Kyiv and Cherkasy Oblast
This past Friday I was in Kyiv for a meeting. While I enjoy seeing the folks at the meeting, I have grown to really dislike Kyiv based almost entirely on how much it costs to travel there.
I am also not a fan of the crowded streets and subway cars or the colder climate, compared to my tad bit warmer southern home. Kyiv has elements of beauty and big city, but going from my smaller city to the big city does not leave me as impressed as it does other volunteers. One of these days I'll have to do the touristy thing and maybe then I'll change my tune, but for now, it's expensive and over-rated.
What I did last time and will continue to do, is use these 4 times a year meetings as a spring board to visiting other volunteers in areas that might be otherwise difficult or expensive to get to.
Last time I trucked over to Lviv for the weekend and this time, a friend and myself went back with another friend to her site, 2 hours south of Kyiv. Her site is by far the prettiest one that I have seen.
In all of Ukraine that I have experienced, this area reminded me the most of home. Soft rolling hills, bucolic scenery, fall colors touching the trees and fields. Fast water turning into a dead stand still around the bend, becoming a lazy pond. Rocky outposts made smooth from years of water wear make excellent spots to sit down on and take in the scenery. It all made me so sad to have not brought my camera.
They have a lot of history and scenery there--a nineteenth century castle, a large and beautiful park, a natural spring, and much to do with Ukraine's undisputed national hero: Taras Schevchenko. In her town, legend has it that he ast under a tree and wrote one of his famous poems. The tree still exists today, although it is oddly cemented up.
It was sad to leave, not only because of the company, but also because of the peaceful environment. How nice it would be to be able to stroll a ten minute walk and find myself surrounded by a forest or in a field by a river. A ten minute walk in any direction in my neighborhood will not bring me natural beauty or quiet. Such is the life of living with certain conveniences being within an arms reach versus living by nature.
I am also not a fan of the crowded streets and subway cars or the colder climate, compared to my tad bit warmer southern home. Kyiv has elements of beauty and big city, but going from my smaller city to the big city does not leave me as impressed as it does other volunteers. One of these days I'll have to do the touristy thing and maybe then I'll change my tune, but for now, it's expensive and over-rated.
What I did last time and will continue to do, is use these 4 times a year meetings as a spring board to visiting other volunteers in areas that might be otherwise difficult or expensive to get to.
Last time I trucked over to Lviv for the weekend and this time, a friend and myself went back with another friend to her site, 2 hours south of Kyiv. Her site is by far the prettiest one that I have seen.
In all of Ukraine that I have experienced, this area reminded me the most of home. Soft rolling hills, bucolic scenery, fall colors touching the trees and fields. Fast water turning into a dead stand still around the bend, becoming a lazy pond. Rocky outposts made smooth from years of water wear make excellent spots to sit down on and take in the scenery. It all made me so sad to have not brought my camera.
They have a lot of history and scenery there--a nineteenth century castle, a large and beautiful park, a natural spring, and much to do with Ukraine's undisputed national hero: Taras Schevchenko. In her town, legend has it that he ast under a tree and wrote one of his famous poems. The tree still exists today, although it is oddly cemented up.
It was sad to leave, not only because of the company, but also because of the peaceful environment. How nice it would be to be able to stroll a ten minute walk and find myself surrounded by a forest or in a field by a river. A ten minute walk in any direction in my neighborhood will not bring me natural beauty or quiet. Such is the life of living with certain conveniences being within an arms reach versus living by nature.
posted by Molly | 11:51 AM
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