Ongoing Lessons

Maria reading her poem, working on words with Stacey, Alina reading her poem, Ira's birthday song.

The exercise in writing the Ukrainian national anthem in the present tense is ongoing. The English Club worked on it some more this week, but it's still not quite there. And translating it into Ukrainian is the hardest part.

Interestingly enough, Maria announced that the Rada (Ukrainian parliament) actually has a competition on right now soliciting ideas for re-writing the national anthem again! Really? Yes! Incredible! What serendipity!

So now our exercise has moved from the theoretical to the real, and taken on more meaning, even a sense of urgency, because the deadline is 21 August. Club members are to come back with their rewrites next week, and maybe add a few more verses because the government calls for a 3 stanza anthem! It has to be in Ukrainian, too. We talked and thought together some more.

Sequeing into our next theme, Stacey led a session on poetry to and about Ukraine. Alina, Maria and Anton shared their poems. Great poems, tributes to a mighty nation, and some fresh ideas for the anthem revision, too. Alina, for example, wrote about “My Motherland…so dear to me…every river, every tree."

Stacey read her poem and I read mine. They are difficult if not impossible to translate into Russian, with lots of new words, metaphors and images. Stacey helped members focus on the words and their meaning. Other members are working on poems so we may get more next week. I’d like to make a poster exhibit of all the poems, and put it up in the Library.

Then we moved from creative mode to listening mode. Stacey read some Robert Frost poetry, poems of innocence and poems of experience. An interesting dichotomy, innocence and experience. It evoked more images and more interest in words. Word pictures. Painting with words. Splashes of ideas and pastel phrases floated in our minds. We twirled them around, played with them a bit. It was a lovely way to end our meeting.

Oh yes, one more thing: we also got to wish Ira a Happy Birthday and sang the song, which Stacey had nicely written out and decorated, with gusto and heartfelt good wishes. The English Club is like a family, and especially so when celebrating it's wonderful members.

Swimming in the River

The Aydar. It's not for fly-fishing, it's not Miami Beach or St. Pete Beach, but it's our river!

The Aydar river runs through Starobilsk, winding it's way north and east and southeast through town. It's not the mighty Dnieper, but it's our river. The river basin is noted for its wildflowers and wild life. The water is calm and clear most of the time, mirrroring the trees and vegetation along its banks. In some places gentle mountains, more rolling hills than the peaks of the Rockies, loom on the landscape, reminding us of times when their caves served as homes, a refuge from invaders, and religious sanctuaries. A story runs through these hills, too.

The terrain is not at all like the Montana of Norman Maclean's widely acclaimed best seller, and I'm not sure those two fly-fishing sons of a Presbyterian minister would like it here. But as Maclean's philosophical story concludes (and the Robert Redford movie based on it): "Eventually all things merge into one, and a river runs through it." No matter where we are, this rings true. No matter where we are, we all share in the wonders of nature, and marvel as well at the strengths and frailities of man. It's universal, transcendent.

During the heat wave we’ve had for weeks, our little river beckons, especially at sunset and early evening, my favorite time of day, when the light fascinates. The river is a people's gathering place, a place to fish, picnic, relax, enjoy the beauty of nature, and swim, with lots of different places to wade in the water.

Luba likes the sandy area near the center of town, also the most popular spot for young families and teens. Asha and Sasha like to go further up river, over the bridge (creaky but picturesque) and through wildflower meadows (that remind me of Nantucket) and winding bike paths. Dr. Tonya likes going down river, in biking distance but away from the crowds. Natalia's home is near the river but further north, in Lymon, past camp Sosnovy, a beautiful secluded spot where it's okay to strip down to your underwear or plunge in nude. Loren would love this river almost as much as the Aucilla. Maybe he is hiking along it it now, stopping now and then to take a swim along the way. Who knows? And who knows where this hike would lead?

It would be tragic if anything happened to the Aydar, like the oil spill in the Gulf, and now the one in Lake Michigan. This was why Victoria NGO organized a protest against building a gas station on the river. I'm not sure what the status of this effort is, but I do know that the people of Starobilsk value the river and work hard to conserve its pristine beauty while enjoying its bounty and refreshing waters. Starobilsk is fortunate because a river runs through it.

