“Ðàç äâà òðè, ðàç äâà òðè...” Moving our feet in rhythm, we stepped along in a circle. I was attending a master class at Kyiv Mohyla Academy, my host institution, conducted by the leader of the folklore group “Bozhychi,” and these were my first steps in Ukrainian folk dancing. This class turned out to be not a one-time event but a “school of folk dance,” conducted by the group's director, Ivan Fetisov. Performing the social dances “Bozhychi” members have collected on canoe trips primarily in central Ukraine has been a fun, invigorating way to interact with one aspect of Ukraine's past and with those who today seek to preserve and enjoy that culture.

My day-to-day involvement with Ukrainian history and culture, however, consists of the dissertation research I have been conducting during my time in Kyiv, Ukraine through the Fulbright program. I have been reading century-old government and Orthodox Church correspondence and reports, seeking glimpses of the social ideas and interactions of the mainly peasant, dissident Stundists, Orthodox villagers, and the clergy.

My time in Ukraine has also given me the opportunity to meet Ukrainians marking out new paths in a variety of fields. I have experienced the hospitality of Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv at Thanksgiving; heard the moving account of my language instructor's experience of the Orange Revolution, an event that rendered Ukrainian politics newly relevant for her and gave her hope that individuals could affect the political process; seen Ukrainian Fulbrighters and other young professionals putting their education to use, whether in teaching, investment banking, or leadership development; and enjoyed a warm welcome and the chance to sing along with Ukrainian students interested in learning and performing Ukrainian folk songs.