Nika's brother and his wife (Vadik and Mariuka) visited us in Lviv this weekend! It was so wonderful for Nika to see her brother and reconnect with him, as well as meet his wife. It was Rob's first time meeting Nika's brother and his wife, and we all enjoyed our time together.
We had a great time exploring the city all weekend. Vadik and Mariuka have visited Lviv multiple times and showed us many things we have not seen yet. It was great to have them as tour guides! We are very thankful to them for that. There was a Coffee Festival in Lviv this weekend, and we looked through some booths that were set up and had coffee with ice-cream in it.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Friday, September 24, 2010
Nika's brother is visiting!!!
Here we are at another wonderful weekend in Lviv. Nika's brother (Vadik) and his wife (Mariuka) are visiting this weekend from Kiev. We are going to enjoy the city and Annual Coffee Festival (see www.coffeefest.lviv.ua). Pictures to come!
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Weekend in Lviv
We had a great weekend, enjoying many things Lviv has to offer. On Saturday, we went to a Book Fair that is a 3-day event and included multiple publishers and thousands of visitors. It was quite an event! You can see a quick video of it below. Nika was able to buy New Testament in the Ukrainian language.
On Sunday, we greatly enjoyed the ballet, "Swan Lake", at Lviv's Opera House (enjoy the pictures below). The performance was breathtaking as was the Opera House itself. We will be going back for more. We are planning to see an opera there this Thursday. Lviv has a very active cultural life, and the Opera House offers multiple performances each month.
After the ballet, we enjoyed some delicious cake at a cafe called "Veronika." It was quite a treat! And in the late afternoon we attended an English-speaking church service held in a beautiful church (pictures to come later). It was a restful refreshing weekend.
Lviv's Opera House
Swan Lake
Veronika Cafe
Lviv Book Fair
On Sunday, we greatly enjoyed the ballet, "Swan Lake", at Lviv's Opera House (enjoy the pictures below). The performance was breathtaking as was the Opera House itself. We will be going back for more. We are planning to see an opera there this Thursday. Lviv has a very active cultural life, and the Opera House offers multiple performances each month.
After the ballet, we enjoyed some delicious cake at a cafe called "Veronika." It was quite a treat! And in the late afternoon we attended an English-speaking church service held in a beautiful church (pictures to come later). It was a restful refreshing weekend.
Lviv's Opera House
Swan Lake
Veronika Cafe
Lviv Book Fair
Thursday, September 16, 2010
A Day in the Life
Rob’s sister wrote with a number of questions the other day, and it made us think that perhaps it would be helpful to give a general outline of a “day in the life” for us here in Lviv.
Usually we’re up by 7am and ready to leave for work by 8. This varies depending on teaching and meeting schedules, but it’s usually the case.
Breakfast is rather basic. For Rob it consists of cereal with milk (although the cereals and milk available here in Ukraine are different and not as varied as those in the US) and a small cup of orange juice (again, not quite what he’s used to in the US.) For Nika breakfast is usually oatmeal with tea and honey. Then it’s a short 5-10 minute walk up to the university.
Once at the university, our schedules vary day-by-day. Rob teaches Monday (afternoon), Wednesday (morning and afternoon), and Friday (morning). The rest of his time is spent either preparing or in various meetings. Nika teaches on Tuesday (morning), and has regular planning meetings throughout the week for the new psychology program that will begin in November.
The university has a daily worship service (liturgy) at 11:30am. We have not gone to it as of yet. We did go to a special liturgy on Sept. 14 for the start of the new liturgical and academic year. The music and ceremony are beautiful, but because it’s all in chanted Ukrainian and follows the Eastern Rite (rather than the Western) it is difficult to follow. We heard recently that there will be an English liturgy on Thursdays, so we may try to attend that.
When it comes to lunch, we haven’t developed any consistency in terms of time or location. We’ve eaten a couple times at the stolova (cafeteria) – both at the old building and the new. The food at the stolova is good and relatively inexpensive (although it’s always cheaper to bring your own.) We also have brought cheese sandwiches and fruit from home to eat in our offices.
On Wednesday afternoons, Rob teaches down at the new campus, so he rides the university marshutka (van) down there. There is a giant outdoor market right across the street from the new campus, so we may take advantage of his Wednesday trip to stock up on fresh vegetables and other staples.