A Study in Tenses

The editing team, Vlad, Sveta, Maria, Ira and Alina, working on tenses in the national anthem.

At our 23 July English Club meeting, a small but lively gathering, we discussed the topic of the day: Verb tenses. What are they? Yes, a continuum of action: present, past, future. Examples: I am a Ukrainian. I was a Ukrainian. I will be a Ukrainian. Some smiles. Others: I see the flag. I saw the flag. I will see the flag. I am busy. I was busy. I will be busy. Yes, great. I am hot. I was hot. I will be hot. A chuckle for this homage to our sweltering heat wave! Several other examples followed.

Okay. Let's use another example: the Ukrainian National Anthem. Eyes rolled!

First we look at the original anthem, which begins “Ukraine is not yet dead." Then we read the revised version approved by the Rada in 2003 as THE national anthem. Everyone agrees the 2003 version is better.

What tense is the revised version in? Future tense. Why? It says “fate WILL smile once more," and "Our enemies WILL vanish...and we too SHALL rule...in a free land."

So, you are not a fortunate, brave, and free land NOW? Hmm. And what about the ending? "We WILL lay down our souls and bodies to obtan freedom," and "we SHALL know" we are the Kozak nation.

You have not fought for freedom yet? You don't know of your proud Cossack past? All this will happen IN THE FUTURE? Hmm. The silence of minds percolating. The wide eyes of wonder. Rising awareness. A light bulb goes off. A flash of insight!

So now a simple exercise: please rewrite the anthem in the present tense. Think about it. Take your time. Do it as a team. In English? Yes, for now.

The team went to work. After 15 minutes, with Alosha playing guitar in the background, a few questions posed, and some good ideas and comments, this is what the team came up with:

"Ukraine’s glory has not perished, nor her freedom.
Upon us, fellow compatriots, fate smiles once more.
Our enemies have vanshed, like dew in the morning sun,
And we now rule, brothers [and sisters], in a free land of our own. We have laid down our souls and bodies to attain our freedom, and we know we are a [proud] kozak nation."

Well, this is an interesting version to think about, to play with, maybe refine some more. Some suggestions are in parenthses. What do you think? Is it more positive, more inspiring, more proud? Yes! "It's STRONGER," Maria says. "Yes, much stronger, just by changing tenses!"

Good work! So now your next assignment: Translate the new present-tense version into Russian, and also Ukrainian (because that is the official national language). It might be hard to do, and hard to coordinate with the tune. We WILL see! Bring your version to next week’s meeting. Also, if you are interested, draft a letter to president Yanukovich telling him about the changes and why you would recommend that his new government and the Rada consider them. Talk about tenses! More doubt than enthusiasm greets this suggestion.

I’m not sure this exercise in verb tenses will go anywhere. I do think it provoked some thought and inspired some new ways of looking at language. Most important, it encouraged critical thinking, all-too-rare in the traditional methods of teaching in Ukraine. If this is as far as it goes, that’s not so bad afterall.

EURO2012 UKRAINE

Euro2012 logo, which is beautiful: a football and two tulips in the colors of the flags of the two hosting nations. The symbol was unveiled in December 2009 in St. Michael's Square in downtown Kiev.

My soulmate cousin Kathy Curro asked me about sports in Ukraine. It’s pretty much all football, Kathy, soccer that is. But like everything else here, even sports is affected by the tragic economic recession, from which the government cannot seem to extricate the nation. The need for work is critical and so is the need for building infrastructure, roads, and communications, but for some reason these two needs can’t seem to match up. Why is it so hard to put them together?

The situation is critical for another reason: Euro 2012. The championship European football games are slated to take place in Poland and Ukraine, June 8 to July 1, 2012, the first major soccer tournament to be held in Eastern Europe.

The Euro championship is the 2nd largest football event after the World Cup, drawing as many as 1.2 million people from across the continent and over 150 million television viewers. In Ukraine, games are scheduled to be held in Donestk, Kharkiv, Lviv and Kyiv. These are great cities, and the games could be a real showcase for them.

The first game will be in Warsaw on 8 June and the last game is scheduled for Kyiv on 1 July. What a great opportunity for Kyiv, the capital, and other cities hosting or near the games, to attract tourists, resources, and publicity.

