The Lethbridge Twinning Society

THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING! Update - 31 January 2010: An article on the Timashevsk local newspaper "Nasha Gazeta".

The Lethbridge Twinning Society is very pleased to host seven students from Timashevsk, Russia . The Students are from various Schools in Timashevsk , Russia one of our twin cities. Our relationship with the teacher responsible for coordinating the student delegation, Tatiana Ponomareva goes back to 1992 when a eight member delegation from Lethbridge visited Timashevsk. At that time, we were piloting a 5 tonne shipment of humanitarian relief aid that had been donated by residents of our community to the City of Timashevsk to assist in their sudden influx of immigrant refugees fleeing from Georgia . Tatiana, a teacher at Timashevsk School No. 1 acted as our hostess and translator during our visit. Subsequent to our visit, her son, Vadim immigrated to the United States where he now resides in Seattle , Washington and works for a little computer company, I believe the name is something like Micro Soft or something like that. Last year, Tatiana visited Lethbridge and she shared a dream of having some of her students coming to Lethbridge for a brief Educational tour. This year, the realization of her dream is coming to pass.

The visit has been somewhat delayed due to the instance of H1N1 (Swine Flu) and precautions in that regard and of course the usual Visa waiting and processing times. Although plans to have the students here at the start of the school year was our goal, now it seems that we are looking at the third week of September. We are anxious to meet our students, but we realize we have to be patient. Already, host families are e-mailing and "Skype - chatting" with their students, getting to know one another and sharing pictures. A very neat and unique opportunity thanks to modern day technology.

Preparation is well underway to ensure that the students have a meaningful and memorable experience here in Lethbridge . The students will first attend Flexible Learning Systems for two weeks where the director of the school is preparing a special "inaugural" program for them. Then they will move on to Immanuel Christian High School for the remainder of their six weeks in Lethbridge . Immanuel Christian High School is no stranger to Timashevsk. In 1992 students from the school took on a project to gather clothing that was included in the five tonne of relief products sent to Timashevsk. Then the School hosted a student from Timashevsk, Natasha for one whole year. The school has again been very gracious in accepting the seven students this year. The Lethbridge Twinning Society is very grateful to Flexibile Learning Systems and Immanuel Christian High School for their willingness to welcome the students to their facilities.

This could possibly be the biggest and most rewarding project/effort in twinning relations that our Society has every undertaken in our twenty year existence. When you reach out and welcome a guest into your home, you have the incredible opportunity of extending hospitality that you may never realize the impact that it has had on your guest. In this case, very impressionable young Russian students. Home stay families often learn more from their guests then they expect and when the time comes that your guest is to leave it is like losing a member of your family. Ties made, are sometimes maintained indefinitely and enriched by future visits in years to follow.

We are very excited about this opportunity and it tears at the very being of what we are in the realm of a twinning society. Our host families are ready to receive the students.

Host families meet to plan and coordinate the home stay for the seven Russian Students.

On November 02 to 04 Tataiana Ponomareva a resident of our sister City in Timashevesk, Russia visited Lethbridge. Tatiana has a long lasting relationship with our twinning society. It was Tatiana who provided interpretation services for us as a delegation when we visited Timashevsk in 1992.

The Photo album of the visit

Tatiana is a retired teacher from Timashevsk School No. 1. She currently still teaches privately and in particular teaches English to her students.

Although Tatiana had a short visit, members of our Society certainly made her welcome and extended the most gracious hand of friendship. We are certain that her visit was both rewarding and will be memorable to her. We only hope that Tatiana will be able to visit again, and that her next visit will not be as brief.

"Frendly Visitor" article, The Lethbridge Herald, November 04, 2007 about the event