Week Three

Dear Readers,

Dobriy den', from the Ukrainian Catholic University.

I am writing this update in the computer lab. I have my weekly meeting with Roxolana and Kimberly in just under an hour. This morning I went to my workshop, but it was a short day. On Fridays, we end at 1:00pm instead of the usual 3:30. There is a fellow here in the computer lab wearing a bright red Canada jacket. Really, it is just too obvious. I was just joking with Yuri's girlfriend (also an UKU student) about how foreign he is. Haha.

It is now day 21 of 90. I cannot believe how fast the time has gone. I can already tell that I am going to miss Lviv, my host family, my workshop, and all of the friends I have made. But, now to the important part of this entry.

This week, I attended three big celebrations. And so, I got a small taste of Ukrainian culture. On Sunday, I went to a Greek Catholic monastery for my host brother's cousin's priestly ordination. The Liturgy was held outdoors at the end of a major pilgrimage. There were thousands of people there! Things went pretty smoothly for the most part, but when communion time came around chaos ensued! Elderly Ukrainian ladies in church are really pushy, and really tough. You don't want to mess with them. The second and third big celebrations were both yesterday. That same priest celebrated his first Divine Liturgy yesterday in his hometown, and so it was again a major family affair. After the liturgy, there was a dinner which lasted over two hours. There was enough food to feed everyone five times! It was insane. It was a typical Ukrainian celebration. Plenty of speeches by family wishing the new priest all the best, plenty of singing Ukrainian folk hymns, and of course, at the end we sang 'Mnohaya lita'--'Many years'. They even got me to say something, and another one of the priests there served as translator. That, I didn't expect. I was a bit surprised, but I managed to say something, and I think the translator made sense of what I said.

The third big celebration was my host father's birthday. So after an afternoon of lots and lots of eating, I got to take a 1 hour car ride home and do it all over again! There actually wasn't as much eating. It wasn't a formal sit down meal. Instead, it was an informal back yard party with barbeque, badminton, music, alcohol, and dancing. It was something very similar to what may happen in Canada. My host father works at the Ukrainian Catholic University as a journalist, so he a had a bunch of co-workers over, and they brought with them their spouses and children. There were lots and lots of children.

Speaking of children, my nine year old host sister Hanusia is the cutest little girl. One of the things she does is walk a play stoller around with a doll. She feeds the doll, tucks the doll in at night. She changes the doll. She is already practicing to be a mommy. Now, her face just lit up like you wouldn't believe last night when she was able to push around a real stoller with a real baby inside. That was very cute.

As for more serious business, I went to an orphanage on Wednesday. My reaction to the whole experience is very mixed. On one hand, the building they are in is in good condition, the staff are devoted, and most importantly, the children all seem happy. They were all playing about like regular children. The sad part of it all of course is the fact that they are in an orphanage. Many of these children are the children of abusive alcoholic fathers. There is a really big problem in Ukraine of alcoholism, albeit moreso in Eastern Ukraine. The Soviet era did so much damage to the morale of the people, and at times alcoholism was encouraged. The result is that way too many people are addicted to alcohol, and then they abuse their wives/girlfriends and their children. There are bottles of wine you can purchase for about a dollar and a quarter, and you can buy a bottle of beer for 50 cents. So, you can imagine that it is dead easy to get very drunk without spending a whole lot. Of course, combine that with addiction, and you have disaster. I saw two people stumbling drunk in the middle of the road coming back from the priest's first liturgy yesterday.

Going back to the orphanage, one story in particular was especially heartbreaking. There is one little 6 year old girl there who's mother can not afford to raise her because she spent all of her money on a kidney operation she needed. That was in a way a real wake up call for me. That would never happen in Canada. But in Ukraine, things are very different. One can thank the corruption for that. I think the story of that little girl will be the source of one of my academic reflections. Speaking of which, I have to write that this weekend. I will not post it on facebook though. It serves to, among other things, help me with my final academic paper when I get back to Canada.