It might seem like a long way off, but preparing for these kinds of games takes lots of planning, money and resources. Stadiums, hotels, roads, airports, tourist amenities have to be built or updated; infrastructures in general improved and strengthened. This would include public transportation and metro systems. Getting millions of people to and from games can be a logistical nightmare if not properly planned and coordinated. As I understand it, some folks, among them the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), the games sponsors, are worried that Ukraine is behind the eight ball in this effort.

Ukraine has started to build new stadiums in Lviv and Kyiv, but construction is behind schedule. With the economy in shambles and the country's budget drained, it will be a miracle if Ukraine can make it in two years time. It is trying. It is struggling.

Poland will be ready, and will benefit from the exposure the games bring. Will Ukraine be ready? Let's pray it is. And while we’re at it, let’s pray that Ukraine develops a good soccer team, too!

Helping Luba in her Garden

I never do much in Luba's garden, except for deadheading petunias and working on the roses a little. And she doesn't ask. But today I decided to ask her if I could help. Actually, I was in bed reading when she came home from work and she saw that I had been lazing around doing nothing but being depressed all day. And so she took me by the hand and brought me outside. She set up a chair in the garden and said "sit here!"

I sat there for a while, trying to read my book, The Hanged Man’s Song, the book I had steered Alina away from and felt obliged to read. Frankly, it’s what I thought it was, maybe worse, a tough macho detective story with a lot of foul language.

Luba went to work in the strawberry patch, and I was bored with the book. I asked if I could help, and she let me, and I did. We worked for over an hour, cutting back the strawberries and cleaning that part of the garden. She was grateful for the help, and I felt better doing something useful. Always the best therapy.

So it was that I worked off some of my gloom and doom. I worked up a good sweat, had dirt under my fingernails, and felt better than I had all day. It's when I am still that I miss Loren the most, at night, when the sound of silence saddens and I’m with darkness, my old friend.

It's better when I am busy, and no one knows that better than Luba.

Missing Loren

Loren, Orlando years.

It’s been two months since my brother Loren embarked on his last hike, his hike to the great beyond on another unknown journey.

His spirit is with me in Starobilsk--biking to the river, walking to town, going to Victoria's and the Library--but it is not the same knowing he is not in Tallahassee. I

don't know where he is now. I look up at the stars and the moon at night, and wonder. It was something we loved to do together, look upward, and together we saw things that we didn't see apart. I hope he was right about no endings in nature.

I have my doubts. Our friend Sandie thinks he's a special angel. My daughters Elissa and Michelle think so too, that he is in a better place. Asya is sure his soul is at peace, and will live forever.

I want to believe it. I am lost without his presence. I don't have an anchor here. I am without my guru, the person I turned to for knowledge of this and that, for his passion, his insights. Can't talk about the World Cup. Tennis at Wimbleton. The Tampa Bay Rays. Basketball (he knew everything). The politics of our country, of Ukraine, of the world. His love of history, the environment, goodness and the goddess, his vast knowledge of goddess spirituality. How I miss his voice. How I long to hear him.

I miss his emails, his always wonderful and thoughtful comments on my blogs, the things we shared, so many thoughts and ideas. Like twins. Some things I shared only with Loren, in long conversations that now seem like gems, precious gems. Loren loved the color lavender, but I see it through tears now.

He loved Clan of the Cave Bear, a book that he says changed his life and his way of looking at the world. It began the flowering of his awesome feminism, his deep insight into patriarchy, his readings in Mary Daly and others. I cannot share this with him anymore. I asked Christopher, the publisher friend of Loren’s upcoming autobiography, An Asperger Journey, to sneak a photo of the Auel cover into the text, to surprise Loren. He won't see it, this little gift to him.

Little things mattered so much to Loren. A hike. A hug. An understanding friend. Life is just not the same without my brother in it.

The Human Family 2: Families are Universal

No matter where we are from, where we live, what we do, we all have families. Some are more functional or dysfunctional than others. Some are scattered, some live close. Most are ties that bind. Most give us roots and wings, like my family at home in America and Natalia Dohadailo's large family in Ukraine.

