Блог переїхав / Blog moved

Мій блог тепер доступний за посиланням / My blog available at : 

www.lifetrippin.com

Estoniandiary. Day3. First rainbow in Estonia.

The day started quite early, as we had interview for the apartment. It went pretty well we think. So we are really looking forward to Sunday and signing of the agreement. Actually getting a proper apartment turned out to be really hard for us. And to our luck we found it via Facebook, offered by a cool guy and not some makler. So fingers crossed.

Roksana has a birthday today, but we didn’t celebrate it loud, as we left it for better times. Let’s say settled time.

And today, as we were about to go out, we saw our first rainbow in Tallinn. It was beautiful and a good sign we hope. Day is ending with watching Arsenals game. Go Gunners!

to be continued…

Estoniandiary. Day2. I see seaaa

Another day started with a heavy rain. But the excitement to explore the unseen horizons and places, after arrival to a new place is always hard to overcome. To our joy, we failed to do that, so we head out to see the surroundings.

While on a walk, I managed to open a bank account, which was quite easy and fast. You do not need to have any address registration or any other document, and it was for free. In two days I will receive my card. Thank you E-stonia.

Also today was our first meeting with an estate agent (“broker or makler” here). She turned to be a nice lady, who agreed to pick us up to give a ride to the place which she offered. She drives a black fancy Ford. Thus, anonymously with Roksana we decided that we want to be maklers too. But maybe someday later. The style of the apartment we saw was exactly perfect for a couple that would want to move in there maybe 30 years ago. As for the present time we decided we will be looking for our options, as it was also a bit far away from the city center, which made it less convenient for us. 

The thing, with which I was surprised during our first two days here, was the amount of Russian speakers. I think it went up, since my last time here. I honestly thought English would be spoken rather. If you refer to the people at any service, they would prefer to answer in Russian. No need to complain actually, as it will help us with our stay, however maybe ruin my plans to learn a bit of Estonian. Will be looking for language courses anyway.

Our walk took us a while, and we saw lots of nice places to enjoy calmness of Tallinn, to explore it secrets, feel the spirit of youth life and to make some great pics.

And the sea. We saw it today, made our greeting to it greatness and made a promise to come here very soon to cross it on our way to Scandinavia.

to be continued… 

Estoniandiary. Day1. The sweet beginning

I am finally here. I wanted to come here. I don't know why, but I felt that at some point of my life, I have to move to Estonia. Ideally with a purpose. After I found one, which also corresponds (actually a lot) with my academic interest, my move to Eesti was settled, and I just kept on waiting for my luggage to lend on the board of the bus for a trip to start. My girlfriend Roksana, accepted this #icemovechallenge with me.

The road was long. It took me a day. Day of sitting, waiting for arrival, staring in the window and thinking. Romantically thinking about nearest future, as well as realistically about some usual bureaucratic things everyone needs to settle whilst moving to a new place. Oh yes, and I still haven't agreed upon the flat where I suppose to stay. It turned to be kind difficult process, and even my optimistic approach towards everything was struck hard in the balls.

But getting back to being optimistic, I enjoyed seeing the same old views and streets again. But Tallinn changed since my last visit here. In my opinion, it became more fancier. And at the first glance, more scandinavically (there is such word right?) arrogantly beautiful. Oh yes, and lots of things are being repaired. Hope they will be ready until winter, so the transport will not be stuck and unreachable.

And the main factor to slightly influence daily life - weather. Summer is gone, winter is coming and it’s raining. Welcome to Estonia! Tere tulemast!

to be continued...

p.s. meanwhile I recommend to watch this video of Tallinn from the view of a bird drone (let’s not forget we are in e-country now).

Lifetrippin. Republic of Moldova

This is a story of my trip to Moldova and Eastern Romania. It took me 7 days to cover almost 1700 km with three means of transportation. The story will be split in three parts. First chapter is about Moldova. Starting point is city called Chernivtsi.

"- Good day, how can we get to Chisinau by train?

 - You can't. Good-bye"

The conversation was odd and happened to me and my girlfriend Roksana at the train station in Chernivtsi. The guy at the information desk, was clearly having a bad day, or maybe he was not a big fan of Moldova. Anyway, his manners were even more far away than Moldova is. Unable to receive much information from him, I went to another ticket window, where woman did or at least tried to give me some advices.

