Olesky!
Activities
By Randy Koontz, Penn State University

   On Thursday, February 18, 2004 we had the privilege of visiting one of the most famous castles in the Lviv region of Ukraine, Olesky Castle. It was quite interesting for us to tour this castle since there are not many in the U.S.  When we first arrived it was a long walk up a hill to get there. The castle was built in the fourteenth century for military purposes. It was very unique for me to learn that lightning in 1950 destroyed this castle. In 1975 the castle was rebuilt and became part of the Lviv region Department of Art Galleries. Many valuable items were described to us at this castle including a vintage cannon.  Many embroideries were shown throughout the tour.  They were displayed on the castle walls, and it was amazing for me see this.

   It was important for us to see a picture of the Christian crusades that occurred in the 17^th century. The owner of Olesky was also the King of Poland. I was really impressed with the tiles that were made of clay and had hand-portraits attached.  Many statues were displayed from the 15^th and 16^th century.

   As we passed through the castle and entered the basement, there was a problem for Kirk and Jared, since the castle was not built for taller individuals. In the basement hot spirits and food were stored. The basement also consisted of a well and it was intriguing to see how deep it was; nearly 40 meters. 

   As we departed the castle, the view of the countryside of Lviv was beautiful. In the landscape, many churches could also be viewed from the castle.  This was a wonderful experience for us.  Many thanks goes to our Ukrainian friends for helping with language barrier.

    Wow!  The past two weeks have just been amazing here in Ukraine.  It has been nothing but clear sunny skies, with temperatures in the 70’s and 80’s.  We have been enjoying the outdoors with such great weather.  We’ve been out jogging, biking, and even swimming at the local lake.  Wait a second.  What’s that buzzing I hear?  “Wake up Brad, its just another dream.”.

    In all actuality the weather hasn’t changed much here in the past two weeks.  It has been the same situation; snow and more snow.  We did have the pleasure of enjoying three days with light rain showers, which created an ice rink out of almost every surface.  A few of us mastered the art of falling down during these days.  Fellow student Lynn Weikert has shined in this new sport of falling on the ice.  She fell four times in three days, and one of her falls was especially impressive.  During this very impressive fall, Lynn looked like a figure skater that had just missed a double axel.  We have all had good laughs at the expense of each other during these days. 

   All in all, the weather hasn’t been too bad here, with the exception of all the ice.  We are all learning to deal with it, but at the same time, we are looking forward to the coming of spring.  That’s all for the weather report and hopefully our wishes for spring will come by the next report.

   Since farming has always been my main focus of my education it was great to speak with Dr. Stakh Vovk, Chief of the Department of Animal Science within the Faculty of Agronomy. Dr. Vovk has done some doctorate work in vet school and I was excited to talk to him. The faculty of Agronomy is made up of three majors and these include: Fruit and Vegetable Farming, Ecology, and Agronomy. There are approximately seven hundred full-time students in the Agronomy faculty. Animal Science courses are taught under the Ecology major. Ecology is mainly about animals and students are taught a variety of organisms from worms to cattle.

   Animal physiology is very important at LSAU because students need to have experience with animals. It was mentioned that practical experiences with animals are done in the first and second years of schooling. However, in my first-hand experiences, I  have noticed that very few farms are located in the Lviv region.

   The main species in the Lviv region is dairy and beef cattle. Vovk said that more students are entering this program and in the next fifteen years, farms will be increasing. A typical farm in Lviv can consist of only three to four animals. In the Lviv region, animals are used only for feeding the family and not for maximizing production.  To me it was interesting to find out that farmers invest in their farms and are continuing to expand. 

   Dr. Vovk explained to me that many improvements can be made in the Agronomy program, but they must be made by administrators in Kiev, not at this university. Despite all of the changes, I will always consider Ukraine as the breadbasket of Europe.

Pervocvit
Culture
By Lynn Weikert, Penn State University

   There’s nothing like a good meal. Food has always brought people together in some way or another. For college students a good home cooked meal is like heaven; even when it’s not from home. We even look forward to it if someone else’s mom cooked it. Not only is the eating good but the cooking can be even better. Women have always been expected to cook and to know how to cook. As I have learned living with all guys this semester, I should have done some practice meals before I got here! Cooking alone is no fun.  So the best way to come together as a group is to bring the makings, some good music and get started in the kitchen.

   Since Ukrainian food is quite different from American, we decided to have two meals (on separate days of course): one meal American and the other Ukrainian.  The American meal turned out okay. . . Black Bean Soup. It sounds easy enough right? Wrong. I learned a lot about improvisation that day. Everyone survived without a scratch except for Jared and our Ukrainian language professor Olga. They both got sick but I still insist it had absolutely nothing to do with my cooking! The Ukrainian meal was much better. . .the equivalent to our potato pancakes from back home with mushroom gravy, egg salad with crab meat and corn, and bread. The most enjoyable part of having the Ukrainian students and Olga here was just being in the kitchen together and really bonding (crying over shredded onions!).

By Brad Servais, University of Minnesota

   Ever since our second week here at LSAU, we have had the pleasure of meeting a true Ukrainian sport champion.  This champion that I speak about is Victor Yaskiv.  He is a professor of physical culture here at the university.  Victor has personally taken time out of his day for Lynn, Jared, and myself.  At 7:30 every morning Monday through Friday Victor opens up the gym for us, or as they call it the sport hall.  Victor has developed programs for all of us and each morning he is right there to coach us and provide advice when needed. 

   Victor received his degree in the mid-eighties and he also spent some time in the former Soviet army.  Victor gained his expertise in college, and while he was in the army he competed in their power lifting and military sport challenges.  He has been a professor of physical culture here at LSAU since 1992, and he is very well known and respected by the students and faculty.  In addition to training us every morning, Victor also trains the Ukrainian students in power lifting and he leads aerobic training classes.

   Besides Victor’s work at the university he has also developed new training techniques, which he has published.  He attends many conferences on physical culture within the Lviv region and the whole of Ukraine.  He also attends conferences outside of Ukraine, and this past week he attended one in Poland.

   I have to say that we are all very lucky for having met Victor and for having him as our training instructor during our stay here.  Victor’s gracious courtesy is something we are all thankful for.  He is another example of the great people we have met here in Ukraine.

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