Natalia's sister Olga and brother Vlad live near Starobilsk. Their brother Sasha lives with his wife Valya in Siberia, Russia. The family is originally from Poltava, in central Ukraine, then moved to eastern Ukraine, but they still consider Poltava home. The siblings, spouses, and some of the grown kids got together at Natalia's and husband Vasyl's spacious home in the village of Lymon last weekend for an old-fashioned cookout and family reunion.

This is the first time they have been together since their mother died three months ago, a sad gathering then for all of them. This time it was a happy reunion, although their papa couldn't make it. Natalia invited me, and I felt like part of the family, the English-speaking side!

Valya prepared a delicious fresh fish soup, a traditional Russian recipe, complete with a cup of vodka and the end of a burning stick that Sasha put into the broth. Quite dramatic! I recorded this for posterity (photo above). The soup was delicious, and the food plentiful, mostly from Natalia's large garden, plus fresh bread and hearty toasts. To health! To family! To Ukraine and America!

Between meals, all meticulously prepared and artistically presented by the women, we shared in conversations, games, and a swim in the river. I hadn't brought a swim suit so I stripped down to my underwear (another first for me) and plunged right in with a splash. It didn't make a bit of difference, like my Peace Corps bikini. Normal'no!"

It was a wonderful reunion, the kind we know and share with our own families in America, the kind that envelops and embraces us. We may be spread out, miles apart, but no matter where we are, our family means the world to us. Families, like babies, are universal.

The Human Family: Babies are Universal

Mama Ira took this photo

It was a lazy Sunday morning. Vova, his wife Ira, and their new baby Margarita, almost 7 months old, were in our neighborhood and called to see if they could drop by. I had not seen them since their baby was born and I was delighted.

Vova and Ira met in college, have traveled in Europe, and lived for a while in London. Vova speaks excellent English. His speciality is some esoteric energy field, at which he excels. Ive seen photos of International conferences he's attended. This educated young couple, like thousands of others, long to live and work abroad, where they believe there is more opportunity. But it's hard to get documentation, visas, and passports to live in another country, unless you have an employer who will help you. Other factors complicate the process, not least of which is the concern for a "brain drain" in a country that needs skilled workers.

For this Sunday visit though, the star of the show was Margarita. Luba spread out a comforter on the living room floor for the baby to play on, and we took turns googling her and trying to make her smile. We were on our hands and knees like the mothers we used to be, when our own children were babies. It was as if nothing had changed, except we are now babushkas.

Babies are universal: the way they grow, learn, show curiosity, grasp objects, put them in their mouths to chew on and soothe in-coming teeth; the way they reach out for mama and papa when strangers are vying for their attention (and at seven months they know the difference). It's a miracle how infants develop, driven by an inner curiosity and need to explore. They may have sweetly different personaltiies, but not nationalities, not yet. Ukrainian or American, it's all the same. They are just babies, all with the same inner need to grow.

Why, I've long wondered, don't we retain this natural-born curiosity, this need to grow? Instead, experience seems to etch grooves of anxiety and pain, fear and inhibition. Perhaps that is the human condition as well, this loss of innocence, this loss of curiosity and wonder. Perhaps that's what we spend the rest of our adult lives striving to achieve once again. Perhaps that defines our purpose for living until we die.

Margarita is beautiful and strong, getting ready to crawl, scooting toward objects she wants, pulling herself up to a standing position, smiling all the while, always checking to make sure mama is there.

I could tell that for Luba this return to mothering babies was bittersweet. She remembes her Sergei and her Vitaly, now grown men, now with bigger problems. But the life cycle is universal, without boundaries, the same everywhere, from babies to toddlers, to teens to adults. Luba and I looked at each other and smiled, as Ira and Vova lovingly played with and sheltered their child, to them the most beautiful, the smartest, the most wonderful human being on earth.

BREAKING NEWS: WE MADE OUR GOAL!!

Starobilsk fans: We did it!

We made our $900 goal. And in record time. How can we ever thank you!

I feel like Wolf Blitzer on CNN, bringing you the latest news! The Peace Corps Washington office just notified me of the good news. I had talked to Iryna, the library director, a few days ago, and she showed me a book list she had gotten from a bookstore in Lugansk. She was excited and said she was getting more lists. Dont buy any books yet, I told her. We still have $300 to go. She smiled and said, "The Americans will do it!" How right she was! What great fans you are! I will keep you posted as the book plan unfolds.

