and a unique experience for me to be involved in.
I was pleased to note that I recognized a number of the dean's Ukrainian words, but maybe this was more a reflection of the contemporaneous translation than my real comprehension.
I threw in some of the few Ukrainian words I know, from time to time, which seemed to please or amuse them.
Both of them were very eager to have me teach, and on seemingly any basis I wished to do so. The chairman said that UK based English was the norm here and American English was rare and I got the idea it was more highly valued for that reason.
Concluding our discussion the Dean gave me a brief guided tour of their facilities. They showed me some classrooms and the faculty meeting room for the department and treated me like a highly valued potential recruit.
One of the classrooms contained 10 or 15 students. They looked very young, curious and intelligent. With the dean showing me around I felt like an important visiting dignitary. This I found to be very pleasant, and flattering, but also made me a bit nervous as to their expectations of what I had to offer.
While they could not pay me, or pay for my lodging, they would help find a flat for me. One could be found say 40 minutes or so from the city center by trolley where it's far less expensive for say $100 per month.
While I thought this might not be where I wanted to be, maybe being there would be a more accurate reflection of common urban life than the historic center and thus an interesting new learning experience.
They also could give me a ticket for one meal a day in the cafeteria which is in the basement of the large building. But, they were quick to add this was not much in monetary terms as it only cost around $1.
But I think it is buffet style with all you can eat. and possibly this is restricted to students and faculty so it would be compensation of real value. To say nothing of the valuable experience of "hanging out" here with students and/or faculty.
The dean then shook my hand and said good by and the chairman took me around some more showing me the faculty room for the department pointing out its fine view of the city.
He told me they had limited equipment but, I think, overhead projectors and there was some discussion of using power point for presentations.
The chairman said he would think about the best way to go about all of this and that we should get together sometime in the next few days and possibly with the American who has been teaching, but is leaving, in just a matter of days.
Earlier we had exchanged email addresses and phone numbers by emailing and phoning each other.
In saying good by, he again expressed his appreciation for my being willing to do this and shaking my hand said he was "honored" to meet me and I said the honor was mine.
With all the excitement of the previous day, I had gotten little sleep and was somewhat exhausted, which is why I believe I began to get second thoughts about this whole business.
However, after a good night's sleep I am thinking positively again. This could be an exciting new set of experiences. Just as I have done on this entire travel adventure, I think the best course of action is to let events lead me wherever they wish.
So far, at least, that has led to far more interesting and enjoyable experiences than I ever would have thought possible.
Carpe Diem!
Or perhaps better yet, Go with the Flow?
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