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!

Brussels Diaries: The Feel of A City

When you move to a new place, even for a few months, at first you feel like an overly excited tourist.

You walk around with your camera, trying our local foods (in case of Belgium - also local beers) and just look at the world through rosy shades of a city neophyte.

Then you might get into a little bit of a funk. When you already saw all the sights, learned the necessary metro stations and got into a routine, you hit that part of adaptation, when you are neither here nor there - not a tourist anymore, but still not a local.

Until THAT day comes. (Please, read also The sense of HOME)

The day when you suddenly feel like you belong, for the first time.

The day when everything around you feels very nice and familiar, like the city accepted you finally.

One-day trips around Sicily: Castellammare del Golfo

Hello, amazing people!

I know, it's been a very long time, but extreme temperatures are my strongest creative kryptonites, and we've been experiencing some pretty hot days here lately. If you also add a lot of stress from organising something very cool (I will have a life update very soon) and Sicily's general tendency to play dead every August... It was very difficult to get concentrated on anything other than ice water.

Last year I had a post about Castelammare del Golfo, but as I like to go there as much as possible, this summer I decided to reinforce my recommendations also by making a short video about it. 

Please, remember to like, share and subscribe, and you will never miss a new video!

Editing this video was a real struggle - I've made it, it disappeared, I started making it again, then noticed that some footage disappeared... But! In the heart of any problem lies an opportunity, so I decided to use all this situation to teach myself some lessons.

I hope you will like the video! Enjoy and see you around!

Video - Speaking 4,5 languages

Hello, my amazing people!

Today I have a video for you. It's a sort of a language challenge I've seen on Youtube for some time now.

I'm just speaking the languages I can speak and explain to you how and why I've learned them.

1. Ukrainian - my mother tongue

2. Russian - my second language (or one of two first, because I'm bilingual)

3. English - obligatory in Ukrainian schools and highly addictive, haha

4. Italian - because it's impossible to live in Sicily without speaking Italian (unless you want to pay 15 euro for something that costs 1.50)

So if you are interested, click through and watch. And please, like and subscribe, if you enjoy my content. This way you will not miss new videos. 

Have a great day and see you around!

One-day trips around Sicily: Villa Cattolica in Bagheria

Hello, beautiful souls!

Today I want to suggest one more cool destinations you can visit in one day if you ever find yourself in Sicily and in need of some paintings, photographs, vintage movie posters and killer tiles. Seriously, #tilesgoals.

Coat - Sisley | Sweater - H&M | Jeans - Zara | Boots - Bata | Bag - Pieces via Asos

So yes, if you are in Sicily, you have a free day and want all of those things, you need to visit the museum at villa Cattolica in Bagheria.

But first, chack out my video on YouTube (and remember to subscribe) and read till the end of the post to know some of my suggestions and tips. 

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. 

Three years later

Three years ago, after a lot of thought, the revolutionary winter and one of many Lufthansa strikes, I finally managed to land in Palermo. 

It was Sunday, April 6. I remember wearing a denim shirt with leather collar, searching for my suitcase for ages, missing the bus to the city and waiting for half an hour in the rays of the warmest Sicilian sun. Oddly enough I didn't have any specific expectations or worries.

It was the beginning of a new adventure, but not more than that. 

 

I had quite specific plans for when I will come back to Kyiv, that included photography, politics, and going back to Thailand for a few months to work on my book. Sicily was one of the great steps on the way to mindful and enjoyable life, but I never planned to stay here more than for 9 months of my EVS project.

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. 

#45daysofblogging 41: the magic of chocolate

Day 41 - September 27

This post in going to be a chatty one again.

Yesterday we celebrated two special occasions - I finally finished everything regarding our Human Library project and my friend Anna finished performing in Madame Butterfly. 

So what is the best way to celebrate something? To bake a cake, of course. So that's what we did. She came over to my apartment, we put that famous brownie from 45daysofblogging - day 6 in the oven and just chatted on the kitchen until it was ready. Then one more friend came over and we spend the whole evening on my balcony - speaking, eating brownie and just enjoying our own company.

It was a perfect evening - it didn't take any effort or even preparation (this brownie cooks itself), but it was much more enjoyable and comforting than any big party would be. 

And once again I thought about simple joys of life... Since I first moved to Palermo, I've noticed that I forgot about my typical weekend program I tend to follow in Kyiv (normally sleeping, eating, watching TV-show and then sleeping again). In Palermo I started respecting my evenings, weekends and free mornings so much more - I always try to take the most out of them and spend more time with the people I love. And something as easy as a bar of chocolate turned into a brownie can be a great reason to see your friends and have a nice simple evening together. 

This is the magic of chocolate. Of a cup of coffee and a cornetto on a balcony on sunny weekend morning. Of cooking and eating together. Of being a tourist for a day in your own city - take a guide tour, enter the places you never had time to visit, send a postcard to your distant friends. To go out for lunch and take a walk in the sun afterwards. Invite your friends for a movie night. Make a crepe party and ask people to bring they favorite condiments. 

Just be creative and open to new ideas. Spend time with friends and loved ones. Make surprises. Take opportunities. Catch any interesting experience. Travel to the next city. And just enjoy!

See you.

#45daysofblogging 32: becoming Italian?

Day 32 - September 18

Once upon a time I was thinking that I was born Ukrainian and will always stay Ukrainian. Which would've made sense, if I stayed in Ukraine and didn't decide to live abroad. Which, as you know, I did, and it really changed me in so many senses.

My first living abroad experience was, as you know, it Thailand. Did I become Thai in six months? Of course not. But after that I wasn't 100% Ukrainian anymore, because I really loved the culture and left a piece of my heart there. It may sound ridiculous to someone, but I really felt how much I've changed because of this experience. 

Then I came to Italy. It was 2,5 years ago, during which I've done many cool things, learned a new language, got a lot of new friends, finished my volunteering, went home, came back to Palermo and started a completely different part of my life. 

What actually made me reflect on the ways Italy changed me was a simple Facebook memory. I came to Italy on April 6th 2014. And this year Facebook showed me a photo that one of my fellow volunteers took during one of our first week in Palermo. I shared it and one of my Ukrainian friends (that also lives here, in Palermo) wrote a comment: "Awwww, you still look so Ukrainian on that photo". 

I looked and it and suddenly saw what she saw. I really do look "still Ukrainian" on that photo. And I cannot even explain why - I still have the same clothes pieces and I still wear them. So it's not the question of clothes. It's something different. 

So did my two years in Italy made me Italian?

Of course not. I will always be a foreigner here (and mind you - an Eastern European foreigner). But I see so much Italian in me now that I'm sure I'm not fully Ukrainian anymore. I love my country with all my heart, but I live in Italy now and for the foreseeable future, and I know I get a lot more local.

It goes way beyond making coffee in a caffetiera every morning or buying Kiko make-up. And it's inevitable. I'm okay with this, even thought on some level it scares me. When I got home after my EVS I already felt a bit like a foreigner in my own country. And I know this feeling will only become stronger. So feeling foreigner in two countries you love is quite unsettling. But also kind of liberating, if you think of it. 

Let's wait and see, I guess. Life is a very funny thing if it brought me where I am today.

See you!