↩️ Alive and soon to be Lviving!

I really liked my six weeks in Ukraine last year. I met so many interesting people, had so many new experiences, and learned so much about other people and myself. Even the road trips by car awakened a zest for exploration. A return was always inevitable.

Yet, I doubted for a long time about returning to Lviv this summer. It's quite the undertaking. I'd also be missing out on birthdays and barbecues in the Netherlands. Moreover, I was struggling with existential questions of where I'd like to live and work in the future. It felt like my mind would be too scattered to enjoy Lviv fully, should I return.

On Friday the 13th, I chose to not go

But, as the ultimate cosmic joke, the universe decided to prove on that very day that "free will" is just for show.

Mere hours after my morning decision, a fellow co-student from last year asked me if I'd be returning this year — and they already expressed that they hoped so, before I could give an answer.

And yet another few hours later, I spoke to another close Ukrainian friend. She, too, was conspiring with the universe, and offered extra incentives for me to come to Lviv:

• She'd still be available for hanging out only this year, but next year would be basically impossible.
• She'd already promised friends and family I'd return this year. I'd make her look bad if I broke her word. (Note: last year, I actually promised to return as well, so by not returning I was indeed about to break words. Bad Wanno!)
• Some of her family is learning English so our communication doesn't rely on her translation services, my attempts at Ukrainian, and our collective hands and feet.
• Lviv has many good restaurants I haven't seen yet.

Fine. I’ll go back.

One shouldn't defy the universe, let alone Ukrainians.

So, I'm going back — and happily so! I'll spend five weeks in Lviv across June and July!

What will I be doing this year?

My Ukrainian language skills are probably still worse than my French. And my French makes French people switch to English. So, that gives you an idea of my level.

So, I will again enrol at the same language course as last year. Hopefully, by the end of this summer, I'll finally manage to read, listen, and speak Ukrainian media with some comfort.

Given I'm a repeat apprender, I'll probably not participate in all course events and excursions. I may instead dedicate more time to freely roaming the city, learning, hanging out with friends, and working remotely.

I probably won't blog as much as I did last year. Apart from my own new experiences, the second season of this blog may do more:

• linking and comparing experiences to the ones from last year
• sharing stories written by/with fellow students
• cataloguing resources for people who want to learn about Ukraine or the Ukrainian language