5 things I like and 5 things that puzzle me in Italy

Hello, my friends, and welcome to the new day of vlogmas!

Today I have a video about Italy for you. As you know, I'm living here since 2014 and in this time managed to adapt to Italian lifestyle quite well.

So here are 5 things that I absolutely love in Italy and 5 things that still puzzle me - even after all this time!

Enjoy and see you tomorrow for the new day of Vlogmas!

Ciao!

Projects From The Heart - Traditional Dress Fashion Show

Hey, beautiful people!

This past Friday I had a great opportunity - my wondeful friends, creators of Palermo based cultural association Flowerful Embrace, invited me to participate in a fashion show. And not just an ordinary fashion - the traditional dress fashion show.

It was the second time when they organised this type of a fashion show and both times it went great. I love the fact that it unites fashion, diversity and cultural richness and functiones as an amazing tool for social inclusion and cultural dialogue.

Travel time - Turin -> Milan -> Bergamo work trip

Hey, lovely people!

If you follow me on Instagram, you know that a few weeks ago I travelled to the North of Italy to conduct some interviews for my research. I've already visited Turin once (check out my blog posts about that trip here and here)  and also been to Milan multiple times (I love to write about my complicated relationships with this city so you can check my previous posts here), but have never been to Bergamo.

And even though I was mostly working and didn't have much time to just enjoy my trip, I still manage to squeeze in some fun activities - a cup of cappuccino at the cat cafe, a few nice walks and the visit to the Museum of Cinema (last time we did only the elevator to the top of Mole to enjoy the view).

So let's go!

I came to Turin on the warmest, sunniest and loveliest day and, walking through the city centre with my suitcase, thought how lucky I am to find such a lovely weather up in the North of Italy.


Check out my travel vlog over at my YouTube channel (and remember to subscribe and switch on notifications not to miss any future videos)

Continue to read and see some photos!

How to survive holidays away from home

Христос воскрес, my friends! Happy Easter! Buona Pasqua!

It's always been my favourite holiday for many, many reasons, and yet for the fifth time in a row I celebrate it far away from my family. This is one of the saddest consequences of any type of migration.

I almost never speak about it here - just because I chose to look at the bright sides and be optimistic. But yes, there are sad things about not living in your own country, even the county as praised as Italy.

For examples, not being able to celebrate your mum's birthday with her, or see your friend that just had her first child, or get the exact ingredients you need to make Ukrainian dumplings. Or not going home for holidays. 

2016 in pictures

Hey, guys! Happy New Year! 

One of my favourite New Year morning traditions (besides eating leftover salads with a spoon while watching old movies) is to look back at the past year. Yes, I usually don’t do it before midnight (maybe I just want to make sure that the old year actually retired and will not get offended?). 

My last year’s post you can find here – 2015 in pictures. 

So, here we go. Many things had happened in 2016, good and bad, it was quite kind to me personally. I got to travel much more than I ever did, I got great opportunities, I worked hard and I’m quite happy with myself. I also got very aware of some of my limitations and started my own personal self-education – mostly on the topics of self-love, self-respect, not putting myself down and not letting anyone else do it.

I’ve met many wonderful people and sadly parted ways with some others. So let’s look into it month by month. 

Merry Christmas #1!

Merry Christmas! Buon Natale! Щасливого Різдва! Счастливого Рождества!

* This post was supposed to go up yesterday, on a Christmas day, but I guess something went wrong and I didn't see it on time.

I absolutely love this time of year, doesn't matter which country I'm living in. And for the last three years, I really enjoy having two Christmases - Catholic and Orthodox. I always loved our Ukrainian Christmas - with all the beautiful traditions, foods and carol singers. Now I have a chance to enjoy also the Italian one - with Christmas parties, panettone, all the decorations (and all the shops closed for eternity).

My first year in Italy we celebrated Christmas in our volunteer company - we were supposed to leave right after the holidays (later I found out that I can stay for a bit) and we wanted to hang out together. It was a great evening, with homecooked Christmas dishes from out countries, Secret Santa, silly photos and the A/C working non-stop - our apartment was criminally cold.

Cardigan, sweater, skirt - H&M // Bag - Pieces // Boots - Trivict // Earrings - DIY

My second Christmas in Palermo was a quiet dinner for two in a friend's apartment, in the company of a very friendly cat.

My third Christmas here was very similar to the first one and, at the same time, very different. It was full of laughs, great foods, talks, music and unexpected gifts, because even when Secret Santa made a mistake and forgot about me (how could he? I'm unforgettable!), I still received two of the cutest and sweetest presents, and it meant the world to me.

So now I'm looking forward to many more lovely Christmases - in Palermo, in Italy, anywhere, basically. Just the two of us or in a company, that can become my family away from home. 

As long as I can wear a sweater on a sweater in December and not even be bothered by a jacket!

Merry Christmas, people! And see you soon! We still have New Years, Christmas #2 and Epifania to celebrate!

October in Milan

As you already know, in the middle of October I went to Milan for 4 days - for work (mostly meeting people for my research) and pleasure (seeing friends). But interestingly, those days, full of rain, cold, sun, blue skies, endless coffees and walks, meetings with my darling friends, broken umbrellas, aperitivos at Naviglie and panzerotti by Colonne di San Lorenzo, cozy mornings at the loveliest under-roof apartment and many other cool things, managed to surprise me in the best possible way. 

You might remember that I had to take quite a weird route to get there. Normally the trip from Palermo to Milan takes about 2 hours (even less, I guess) and doesn't cost that much (at the first glance, because later Ryanair makes you pay for it with your nerve cells by constantly trying to sell you sandwiches, lottery tickets, perfumes and handmade bracelets). But this time the tickets were kind of pricey and I had no choice but to buy a ticket to Paris (well, not Paris - Beauvais), wait there for 8,5 hours and then head to Milan.

You might tell me that it's ridiculous - to travel from an Italian city to another Italian city by going to France and coming back, and I will agree with you. But who wants to pay 70 euro more? It's the price of 24 aperitivo's in Palermo (or 10 sandwiches in Copenhagen).

So on a lovely October morning, me and my #horriblypinksuitcase (check my Instagram to have an idea, but I must warn you - it is horribly pink) went on an adventure. 

Saying goodbyes in November

Hey, guys!

I'm really sorry for my absence, but between having no internet, then cracking my laptop screen (in a very mysterious way), constantly freezing in my room and also trying to do my main job - the research - I was feeling a bit lost, disorganised and unmotivated to do anything else. 

Thankfully it didn't last that long, so now I'm back full of ideas, inspiration and more organized schedule, that hopefully will allow me to write more and better, So in the nearest future I'm planning to share some stories from my October trip to Milan, more posts about my life in Palermo and even some videos.

I'm also planning one more exciting thing for this month - I'm currently creating another blog, that will be focused on my work as a youth worker, human rights trainer, PhD researcher and an active citizen. It's still in the process of making, but I promise you - when it will go live, you will be the first ones to know.

These photos actually have a special meaning, They were taken on the rooftop of Hotel Ambasciatory in Palermo city center (actually it's in the same building that was my first home in Palermo 2,5 years ago), We went there for a cup of coffee (and a beautiful view of the city) on a lovely Saturday afternoon in November.