Credits:
Participants in the Brockport International Internships program will earn between 12-15 credits. Typically, summer participants earn 12 credits and semester long participants earn 15 credits.
Facilities:
Placement for most majors is available. Placements can be arranged for students in any major as a teacher assistant in a school. Placements are available for fall or spring semester. Students without prior Russian may participate in the summer immersion program to prepare for placement.
The following sites are available in Novgorod now:
Tourism Information office "The Red Cabin"
Director: Petrova Irina Yurievna
Red Izba is the first Tourist Office in Russia founded in May, 2001 by the City Government of Veliky Novgorod and the leading tourist enterprises. Red Izba acts as a tourist information and coordinating center. Tour operators and tourists (groups or individuals) can obtain through Red Izba various information they need concerning sites and museums to visit, services of guides and interpreters, accommodation, incoming agencies and other tourist facilities in Veliky Novgorod. Red Izba will also be responsible for the promotion of Veliky Novgorod on the Russian and international travel market, editing promotional materials and participating in the most important international travel exhibitions.
Brockport student responsibilities can include the following:
Analyze the available handouts and datagases for foreign tourists;
Edit promotional materials for English-speaking tourists;
Develop new informational materials;
Browse through the Internet informational resource;
Edit the English version of the Internet site;
Participate in the preparatory work for the touist fairs;
Construct advertisement blocks in English;
Write articles and information blocks about Veliky Novgorod (in English);
Visit and inspect hotels;
Examine restaurants and cafes;
Visit offices of tour-operators and incoming tourist agencies;
Analyze the available services for foreign tourists in Veliky Novgorod from the point of view of the theory of tourist service.
"American Corner" in the Novgorod Region Library
Center Coordinator: Soboleva Irina Rostislavovna
The "American Corner" in Novgorod is a public reading hall based on the American model. The mission of the AC program is to promote mutual understanding between the US and Russia. The AC provides a library and reference services and hosts cognitive, cultural and educational programs. It was opened in 2000 and was one of the first in a network of 25 American Corners across Russia. Students, teachers and scholars conduct research in the library. Representatives of different non-governmental organizations, the press, business, and cultural, historical and educational institutions come to the AC to meet the American visitors.
Brockport students will help:
To prepare materials for American calendar dates and holiday activities;
Assist students and teachers with country studies (lectures, consultations);
Participate in the discussions of the book club;
Tutor students of the "Let's speak English" class for adults;
Plan and organize exhibits on life, culture and history of USA;
Join discussions of American movies.
Novgorod Archeological Expedition
Deputy Director: Troaynovskij Sergej Yurievich
Novgorod the Great is one of the oldest Russia cities. The history of Novgorod the Great includes more than 1200 years. The chronicles mention it for the first time in 859. Due to its advantageous geographic position the city was developing as a trading center of ancient Rus' and accumulated fantastic riches. In the XII-XV centuries Novgorod was the capital of the Novgorod feudal republic, the largest state formation of medieval Europe. No other Russian city has kept so many monuments of architecture, painting and applied arts of the X-XVII centuries. Since 1992 all monuments of Novgorod are protected by UNESCO as a part of the world cultural heritage.
Due to the unique soil of Novgorod archaeological excavations here are particularly interesting and have yielded some fascinating finds. The old narrow streets of the medieval city with their log roadways have been excavated from thick layers which accumulated over the more than one thousand years of the town's history. Numerous remains of wooden houses and out-buildings have been found along these streets.
Many old workshops have been discovered in various parts of the town, bearing witness to the fact that Novgorodian craftsmen produced an extremely large variety of articles ranging from simple clay and wooden vessels to finely wrought jewelry. Excavations have yielded a vast amount of material throwing light on the everyday life, culture and social structure of the medieval veche republic. The many birch-bark documents found in the earlier layers are of unique historical importance.
Novgorod Region Folk Art Center
Director: Manina Ludmila Ivanovna
The Novgorod Regional Center of Folk Art works on restoration and preservation of the national past. Located in a restored 14th century monastery near the heart of the city, the center offers workshops and master classes on the traditional Russian skills and crafts. They also put on performances, participate in festivals, and provide guided tours of their holdings.
