Learning Ukrainian

It's been a while since I've written about Ukrainian lessons. We're still plugging away on Mondays. I don't know how much I'm learning, but Lena's doing great with English, and we're having fun! This week I've been listening to and reading The Mitten, a Ukrainian folk tale. (Funny. We have two versions of it in English in our children's books.) It's usually kind of hard for me to hear over the questions and noise around me, but my helpers and I have liked it. I've also been reading a biography of Taras Shevchenko*, written for children. I do great with that, reading quietly to myself. But then I have to painstakingly, painfully, slowly sound it out aloud for Lena to check. The words are close enough to Russian that I can easily guess at what they mean, but the pronunciation. . . mamochka! Our lessons are as much a time of fellowship as anything else, although, like I said, Lena is making progress. Oh, for the first time, tonight I asked her what a Ukrainian word meant, and instead of just blurting it out in Russian, she stopped, thought for a few minutes, then answered in English! Our Monday evenings are the highlight of my week.

(Raia and Asya enjoyed some time with Lena before lessons today. That's the photo above. )

*Taras Shevchenko was "a Ukrainian poet and artist, iconic figure of Ukrainian culture."