I lived in Ukraine from 2017 to 2018. I posted on my blog about training with professional dance ensembles, the Ukrainian lifestyle, and places I visited. My one year in Ukraine has provided me with a lifetime of stories — and then some.
Since returning to Canada, I continue to post on my blog about my experience in Ukraine and about the Ukrainian diaspora in Canada. Feel free to sign up for my newsletter to get the posts straight to your inbox.
In Ukraine, there are levels to curse words. And if you utter one of the top-level ones, even the most vulgar person will stare at you in disbelief. Many of these swears come from the Russian language — Ukrainian curses are truly curses: May you be kicked by a duck. May hair grow on your tongue.
Read MoreLately, Ukraine has been in the headlines every day in the Western world, many of the stories focusing on Donald Trump’s impeachment hearings, and others reporting from the front lines in Ukraine. If you’re looking for a bit more insight into Ukraine, here are some podcasts to help get you started.
Read MoreThe Google rabbit hole is one of my favourite places.
A few months back, I was looking for information about the lizhnyk, a traditional wool blanket from the Hutsulshchyna region of Ukraine. In January 2018, I was in Yavoriv, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast and visited the home of a craftswoman who makes these blankets, and though I took some notes, I still wanted more info (and also was probably procrastinating doing something).
So I searched around online a bit, and I came across an article with video and photos on a website called Ukraïner. After learning more about the lizhnyk, I dove deeper into Ukrainer’s site—I was hooked. And you will be too.
Read MoreOne year ago I flew from Ukraine to Canada. I purposely don’t say “flew home” because I don’t necessarily see Canada as my home. Well, it is one of my homes — it’s just not the only one, and saying “I flew home” implies that Ukraine wasn’t my home, which it most certainly was.
When I moved to Ukraine, I’d get these flashes of feelings from Canada, the most common instigator being when I saw someone in Ukraine who looked like a Canadian friend.
Maybe I was still adjusting to being so far from what I had known as home for all my life, and so I was looking for something to bring me comfort. This lasted a month, maybe two. And before you knew it, I would see Ukrainians who looked like other Ukrainians I had met in the city before.
Read MoreDance festival season is upon us.
It’s a time of year that has dancers practising their combos under their desks at school, costume coordinators working day in and day out making their volunteer position feel more like a full-time job, and instructors and choreographers feeling excited and nervous and stressed and proud and tired and energized — just so many feelings.
Read MoreIf Poltava were an animal, it would be an alligator.
On our drive to the city, Kyrylo from Cobblestone Freeway Tours told us a story as a way to prepare us for our next home.
I don't remember the entire story word for word, so let me tell you my own version.
There was this guy. He was from a village. Not many people left this village. But he did. He went on an African safari where he spotted countless new sights. When he returned home to his village, he told his friends about what he saw.
Read MoreSince October, I've been writing for What's On Kyiv, an English magazine about Ukraine based in Kyiv. Since this was only my second time in Ukraine, the idea for my WO column was to give a Canadian's take on the Ukrainian lifestyle.
Click the headlines in the post to read the full stories.
Read MoreTo give you a sense of the vibe of Lutsk, let me tell you a story.
My friends and I caught a bus to go to a dance class (where I became a master of krump) led by one of the dancers of the Волинський народний хор, where I trained for two months. The artistic director of the Volyn ensemble, Valeriy Smyrnov, was on the bus with his wife, Myroslava. We were all heading to the same place, School #25 for rehearsal with the group Джерельце, where they both teach as well.
At one point along the way, an older woman got on the bus. She moved slowly, using a cane. Like most people in this country, she was dressed in what as a Canadian I would call "Sunday best", but as someone who's lived in Ukraine for nine months would call "everyday wear". Valeriy got up so she could sit down, (actually he had Natalya, who was sitting in a chair on its own, sit by Myroslava so the older woman had a more accessible seat).
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