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Here you will find a bit of this and a bit of that. My interests are all over the spectrum-- some serious, some not so much. Also, I recently served two years in Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine with the U.S. Peace Corps, so expect to find many things relating to the Peace Corps and central and eastern Europe.

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All Saints Day, Slovakia

photo by Miroslav Petrasko

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🔵🟡 ‘The lost letter’ by Ukrainian Yuriy Pitchuk (@yuriy_pitchuk) in Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine (2016) #youriypitchuk #ivanofrankivsk #streetart #stopthewar #lamolinastreetart 📷 via artist bit.ly/3sCL0wr (bij Ivano-Frankivsk) https://www.instagram.com/p/CauaXn5gGeh/?utm_medium=tumblr

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Stanislav (now - Ivano-Frankivsk), 1915

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Rynek w Stanisławowie (1938).

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Vera, Nadezhda and Lyubov: The history of three Christian martyrs - Liden & Denz

Vera, Nadezhda and Lyubov were three Christian martyrs.Their names means Faith,Hope and Love and are all women's name in Russia.

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At Thursday night English Club meetings of the Window on America Center in Ivano-Frankivsk I gave a presentation related to some aspect of the US, southern culture, Peace Corps activity, etc. For this particular presentation I chose to discuss Alabama and music, and introduced the English Club to Shelby Lynne.

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watching you http://vhbloh.tumblr.com/

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View of the Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast Art Museum from the tower of the Ratusha (town hall).

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Arriving to Kosiv by bus from Ivano-Frankivsk, you have the choice of two stops to disembark. This is the first stop, the second is the main bus station about five minutes down the road.

Incidentally, you can find some really good food and cheap beer just a few steps away from this stop.

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For reasons unknown by those not from the post-Soviet world, many Ukrainians believe that air circulation in confined spaces will bring illness or even lead to death. This belief is commonly held by the older generation in particular. This means that a summer bus or train ride with an elderly baba will be accompanied with  heavy sweating and potential heatstroke as any attempt to gain relief by opening a vent or window will be met with scorn and shame from any senior traveler in your cabin.

On an overnight train from Ivano-Frankivsk to Kyiv, my friend Jonathan and I were relieved when the train began to roll out of the station and no other passengers were in our 4-person cabin. It was summertime and hotter than three hells. Without a geriatric in sight to stop us, we opened the tiny window as far as it would go so that we would have some cool air to ease the heat's discomfort.

We put our bags away and walked about the train for no more than five minutes. Upon our return to the cabin, we found the above late-joiner sitting next to the only source of air circulation, which she took upon herself to shut. We tried to stand our ground and reopen the window, pretending that we did not understand Ukrainian as she bitched and moaned that at her age this gentle wind would be the cause of her death, Ultimately, the window remained closed for the rest of the trip. Jonathan and I gave up the window cause. There just is no need to argue with a baba set in her ways. You will never win.

She looked so peaceful sitting there at the closed window, gazing at the the Ukrainian countryside as the train gently rocked its way to Kyiv-- and we sweated our selves to sleep. 

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Lviv, Ukraine

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Banska Stiavnica, Slovakia

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Sibiu, Romania

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Bratislava, Slovakia

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Slovakia is notorious for its history of witch burnings, yet the vast majority of these took place in the heavily Catholic eastern regions of the country-- far away from this plaque in Bratislava. Many of the those accused were ethnic or religious minorities, with Roma (gypsy) and Jewish women suffering the most. It was decided to place this small memorial in the capital, ostensibly dedicated to Bratislava's first witch to be burned to death.  It is actually understood to represent all women who lost their lives due to bigotry, intolerance, and ethnic or religious hatred.

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Abandoned synagogue in Banska Stiavnica, Slovakia.  

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Peace Corps Ukraine- Group 39 COS Conference in Chernihiv