Tetiana-Tanya
Hi! My name is Tetiana Litvinenko, or simply Tanya, and I am a senior.
I was born in Kyiv, the capital of my beloved Ukraine, in the family of a career officer and a housewife.
It is said that it is a trend for our generation to look for the reasons of their problems in their parents. I try to avoid that, despite the fact that seemingly I have some causes to complain. I don’t think that relations between me and my parents could ever be described as kind-hearted. Probably because my dad was obsessed with his military career, and mother was obsessed with dad. That’s why they had little time and no patience for me. Instead I have got what is called “Soviet military education” with the brown officer’s belt, magically improving poor grades.
About the Soviet past of my country. There was at least one member of our family who happily escaped it. My mother’s uncle moved from the Western Ukraine to Toronto, Canada, and eventually he became a very successful entrepreneur. He wanted us to move across the ocean too, but my parents firmly decided to stay here. Before he passed away he convinced my father to send me abroad to further my education, and even allocated funds for that.
Although not a perfect student, I was hoping to attend one of the best colleges in Kyiv, but my father hadn’t forgot my uncle’s idée fixe to send me abroad. That’s why they were so strict about my grades for English and German. And, honestly, I was shocked to discover that my destination should be Switzerland and in particular O&P. Its old fashioned education must have pleased my father!
The moment I got the O&P rules book, it put everything inside me upside down. For some reason I didn’t link my nearest future with old style uniforms, strict discipline and strange rules.
Anyway I adore fine art. It is my little pride that I learned to paint well on my own. And now the opportunity to attend Geneva’s galleries, as part of an educational program, and to see Monet works or Renaissance masterpieces, already makes me happy!
I will be missing the beauty of my Ukraine, our rivers and steppes, our incredible Carpathian mountains where we have a big house in the forest, but with Switzerland I will be enjoying the beauty of the Alps and numerous lakes.
I am concerned about my less than perfect English, and my hatred of math and science subjects. Which I feel is normal for a girl that prefers paintbrushes and main roles in a school theater. But henceforth I will try to improve myself. And I hope that in the future I may be useful for Ukraine.
Tanya