This weekend I will visit a 'Faith and Light' family. Faith and Light families are really mothers with disabled children who have been abandoned by their husbands because of the disabled child. Kimberley and I will visit one family every weekend. The family we have is a mother with a 25 year old son who cannot speak or walk. She lives in a beat up apartment (Krushchoki--will explain some other time) and she is really weak because she has had to carry her son into bed, out of bed, to the bathroom, etc... every day for the last 25 years. And her son is a full grown man. You can imagine how difficult it must be for one women to be able to do that every day. Our visits are really an attempt to give her any kind of support. We give her moral support by being there with her and her son. We also help out a little bit by taking her son for a walk around the park, or whatever. I'm not really sure what to expect when I go there tomorrow. I will report on that.

That is really it for now. My weekly check up meeting is in a few minutes, then afterward I will go to the Dzherelo Centre for theatre. Druzi from all workshops are preparing a little skit to perform publicly, and there is a session tonight. I haven't gone the last two weeks, so I think I should go tonight. It should be fun. The Druzi are really great, and the non-handicapped assistants are all really wonderful people.

Until next time,
Michael

P.S.: Do forgive any spelling or grammar errors. I wrote this in one sitting without editing it.

Ти хочеш їсти?

Dear Readers,

I am in the middle of week three, and I am starting to understand a bit of spoken Ukrainian, слава Богу! I am not anywhere near able to carry a conversation nevermind understand a conversation, but I can understand and formulate basic questions. For instance:

Ти хочеш їсти? - Do you want to eat?

Знаєш як йти на УКУ? (or something like that) - Do you know how to go to UCU (Ukrainian Catholic University)?---I was asked this today by the lady who runs the workshop where I volunteer. I had to go to the university for something.

Де ти живеш? - Where do you live?

I also know a bunch of other things, such as most of the colours, and numbers. Unfortunately my vocabulary is still extremely limited, so most of the time I haven't a clue what people are saying. But, when someone says something to me I think I can understand, I know to say: Не так швидко, будь ласка-Not so fast, please. Thankfully, I am picking up more and more as the days pass.

This afternoon I went to an orphanage here in Lviv. It was both delightful and heartbreaking. The children are wonderful, but their stories of course are tragic. I will write more about that on my weekly update on Friday.

Tomorrow is the feast of the Ascension of our Lord, so we get the day off! I'm glad, because I don't know how else I would have been able to get to church. I hope to do some more exploring downtown.

Папа (papa-an informal way to say 'goodbye'),
Michael

Week two is in the books

Dear Readers,

I have no finished my second week here in lviv. Right now it is 6:00 in the evening, and a thunderstorm has descended upon my neighbourhood of Riacne (Рясне). The last two days have been quite warm, and so the thunderstorm hasn't come as a great surprise.

This week I began my actual placement at the workshop after my Ukrainian lesson, although I ended up going only twice during the week. I went on Monday and Wednesday. On Tuesday, one of the druzi (друзі) hosted lunch in her apartment building ('druzi' is Ukrainian for 'friends': in l'Arche Ukraine, they call the core members 'friends') . Then, yesterday and today the druzi from my workshop were away for a weekend excursion to the Carpathian mountains. Yesterday after our Ukrainian lesson, Kimberly and I went to Vira's academy to visit her English class. The students, all of whom were women to my surprise, were shy to speak to us in their broken English, but their teacher urged them on. A few of them spoke up and asked us some questions, but everyone got a chance to hear two native English speakers speak English.

After my Ukrainian lesson this morning I attended the Divine Liturgy (Holy Mass) in the Ukrainian Catholic University chapel. Priests from the university serve the Divine Liturgy daily, which is a wonderful thing that I wish more students and staff took advantage of. Only 8 people attended the Liturgy this morning!