War in Ukraine. Malaysian plane hit by terrorists

Source:http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/separatists-admit-downing-a-civilian-plane-in-tapped-conversation-full-transcript-356545.html

Other language version of video:

http://www.sbu.gov.ua/sbu/control/en/publish/article?art_id=129043&cat_id=35317

Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777-200 flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was allegedly shot down by a group of Russian-backed Cossack militants near the village of Chornukhine, Luhansk Oblast, some 80 kilometers north-west of Donetsk, according to recordings of intercepted phone calls between Russian military intelligence officers and members of terrorist groups, released by the country’s security agency (SBU). 

Щоденник ERASMUS. Я знаю що я робитиму цього літа

Ну ось. Вчора врешті вислав останнє есе, з яким трішки затянув, бо мав інші справи на порядку денному. Другий семестр на програмі ERASMUS MUNDUS для мене офіційно завершився. Рівно місяць тому я виїжджав з Словаччини, щоб проголосувати на виборах та побути певний час в Львові. 

Які підсумки можна підбити? Навчальний рік безумовно можна занести собі в актив. Навчання не було занадто важким, часами було навіть нудно. Але фінансова сторона прогами у повному обсязі дозволяє це компенсувати - через участь у різноманітних конференціях, форумах, курсах та семінарах. Бо як я писав - керівництво і координатори програми Ерасмус Мундус це толерують. Тому треба цим користуватись.

9 obscure places in Western Ukraine, which are worth to visit

Everybody knows and usually visit the most famous cites. However there are lots of hidden beauties, pleasure from exploring which, will for sure bring more excitement, than from usual cites. Here is a short-list of 9 places worth visiting in Western Ukraine.

1.      Tunnel of love (Klevan, Rivne region)

This tunnel was formed by thickets of trees, bushes, which weaved together in the form of arch. Seeing this impressive green miracle at the very first time, it is hard to believe that it was created by mother-nature , not some landscaper or enthusiast. Local legend says,

Lifetrippin. "In the land of Lukashenka" pt.2

part one of my story here.

9th of May in Belarus is a special day. Victory Day over the fascists. It is celebrated with a huge military parade, together with a variety of events for young and old as a follow-up. One of our goals for this trip, was to see this parade, as it is quite an extraordinary experience. Unfortunately, in order to make it for the start, we had to leave Grodno at 5 in the morning, as the parade had to begin at 9 a.m. and to last only for 4 hours. We decided to skip this possibility, as it would influence our further plans. So around 11 a.m., we headed to the bus station, and were lucky to be offered a place to go in a private mini-van, for a cheaper price (120 000 Belarussian rubles), together with a possibility to arrive to Minsk a bit as faster. There were 5 passengers all together with us. The quality of the road was good, we drove quite fast, and again, the surroundings looked very clean and ...green. On our way we also noticed, so-called agro-villages, those specially focusing on the production of groceries. I think super-eco-natural as well. 

Lifetrippin. "In the land of Lukashenka" pt.1

Three days. It took me just three days, to finally, fully and forever realize one very easy point– „Don’t be a victim of someone’s opinion. Prove it by yourself “.

Belarus. Land which seemed always so close to me, yet somehow so far. For me, as an Ukrainian, living in Western Ukraine, it would take me around 4 hours to get to Belarus (distance is small, but road is awful, and I mean really awful). However, my road seemed always not on the right way. Only once I have travelled through Belarus whilst I was going to Estonia. Surprisingly, during that trip I have no memorable flashbacks stored, that is maybe due to the fact that the trip was quite tiring with lots of custom check-ups and so on. The fact that we don’t need visa there, and it would be relatively cheap trip as well as one full of surprises, seemed not persuading enough. „Lukashenko is watching everyone“, „You will get into trouble“, „What will You do there?“, „They have nothing but potatoes“, „It's communism out there“. These and many other popular stereotypes and media paradigms seem funny, yet again they can influence your attitude, thoughts and expectations. Cannot say, that it was totally in my case, but somehow I didn't go there. But finally, having found time and most importantly perfect traveler (Roksana), as well as purpose, I managed to make a short time acquaintance with this „last dictatorship in Europe“.

Travel tips. How to get from Banska Bystrica to Krakow?

