Visiting the Periwinkle Country

I remember visiting the village school located next to the cathedral. It is a nine-year secondary school. Overall, there are 55 school students here. They have self-governance at their school, and they call their school community a Periwinkle Country.

The Periwinkle Country has several "counties":
1. Daisies;
2. Little Bells;
3. Snowball Tree Kids;
4. Sunflowers.
You can see their pictures and posters in the school lobby.

One fine day in May, my American friend Lance and I decided to pay a visit to this village. Lance did not mind being a guest speaker at school. We were invited to this school by the daughter of the village mayor. She worked as an English teacher at school then. Since it was a very special visit, the staff was kind enough to bring the entire school community to the school lobby, where we had a meeting. It was great to talk to all school students who listened to the speech of my American friend Lance.

I also remember visiting the village museum located on the second floor of the school building. School students and their teachers created the museum. You can leave your entry into their guestbook at the museum.

During my visit to the school museum, I saw a poem of a local lady about her native village. I decided to translate it for you, fellow travelers.
Illyria by Natalia Mavrodi

Illyria is a flowering valley,
The Donbas land of paradise,
The light of your star sparked
In a happy time.
Who at least once
Was captivated by you,
Will not forget the willows over the river,
Wherever the fate leads him,
And the church on the outskirts of the village,
The green expanse of your hills,
And the silence of the shady oak forest,
The freedom of your boundless steppes.
And the wind that brings the spice of herbs.
You revive the soul and dreams
With your magical and primordial beauty.
May heaven be clear above you,
May the light of your star last long.

October 2004

After a lesson with Lance, the Canadian guest speaker