Virtual pen pals: ENGin pairs Ukrainians and Americans for online English conversations

In twice-weekly meetings conducted over Google Meets, Misko and Foertsch talk about what's going on in their lives.

"Usually 60 percent or more of our time is occupied by us just decompressing about our lives, talking about our issues at work, with our families, etc.," Foertsch said. "We always try to lighten the mood at the end of the call by talking about things that we're excited for in the upcoming week."

Misko does not speak English flawlessly — she hesitates occasionally or stumbles over pronunciations — but her conversation is smooth. That's partly thanks to taking English in school since second grade and partly thanks to the American music, TV and movies (Beyoncé, "Shrek," Disney princesses) she has consumed throughout her life.

But she also credits her conversations with Foertsch.

Tamara Varda of Ukraine and Jack Kilduff of St. Paul recently talked about homecoming, Halloween, and what it's like to live amid Russia's attacks. (Custom) For many ENGin participants, these cross-cultural friendships are as important as the language practice.

"I'm not really sure if I told Ian this before, but I treasure it and he's really become like a friend and a buddy to me," Misko said. "To know that there is someone across the ocean with whom I have a connection is cool."

Andrii Nimkovych, left, was cheerful in a conversation with Jack Kilduff, despite his proximity to the Russian border and the front line. (custom) Learning about the lives of people elsewhere in the world also has been a big draw for volunteer Jack Kilduff, 33, a web developer who lives in St. Paul. He has a couple of ENGin buddies.

In a recent conversation, Kilduff talked to Tamara Varda, 26, also a web developer, about the American custom of homecoming weekends and about what she did on Halloween, a holiday that is catching on in Ukraine.

But Varda also expressed her apprehensions about the future.

"Who will suffer from this?" she said. "You don't know what exactly news you will read in the morning. And some of them is so painful that you don't even know how to live with all this stuff."

Kilduff's other buddy, Andrii Nimkovych, 31, a grant manager and student working on a master's degree in nonprofit organization, had even more harrowing stories. He's in Kharkiv, a little under 20 miles from the Russian border and near the front line. He received a mobilization notice last summer but as a student was able to avoid joining the military, he said.

"I am south of Kharkiv so I am a little bit safer than in the city," Nimkovych told Kilduff. "The whole territory of Ukraine is not safe but it's worse in the cities because Russia's main aim is to destroy them and their infrastructure."