Summer in Lviv

Unfortunately, my small suitcase contains almost nothing that's suitable for this heat. I'm starting to find my way around, though. Today I'm off to buy a baby gift for my cousin Leysia, a pharmacist who has a 6 month old daughter-she was single when we met her 2 years ago. Let's see if I can navigate Lviv's version of a chic Kiddie City.

I went to dinner with Maria last night at the 7 Little Piggies (great Ukrainian food and wonderful decor) and we had a long talk about things in Ukraine. I was surprised to hear that the government is trying to increase the population by giving parents quite sizeable bonuses for new babies. I believe it's 8,000 hyrevnias for the first child, 25,000 for the second and 30,000 and 40,000 for the third and fourth. 25,000 is about $5,000 dollars ( a real incentive in this country). I recently read in the New York Times that Europe, especially Eastern Europe, is losing its population and will soon have only old people.

We also spoke at length about schools and teaching in our respective countries. I was envious of her 20 students versus my 30 students per classroom until she informed me that this was not policy but the result of the declining population. I told her how difficult classroom control can be in an American intercity school, fully expecting her to boast about polite, eager-to-learn Ukrainian students. This is not the case at all; she shares many of my frustrations about discipline and lack of motivation. Maria also complained about the "windows" she had last year-periods during the day when she did not have a class. Since I have the same thing, "preps", and welcome them, I was surprised that she was unhappy. However, I, thanks to union negotiations, get paid for my free time while she gets salary only for the classes she teaches.

I originally planned this trip so I could have a leisurely few days in Lviv researching family records in the State Archives before visiting relatives. Many government agencies, however, close in August and I was out of luck. Maria kindly agreed to do the work for me in July and managed to find my great-great-great Wojtowicz grandparents! To go back further, however, I must write to the archives in Warsaw since the land belonged to Poland then. I left money with Maria to do so; I'm anxious to see how far back records were kept. I know our name means "son of the mayor" but which ancestor was the mayor and what was his father's name?

Maria also told me that my grandfather's brother Marco died in 1945 as a result of being beaten by the Soviets. The farmers had to give their occupiers food, animals, etc. Marco gave his share but the Hubici mayor lied and said he didn't. Every family, I discover as I talk with people, has these tragedies buried in its past.

Lviv has the possibility to be an exceptionally beautiful city. Almost all the buildings are Austro-Hungarian architecture and there are lovely parks everywhere. As Ukraine becomes more financially secure, money is being spent to paint and repair these treasures. There, however, is a lot of work still to do, especially with the streets and sidewalks.