Then I decided to explore the downtown core of Lviv on my own! I had only been there with others thus far. It was a bit of an adventure. When I was on the streetcar, a lady came up to me and starting barking orders at me. Having not a clue what she was saying, I said 'I don't understand Ukrainian' to her in Ukrainian. That didn't help, because she just kept going, and seemed to grow more inpatient. It turns out she was checking to see if we had stamped our tickets. The lady who was with her gestured that to me, then I gladly showed her my stamped ticket. Only then did the first lady finally clue in that I actually don't understand Ukrainian. Some others in the streetcar had a chuckle, and I heard "Він не розуміє Український" (Vin ne rozumiye Ukrayins'kiy), which means "He does not understand Ukrainian." That I did understand! O well. It was a learning experience. If anyone comes up to you in a streetcar and starts barking orders at you, just show that person your stamped ticket and they should stop barking at you and go away.

At the actual workshops I already have had to do some conflict management, which was somewhat challenging given I do not know the language. After lunch on Wednesday there was a balloon volleyball game in the main room, and it got rather intense. Some of the druzi starting making fun of one of the other druzi because he wasn't as quick in reacting to the balloon. I tried to put an end to it, but my efforts were futile. Though, it wasn't long before one of the girls that volunteers there (who, by the way, is much louder than I am, and knows Ukrainian!) did a better job.

It has been a little difficult at the workshop simply because I can't really carry a conversation yet. I know a few phrases, and I know a few verbs, nouns, and adjectives, but I can't really put them together. But I am trying to learn more. I intend to study Ukrainian every evening and practice with my host sisters. I counted to 100 with Marta the other day! But if anything, this will help me be humble, which is a good thing! I must embrace this inability of mine.

I hope to be able to write more often, perhaps twice or three times a week, but I cannot make any promises.

Until next time,
Michael

Week One: Completed

Hey everyone,

It is hard to believe, but I have completed my first week here in Lviv. It has been one of the most amazing weeks of my life!

I am glad to say that I am finally over jetlag. The last few days were really tough because I was really tired and a little bit sick, but now I am over whatever I had and I feel great! I knew I was over jetlag this morning when I got off the marshutka and I wasn't completely exhausted. I actually was energized after being on that stupid thing for 45 minutes. And by the way, I took the marshutka from home to UKU and back all by myself today for the first time. It was a bit of an adventure, especially coming home, but I made it! It was especially adventurous coming home because I was one one of those marshutkas which is really just a large van, and it was absolutely jammed packed. I wouldn't be surprised if there were 25 or 30 people on the marshutka. In Canada, safety regulations probably wouldn't allow more than 14 or 15 on. The sardine can-like conditions wasn't the issue though, but instead it was the fact that I couldn't see out the front window, so I had no idea where I was going! Luckily, I know the landmarks so I could see where I was just by looking out the side windows. I have been here one week, and the only thing I haven't enjoyed is the public transit system, but hey, no one does. And it's a part of the cultural experience afterall!

I have now gone around to visit all four of the l'Arche workshops here in Lviv. Normally, l'Arche begins as a community of disabled persons and their assistants, and then only later do they start up workshops. Here in Lviv, things have worked the other way. They have not been able to start a community where people live together simply because they haven't found a suitable place to do so, but they have the workshops. The four workshops combined are considered one l'Arche community because they have the l'Arche spirit. It is only a matter of time before a suitable piece of land is found and the money is raised to start up a proper l'Arche community. On Monday I will start my placement at the Busy Bees workshop in the afternoon, after my Ukrainian lesson in the morning. Starting a week Monday I will volunteer at the Busy Bees workshop full time from 10:00-3:30--the hours the workshop is open.

