à la Suisse

Mental health. This is something I have been meaning to write about. It is a topic near and dear to me and one of utmost importance to us human beans.

A few weeks ago I was at a really great presentation at UBC on mental health. Although it is a topic that I have actively engaged myself with for a significant part of my life, there is still so much I am still learning every day about it. We were presented with a diagram at this presentation that I thought was really great and wanted to share:

I really liked this because I thought it gave a great perspective on the difference between mental health and mental illness and acknowledges their existence as two separate entities. Neat.

So wait, exchange and mental health, why was this so important to me?

Read the rest of this entry »

Currently playing (~˘▾˘)~
Take Courage – Andrew Bird

Beautiful Barcelona,

When can we meet again? You’ve been on my mind constantly this past week and I can’t stop thinking about you. I’m not sure I’ve ever felt this way…

Yours always,
Yuliya

A really big thank you to Octavio from the Arc House hostel that we stayed at for helping us discover the best pinchos bar and to my floormates and friends for their suggestions on places to visit in the city. Both helped to make our experience in Barcelona the best possible and I am really thankful for all their help.

Inspired by this I wanted to make a list of things we did in Barcelona. Map for reference below.

When you find a deal for a weekend round-trip to Barcelona for 50 francs, there is only one possible way to go about it….. GO!

Because it is always a good idea to spend time basking under a warm sun in Spain, here are some things we did during our trip, in no particular order:

1.Walking around the Gothic Quarter was one of our favorite activities.

…Potentially because it involved a food stop every half hour or so, but who can blame us having come from Switzerland where eating out as a student is a very rare sighting (*cries a bit inside at all the uneaten fondue and raclette*)

· As you might have guessed, this area contains some of the cheapest and yummiest food in Barcelona. Although a large selection is Spanish (no complaints about that) you can also find many pizza and kebab shops here. If you see anything over 5 euro for a kebab, or 2.50 euro for a slice of pizza, it is a shop meant for tourists.

• Patisseria Santa Clara has some amazing baked goods
• Les dues Sicilies had some really really good pizza and risotto balls .. Omnom

Read the rest of this entry »

The title is, indeed, correct – I am back online! To share post-exchange thoughts, and meanderings! More posts are TBA..

First post: what to say (or not to say) when conversing in French!

Je suis excitée – Warning, this does not actually convey your level of stoke for something. This saying is more often used in the context of romantic excitement. Alternatively, a great way to show your excited-ness:

Je suis ravi(e) de.. OR

J’attends avec impatience

Il n’y a pas de feu au lac – In other words, don’t stress about it; there is no urgency, it can wait.

The second part of the expression, “au lac” is actually referring to Lac Léman, or Lake Geneva. Originally, the first part of the expression was used to convey “don’t stress about it”. The second part was actually later added to poke a bit of fun at the Swiss, who have a reputation of taking their time with things.

J’suis posé tranquille au calme (to show your impressive knowledge of French text dialogue, use posey OKLM)

In short, I’m chillin’.

J’ai la pêche and j’ai la banane – These two are different, but with overlap within their meanings. The first saying would be something you can answer to the question “ça va?”. When you say “j’ai la pêche” you are conveying that you are feeling full of energy and on form – you would be up for something active!

While “j’ai la banane” is an expression of happiness, the fruit is the same shape of your lips smiling. Pretty creative!

à bientôt:-)
Yuliya

Having come back to Vancouver at the end of the summer, my stuff had made a tornado-like exit out of my suitcase and onto my floor, and bed, and chair. Is this what they mean by pathetic fallacy?

My mind was still swimming in the Black Sea in Ukraine, and that was why for me it was so weird to be sitting back in my room. Peaches on beaches, salty, spraying waters, everything glistening under the summer sun in Odessa. How sweet and carefree it is for the mind to wander.

To wander down sidewalks, and back into time.

There’s many things I did not get a chance to write about during my exchange, in part (or for the most part) due to the hefty course load I decided to take on.. French classes, a class in the neighboring university of EPFL, biology classes. Though this felt at times like an extra weight during my exchange, and at times made me feel constrained in the activities and outings I did during my exchange, overall I felt this really helped me to fully immerse myself into life in Switzerland.

How to put these memories, the six months of my exchange into words?
It’s been an absolutely surreal experience, in many ways different for me than I had thought, maybe in this way it has also been eye opening. Read the rest of this entry »

I guess this is a bold statement to make since this was the first time I’ve been traveling solo, but Prague, you’ve won me over. After spending a solid hour getting my computer back to working shape at the train station info center, my time in these Czech streets led me into big fluffy dogs, another dog but this time with a busker by the river, the Lennon wall!! (they have a John Lennon pub here too), a delicious Kozel Cerny and beautiful architecture on a warm July night. Prague, I’m in love…

First stop, Lennon wall!

`

I heart Trdelník (food credits to Creperie U Kajetána in Malá Strana)

I was intrigued

MORE BOOKS

Trying the mineral waters in Karlovy Vary

Karlovy Most

Star filled view from Karlovy Most

Whoa, I can’t believe this semester is coming to an end already.

It’s been in the making the past few weeks – everyone has slowly started wandering off after having finished assignments, and although we are still some here, revising for exams, or post-exam recovering, things have started to slow down.

