My Fulbright semester was enjoyable, productive, and challenging. On a personal level, I had strong relations with my host institution, Lviv Ivan Franko National University. Over the last several years, I have developed strong contacts with scholars there in political science, international relations, and sociology, as well as with a dean and a vice rector. I was offered a tremendous amount of support to resolve daily-life issues, and several faculty members invited my family to their homes or took us on short excursions.

I taught a graduate student seminar on democracy. I worked closely with these students on their own research projects, meeting off campus for productive chats. One of these students has been awarded a Fulbright fellowship to come to the U.S., and should be working with me at the University of Kansas in 2008-2009. Young scholars and students approached me to learn more about the Fulbright Program. I enjoyed providing advice to them.

I made tremendous progress on my research projects. The Fulbright fellowship allowed me to discuss political developments with political scientists, politicians, and journalists; assess the campaign by speaking with local party activists, and attending rallies and press conferences; and monitor election administration by serving as an election observer for the International Republican Institute. Being on the ground during an election campaign allowed me to gather necessary data to compose an article for the journal Electoral Studies. In addition, my time in Ukraine informed my book project on elections in the former Soviet States that will be completed in Summer 2008.

During the semester I made several presentations, In addition to speaking to students at my university, I also participated in a roundtable on elections in August, and delivered lectures on elections at the Kyiv School of Economics and Kyiv Institute of Foreign Trade in October. In addition, I served as a panel member interviewing Fulbright applicants in August, and I assessed 70 applications of senior scholars in November.

I have traveled to Ukraine often over the last decade, so I experienced few revelations associated with the first encounter of a new culture during my Fulbright semester. But, the Fulbright semester was nevertheless a transforming experience because it provided me opportunities for deeper reflection and access to people and places that I had not explored in previous visits. The generosity, hospitality, and dignity of Ukrainians, even in the face of economic depravation, were particularly underscored by a trip to the countryside around Lviv.

In fall 2007, my family traveled to a small village to attend a festival. After our housing arrangements fell through, a Ukrainian colleague located an elderly couple in the village willing to take us in for the night. We approached their home, crossing a rickety wooden bridge over a small, gurgling river. We were met inside by a smiling "grandparently" duo who treated us like family. In fact, our unannounced visit displaced some family members who also planned to stay with them for the night.

Our hosts, Vasyl and Nadia, spend their summers in the village, tending dozens of beehives. Their homestead consisted of a four-room house, a large shed, and an outhouse. Entering the house, we were immediately greeted with the sweet, floral scent of honey. Evidence of the beekeeper's trade was everywhere: honey on the stove, jars of honey on the counter, honeycombs stacked against a wall, and a couple of bees flitting about. The kitchen doubled as the entryway, and was dominated by a large, wood stove on which several pots were simmering. A small table and a hutch full of dishes completed the room. Nadia washed dishes in pots of water that were scattered about the floor; similar pots and bowls were outside catching rainwater.

Nadia quickly escorted us to the second room - the living room - where she had just finished lunch with Vasyl. We were invited to share a toast - actually four vodka toasts - along with some sausage, bread, and full cups of their own honey.

Over the course of several conversations, we learned a bit of Vasyl and Nadia's history. Vasyl was born in Poland, though he does not remember the name of village. At the age of thirteen, during WWII, he witnessed his parents gunned down by Ukrainian soldiers. "I have seen such horror," he said, "If the Germans had killed them, I would have understood. It was war. But these men were 'ours.' That I cannot understand." Orphaned, he ended up in the Soviet Union. He eventually worked for the KGB in a prison, served in the Soviet tank corps, and became a "big party man, a big boss" responsible for distribution of products to over twenty regional stores.

Nadia's family hails from the village we were visiting. Her grandfather was a successful farmer who was labeled a kulak during Stalin's collectivization program. His land, buildings, livestock, and almost everything else were confiscated and her grandfather was exiled to Siberia. Nadia's father became the lead photographer for the region, and was also an artist. Nadia is the main beekeeper in the house, and was constantly tending to the bees and the hives at all hours.

The family's history perfectly captured the contradictions of contemporary Ukraine. Vasyl proudly reminisced about his service to the Soviet Union, the same government that stole his wife's family's livelihood. Despite hard economic times after the Soviet Union's collapse, Vasyl and Nadia valued hospitality and good will over all else. During our unannounced stay, we were treated to meals, drinks, and hospitality unimaginable to Americans. The family would not take anything in return for hosting us. However, we managed to slip them extra compensation for the honey we purchased.

E-mail: eherron@ku.edu
Home Page: people.ku.edu/~eherron
Guide to ECE/Eurasian Politics: web.ku.edu/~herron/