Currently Volunteering

Richard Manning UK “With so many companies online offering opportunities to go abroad to teach English as a foreign language, it can sometimes be difficult to tell which ones are genuine and which aren’t. The Svezhy Veter scheme, however, does everything it promises and my two and a half months working in School No. 27 in Izhevsk were truly brilliant. Though the school building provides a nice example of 1930s Soviet constructiom, I think the real strength of School No. 27 lies in the people in it. All of the students, though sometimes shy, are extremely enthusiastic about learning the English language and the opportunity to work with a variety of different ages (11-16) was great. Most of my time was spent helping small groups of students in the so-called ‘Foreigners’ Office’ – listening to them read and translate, discussing various topics with them, etc. All of the staff at the school were extremely friendly and helpful and Tatiana Makarovna, the senior English teacher, really puts herself out to make you feel welcome and at home. As well as Izhevsk, I was also offered the opportunity to spend some time in a school in the ‘village’ of Vavozh. These were also a great few days, and it was nice to see small-town life and have a chance to explore the countryside a bit. Udmurt culture tends to be stronger in the villages than in Izhevsk, and it was interesting to gain a fuller impression of it. Izhevsk itself is a great city, with plenty of interesting things to do. Though the Kalashnikov Museum is probably the city’s most famous asset, the St Michael and Alexander Nevsky cathedrals, the Udmurt National Museum and the Izhmash museums are not to be missed and are brilliant at providing you with a better idea of the history of Izhevsk and Udmurtia. Izhevsk’s Theatre of Opera and Ballet, though it receives somewhat mixed reviews from locals, is brilliant value for money by Western standards (sometimes as low as 180 roubles for a ticket) and it is fantastic to watch operas by Udmurtia’s most famous son, P.I. Tchaikovsky, in the Republic’s capital city. Overall, then, I would wholeheartedly recommend the scheme. Not only do you get to do something very worthwhile and rewarding, but by living in what was once a closed city with a Russian host family (my families both in Izhevsk and Vavozh were brilliant, by the way, and played a large part in making the experience so memorable and interesting) I feel I have gotten as close as I ever will to the ‘real’ Russia, and to the ‘real’ Udmurtia - come to that - at the same time.” Volunteered: January - March 2011