It's possible to explore the world in four days.  That's what Nancy Hitchcock, Mollie Means, Ruth Pepple and I discovered when we attended the Sister Cities International Annual Conference in Spokane in July.  It was a virtual global tour, with delegates from around the world, an international marketplace of arts and crafts, and four days learning about sister city projects.  (By the way, we were one of the 60 cities asked to be part of the “Best Practices Showcase"). 
    The experience was inspiring and mind opening.  So much is being done.  Partnerships with organizations like Rotary and Chamber of Commerce can help communities with economic develop­ment projects.  Trade exchanges and internet fundraising are two examples. Could we do that?  Some of the most heart-warming projects had to do with education, like adopting a school. Is that something we could undertake?  Many cities have more than one sister city. Could we?
    A world of possibilities exists for us.  Sister Cities has accomplished a lot in 49 years, and there's good reason to celebrate its approaching 50th birthday! -Carolyn Crowley Rice

The annual membership meeting will be a potluck at Riverside Park at 5:30 on Thursday, September 8. Please bring a potluck dish to share; see additional details on page four.  Cold drinks and table service will be provided.
    In addition to the election of board members, there will be short reports on the medical delegation that visited in May and on the Sister Cities International Annual Conference held in Spokane in July.  We will honor the local interpreters and host families who helped so much during the medical delegation visit. 
    We will also launch the application process for a high-school group to visit Rubtsovsk next summer, and hope you will bring suggestions for getting information out to interested students and their families.
    Please plan to attend and bring your families and other interested guests.  For more information, please call President Carolyn Rice at 862-2652  (CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF EVENT)

In 2004, the medical delegation visiting Rubtsovsk hospitals learned from nurses they sometimes lacked pens to write up their notes. The Grants Pass Chamber of Commerce Greeters collected many, many ballpoint pens to send home with the May 2005 delegation.  It’s surprising how heavy a big box of pens is. The delegates took some pens home with them, and we have shipped many more to Dr. Bragin, the Tureks’ host in Rubtsovsk.

Four delightful delegates, all employed at the Rubtsovsk Diagnostic Center, arrived in Grants Pass on May 19 for a two-week visit. Two doctors, Elena Frolova and Elena Nefedova, along with Lyuda Dmitrieva, an ultrasound specialist, and Anastasia Poperechnaya, a radiology laboratory technician, were on the go constantly in the Rogue Valley. They particularly enjoyed tours of Three Rivers Community Hospital, Rogue Valley Medical Center, and Cave Junction’s Siskiyou Clinic.  Other tours included the KDRV-TV newsroom,  local senior housing facilities, and city and county government facilities, including the 911 dispatch office.  They were welcomed at a gathering at Abbie’s Pizza, at the Chamber of Commerce Greeters, and at a Sister City potluck in All Sports Park. Since their visit overlapped Boatnik week­end, they were able to ride in the parade and then to watch the remain­ing entries go by.  The Oregon Coast, Crater Lake, Oregon Caves, and Wildlife Safari also were on their itinerary.
     Hosts Sue and PJ Risteau and Debbie Pike welcomed these ladies into their homes and provided additional experiences, such as church and barbeques.  Since none of the delegates spoke much English, volun­teer interpreters were with them everywhere they went.  Marina Kaiser, Luda Zamorskaya, Larisa Eagle, Valentina Cirina, Nadya Kozaczuk, and Valentina and Anna Gorskaya deserve great thanks and appreciation for making the exchange visit so rich and comprehensible.
     None of these medical professionals, chosen by the Rubtsovsk Sister City Committee, had traveled outside of Russia before.  A travel subsidy from our Heart-to-Heart Project helped make their visit possible.  On arriving home, they delivered many letters from people in Grants Pass to friends in Rubtsovsk.  Marina Kovalyova sent us this message: “I’ve just taken all letters from Lena F. and listened to her nice stories about their trip. They are very, very impressed by everything they’ve seen: energetic people, good hospitals, sights and so on.  Thanks for all work you are doing.”
     Mark Kellenbeck, Rita Turek, and Kitty Waud did a tremendous job organizing the exchange visit.  The greatest challenge was readjusting plans after a week’s delay in Moscow, waiting for U.S. visas to be received.  We are grateful to the offices of Congressman Greg Waldon and Senator Ron Wyden for helping us with this problem.  Thanks also to the many organizations, businesses, schools, and individuals who pitched in with both time and money to make this exchange visit a success. Here are some brief highlights by Mark and Kitty about the medical delegation visit.
      KITTY WAUD. I was very pleased to be able to spend quite a bit of time with the medical delegation. The planning and follow through were a new experience for me. The key things were flexibility and com­munication.  I was with them when we toured the radiology department and laboratory of RVMC. They asked many questions and seemed to be quite interested. We had a great time at the coast where I taught some of them to fly a two-handled kite. We spent one day in Cave Junction, and they especially enjoyed the Oregon Caves and the Bridgeview Winery. We laughed a lot together; they were a wonderful group to take places. One of my favorite evenings was at the Oregon Cabaret to see “Forever Plaid.”  We all enjoyed the music.  They did understand some English so even without an interpreter we could communicate, but it was limited! I really en-enjoyed my time with them and learned what  is necessary to make exchange visits successful.