Meanwhile, heartfelt thanks for making it possible to

bring English-language books to a little village in eastern Ukraine. What a fantastic gift you have made for today and for future generations!

STAROBILSK HAS ENGLISH BOOKS, THANKS TO YOU!

Visiting Marfa

Surrounded by Marfa's embroidery, and good friends.

We visited Marfa last week, an 84-year-old master of traditional Ukrainian embroidery. She lives alone in a little house in the country outside of Starobilsk. The house is surrounded by a nice garden full of vegetables, spices and flowers. Her house is filled with her exquisite embroidery work--curtains, bedspreads, sheets and pillow cases, table clothes and runners. They are bold and colorful. She gave me a present of a beautiful runner (we're modeling it in the photo collage above). I was honored.

She was happy to have an American visit her and she regaled me and the friends who brought me, Olga, Vladymir, Elena and her daughter Rita, with lots of stories. I think I got most of what she was telling us, with a little help from Olga and Elena. She talked about love of country, family, and community, "the most important things in life." She has nine grandchildren., and almost as many great-grandchildren, and they bring her great pleasure. Money and material things don’t matter, she said, only what is real, what is authentic. Like her craft, I thought.

The best part was absorbing the wisdom and energy of this lively, talented woman, who also sang for us, Ukrainian folk tunes of course, while preparing a little feast of homemade bread with fresh tomatoes and dill from her garden. I added my favorite white wine called Franchesca (which is the easiest way for Ukrainians to say my name, because Fran is difficult), and some Florida souvenirs, including a shot glass, which she loved (and used!).

What a lovely way to spend a summer afternoon. The corn is high, the sunflowers are blooming, the wheat is golden, the sky is bright blue, and the people are wonderful. A true Ukrainian kind of day

National Anthems

We continued the 4th of July theme at the English Club this week. Stacie led us in a discussion of "The Star Spangled Banner," which Frances Scott Key wrote in 1814 as he watched a day-long battle with England from a ship in the Chesapeake Bay (or was it the Potomac river?). Stacie sang the anthem with pride, and made it sound easy. I never could rise up another octive on "And the rockets red glare."

Stacie talked about the words, like a true TEFL volunteer. She also stressed the images, and had members draw pictures of them: stars and stripes, rockets, ramparts, bombs bursting in air, the flag still waving over the land of the free and the home of the brave. So this is the origin of the 4th and fireworks! We also learned that this battle song didn't officially become our national anthem until 1931, during another struggle, this one economic, the Great Depression.

I talked about "America the Beautiful," which I said I preferred to the national anthem, because the images are more of nature than war, more about beauty than bombs. Spacious skies, amber waves of grain, majestic purple mountains above fruited plains. Stacie disagreed with me and we had a little debate in front of everyone, then shook hands and said, "A lesson in democracy!"

I said I thought "America the Beautiful"

could also be the Ukrainian national anthem, with a few changes in words and rhyme, because it evokes the vast blue skies and the fields of

golden wheat (and some say sunflowers) of the Ukrainian flag. There didn't seem to be much interest in the Ukrainian national anthem itself, which I asked Ira , who has a lovely voice, to sing for us. She had to run to the next roon to ask a librarian for a book to remind her of the words.

Meanwhile, a few members spoke them, like a poem, a rather sad poem. Another started off, "'Ukraine is not yet Dead,' and I cannot go on with it," to much laughter in the room. As for Ira, she would have done better if I had asked her to sing some Beyonce or Lady Gaga songs! We did see a lovely picture of the national symbol, a beautiful trident, in the book she brought to us.

We talked a little about why the the Ukrainian national anthem didn't seem to stir up the same kind of patriotic fervor other national anthems do. The feelings were strong but hard to pin down.

I attribute it to the long struggle for national identify in Ukraine, which is ongoing. But the people are so lovely, so talented, that I hope some day everyone will sing the Ukrainian national anthem with gusto and pride.

