May 14-15 – Excursion to the Picturesque Transcarpathian Region

April 20 – Easter Egg Painting Class: Practicing Centuries-Old Ukrainian Traditions

For centuries Ukrainians have preserved plenty of wonderful traditions connected to the celebration of the principal Christian feasts, among which is Easter with the tradition of painting Easter eggs. Colourful eggs are the main decoration of the Easter basket in which Ukrainians have their foods blessed the day before Easter. The egg painting craft has a long history and wide representation of designs typical for different regions.

During the master-class that we organized, each participant had a chance to paint an Easter egg (called in Ukrainian pysanka), guided by qualified instructors, thus being able to join the favourite pre-Easter practice of many Ukrainians. Everyone chose the design he or she liked the most and the results of their efforts were amazing!

April 15-17 – Excursion to Kyiv, Magnificent Capital of Ukraine

Kyiv is one of the oldest cities of Eastern Europe and has played a pivotal role in the development of medieval East Slavic civilization as well as in the modern Ukrainian nation.

March 30 – Lviv National Museum Tour: Exclusive Icon-Painting Collection
On March 30, our students visited Andrey Sheptytskyy National Museum of Lviv. The best works from the museum collections are fittingly represented at the permanent display of the museum. Icon-paintings, which number four thousand, make up the bulk of the collection. This unique collection was gathered by the efforts of the prominent Metropolitan of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Andrey Sheptytskyy (1865-1944), who was a great supporter and benefactor of Ukrainian art. The Museum collection covers different chronological periods in the development of the Ukrainian icon and represents regional peculiarities of Ukrainian icon-painting tradition.

February 24 – Excursion around Lviv: a Journey through Centuries

On February 24, an exciting tour around Lviv took place. It was guided in English by Professor Yaroslav Hrytsak, famous Ukrainian historian and researcher. It started from the Museum of the City situated on the Old Market Square. The mystery of Lviv’s history gradually unfolded as the participants moved through different areas of the city representing different historical periods and cultural influences. The beauty and attraction of the present-day city of Lviv is due to this variety of architectural styles and cultural impacts.

February 8 – Welcome meeting

On February 8, 2011, a Welcome Meeting for new Semester Abroad students was held as it is usually done at the beginning of each semester. It was organized to introduce the newcomers to our broader University community represented mainly by our international faculty and staff present at the UCU during this Semester. Our new students had a chance to exchange some ideas and expectations about their experience of living in Ukraine and discovering Ukrainian culture.