After work, we stop by a small produkty (grocery store) that is on our walk home to buy our daily 5 liter bottle of water (we use it for cooking and drinking). We then run home quick to change and drop off our briefcases, and then we head down to the small bazaar (outdoor market) that’s about 10 minutes from our apartment to buy our daily supply of fresh produce (usually tomatoes, cucumbers, apples, and bananas). On our way back from the bazaar we stop by some other small produkty and apteka (pharmacies) for whatever else we need (bread, milk, cereal, grains, etc.) We have to bring our own shopping bags with us, and whatever we buy, we have to carry back up the hill home. We’re trying to get better about only needing to make this trip every other day, but right now (while we’re still getting settled) we keep thinking of other things we need.
After the market run, we head home to cook supper and wash dishes. Dinner usually consists of some sort of grain (rice, buckwheat, etc.) or eggs with vegetables, a tomato/cucumber salad, and bread. Once done with all that, usually around 7-7:30pm, we settle in for the night to either do work, Skype with family and friends, or just relax.
On those days when we’re able to get away from work early, we have been able to do some exploring around the city: we discovered the beautiful park near us, and we also went to find a market/mall (about a ½ hour walk each way) to buy some supplies for our house.
Some of the other questions Rob’s sister asked were: Are you settling in? Is the language barrier tough?
As to settling in, yes we are. Now that we’re almost through our second full week in Ukraine, we feel like we are figuring things out (which stores have the freshest bread/produce, where can we get the best deals, etc.) Because Rob doesn’t speak the language well, Nika is the one who handles all the business transactions (especially at the market!) Rob keeps his mouth shut so that the merchants won’t know he’s a foreigner (they would charge us more).
Getting internet access was not only helpful in making us feel more settled, it also was a major boost to our confidence that we can get things done here in Ukraine. It took many phone calls and a lot of running around to make it happen, but we were able to figure it all out (thanks to Nika!)
The language barrier is tough for both of us, but obviously more so for Rob. In the region where Nika grew up, they spoke a mixed dialect of Ukrainian and Russian. In Lviv, however, they speak pure Ukrainian, so it’s a bit challenging, but Nika is doing a great job! Rob is finding the barrier a bit of a handicap, but he is practicing words and, once we have all our shopping routine figured out, he will be able to run those errands on his own.
Hopefully this summary gives you a good idea of what day-to-day life is like for us here in Lviv. If you have other questions, let us know.
And as always, thanks for your comments, emails, and especially your prayers.
- Rob & Nika
Usually we’re up by 7am and ready to leave for work by 8. This varies depending on teaching and meeting schedules, but it’s usually the case.
Breakfast is rather basic. For Rob it consists of cereal with milk (although the cereals and milk available here in Ukraine are different and not as varied as those in the US) and a small cup of orange juice (again, not quite what he’s used to in the US.) For Nika breakfast is usually oatmeal with tea and honey. Then it’s a short 5-10 minute walk up to the university.
Once at the university, our schedules vary day-by-day. Rob teaches Monday (afternoon), Wednesday (morning and afternoon), and Friday (morning). The rest of his time is spent either preparing or in various meetings. Nika teaches on Tuesday (morning), and has regular planning meetings throughout the week for the new psychology program that will begin in November.
The university has a daily worship service (liturgy) at 11:30am. We have not gone to it as of yet. We did go to a special liturgy on Sept. 14 for the start of the new liturgical and academic year. The music and ceremony are beautiful, but because it’s all in chanted Ukrainian and follows the Eastern Rite (rather than the Western) it is difficult to follow. We heard recently that there will be an English liturgy on Thursdays, so we may try to attend that.
When it comes to lunch, we haven’t developed any consistency in terms of time or location. We’ve eaten a couple times at the stolova (cafeteria) – both at the old building and the new. The food at the stolova is good and relatively inexpensive (although it’s always cheaper to bring your own.) We also have brought cheese sandwiches and fruit from home to eat in our offices.
On Wednesday afternoons, Rob teaches down at the new campus, so he rides the university marshutka (van) down there. There is a giant outdoor market right across the street from the new campus, so we may take advantage of his Wednesday trip to stock up on fresh vegetables and other staples.