I thought about this later in the day, while trying to fall asleep. As I drifted into dreamland, this thought occured to me: I think it would help if Ukraine had a top-notch football (soccer) team, especially for the 2012 World Cup, which will be co-hosted by and held in Ukraine and Poland. This would go a long way toward boosting national pride. Then the Ukrainian national anthem would take on new meaning for a bright future.

Here is the current Ukrainian national anthem, formally approved by the Rada (Parliament) in 2003, almost a decade after the country achieved independence from the Soviet Union. Below that are the original words from earlier in the 20th century, which I must admit are not too stirring, more a lament, or a dirge. "Ukraine is not yet dead" is a real downer for the 21st century. l think the more recent editing made it better, although it's hard to translate with meaning from the Ukrainian to English, and it still evokes more uncertainty about the future than pride. Perhaps it should be edited again (I have a version in my head), put in the present tense, not the future tense, as if the proud, free and brave country doesn't exist yet. I have a feeling that Ukrainians do not know which is the real anthem now, however, so a re-edit for the 2012 World Cup could put everyone, at last, on the same page.

Ukrainian National Anthem (adopted 2003)

Ukraine's glory hasn't perished, nor her freedom
Upon us, fellow compatriots, fate shall smile once more.
Our enemies will vanish, like dew in the morning sun,
And we too shall rule, brothers, in a free land of our own.

We'll lay down our souls and bodies to attain our freedom,
And we'll show that we, brothers, are of the Kozak nation.


Ukrainian National Anthem before it became part of USSR
Ukraine is Not Yet Dead
Ukraine is not yet dead, nor its glory and freedom,
Luck will still smile on us brother-Ukrainians.
Our enemies will die, as the dew does in the sunshine,
and we, too, brothers, we'll live happily in our land.
We'll not spare either our souls or bodies to get freedom
and we'll prove that we brothers are of Kozak kin.
We'll rise up, brothers, all of us, from the Sain to the Don,
We won't let anyone govern in our motherland.
The Black Sea will smile yet, grandfather Dnipro will rejoice,
Yet in our Ukraine luck will be high.
Our persistence, our sincere toil will prove its rightness,
still our freedom's loud song will spread throughout Ukraine.
It'll reflect upon the Carpathians, will sound through the steppes,
and Ukraine's glory will arise among the people.

Music for Loren

Loren and me, in Costa Rica

Loren liked Simon and Garfunkle. Actually he loved music, from classical and opera (inherited from our mom), to “the oldies but goodies” like Frank Sinatra (inherited from our dad), to jazz, rock 'n roll, and contemporary meditative music like Enya. Whenever Loren came to visit in St. Petersburg, we listened to music together. Enya was a favorite the last few years. Loren thought her songs evoked the spirit of the goddess. Such special visits.

My granddaughter Alli recently told me that she listens to Enya because it reminds her of me! She remembers that I played Enya while she and Josh ate breakfast when THEY visited me in St. Pete. How touching, how sweet. So Enya has become a tie that binds across the generations.

But for now, it’s Simon and Garfunkle songs that have been running through my head, over and over, as if Loren wants to hear them. The lyrics are as lovely as the music. Loren knew them by heart, related to their meaning and to the images. “Hello darkness, my old friend.” “I‘m on your side, when times get rough.” "Like a bridge over troubled water, I will ease your mind."

Loren was my bridge over troubled water, always there. He never let me down. I hope he knew I was there for him, whenever he needed a friend. It pains me to think that I, however, might have let Loren down sometimes. That I got impatient, off center. But Loren always came round, always remembered what was important. I hope he knows how much I loved him, how deeply I cared for him, cherished his soul, his spirit. Memories of Loren, my cosmic soulmate. Music for Loren.

The Sound Of Silence By Paul Simon
Hello darkness, my old friend,
I've come to talk with you again,
Because a vision softly creeping,
Left it's seeds while I was sleeping,
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within the sound of silence.
In restless dreams I walked alone
Narrow streets of cobblestone,
'neath the halo of a street lamp,
I turned my collar to the cold and damp
When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light
That split the night
And touched the sound of silence.

And in the naked light I saw
Ten thousand people, maybe more.
People talking without speaking,
People hearing without listening,
People writing songs that voices never share
And no one dare
Disturb the sound of silence.

