Friends of the Ochils Newsletter 17: Winter 2000From Chelyabinsk, with loveGreetings have come from former FotO secretary Peter Dilworth, who has steeped himself in social work theory and practice in "developing" Russia. Having been given the "frightening title of senior lecturer in social work" at Chelyabinsk University - Chelyabinsk is a large city on the Trans-Siberian railway, situated on the eastern side of the Urals - Peter got his sleeves up immediately, devising child-protection training for family centre and children's home staff. His first living quarters comprised a flat above a family centre in a part of the city known as the Metallurgical District (shades of Alva's Silver Glen, perhaps?) Chelyabinsk was called Tankograd in Stalin's USSR, and didn't figure among the tourist attractions! While the flat was very comfortable, Peter felt isolated, as the only other occupant after 6pm was a caretaker "in the bowels of the building". Peter now has more salubrious accommodation in livelier surroundings, his Russian is improving by leaps and bounds and, in his own words, "every week something else clicks into place". He has made numerous professional and personal links and is confident that many of his suggestions will be sustainable after his VSO stint is over. He described his first winter as "long and hard". There was still plenty of snow lying towards the end of March, but by then it had begun to thaw. While he suffered one or two spectacular falls on ice, he said he had been luckier than some of his volunteer colleagues. One woman was bitten by a dog, while another colleague (a black man) was arrested for no apparent reason other than the colour of his skin. After police held him for several hours, he was released - minus his cigarettes! These unlucky colleagues are not in Chelyabinsk, where Peter is the only volunteer. This must have had not a little to do with the urgent need to acquire a working knowledge of Russian. There was a tit-for-tat programme to begin with: Peter was able to inflict his clumsy attempts at Russian on new contacts, in exchange for their being able to inflict similar pain in English. His students have been amused on occasion by pronunciation gaffes - all part of the learning process! On arrival in Moscow, Peter and the other volunteers were given two weeks of "In-country training" - lectures covering the Russian way of life along with a programme of cultural visits including music, ballet, and the Russian Orthodox Church. At the end of this period of acclimatisation he undertook the 34-hour journey to Chelyabinsk. There, he was quickly launched into the job he had "signed up" to do - to help train students who will in turn play a part in transforming the way of life in Russia. I'm sure all Friends will wish Peter well, and health and strength to carry through this missionary task. David Robertson |