Sarah Chao does it All: Meanwhile, in Samara...

Sorry for the lack of posting! We have been in Samara for a week, so were nearly done with our time here, technically. It's been a total blur, but here's what I've been up to (sorry that I've been too busy to really write about it all, but for those intrested in knowing what types of meetings we have all-day everyday, here you are!):

Day 1: Met with our hosts at the International Marketing Institute, saw Swan Lake at the Ballet.
Day 2: Sat in on presentations of Samara-region social projects financed by the state for the upcoming year, learned about the structure of NGO and government funding for Education in Russia
Day 3: Met with our good friend Yuriy Maystrovskiy to talk about his own financed project, where students from 6 different universities will be creating their own NGO over the course of the spring semester.
Day 4: Acted as judges for the "Federation of Kids' Organization" as middle-school students presented their tourism projects. Students lead interactive tours of their town for younger children, and came together to present and discuss with groups from different towns.
Day 5: Cross-country skiing and the Museum of Modernism!
Day 6: Trip to the town of Togliatti to visit their youth volunteer corps and youth bank.
Day 7: Visit to "Desnitsa," a local NGO that supports people living with physical disability, followed by a visit to a home for social orphans where Desnitsa youth volunteers (with and without physical disabilities) socialize and play board games with the children on a regular basis.
Day 8: Visited the Volga Business Expo where we got to play a business simulation computer game being used in high-school classis to teach the basics of business and economics (My colleage got first place, I got last... I should never start a business). Oh, and we visited Stalin's Bunker, which he built in secret just in case he needed to sneak away into hiding deeeep underground.
Day 9: Visiting village schools in Otradniy, where we learned about their youth social initiatives. Ended the night with a feast in an old schoolhouse which is now a museum of traditional crafts --- Got to weave AND throw a pot! (throw a pot = make a clay pot on a pottery wheel)
Day 10: Met with high-school students in their "Social Design" club and discussed their volunteer initiatives with service NGO "New People"