“And once the storm is over, you won’t remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won’t even be sure, whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm, you won’t be the same person who walked in. That’s what this storm’s all about.”  – Murakami

When something comes to an end, we often struggle to find the meaning of what has just happened. Precisely, how we got into it, what was our motivation and expectations, which challenges we had to face and where they have led us. And most and foremost, how much pain and joy at the same time this experience has brought to our hearts and why.

So for me, this time spent in Ukraine was like getting pregnant without searching for it. It happened, and it meant to me a lot of struggle and acceptance. Of myself and the things I was not be able to change. Despite all of my efforts.

During this long journey, I have met on my way a bunch of diverse people. Sometimes extremely deep and thoughtful, sometimes completely crazy, sometimes rude and arrogant, sometimes cold and distant, sometimes simply lovely and caring.

And this is precisely what this journey has meant to me. People.

As all the persons we encounter on our life path do often represent a mirror, when we look into and discover more about ourselves. And I have seen myself in so many different ways through their eyes. I have realized my limitations. And starting from there, I have learnt how to rely on my strengths and appreciate my inner beauty.

Confronting with a foreign and extremely different culture, has been for me a precious gift and opportunity to reborn again. I have much more clear what are my goals, what I really like about people, what it is my purpose and how I can achieve it. I can say for sure I am not the same person who arrived at Sykhiv on a silent and freezing morning. In the middle of a winter storm.

And this is precisely what our journey and in particular my journey has been all about.

Marta.

BEYOND EYES

Sometimes on your life path you meet people that don’t care about anyone, other than who is making them feel confident. They seems to soften their heart only in specific situations, with specific people. They rather put out your light than find their own. They don’t see beyond their ability to judge who is trying all his efforts to be kind and compassionate.
At See Beyond I finally met some people who gave me the feelings of caring for Others. People who accept and are sincere with their own emotions and therefore can perceive and embrace others’ emotions.
I have always known that people who are not afraid of showing their weaknesses and their feelings are the stronger ones. And I got the confirmation of this during the Art Residence. I really needed to meet people who do not have masks, whose eyes are sincere and express their own world. People who reply to your kindness with other kindness; people who appreciate you and tell you about that.

I love to see beyond eyes. But this is possible only with certain people. Through performance, I understood that some people are “naked” in showing themselves, others have a mask of naivety which has no audience, other than their own kind. The curious thing is that this mask takes on a different colour according to the situation, the only thing that remains is the steady hand to hold the mask up.

At SEE BEYOND I took my shyness off and I enabled my soul to see beyond . Beyond my own world, beyond my guilts, beyond my insecurities. To see myself through other eyes.

I looked through others’ eyes and I discovered new worlds. I found out new words. I understood that everyone has a story to tell, but when you read it through the eyes it worth twice.

Photography: a new way of looking at reality

“A great photograph is a full expression of what one feels about what is being photographed in the deepest sense and is, thereby, a true expression of what one feels about life in its entirety”. Ansel Adams

Some weeks  ago Anna, our coordinator, came up with the idea of providing us with a Media Workshop.
A series of interactive meetings on photography techniques, videomaking strategies and composition basic skills. When I heard this, at first I was perplexed, I am sincere.
I like art and photography but I have never considered to be involved in a media course or develop my knowledge in this field. I have always admired  other friends of mine who are excellent photographers, but I have always lived this art at a certain distance. I have just replied yes to Anna’s proposal because one of the things I learnt in life is never say no to new opportunities.

Thus, I approached the workshop with some skepticism but I tried my best to put the teachings into practice. The first task was to go around our neighborhood in Sykhiv and take pictures of different patterns and elements. My perfectionist mindset helped me to not take the task as a game but take the photography strategies seriously.
The techniques our photography expert Piotr explained to us were clear to me at the end of the theory part and I didn’t wait a minute to take my mobile phone and experiment them.

           
At the end of the first meeting I found myself completely in love with this practice. I took 60 pictures of different things that looking back I would have never considered to take photographs of, before the workshop.  I learnt that beauty is in everyday life, in the small things, in stupid things that we often take for granted. I learnt that behind every photograph there are thousands of meanings. I understood that different perspectives are fine, that “what is normal for the spider is chaos for the fly”.

Photography is more than a picture. It is more than the representation of a single object, of a person, of a landscape. It is a state of mind, it is a story that tells life, it is a declaration of feelings. Photography is subjective and this makes it even more fascinating.
I have never liked objective things (maths, first of all!). I like that one object is explained in different ways, according to the viewer’s opinion. One element, thousands of meanings. One element, thousands of memories. It is like life, isn’t it?
Photography is the philosophy of life. How you perceive what is in front of you, it is just a feeling you have inside you.