After work, we stop by a small produkty (grocery store) that is on our walk home to buy our daily 5 liter bottle of water (we use it for cooking and drinking). We then run home quick to change and drop off our briefcases, and then we head down to the small bazaar (outdoor market) that’s about 10 minutes from our apartment to buy our daily supply of fresh produce (usually tomatoes, cucumbers, apples, and bananas). On our way back from the bazaar we stop by some other small produkty and apteka (pharmacies) for whatever else we need (bread, milk, cereal, grains, etc.) We have to bring our own shopping bags with us, and whatever we buy, we have to carry back up the hill home. We’re trying to get better about only needing to make this trip every other day, but right now (while we’re still getting settled) we keep thinking of other things we need.
After the market run, we head home to cook supper and wash dishes. Dinner usually consists of some sort of grain (rice, buckwheat, etc.) or eggs with vegetables, a tomato/cucumber salad, and bread. Once done with all that, usually around 7-7:30pm, we settle in for the night to either do work, Skype with family and friends, or just relax.
On those days when we’re able to get away from work early, we have been able to do some exploring around the city: we discovered the beautiful park near us, and we also went to find a market/mall (about a ½ hour walk each way) to buy some supplies for our house.
Some of the other questions Rob’s sister asked were: Are you settling in? Is the language barrier tough?
As to settling in, yes we are. Now that we’re almost through our second full week in Ukraine, we feel like we are figuring things out (which stores have the freshest bread/produce, where can we get the best deals, etc.) Because Rob doesn’t speak the language well, Nika is the one who handles all the business transactions (especially at the market!) Rob keeps his mouth shut so that the merchants won’t know he’s a foreigner (they would charge us more).
Getting internet access was not only helpful in making us feel more settled, it also was a major boost to our confidence that we can get things done here in Ukraine. It took many phone calls and a lot of running around to make it happen, but we were able to figure it all out (thanks to Nika!)
The language barrier is tough for both of us, but obviously more so for Rob. In the region where Nika grew up, they spoke a mixed dialect of Ukrainian and Russian. In Lviv, however, they speak pure Ukrainian, so it’s a bit challenging, but Nika is doing a great job! Rob is finding the barrier a bit of a handicap, but he is practicing words and, once we have all our shopping routine figured out, he will be able to run those errands on his own.
Hopefully this summary gives you a good idea of what day-to-day life is like for us here in Lviv. If you have other questions, let us know.
And as always, thanks for your comments, emails, and especially your prayers.
- Rob & Nika
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Some Odds & Ends
Street Musicians in Lviv
Gypsy Children in Uzhgorod
We found this outside our apartment: O-H-I-O! Go Buckeyes!!!
Gypsy Children in Uzhgorod
We found this outside our apartment: O-H-I-O! Go Buckeyes!!!
Monday, September 13, 2010
Thursday, September 9, 2010
This Week ...
We had our first week of classes this week. They went well, and we're starting to find our stride at the University.
We discovered an absolutely fantastic park just a short walk from us! It's called Stryjski Park, and it was built in 1895. It was truly a magical experience -- we felt transported back in time.
This weekend we're going to be heading to Uzhhorod (Nika's hometown). It will be the first time Rob has met her dad, aunt & uncle, and grandma! It will also be his first experience at a true Ukrainian sauna! Pictures to follow ....
Monday, September 6, 2010
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Saturday
We had our orientation meetings yesterday afternoon. Rob met with the faculty of the Center for Foreign Languages (e.g. the English Dept); he will be teaching two general English courses (1st and 3rd year students), an advanced course for university faculty and staff, and perhaps one more elective class in the theology department. After that, we both met with the vice-rector and got a brief tour of the university. Finally, Nika met with the head of her psychology department, while Rob met with the head of the ecumenical department. Nika will be teaching a course on the history of psychology this term. Rob may give a brief presentation during Ecumenical Week in October, and teach a class on ecumenical theology in the future.
We're getting settled into life here in Lviv. Our apartment is much more than we hoped for -- walking distance to the university, shopping, nearby parks, as well as downtown.
Today we are going to do some work here at the university in the morning, and then go downtown to see the sites this afternoon.
We're hoping to have internet at home sometime next week, so we'll be better able to update the blog and respond to email then.
In the meantime, we appreciate everyone who's written us offering their prayers. It means so much!
We're getting settled into life here in Lviv. Our apartment is much more than we hoped for -- walking distance to the university, shopping, nearby parks, as well as downtown.
Today we are going to do some work here at the university in the morning, and then go downtown to see the sites this afternoon.
We're hoping to have internet at home sometime next week, so we'll be better able to update the blog and respond to email then.
In the meantime, we appreciate everyone who's written us offering their prayers. It means so much!
Friday, September 3, 2010
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