There are two main branches the center is developing:
Folk crafts
Birch bark weaving;
Cloth weaving & design;
Russian folk costume;
Russian puppet/doll making.
Folk traditions
Celebrating holidays and weddings;
Traditional meals
Singing
Dancing
The center wants to publicize itself more. The Brockport student will help to develop publicity for the center on the web and in print, aimed at both the local and the tourist markets.
Novgorod Orphanage
Director: Petrova Irina Victorovna Derevynitsy
This is a small orphanage situated in the outskirts of Novgorod. It takes care of 60 kids from newborns to 7 years old. The orphanage especially needs help with babies under a year old. Right now there are 12 babies and only 4 women who take care of them. The orphanage desperately needs people to hold, feed and play with those babies. Students can also work with other age groups. They will participate in everyday activities of the kids: walks, games, meals, hands on activities. Students who decide to have an internship in this orphanage will need medical clearance. This will require obtaining a statement from their doctor that they don't have:
Tuberculosis,
Hepatitis (all kinds),
Sexually transmitted diseases,
Intestinal infections, and/or
skin diseases.
They will also need to provide proof of a negative HIV test.
Novgorod Boarding School for Orphans
Director: Poayrkova Nadezda Vladimirovna Derevynitsy
This is a small boarding school for 154 students, ages 7-16. Some of them are orphans, but most have parents, who either abandoned them or can not take care of them. Brockport students will spend the day with students participating in their everyday activities:
Chores
Work in the garden
Beach trips
Ball games
Meals
Sports
Russian students and teachers will especially be interested in learning more about the US, American games and sports, English and new hands on activities.
"Freska" Restoration Workshop
Director: Anisimova Tamara Ivanovna
One of Russia's most important historic architectural monuments is currently being restored: The Church On Voltovo Field in Novgorod. The church has been declared a world heritage site by UNESCO; it was built in the 14th century and contains unique frescoes, but was largely destroyed during the Second World War. Experts hope to painstakingly restore the historic monument. The plan is to re-erect the frescoes, which number some 1.7 million fragments, in their original location. At present, the frescoes exist as tens of thousands of fragments in the hands of the restoration workshops of Tamara Anisimova. In the view of the restorers, restoration will take serval years.
Brockport students will work under the supervision of Russian restorators and help to put the fragments of the frescoes together. They will visit the church and other fieldwork sites of the museum. The method of reconstructing the frescoes is absolutely unique and was created in Novgorod.
"Rochester" Photography Store
Managing Director in Russia: Kirpichenko Yuri Timofeevich
"Rochester" store is a part of a larger company. It is one of the stores of the first Russian American venture in Novgorod-Genesee Volkhov Connection (GeVeCo). Novgorod has been the sister city of Rochester since 1990. Geveco was founded over 10 years ago by the group of private investors. Now Geveco is owned by Linkages, the Russian American society in Rochester. All the money Geveco makes funds Linkages charitable projects and development activities including drug abuse prevention and education.
Brockport student responsibilities in the store will depend on the level of Russian language. If your level of Russian is 0 you will work with orders in the back of the store. If you can read and understand Russian you will work as a shop assistant. Your responsibilities will include:
taking orders,
explaining prices and giving ordering information to the customers,
no cash responsibilities.
If you can read and understand Russian and have market research skills/experience you will work on market research projects. If you have Adobe Photoshop experience you will work with images.
Regional Center for Psychological Support of the Handicapped "Rodnichek"
Director: Olga Andreeva
This program is unique in Russia: it survives on donations and grants and enables handicapped people to get out of their apartments or have help at home. Social and work activities are provided at the center, and for many of the people served, it is their only social contact with people.