MARK KELLENBECK: It was four years since the Sister City Committee hosted a delegation from Rubtsovsk, so we definitely had to brush the dust off our memories and files.  That fact, plus the many changes in the visa process which have occurred since 9/11, made for considerable learning, trying and retrying until we finally found our way through the visa process.  Given all we learned obtaining visas, bringing the next delegation will be much easier.
     We spent nearly six months planning for the delegation’s arrival, meeting monthly, then weekly as the time of their arrival grew closer.  As others have mentioned, flexibility was without question our greatest lesson.  Everything seemed to keep changing: the number of delegates, the dates, the host families, the availability of transportation, and more; everything was changing except our determination to plan and execute a great experience for the medical delegation.  To our satisfaction we did truly pull off a great exchange visit.
     Now as to what it was really all about--the delegates, the friendships, the learning, and the connections--we definitely succeeded.  First, this medical group was composed of four wonderful women who were a delight to host.  Second, everyone in the community was eager to greet and meet with them.  Third, the delegates were intent on their purpose: learning from us and sharing with us.  And finally, we all figured out how to have a good time, sight-seeing, potlucking, shopping, dining, and more.
     I personally enjoyed many long conversations with our guests while touring the coast, Crater Lake and Wildlife Safari.  We chatted about many things and were comfortable enough to explore philosophy, religion, personal finance, friendships, and more.  It was for me a rich experience.

Tanya Oskolkova, who visited Grants Pass as a youth delegate in 1997, is now a teacher of English.  She recently wrote about two projects for high-school English-language students held this spring in Rubtsovsk.

On 18 March 2005 a competition of sixteen projects in English was held. It was in our city for the first time and was really a great success. Thirty-three students (grades 7-11) from thirteen schools took part.  Most of the projects were devoted to the problems of our city, Rubtsovsk. All participants showed good knowledge of English and were presented diplomas [awards].  Here are titles of some of the projects:

Problems of Spending Leisure Time by Teenagers (break dancing), My Family Heritage, Stress in Our Life, Healthy Way of Living, Ecological Problems, The Role of Music in Our Life (rock), English in the Dialogue of Cultures.
 

On the 8th of April, the Rubtsovsk branch of the University of Russian Academy of Education (URAO) hosted a traditional annual holiday of the English language and culture, which this year was named “On the banks of the Thames" and was devoted to the United Kingdom, its history, geography and culture.  Three teams from Rubtsovsk schools participated in the contest.
     The participants, mostly from 10-11th grades, really surprised the jury, the audience and the organizers of the holiday by their excellent knowledge of Britain, its customs and traditions. In several little competitions they demonstrated their view of England, their general knowledge of the UK, the English language and literature, and finally their translation skills.   The judges were very impressed.
     Traditionally such events are not only a way to see schoolchildren's knowledge of English but also show how talented the students of the URAO are. This contest was organized with the help of the students of the foreign languages department. They creatively transformed  “Pygmalion" by George Bernard Shaw, in which the contest and the participants were harmonically interwoven. The students showed perfect knowledge of English and brilliant acting skills. The audience was no doubt pleased with an exciting show. -Tanya Oskolkova

Do you know a teenager who would like to spend two weeks in our Siberian sister city?  Ruth Pepple and Rachel Parker plan to accompany six high-school students for an exchange visit to Rubtsovsk next summer.  The trip will cost about $2000 (mostly airfare), and the Sister City Committee will help students in fund-raising  if needed.  Ruth and Rachel are organizing information meetings for interested students and their parents.
     We are looking for students who have completed their freshman, sophomore or junior year, as students will be expected to share their experiences with our community afterwards. February 1, 2006 is the application deadline, as the visa approval process is time-consuming.  Students will also need passports by that date.
     This is a wonderful opportunity for our students to learn first-hand about another culture, in a warm and caring setting.  They will live with host families and have a full program of activities, including a service project with their peers in Rubtsovsk.  If you are interested in this opportunity for yourself or for a student you know, please telephone Ruth Pepple (479-3786) for more information