Ukraine Study Tour
Culture
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Sunday was spent visiting local sites and learning more about the Ukrainian culture and the history of Poltava. We visited a monastery that contains two churches: one belongs to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church the other to the Russian Orthodox Church. They stand side by side at the same compound.
We also had an opportunity to learn more about the Battle of Poltava and the time of Peter the Great as Poltava has a very nice and engaging Peter the Great museum. Our guides, Colonel Oleg Bezverhney from the Poltava High Military Communication School and Ruslan, one of our student translators, gave us very interesting backround information about the tragedies and victories of the people of Poltava.
Monday, April 16 we had the pleasure to experience a national holiday and learn about the Ukrainian tradition of honoring the dead. The holiday was Memorial Day which is spent by Ukrainian families getting together at the graves of their deceased loved ones, bringing food and drinks and sharing stories about them when they were still alive. Colonel Oleg took us to visit the grave of his grandmother, and he shared the story of her life and some candy with us. It was a very moving and impressive experience.
From the cemetery we took a trip to one of the small rural communities outside the city limits of Poltava to get an impression of what rural living is like in the Ukraine.
