Carpathian Memories

Carpathian memories. карпатский избранное. Cultural immersion.

культрное погружение. A few more highlights from a great Peace Corps adventure.

From top: Collage of our visit to the lovely valley town of Skole, with seasoned cultural leaders Stefa, who has 50-years experience in cultural preservation, and Mikhail, noted singer and choir master who welcomed (and honored) us on a traditional Ukrainian instrument, the very long trembita (I think that's the name), and Sveta, director of the cultural center (дом калдтура), which honors Mikhail; tile detail from center; town scenes. Once an Austrian center of culture, Skole is now wholly Ukrainian in outlook and cherishes its indigenous traditions with great pride. The importance of a Community of Memory is nowhere more evident than in Skole.

Photo 2: Collage of our Sokol sojourn, with Olga and her dear friend Maria Yakivna, a 90-something year-old Gulag survivor, representing East and West united, surrounded by cultural leaders such as Tanya, Bogdan, and poet данило кулиняк, who gave me a book of his poems; a painting from an exhibit portraying the fierce struggle against Soviet domination and some of the heroes in the struggle. We were treated
 to a tour of the exhibition, followed by a fantastic  song fest, joined by Oleg Solodyak, Sokol's administrative director, over coffee and cookies.

Singing is ubiquitous in Ukraine. No matter where you are or what the occasion, people will burst into song, wonderful songs, songs of struggle and memory, songs of the land and of legends, songs of love, patriotic songs. We have nothing like it in America. The thought hit me that Ukrainian history is all in the songs. Hearing Ostop on the bandoora the next day, in Lviv, evoked the same feelings. And in fact Tonya leaned over to tell me that one of the songs was "from Sokol!" The songs are stories, they are prayers, they are ties that bind. "We sing to survive," Olga told me later.

The singing in Sokol was superb, spontaneous, yet it sounded like a choir that had long practiced for a special performance. Lovely harmonies, solos, duets, more choral singing. The voices of angels.

Sokol--the name itself sounds like a town in Tibet tome, or like a song--enchants and delights. It has a special energy and optimism, even though it has been hard hit by the economic crisis. Town leaders, from the Mayor on down, are progressive and forward-thinking. They expressed interest in having a PCV, and I will follow up on this. The opportunities for a volunteer are fantastic, from helping with the town's strong interest in cultural preservation to the development of heritage tourism linked to its proximity to Lviv. From its architecture to its attitudes, Sokol embodies western Ukraine's distinctive culture, and the hope for a vibrant united nation.

Photos 3 & 4: The four of us in the Carpathians, in the hills of Slavsky, having fun, including a photo of our fearless leader Olga with her head in a bag, which made us laugh hysterically every time we looked at it. We were a great traveling team!

Photo 5: The Lviv Theatre, interior grandeur, Die Fledermaus production.

Photo 6: Touring the beautiful and colorful trans-Carpathian city of Mukachevo and meeting famous Ukrainian sculptor Iван бровдI (Ivan Brovdi). "Just call me John," he said with a smile, as we gathered round for photos, thanking our lucky stars (нам повезло). We had been admiring the statues in the center square when I just walked up to the little group in front of them and boldly asked what the statues represented, what they meant. I was obviously an Amerikanka! Turns out I was asking the sculptor himself, and he understood some English, having traveled abroad! Good Lord, what serendipity! He was with a filmmaker and an assistant, Tamara, filming a documentary of his life and work. How exciting is that! He gave me an autographed copy of his beautifully written and photographed autobiography. He was happy to meet an American and I felt so honored. Truly blessed. Be sure to look for the documentary, by the way. Tamara said it will be broadly disseminated on public television. In this wonderful town, on a bright blue-sky day, we also strolled a bazaar ablaze with the bright colors of fresh flowers, vegetables and fruits, and stopped for a cup of coffee in a great little cafe. So European. All unforgettable!

я буду помните зто поездкау всегда.