close

Ukrainian exchange student enjoying stay in Canonsburg

5 min read
1 / 5

Casey Peel, left, and Yuliya Pryplotska are shown after having their baskets blessed on Easter in Rohatyn.

2 / 5

Casey Peel teaches with her Ukrainian counterpart, Tanya.

3 / 5

Yuliya Pryplotska is welcomed at Pittsburgh International Airport by her host parents, John and Robin Peel of Canonsburg.

4 / 5

Casey Peel is shown with Vasyl Kaliy, the son of her great-grandmother’s youngest brother. Peel met Kaliy, a retired doctor, while she was working with the Peace Corps in Ukraine.

5 / 5

Casey Peel is shown with her mother’s aunt, Irina Terpay. Peel met many relatives while working in Ukraine with the Peace Corps.

Exchange student Yuliya Pryplotska recalls her first trip to Walmart in Washington.

“I was shocked. It was so big,” said Pryplotska, 16, of Ukraine, who is spending the year with a Canonsburg host family, John and Robin Peel. “You have a lot of cereal choices here.”

Pryplotska is visiting the United States as part of the ASSE International Exchange’s Future Leaders Exchange program, which provides U.S. government-funded scholarships to youths from countries from the former Soviet Union.

Pryplotska arrived in Canonsburg on Aug. 22, but she was no stranger to the borough.

The Peels’ daughter, Casey, who joined the Peace Corps after graduating from Marietta College in 2016, lived with Pryplotska and her family from December 2016 until September in Pryplotska’s home in Rohatyn, in Western Ukraine, where Casey taught English at Pryplotska’s school.

“My family volunteered to host the American teacher, which was Casey. She was my teacher at the high school, so I saw her both at school and at my house. We talked a lot, so I knew what to expect in Canonsburg, and America in general,” said Pryplotska.

Pryplotska’s trip to the United States is her first trip abroad.

She joined the Canon-McMillan tennis team – there are no sports in the Ukrainian school system, she said – and has participated in school activities, including attending the homecoming dance.

“I like sports, but I don’t have the opportunity to play tennis in Ukraine, so I was happy to try a new sport,” Pryplotska said.

Casey also recommended activities she thought Pryplotska would like to do while in Southwestern Pennsylvania. So far, Pryplotska has, among other things, attended a Pittsburgh Pirates baseball game and the Washington County Covered Bridge Festival, visited Sarris Candies and tried American foods, including pizza.

The Peels are scheduling a vacation to Destin, Fla., where Pryplotska will make her first visit to a beach, and are planning short trips to other tourist spots.

Pryplotska speaks three languages – Ukrainian, German and English, which she began learning at age 6 and speaks very well.

A junior at Canon-McMillan, Pryplotska is completing in the U.S. what is the equivalent of her last academic year in Ukraine. Upon returning home to Ukraine, Pryplotska will take her exams and enter college.

“I like a lot of my classes here, but sometimes I have trouble understanding and interpreting English poems,” said Pryplotska, laughing. “And at my school, we have the same classmates for all 11 years, and we are in the same school building all 11 years. We have 20 subjects. We don’t choose, we all take the same classes. Canon-Mac is so big, and it’s really unusual that I have like three minutes to go to another part of the school. At home, I usually stay in the classroom and wait for teachers to come into the class.”

In Ukraine, Pryplotska, an only child, lives with her mother, who is a doctor, and her grandparents, and they live sustainably, raising chickens, rabbits and pigs and growing potatoes and other vegetables in their large yard.

“Families are multigenerational,” said Pryplotska. “And we walk everywhere. I walk to school, I walk to the store. Here, it’s only cars. I always need a ride.”

Initially, Pryplotska was supposed to stay with a host family in the state of Washington. However, when she received her assignment, Pryplotska was informed the family had nine cats – and Pryplotska is allergic to cats.

“Casey said, ‘Wouldn’t it be so great if you stayed with my family?'” Pryplotska recalled. “So she asked her parents if they could take me.”

The Peels agreed.

“It has been a wonderful experience to be able to have someone whose family opened up their home to our daughter, and then having the opportunity to return the favor,” said Robin Peel. “Her family put all of our fears at ease once we learned about them. And now we get to learn even more about them through Yuliya’s eyes. We love to hear about her country and teach her about ours.”

Casey made another connection while she was in Ukraine: she met family members of her mother’s. Robin Peel’s grandmother, who was one of 12 children (and the only one who immigrated to the United States), was raised in a Ukrainian town about an hour outside of Rohatyn.

Casey met Robin Peel’s father’s cousin, who then introduced her to other family members who still live in Ukraine.

“I was so glad she met them. It was pretty special. Now, I need to get there myself,” said Robin Peel.

Casey, who is currently volunteering with refugees in Thessaloniki, Greece, with a group called the Mobile Info Team, is looking forward to returning home in December to reunite with Pryplotska.

Pryplotska said she is enjoying her exchange experience, although she confesses to occasional homesickness.

“When I arrived, it was different from what I am used to, but I was looking forward to new opportunities. It’s still different. But it’s been fun. It’s a great experience.”

Casey acknowledged how living abroad can be difficult.

“It is a significant time away from your family, your language, your culture, and it can be hard to realize how much those things are a part of your life until you are without them,” said Casey. “My biggest wish for Yuliya is that she makes lasting friendships and memories that will open her up to new ways of seeing the world.”

CUSTOMER LOGIN

If you have an account and are registered for online access, sign in with your email address and password below.

NEW CUSTOMERS/UNREGISTERED ACCOUNTS

Never been a subscriber and want to subscribe, click the Subscribe button below.

Starting at $3.75/week.

Subscribe Today