Having spent lot of my time in Banska Bystrica and in Slovakia in general, and having travelled a lot to Poland and Krakow in particular, I might have some travelling tips for You. First one - the connection is really bad, if you don't have a car). Banska Bystrica, being, in the middle of the route between Krakow and Budapest, unfortunately now, is out of business. Some years ago, there was a Hungarian company which served this way via Banska, but now it’s gone, for some reasons. The company is called "Orange Ways". The good thing, is that it has buses from Budapest to Krakow, for a relatively cheap price (around 25 euros).

So...what possibilities do You have??

"Погляд не зблизька". Замість вступу

Вирішив започаткувати нову рубрику в рамках блогу. Вона буде присвячена моїм поглядам на різні соціальні інститути, проблеми та питання пов'язані з Україною. Одним словом про наболіле, і так як я це бачу і відчуваю. Також готовий до конструктивних коментарів, критики та підтримки. Думати - значить розвиватись. Часи важкі, та рухатись вперед треба..

Перебуваючи закордоном, як ніколи відчуваєш себе українцем, можна сказати справжнім патріотом, і дивишся на проблеми трохи з іншої перспективи. Можливо це наслідок того, що стаєш жертвою іншого медіа простору та швидше частинкою іншого суспільства (якщо звісно спілкуєшся не лише з українцями). Можливо це смуток за домом, і бажання змінити Україну, хоч би на трішки після побаченого і пережитого. Як змінити? Це вже інше питання...

Щоденник ERASMUS. Story continues..

Другий семестр мого перебування на програмі ERASMUS MUNDUS через події в Україні, почався не дуже весело. Важко було зосередитись на навчанні, важко було бути не там де я мав бути. Мені не залишалось нічого іншого як займатись онлайн активізмом, перебувати в так званій диванній сотні та активно поширювати інформацію про Україну в Словаччині, шляхом презентацій та банальним спілкуванням. Це мінімальне, що я міг зробити у своїй ситуації, залежності від навчального контракту. 

Я вернувся до Словаччини на початку січня. І одразу поринув у процес навчання. Роботи були багато, і на кілька фронтів. Але ось пройшло вже практично три місяці від початку семестру, і хочу підбити підсумки. Перша сесія вдалась на славу. Лише один екзамен, не на максимальну оцінку. Власне найважчий, і з якого я найбільше почерпнув за цей час. Просто викладачка дуже вимоглива, і саме її я обрав як свого координатора по написанню магістерської роботи.

Ukrainian man who went to Malta

Since the beginning of December I was really looking to my next trip, which would not only be quite an exotic(for me) place of my destination travel, but also a reunion with some old friends, as well as some work related issues to be solved.

Malta. Before coming here, the only thing I knew or heard, was the famous video "the Italian man who went to Malta". Some history facts also were somewhere in my mind, but nothing too interesting or special, I can distinguish. If you by any chance haven't seen the video, here it is:

Unexpected adventure or how to get (not) from Krakow to Banska Bystrica

This story had to be mainly about the cheap route of how to get from Krakow to Slovakia (and Banska Bystica in particular), but due to some difficulties it turned into my personal mini-adventure.

If you wonder how to get from Krakow to Slovakia, you might find different options. Direct bus to Banska Bystrica for 200 zl. (almost 50 euros), via connection trains(one of them might lead you even to the boarder of Czech Republic), via bus to Bratislava(service provided via Polskibus), via Katowice (depends on your timetable), Lysa Polana and Chocholow. 

Revolution in Ukraine. Protester speaking about how was he beaten up

One of the victims of Ukraine police forces, speaking about how was he beaten up

His speech in English:

I am from Lviv. Lviv region. What happened to me, is that I came to protest manifestation, at Grushevsky street. I knew that people would need help there. There is a conflict, between people and police.

When there was a clash, a flashbang grenade was thrown and I lost conscience. Next thing I remember - I am being taken by "Berkut" (special police forces) through its corridors. Everybody is hitting me with sticks, legs hands. I was trying to cover myself, shouted "enough!". They offended me, called me with bad words, and kept beating.

Then they passed me to Internal Forces. And told that "This is the one, who throw Cocktails (Molotov) to you". However, i didn't do that. Internal forces were more human, then "Berkut", but there were also ones eager to hit me. Later, they made me take off my clothes, and then say "I love Berkut". And then naked, let me go back to barricades.

I want to say, that I am standing here, all beaten up, with broken hands, swelled face. But nevertheless I will not give up, and will keep on standing. And what is I recommend to others as well.

translated and written down by me

Revolution in Ukraine. Special police forces humiliate two persons and seriously injure others

On January 19, the escalation point of Ukrainian peaceful protests was reached, as people, were not willing to hear more of demagogic talks of opposition leaders, after parliament passed illegal (in terms of voting procedure) and anti-human rights laws.