Aside from visiting the l'Arche workshops, I visited a psychiatric hospital for children and the Dzherelo (Джерело) Centre (pronounce the dzh as 'j' in job and roll the 'r' and you will sort of pronounce it correctly). We (Kim, Roxolyana, and I--I will explain who these people are later) happened to get to the psychiatric hospital just as the children were having play time, so we got to spend some time playing with the children. After their initial curiosity, the boys invited us to play soccer with them. It reminded me of many a recess at elementary school. The girls were a bit more shy and stayed off at the swingset playing amongst themselves.

The Dzherelo Centre was really nice. Yesterday we visited the l'Arche workshop there, and then this morning we were back for a tour of the building. The Centre is a really a one-stop building for any kind of support one could want for disabled persons. As I said, there is a l'Arche workshop there. Also, there is a daycare centre for disabled toddlers, facilities for rehab for physically disabled persons of all ages, facilities to aid speech impediments...it goes on and on. This centre is funded entirely by private donations, most of which come from Ukrainian Canadians. Actually, just a few weeks ago Her Excellency the Governor General visited the Centre. There is a hallway lined with pictures from her visit. I smiled with great pride (the good kind) when I saw those photos.

The highlight of our trip to the Dzherelo Centre on Thursday was karaoke! The druzhi (core-members), assistants, Kim, and I all sang traditional Ukrainian folk songs. Well, Kim wasn't. She can't read Ukrainian as well. Anyway, that was a lot of fun. Afterward I was told that the assistants (volunteers, most of whom were university age girls) were all impressed by my Ukrainian reading ability. Hey, what can I say? Haha.

Now, I should give you a list of names just so you know who everyone is...

Kim - The other Intercordian in Lviv this summer. She is a student at the University of Western Ontario in London.
Roxolyana - Our main support person and the administrative assistant at the Emmaus Centre (the central office of all of this stuff). She is a first generation American of Ukrainian descent. Her parents were forced out of Ukraine during the communist era. She speaks both Ukrainian and English fluently, so she has been our translator.
Pan Petro - My host father.
Pani Natalka - My host mother.
Yuri - Host brother. Age 20.
Pavlo - Host brother. Age 18.
Halya - Host sister. Age 11.
Marta - Host sister. Age 11.
Hanousia - Host sister. Age 9.
Vera - Kim's host sister. Age 19.
Katya - Kim's other host sister. Age 14.

Vera actually turned 19 today. She will host a birthday party tomorrow evening at her house, and I will be there. Многая літа! Many years!

On Sunday, Pan Petro's step-brother will be ordained a priest, and I will be there at the ordination!! It will be my first Greek Catholic ordination. He will be ordained at his monastery about 30km away from here. Yes, he is a monk.

Do know that I have been thinking of all of you back home, and I miss you. And please pray for all of us Intercordians. There are some who are having a really hard time.

Until next time,
Michael

My first bus ride, and more!

Hey everyone,

I just came back from my first trip into the city centre of Lviv. I went with Pavlo, one of my host brothers. While we were there, we walked about some of the touristy type areas. We walked down some streets where there were different shops set up with all kinds of neat things.

I am surprised that the city wasn't as crowding being a Saturday afternoon, especially because the Lviv Days are being celebrated. The Lviv Days are celebrated yearly to commemorat the founding of Lviv, which was nearly 800 years ago.

I also got another sharp reminder that I am no longer in Canada. In order to get there, we had to take the bus into the city. That of course was no big deal. However, the public transit system in Lviv is, well it could be better. The publicly funded transit system isn't that great. So some brilliant person got the idea to start a business driving privately owned buses down the same routes to compensate for the lack of public transit. However, these aren't really buses. They are really just large vans you have to pay to get on. They only seat about 14 people and have a bit of standing room. Also, ceiling is low, so you have to crouch down whenever you stand. I realize I probably will never be able to sit down on one of these things because there will probably always be enough women to fill up the chairs, and it is seen as incredibly rude if a man does not give up his seat to a woman. Not, I am not at all complaining. Hey, they are dirt cheap to take. To ride a bus costs the equivalent of about 22 cents.

