Thread: SSummer Camp volunteer, also to improve my Russian

Hello,

I have been studying Russian for some time, and I would like to go to Russia as a Summer camp volunteer this Summer, knowing that the best way to learn a language is talking with children. I have quite some experience working with children and young people, and I am also fully licensed to teach English. I also heard that Summer camp counselors who are also language instructors are very much wanted in Russia.
Only: it seems so difficult to get into contact with mediating Russian organisations. I tried Info Digest (volunteer-in-Russia.com). Very nice website, but wrong e-mail addresses etc. I had to make seeveral phonecalls (half English, half Russian, very difficult communication) to get the right e-mail address to send in my application. After quite some instigation I got a brief reply, that they would contact me as soon as they had found a place for me. But that is already 2 months ago!
Perhaps someone has a better contact address? I am only interested in a Black Sea camp, and I can stay 3, max. 4 weeks. And, which is important for me, it should not be a camp where language teachers are only allowed to speak their own language. I should be able to participate in camp life, and speak Russian as well as English with the children.

If you know some interesting addresses, many thanks in advance!
Rudy Vanhalewyn
Belgium

I made a brief search and found a couple of summer camps in Crimea that provide English classes for kids. I don't know if the info they give on their sites is valid, but I hope it helps.

“DEC - CAMP”
This one probably is not your best option. It seems that everyone is supposed to speak English only. But you can check it anyways. Seems like a cool camp.

Location: Yevpatoria (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yevpatoria)
Site: http://summer.dec-camp.com/
Contacts:
info@dec-camp.com
+38 (066) 310-48-53
skype: dec_camp


Summer camp "Haglar"
From what I could gather, they usually hire Russian speaking camp leaders (who look after children and engage them in different activities). But since it's a language learning camp it's possible that they are not opposed to the idea of hiring an English speaker who knows a little Russian. There's also a possibility that they need more English teachers.
Kids are mostly from St.-Petersburg and Moscow.

Location: Saki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saki_municipality)
Site: http://www.haglar.ru/
Contacts:
phone in St.Petersburg: 233-14-76
You can send you resume and/or questions to haglar@haglar.ru

(I'd advise you to start your email with a few phrases in Russian, explaining briefly your problem, in case a person who reads these emails does not know any English).

To sum it up, it might be a good idea to look for places that could be interested in inviting or hiring you directly. Mediators are slow and unreliable.
Good luck ~

Thank you very much, I'll think it over!