"fools" said i, "you do not know
Silence like a cancer grows.
Hear my words that I might teach you,
Take my arms that I might reach you."
But my words like silent raindrops fell,
And echoed
In the wells of silence

And the people bowed and prayed
To the neon God they made.
And the sign flashed out it's warning,
In the words that it was forming.
And the sign said, "the words of the prophets

Are written on the subway walls
And tenement halls."
And whisper'd in the sounds of silence.

Bridge Over Troubled Water
by Simon and Garfunkle

When you're weary
Feeling small
When tears are in your eyes
I will dry them all

I'm on your side
When times get rough
And friends just can't be found
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down

When you're down and out
When you're on the street
When evening falls so hard
I will comfort you

I'll take your part
When darkness comes
And pain is all around
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down

Sail on Silver Girl,
Sail on by
Your time has come to shine
All your dreams are on their way

See how they shine
If you need a friend
I'm sailing right behind
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will ease your mind
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will ease your mind

Women's Voices Rising

Vera and I spent a day in Lugansk last week attending a seminar on gender issues and visiting another women's organization, Chaika, that she works with. It’s a great network. Three brand new PCVs, Wyoming, Caroline and Hailey, serving in Lugansk and area, also attended. It was nice meeting them. It reminded me of when I was a raw recruit, 15 months ago, trying to navigate new cultural terrain, a new language, and new roles and expectations. They will be great PCVs.

Women of Ukraine, a training and development NGO focused on women's issues and headed by an up-and-coming leader named Oxana, sponsored the seminar. It helped to have a translator present (thanks to Wyoming), a wonderful young man hoping for an international career. He was excellent, and seemed naturally attuned to the issues and comfortable discussing them, in itself an impressive and hopeful sign of change.

More than 35 women of all ages listened to a thoughtful panel discussion, which included the PCVs and young Ukrainian women, all knowledgeable and articulate advocates. The PCVs spoke about the women's movement and changing roles in America, interesting because they represented two generations, each with different experiences. Hailey, for example, acknowledged that she benefitted from the experiences of Wyoming and Caroline.

We then worked in small groups, reported out, and discussed ideas. A wide range of opinions emerged, but the issue are familiar: equal pay for equal work; increasing women’s participation in the political process; equal rights; supporting women in business; improving economic and political opportunities; addressing domestic abuse; combating stereotypes about women's roles; mentoring young women for leadership positions across the public sector.

The big question was "How and where do we begin?" Here's where disagreements flourished, just as they did during the resurgence of the women's movement in the U.S. in the 1960s to 1980s. Just as they did within NOW, the National Organization for Women, founded by Betty Friedan (author of the influential The Feminine Mystigue) and other pioneering women leaders. It took a 100 years of struggle in America for women to get the vote (with due homage to Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton), and then another 70 years or more to see some results.

So it will be here. Ukrainian women are strong and resourceful, family and community anchors, but they are not powerful, not yet. There's inevitable resistance to change and a need for more public awareness and activism. Nor do many Ukrainians have much faith in the present governments, at all levels.

But if this seminar is an example of the leavening influence of women working together, then there is hope for the future, hope for fundamental change, not coming from the top down, but, as I've written previously, from the bottom up. It was Loren’s mantra. Such grassroot efforts, multiplied many fold and over time, will help in the critical task of identifying and nurturing women leaders, building consensus, and galvanizing people around a common agenda. Women pioneers are setting the stage now. The voices of Ukrainian women are rising.

"Know Your Rights" Meeting Held

Victoria NGO held the first "Know Your Rights" public meeting at the Veterans Hall next to Lenin Park on 3 July, to discuss the project, funded through a Peace Corps SPA (Small Project Assistance) grant. About 30 people attended. Vera explained the project, the activities, the resources and information being prepared, and the upcoming seminars. She also spoke about the Peace Corps and the work we do with glowing enthusiasm.

I spoke about "The Rule of Law in America," which Vera had asked me to do. I started off with an introduction in Russian and switched to English with translating help from Tonya , the teacher at Koorychevka school and a stalwart Victoria volunteer. I had prepared two handouts, one on the three branches of government, another on the principles of the rule of law, including the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Consititution, and the American system of laws, how they are made, revised, reviewed, enforced. I emphasized the ideals of "All men and women are created equal" and "Equal Justice Under the Law," emblazoned on the front of the magnificent Supreme Court building in Washington, DC (flikr photo above).