Another interesting thing I've noticed about Lviv is that the drivers are crazy! Well, at least compared to Toronto standards. People wave in an out of traffic at high speeds with no seat belt on. People cross streets without really looking. It all reminds me of, well, Montreal! Except people in Montreal talk funny. No really, western Ukrainians and English Canadians think alike. A man was driving along with his left tires on the sidewalk, and he honked at people to get out of the way. I immediately thought "He must be French." Then Pavlo said: "He must be Russian." Okay, I guess that I am not a very good sample by which one can judge all of English Canada, and Pavlo probably isn't the same by which one can judge western Ukrainians, but you get the point. I get the sense that Pavlo is very pro-Ukrainian. He's not anti-Russian, just really Ukrainian. By the way, he is 18, and just finished his first year at the Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv. His English is pretty good, so he has been my translator and person to talk to.

I wrote more about the buses and comparing Russians to French Canadians, and not as much about Lviv. That is because everything was so new and different, I cannot really express it all right here right now. Do not worry, as time goes on I will be able to fill you in with more things about the city.

And yes, I have begun taking photos.

Until next time,
Michael

Good evening, from Lviv!

Hey everyone,

Good news! I made it here to Lviv no problem. Both of my flights went off without a hitch, and we flew through customs. I got to my summer home here a few hours ago (it is now 7:00pm).

I am living with a family of 8! Mom, Dad, Grandma, two teenage boys, and three girls all under 10 or 11. I have met everyone so far except for my host father, but he won't be back until Monday. He is on retreat somewhere, I think.

I have had my first meal in Ukraine. Grandma made borshcht, saurkraut, and barley. And it was very good! I think I scored major brownie points when I led the grace by singing 'Christ is Risen' in Ukrainian.

The language issue hasn't been a huge huge deal so far. My two host brothers speak pretty decent English. But I will undergo formal language training for two weeks at the Ukrainian Catholic University starting on Monday. I go two hours a day for two weeks, then I work at the Faith and Light workshops full time. It should be exciting.

If my writing seems choppy and incoherent, it probably is because I haven't slept in 28 or 29 hours. I will definitely get a good night's sleep tonight!

Until next time,
Michael

Departure Day: Some Thoughts

So, today is the big day. Today I leave for what will be, pardon the cliche, the adventure of a lifetime. Today I will meet Kim who I will be working with this summer, and I will say goodbye to my family for three months. Then, at 6:20pm, my airplane takes off.

It is hard to believe that I leave today. As I sit here at my computer, I look around and everything is familiar to me. The window beside me to my right, the dog looking outside the door to my left, the cars going down the street, the airplanes flying over my head (remember, I live next to the airport). The sounds, the smells, they are all familiar. It will be a quite a shock when I get to Lviv tomorrow afternoon.

I am nervous, I am excited, but I am not worried. Faith is a wonderful thing. It allows you to look at everything in the light of the Eternal. I can see that God has put me in this situation for a reason ordained from all eternity. I don't know how things will unfold, but I do know that it will be for good; for my good, and for the good of others. So, I am not at all worried. I am nervous though because I don't know how things will unfold, and because I will have to learn a new language, a new culture, and a new way of life. I am excited however for these same reasons. I will get to spend three months in Ukraine: how exciting is that! I will get to learn a new language, a new culture, and a new way of life. It helps that I have many contacts in Ukraine which probably will make everything go a little bit smoother. This I can attribute only to providence.

Most other Intercordians have already left, and some of them have even posted on their blogs. They have landed safely and are getting settled in. This brings me great comfort. Hopefully in the next few days I will write my first entry from Ukraine with a similar report.

I have two hours left at home until I head off to the airport, so I should do some last minute preparations.

Thank you all who have supported me, whether you have prayed for me, supported me financially, wished me kind words, or all of the above and more. Everything means a lot to me.

Good-bye Canada, see you in August! Hello Ukraine! Добрий день Україна!

Until next time,
Michael