I pushed to the front of the crowd of seven to look at the sheet with the Capstone share order. Oh, great. I was first. “Well, it was the little kids, so they don’t really care of you mess up.” I told myself. I was right. I wasn’t that nervous. At least we were performing in the library, not in the auditorium where there is a big stage. When I went and had a bunch of little second grade eyes looking intently back at me. I started talking, and all I got was  blank stares. It went pretty well, and my friends said that I spoke loudly and slowly enough. I did it twice, because three classes came at separate times. The second time it also went well, and I wasn’t nervous at all.

The next day we had to share for the parents. That’s when I ran into a little bit of trouble. When I got up there, and looked at all their eyes trained on me, I got nervous. Theses people will actually understand what I’m talking about! My hands were shaking like maracas, but I flattened them on the edges of the podium like I’ve seen many professionals do. I put on my Soviet hat, which got everyone laughing and started talking. Everyone laughed at all my jokes, even the ones that weren’t funny, but it wasn’t a fake laugh like a “Oh, look how cute she is! Let’s laugh to humor her” kind of laugh, it was genuine. Overall, I was very happy with my outcome and proud of my presentation. If you are interested in it, look below!

https://youtu.be/PUiHEBWTUIA

Once I had finished my main inquiry question answer, I knew that writing my TED Talk script would be easy. The slides though, not as easy. I can write, and write, and write some more about the Soviet Union. The information is endless (though written for college students or adults), but you can’t really find pictures based off of them. I realized that when I wrote about Karl Marx and the creation of Communism, I could show a picture of Karl Marx. And when I talked about Czar Nicholas II, I put a picture of him (you as a reader probably have no idea what I’m talking about, but if you are interested, come to my table at the Capstone share). Then I started making comparison slides. I decided to put in a video. After I had finished everything and fixed the little mistakes, I did it in front of the class. When Mrs. Edwards gave me feedback, she said that the video was kind of long, and only someone who did a lot of research liked I did. I had a choice. Cut it out, or crop it. I decided to cut it out. I didn’t need it, I had enough information in my presentation that I didn’t really need it. I had taken a couple of paragraphs from my main inquiry question answer and put it in. I also put a little humor into it. I didn’t want to be standing there droning on and on about the Soviet Union, Karl Marx, Joseph Stalin, and financial equality……………………………………….. Sorry, sorry. I fell asleep just thinking about it.

I realized that I make my ted talks and slides differently. Most kids make slides first and then write an index slide based off of it. I actually write my script and make some slides based off of it.  When I switch slides, it doesn’t mean I started talking about something completely different. When I start talking about Communism, and I make a slide for it.

I think my final product is really good, and I’m excited to do it in front of everyone (even though the smaller kids will have no idea what I’m talking about).

There was only one reason answering my main inquiry question was easy. My sub questions. After I answered those (and I won’t get into it, but it was really difficult.), my main inquiry was a piece of cake! Preferably chocolate.  Just for a refresher, my main inquiry question is, “What was it like to be a Soviet Union citizen after WWII and before the dissolution of the Soviet Union?” After answering my sub question, “What were economics like during this time?” Now I knew about the economics that the Soviets endured.  I just had to put all my notes into writing.

The Soviet Union was a place where everyone is equal. No matter what your job was. Someone who has a job like a banker or a doctor would get upset. Humans are not perfect. They will slack off, thinking that they worked harder to get this education that won them this job. Why should they be payed as much as a coal miner? Not only that, but they got so little, barely enough to take care of themselves, let alone a whole family! And, they didn’t have the freedom of speech. The weren’t allowed to say anything remotely bad about the government. They didn’t have the freedom of press, they weren’t allowed to print or write anything bad about the government either. And lastly, they weren’t allowed to protest against the government. Even if they believed that they should be able to practice any religion they wanted, the Soviets had to go with what the government said. The government was responsible for health care, and owned all houses.

I learned a lot about the Soviet Union by answering my sub questions!

I had no idea what to do for my site visit. A Russian embassy? No, they would never let me in. A Soviet museum? Does that even exist?  I was stuck. Unfortunately, I was stuck. When it’s the middle of May, and your site visit is due in what seems like forever, you put it off. And that’s exactly what I did. 5/31 (when our blogs post was due) was creeping closer and closer. If I didn’t come up with and go on a site visit soon, I would be in big trouble. So, I went home to consult my mom. She thought for a little bit, and suggested Brighton Beach. Having never been to Brighton Beach, I asked why I was going to a beach for the Soviet Union. For all of those out there who were like me, and don’t know what Brighton Beach is, it’s an area (that happens to have a beach called Brighton Beach) where Soviet citizens went after they immigrated. Great, now you know. Let’s move on. I have something to tell you, reader, that I didn’t know at that time. 5/31 was closer than I thought. The one time I wanted time to slow down,  and it sped up. Ideally, I would have gone that weekend, but we were going to Mattituck to spend time with family friends. We decided to go on Monday, the day before the due date. It was Memorial Day weekend, so we had it off. That day, I ran head-first into a different problem. All the shops that were were going to tour were closed! Luckily, we had a backup. An area in Queens were Soviet also immigrated to. When I got there, my mom took me to a Russian grocery store. It was interesting to see the different varieties of Russian foods and Russian candy. My mother bought some Russian candy for the class (nut free, of course). Then we went to another Russian store on the block. It was actually right next door. I now have a couple of souvenirs to put on my capstone table, like a Russian nursery rhyme book, and a Soviet hat to wear during my TED talk. I think my site visit was very successful, and I got to learn how Soviet Immigrants went from not even owning their own houses, to owning their own businesses.