Easter egg painting party is creative way to share history, culture

Photo Credit: Jesse Ferguson at egg decorating event
by Liz Rentfro April 4, 2017

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln Russian Club paired with the Czech Komensky Club to celebrate the cultures of the two countries with an Easter egg painting party.

The room was filled with many excited members of both clubs getting to know each other, and the cultures each country shared through Easter eggs.

Alicia Amescua Ojeda, a senior history major at UNL, has been a part of the Russian Club since last fall and became entranced with the diverse culture of Russia.

“I’ve always been drawn to the country geographically and I like the folklore a lot,” Ojeda said. “We have done a sing-along of traditional Russian music, we have done traditional Russian valentines and we watched a Russian movie. We do pretty much everything you can think of as long as it is Russian.”

Olha Tytarenko, an assistant professor of practice of Russian, is the official advisor of the Russian Club. Tytarenko organizes an event for members of the club every two weeks, but calls the Easter egg painting party the “big event.”

“As you can see we have students from global studies, from the Russian program, from political science, from all over really,” Tytarenko said.

Tytarenko said she urges people from all over campus to take part in Russian Club and thinks it is a great way to get creative while learning about history and connecting with fellow students on campus.

“Students sometimes forget that they are creative and think they don’t have time for that. So it’s a really good excuse to use our Russian club to work on something that is enjoyable,” Tytarenko said. “I like the expression on their face when they are making something and thinking ‘Oh, I love this.’”

Other students from around campus who are not from the Russian or Czech clubs also came to test out their artistic ability and get a feel for what the two clubs have to offer.

Freshman Latin American studies and political science major Natalie Chavez came with a group of friends just to see what it would be like.

“I heard about it from a couple people and it sounded really interesting and fun,” Chavez said. “Everyone here has really nice attitudes and provides a welcoming positive environment.”

The room was filled with many students, teachers and kids who were painting unique and different Easter eggs.

Hana Waisserova teaches Czech language, culture and literature and Women Totalitarian Experience and is the leader of the Czech club, which paired with Tytarenko to make this possible. Waisserova was decorating a vibrant golden striped egg while she talked about her love for the Czech club and everything it has to offer, not only students at UNL but also the community.

“I am really proud to be a part of the Czech club, which is now celebrating it’s 110 year anniversary making this year really special for us,” Waisserova said. “We have had a couple of events and we are happy to join the Russian club for this art event.”

Waisserova runs the Czech department at UNL and thinks the club provides an outreach for the community on campus.

“There are so many students that have a Czech ancestry and we really try to connect with the community topics,” Waisserova said. “Its learning about the Czech culture while also embracing their ancestors and we provide an interesting way to do it.”

Story and photo from the Daily Nebraskan.