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