Brockport student responsibilities may include the following:
teaching Basic English and work as a tutor with a group of students age 15-20, and with the possibility of participation by parents as well,
helping organize sports, entertainment and work activities,
accompanying students on their visits to the city for excursions or sightseeing tours,
helping students enjoy their free time at the center. Assistants may be responsible for arranging small walks around the facility to foster communication between the assistant and the students in a friendly atmosphere,
giving presentations to the students on the USA. These presentations may include the history and geography of that nation, the outstanding personages, famous American writers, musicians, actors; also a description of the education system in the USA, etc.,
organizing "The Day of Novgorod's Sisty City-Rochester" (or Day of the USA) at the center. Duties may include: the description of the city's history, pictures of important landmarks, and the preparation of a wall display about the "Flower City."
Other activites may be arranged to suit the interests, skills and specializations of the intern.
Novgorod Lycee
Director: Irina Petrovna Grebenshikova
This is the first alternative high school in Novgorod, started in 1989, when Gorbachev allowed educators to create state schools that were different in curriculum and structure. The school became one of the best in Novgorod. It's highly competitive nad attracts many students every year. About students apply for each space. The school has 3 departments:
humanities with an emphasis on Russian literature and foreign languages,
math,
science.
Brockport student responsibilities may include the following:
working as a teacher assistant during the school year,
preparing parts of the lesson,
providing the language content as a native speaker help the teacher use real and current expressions,
assisting with improving students' pronunciation,
providing information on American reality: language, culture, and history,
working with 3-4 forty-five minute classes five days a week,
participating in after school activities and field trips.
Living arrangements are optional: Homestay or Lycee's dormatory.
Children's Hospital
Director: Toropov Alexej Gennadievich
It is the largest children's hospital in the area. Children from Novgorod and the Novgorod region are brought here. Medical services provided include treatment of traumas, surgeries, burns, neurology, allergies, asthmas, diabetes, cardio, and leukemia.
Brockport student responsibilities may include the following:
Work with children ages 5-15 who are staying in the hospital for a longer term due to surgeries, traumas, or long term diseases such as cancer, leukemia, or different types of cardio problems. During the school year the hospital has teachers working with the little patients, but summer is vacation time for the teachers. Students' help will be very useful.
Students may be asked to:
help with meals,
take kids to med procedures,
take kids outside for walks,
entertain kids inside,
introduce English in the form of games, poems, songs.
Medical Requirements: Interns have to be healthy, should have all basic shots, should not have any infectious diseses such as salmonella, dysentery, or tuberculosis. They should bring a doctor's note proving that and showing that all their basic blood, urine, and stool tests are OK.
Novgorod Hydro Meteorological and Environment Monitoring Center
Director: Nadezhda Aleksandrovna Bojtcova
The Novgorod Meteorological Center has existed in Novgorod since 1854. It records climate characteristics for the city and the region, makes weather forecasts, and monitors water and air quality, including chemical analysis of the air and water in the river and the lake.
Brockport student responsibilities may include the following:
be on duty at the weather station,
make and record meteorological measurements,
contribute to developing weather forecasts,
gather and analyze air and water samples,
create a website, if the student has the skills.
Central Police Office of Novgorod
Director: Sergei Gennadievich Maksimov
In Novgorod this police station is the headquarters for 18 local departments and serves the following functions:
policemen come there to get their assignments and leave for patrol,
witnesses are brought there for questioning in investigations,
policement get together for formal meetings.
The jail is located next door to the station.
The Novgorod Police Department has a long-standing and ongoing exchange program with the Rochester Police Department.
Brockport student responsibilities may include the following:
Local investigator-following leads and visiting the crime scenes,
Neighborhood officer-visiting the problem families,
Teenage specialist,
School policemen,
Road policemen.
Students will also have an opportunity to visit the local jail and court, and observe procedures there.
Students will create a Russian-English phrase book of the most commonly used police terms and expressions. This book will be used to facilitate future exchanges.
Jewish Family Center
Director: Ludmila Ankundinova
The Jewish Family Center is working to perserve the heritage of Russian Jews. They carry out a wide variety of activities, including publishing, support groups, children's school, holiday celebrations, and exchanges of information with Israel.
Brockport student responsibilities may include the following:
teaching English in the summer camp,
being a camp counselor for the summer camp,
working with the elderly by delivering food and providing companionship,
working with materials for the youth club,
preparing information about Jewish holidays,
helping create a website if they have the skills.