These ideals, I noted, have not always been practiced, but all Americans cherish them, and they have been the foundation of most reform movements in America since the founding of our country. I cited as examples the women's rights and civil rights movements. Lots of nods around the room. "America is a history of conflict and struggle to achieve these ideals for all citizens," I concluded, a tacit signal of hope for Ukraine.

Next project lawyer Maxim Emelyanov spoke about the urgent need for Ukrainians to know their rights and to defend them. He said unfortunately too many people become victims of injustice because they do not know the laws. He thought that Ukraine has a way to go to achieve "equal rights under the law." He stressed the basic premise of the "Know Your Rights" project: "Informed citizens are Empowered citizens."

A most interesting part of the meeting followed, when several people in the audience stood up to comment on the issues. A man named Vladymir (it's hard for me to catch surnames) talked about the situation in Ukraine, which he thinks is the worst it has been since 1991. He spoke passionately about the need for more activism and participation in the political process. "We were born with fear in our souls," he said. "We must overcome this fear and fight to achieve our own democracy in Ukraine." He was eloquent, and moving.

A woman, Sveta, added to Vladymir's appeal, speaking on behalf of women's condition and participation. She said the hope for democracy rested with young people with the courage to change. Vera later told me that Sveta headed a women's rights organization in Noroskovo, a village outside of Starobilsk. Tonya leaned over and whispered in my ear: "These people are not afraid; they are fighters."

Several others spoke about the need for knowing and disseminating the history of Starobilsk, to show local pride, which I was glad to hear since the calendar project is stalled. Someone suggested a brochure on Starobilsk history and architecture. There seemed to be general enthusiasm for this idea. PCV Stacie and I looked at each other and thought we could help. This might be a way to morph the calendar project into something useful. Stacie also mentioned a website.

The lively discussion continued over tea and cookies after the meeting, with more people speaking up, including a young teacher and mother, Tatiana, who expressed interest in joining the English Club. Afterwards, some of us met for lunch at Olga's, a gracious invitation, and the discussion continued.

There is so much despair in Ukraine now, a pervasive sense of powerlessness, that these gatherings seemed like rays of sunshine on a bleak landscape. For me, spending the day with thoughtful Ukrainians and talking about Victoria's "Know Your Rights" project was the best way to commemorate Independence Day. It was civic education at its best. American ideals are still beacons of hope in the world.

Books and Moral Dilemmas

Alina returned Little Women at an English Club meeting. She said she liked it. It started a nice discussion. Maria, just graduated from university, had read the story in high school and remembered the sisters, and how in the end they came to recognize the strength of family ties. Iryna, who is a whiz at English and just passed the tough national exam for high school seniors, said she remembered how different the sisters were from one another.

Alina had translated the authors and

titles of dozens of the books we got from Toledo, more than anyone else. She received a certificate for “The Most Translations!” Of all the books she translated, she asked me about only one. It was "The Hanged Man's Song."

I explained the words to her, in a rather clumsy way, straining to say it was not a pleasant image. When her eyes widened, I saw she got it. It became a subject for group discussion, too, one I was not totally comfortable

with, but which members enjoyed, talking mostly in Russian. A highly animated, and graphic, discussion.

Alina checked the dictionary again and then settled on a translation. Can I borrow this? she asked. Hmm. I glanced through it and caught some unsavory language, and shook my head: "I think this may not be the best book for you, Alina. How about another one?"

She was disappointed, and I was flummoxed. Alosha, browsing through another Toledo book, found this amusing and asked, with a sly smile I thought, "Why?" Thankfully, Alina settled for a Harry Potter story, while I began debating with myself. Was Alosha right? Was I censoring? Being over-protective of a young teenaged girl?

I find myself caught in these moral dilemmas from time to time and I'm usually surprised by them, and by my reactions. In this case I believed the book, a detective story with a lot of macho cop dialogue, was more for adults than children, even 14-year-old children.

I'm okay with having suggested something else, although now I feel obliged to read "The Hanged Man's Song" and really check it out. But the day is coming when Alina will visit the library and pick out whatever books she wants. And that will be good, too.