A Peace Corps learning adventure in the Ukraine

June 26, 2007

Dear All,

(Monday) Well, I am in my new temporary and soon-to-be permanent home (address will follow next week); I have begun working at one of my partner organization and meet with the second tomorrow; and I am one happy camper.

All of the logistical and administrative trivia related to my move is beginning to get sorted out: I have a bank account; I know where the Post Office is; I have access to a local doctor if I need one; I have a desk in my new office and, most importantly, the weather is considerably cooler here.

Lviv is beautiful, and I promise to send photos soon. My host family continues to be supportive and is wonderfully interesting – and well connected to both the arts and the history of the area. This past weekend we took an auto trip about 30K out of town to visit two small towns with some of the most beautiful wooden and stuccoed churches. The first town dates back to the 11th century and was extensively renovated by a Polish King (we were about 10K from the Polish border) to be his summer place. The town is very Hapsburg in feel and has about 5 churches of as many denominations. One is a beautiful wooden stave-style church with wonderful murals inside. Another brick church is completely covered in frescoes inside. It has quite a story, as do many places in this part of Ukraine – the murals depict scenes from the Bible with a decided Ukrainian nationalistic perspective. Apparently the Soviets were not too keen on the nationalism and plastered over everything. Since Ukrainian independence in 1991, the church has been restoring the murals. A side room was kept locked and the Soviet reps did not look inside, so the murals here remain completely intact. This room was painted in the 20s and the whole thing looks like one giant art nouveau installation. The colors are brilliant. The angels’ wings are peacock feathers. The stained glass could be a tiffany. The implied movement in both the murals and the glass is amazing.

The quality of painting and glass work is among the best I have seen. The room is stunning. And it is this little gem behind a closed door that is decidedly underappreciated by both the local parishioners and apparently unknown to most of the world art scene.

The second town was home to a second wooden church, not much older than the first but in much worse condition. It’s undergoing some pretty serious restoration. The murals are considerably faded but still visible. I never expected to find this kind of stuff here. Ivanka, my host mom and icon-artist in her own right, says that up until the 1920s Ukraine was a culturally developed country on par with France. Then the Soviets began a systematic cultural repression that has pretty much erased that history from Ukrainian memory.

I am glad I wrote about Russian Ukraine before leaving Chernihiv because from now on you will be hearing quite a bit about Ukrainian nationalism, which is very strong in this part of the country. Case in point, EVERYBODY flies, wears or in some other way displays Ukrainian colors. Also, I have heard the Ukrainian national anthem somewhere every day since my arrival in the West; they even sing it after church services. I NEVER heard the anthem in Chernihiv. In fact, I never heard the anthem until my P.C. ‘swearing in’ last week. Over this past weekend, local towns staged memorial services to remember those people who were ‘repressed’ during the Soviet era. We drove by several that featured older folks giving testimony at public microphones about their detainments and forced relocations. Its good to be among people who are proud of their heritage and eager to move forward with the implications of independence.

Lviv is the birthplace of the Orange Revolution of 1994, and I can really feel the philosophical and cultural differences between here and Chernihiv.

This definitely was a sophisticated city pre-soviet times and still has that orientation. It lost ground for those 70 years but now is eager to make up for perceived lost time. They very much are in the process of reinventing themselves in a very Ukrainian way – a little of the west and a little of the east plus a lot of their own forward thinking. Some folks are a bit overwhelmed by the task but no one I have met here so far would even think of not moving forward. What a change from Chernihiv.

(Tuesday) An update: today I met with my second host partner, the City of Lviv Department of Culture. Looks like I will be working with them as well. They are a new department with no policy yet developed and are looking for help, models, etc. for their process of sorting through who and what they should be. They have a daunting task as the City is a historical landmark

with most of its infrastructure in serious degradation. And they know it’s

a long-term process.

So far I am lucky with both my host organizations. This week I will send off my resume, etc. to the University to be considered as a guest lecturer next term. I expect to be part of the Art & Sociology Masters/Doctoral Program. Should be very interesting.

Well, I could write lots more, but I want to get this letter off tonight.

More soon.

Linda

PS. For those of you who have been asking, no – there is no licorice here either!

June 24, 2007

Just a quick message to you all to let you know I am in Lviv! Wow! I can't believe I really get to live here for the next two years!

Now I begin looking for a permanent place to stay. Already have a place in mind. Don't know if the Peace Corps will approve as it is a bit more expensive than they might like - and I am willing to pay the difference.

I'll chat with them tomorrow, so wish me luck.

Spend my first weekend traveling about the countryside with my new host family visiting old, wooden, stave churches. Beautiful - and beautiful countryside as well. For those of you planning a visit, this place is lovely and you will like it.

Tomorrow is my first day at work with my host-partner organization. This will be a busy week, but will try to get out a longer letter before week's end.

Love to all.

Linda