Groups of people moved from the Maidan place (the main square of Kyiv and Ukraine) towards the buildings of parliament, but were blocked by special military force called "Berkut"(eagles). After series of clashes and fights, protesters managed to make the "Berkut" move the so-called defense line back. 

Unlikely for themselves, two peaceful builders were sleeping in that district. The officers of "Berkut" have beaten them, shot them in point-blank range with rubber bullets and taken their clothes of. Afterwards they were released and made run towards the Maidan. There are they are taken care off by volunteers.

Moreover, during the last night party there are reportedly 17 seriously injured protesters in the closest hospitals. Three of them lost their eyes (as the result of Berkuts' shots) and one got his wrist amputated.

Journalists of independent media wearing "Press" signs and not taking part in protests, are also shot with rubber bullets on purpose, by snipers who were put by police.

These facts are neglected in all of the state owned channels, as well by those, who are in hands of oligarchs supporting ruling party.

Please share the information. Let the world now what is going on.

ELSA як частина мене

6 років. саме шість років тому я вступив в організацію ELSA. Тоді я не знав і не розумів, як вона вплине на мене в майбутньому. Тоді єдиною заманкою для мене стала міжнародна спрямованість організації та можливість "кудись" поїхати. Та вже після перших заходів я переконався, що вона може принести мені набагато більше. Вже на другому курсі я вперше "по-справжньому" поїхав закордон. І від тоді мене заразило подорожами та бажанням досліджувати. Копенгаген для початку - кращого і не побажаєш. Ще досі я вважаю, тиждень проведений в Данії, як один з найкращих в моєму житті. Після цього були інституційні візити, семінари і конференції. Що захід - тим більше я поринав у світ ELSA. 

Перший міжнародний з'їзд, на який я поїхав відбувався в Познані. Саме тоді було 30-річчя від заснування організації, і на цю круглу дату близько 500 людей з всієї Європи і не тільки, прибуло, щоб прийняти участь в урочистостях. В цьому ж році я відвідав Міжнародний з'їзд президентів, що відбувався в Естонії. Дуже гарно організований захід, дав мені змогу закохатись в цю Е-країну, академічні дослідження якої я й досі проводжу. Того ж року був проведений і Перший міжнародний семінар з медіації, який відкрив для мене низку ідей та перспектив. 2013 року відбувся вже Третій такий семінар, і приємну традицію його проведення планується продовжувати.

Це організація в якій пережив прекрасні миті, здобув друзів і цікаві знайомства, а також отримав шалений досвід. Були звісно і перешкоди, нерви, стреси, безсонні ночі. Та саме це робить тебе сильнішим і загартованішим. Мушу визнати, що інколи на ELSA'у витрачав більше часу ніж на навчання, але про це не жалію. Можливо десь я і отримав нижчу оцінку, але досвід який я здобув в результаті цього - набагато важливіший.

В 2012 я вирішив відійти від справ організації, адже почав працювати, а також шукати можливості поїхати закордон. Під час свого часу перебування та навчання в Вірменії, я тимчасово відійшов від справ ELSA. Та чим довше часу проходило, тим більше я скучав. Адже й далі отримував низку повідомлень на пошту, та й ледь не половина моїх новин в соціальних мережах це були повідомлення, що пов'язані з діяльністю організації. Та що й казати – безліч моїх друзів, теж ELSA!

В 2013 році я вернувся. Тепер вже в ролі члена міжнародної команди по експансії ELSA (ELSA International Expansion Team). Яка моя роль? Сприяти розширенню організації у кількісному, так і якісному показнику. І це явно не кінець сторінки ELSA в моєму житті. 

Яку історію, ви, розкожете друзям та наступним поколінням?

Якщо ви студент-юрист, чи навчаєтесь на спеціальності, яка приближена до правознавства і хочете бути частиною ELSA - не зволікайте. ELSA - це поїздки закордон, захоплюючі семінари та конференції, нові друзі, практика іноземної мови та ще ціла низка переваг, про які ви самі для себе дізнаєтесь згодом.

Якщо у вашому місті немає ELSA - звертайтесь -  elsaukraine.org

Відвідуйте сайт elsa.org та відкривайте для себе нові можливості!