Last week-end,  I had the opportunity to go to Kiev to visit my aunty from Ukraine, newest member of my big and crazy Italian family. Soon after starting our reunion with a delicious pizza, we went to the city center for a walk, making slowly our way under a quick and unexpected rain.

As soon as I reached the heart of the city, I have been conquered by the majesty and beauty of its buildings and churches. Rus-Byzantine ecclesiastical architecture, colorful frescoes and mosaics, baroque churches, terraced gardens, my eyes were flattered by the mixture of different cultures and styles. Moreover, in occasion of the day of Europe, government buildings were even more shining and flashy.

However, since the beginning, I noticed there was something unusual: big shops flaunting luxury and richness were almost empty inside, as well as government buildings, as they  were not opened to the public. In fact, as the guard said  “something was going on  between Brussels and local representatives of the Institutions and visits  were not allowed”.

What is more, my Ukrainian aunty seemed not to be aware of  the beauties of Kiev city center, as if she had been there only few times. Indeed, she asked me to let her know what I wanted to visit since she told me: “ I don’t know where else  to go, I come to the city center only to meet my daughter who lives at the university residence and to have lunch with her”. And again “ City center is only a very touristic place: only tourists and business men come here”.

In other words, there was a voice unheard behind the high rise apartments, government buildings  and  expensive shops. And it was the voice of all the people who could not access the beauty of Kiev city center: those  living in the outskirts of the city, those earning a low level salary to sustain all the expenses for a living, those who don’t participate in public life and those whose the monthly pension is the same price of an expensive hat.

This experience left me a bit sad, but even more willing to keep working towards a more sustainable and equal society, where wealth can be accessed by the majority of population and metaphorically, the city center can be opened to everybody.

A special birthday in the woods

A lot of people get really homesick around their birthday and I was one of them. I was thinking that this year I wouldn’t do anything particular during my special day, but at the end I was wrong.

My birthday was on Sunday, so I thought it was nice to organize a picnic in the park in order to enjoy the good weather and spend some nice time surrounded by nature. As always, weather is crazy and do not follow rules and that morning it was not so sunny as I expected. But I didn’t give up and I decided to challenge the clouds that appeared in the sky. After the picnic, my colleagues organized a very special barbecue in the woods, something that I have always dreamt of doing. We had some meat, vegetables and mojitos to cheer us up and they even brought a cake with candles!

I sincerely did not expect anthing of this! As I have just arrived 2 months ago I didn’t expect my flatmate and colleagues to arrange anything and I knew they had really busy schedules .
It was a big surprise for me to have the opportunity to spend my birthday with them and having a little party in such a special setting.

Spending the birthday away from home seems quite strange. It is strange but at the same time it is funny and emotional. It’s completely different and this makes it even more special.
From this experience I learnt that it does not matter how far you are from home, there’s always a way to celebrate your birthday with new “adventure mates” that make every effort to make you happy.
I understood that people make everything better. And above all, I understood that you are never alone.

Highlights of a perfect flat mate

Journeys are made by the people you travel with

People are an essential part in our EVS journey and we will never forget about them once back home. Today we want to give a brief portrait of Andriy:  our collegue, flatmate and lastly but no least, friend!! Well known for his amazing problem solving skills and his sweetness, he soon became a Handy Manny for us.  What’s the reason behind his nick-name? Whenever there is an emergency, he will be there in perfect time and conditions.

You get blocked inside your flat? Don’t worry Handy Andriy will come in less than one hour to rescue you!  Is there a fire In the kitchen? He will wake up in the middle of his morning dreams and give support to you! You don’t know what’s the gas code of your apartment? He will answer your phone call in one second! Is there a spider in the living room? He will take his yoga mat and throw it away!

But let’s skip now to his real life job. He is working in our NGO ( Society Initiatives Institute) as a project assistant, being in charge of several tasks… better said everything! For instance he is responsible for logistics of the main events taking place in Lviv and legal issues of our organization.

He is indeed a real handyman!

He is not afraid of experiencing new tasks and going out of his comfort zone. When it comes to speak in public, he  can’t wait to show off his excellent knowledge of the English language. And he is aware of his outstanding  capabilities, as he made it clear to us since the first day:  “my English is the best in the organization”.  

He is a fundamental part in our lives and he is making our EVS full of joy, enriching us with his positive vibes.