I finished my exams two days ago. Not sure how I feel – after having finished the exam for my genetics module, we all walked out of that room scratching the back of our heads, and not feeling super confident. My other exam didn’t go too bad. I think overall I am ready to start embracing the sunshine from not inside my room.

These past few weeks have also been an awakening to the idea that the semester is coming to an end… I know that I have still a few months left traveling, something I’m really really excited about. But at the same time it’ll be an adventure away from the home I’ve made and slowly nestled in here. Away from my friends and my classmates, and my bike, and away from the beauty of the lake and mountains.

And I’ve started to spend a bit more time thinking about being back home. I guess this was inevitable as I am currently on a mad hunt for a co-op position, but still, it is something I am thinking about more and more. Well I guess you can say some mixed feelings are going on right now but HEY this experience, it has just been an incredible opportunity that I am so happy to have been a part of. And I think, I’ll keep in my mind the excitements and challenges that might be when I am to go back home, but for now, most of all, I can’t wait to spend the last part of my study abroad and to try my best to make the most of the time that is left.

And now that there is more time to reflect on the semester, I hope to make also make a few posts. I’ve realized I haven’t been the most consistent blogger recently, but I have thought of a few memorable times that will forever stay with me, moments that I am hoping to share on here. I will try my best to make up for the lack of blogging 😀

Wishing everyone a good first week of July! And a HAPPY CANADA DAY!!

à bientôt:-)
Yuliya

One of the things that has created some of the warmest memories during my semester is definitely the UNIL campus. Although fairly large, it is a walkable campus if you have classes in both the Arts and Biology buildings. Tracing the steps back from one building to the other, you would cross a small stream on a wooden bridge, following the stairs up to the UNIL Banane (main library) on the way to the Genopode (where I had my Biology classes). Most of the campus is covered in lush greenery – big trees, long stretches of grassy fields and flower patches. And on the way you can make some furry friends on walking through these grassy fields:

This is why UNIL doesn’t need to use lawnmowers

The UNIL campus sits near the lakeside. This is where you can find the main Sports center, with a track, gym, soccer fields, tennis courts, a free bouldering wall and a climbing wall. And also the UNIL Centre Nautique with paddle boats, kayaks, and sailboats. Looking over all of this is the Banane, home to the library and cafeteria. Some of the best afternoons spent at the university for me were during those days when the sun was out, sitting outside in the warmth, sometimes even enjoying views of the lake glistening in the sun towered over by snow peaked mountains, munching (probably on pasta as usual), chatting away about this or that with new friends made during the semester.

à bientôt:-)
Yuliya

May 12, 2016

Yup, title says it all:

Isabel and I have class together on Thursdays. We finish around 5pm and luckily most grocery stores are still open, we decided to stop by to get groceries for this weekend. We are planning to make a pancake brekkie with our roommates, yum!

Overall it was just one of those days. You know, when you realize the endlessness of your to-do list for school, and yet you are probably still working on getting out of bed before finding out the yogurt you put in the fridge the night before was missing. It’s been raining here for the past few days too, from what our local friends were saying, it’s pretty odd for May weather.

So Isabel and I went to the grocery store after our class. I know we had lunch not a long time before that, but it was still a trip where we had to stop in every section and admire the selection because we were so hungry. We also went to the grocery store that has the best sales on chocolate… mm mm.. I think eventually we were able to convince each other that maybe the 26CHF box of chocolate branches (the Cailler branches mm) was not a good idea at the time..

We got the ingredients finally.

And I got some strawberries too for pancakes which did not seem to want to sit up straight in their box on the bus back. Nevertheless, we made it to our stop with food in both hands. Or so we thought, because neither of us had realized that we had forgotten to push the button for the stop. And sooooo we didn’t get to our stop, but eventually we got off the bus, wobbly bags in hands, the rain giving us a preview of what seemed to be a shower. But still we were happy to be in Lausanne, and happy reminiscing on our exchange so far, and also too couldn’t stop laughing and giggling as we walked back to our residence.

à bientôt:-)
Yuliya

Oh my goodness this weekend was so so beautiful. Between clear blue waters, tropical tree-covered mountain peaks, and walks through endless Italian-inspired Swiss sidewalks, this weekend was a time to laugh, loads, to meet new awesome friends, to hold your jaw from dropping to the floor when you gaze at the scenery around you. The memories made this weekend were bright, colorful, and warm by the Ticino sun.

For me this trip was kinda a last minute decision. I hadn’t really been able to prepare to buy my tickets on the day they went on sale since my head was buried under assignment details for class. But I decided to sign up for the waitlist and got a spot for the trip (yay!).

We explored the cities of Bellinzona, and Locarno, and we stayed in Lugano. Here we stayed in a “hostel”, which by Swiss standards is like a luxe room, but with just more people in it. We hiked through the forests of Monte San Salvatore and sat on the shores of the bright blue waters surrounded by a tropical Italian-Switzerland.

So I think this would be where my story begins…. near the water…. with my phone in my pocket…

Haha do you see where this is going?

Okay well, so, we finished our hike. And we were waiting for the bus to take us back to Lugano. And hey, this beautiful blue water was calling to us, and hey well, dipping your feet in on the dock and under the sun sounded pretty inviting to me. But hey, little did I think about how odd of a position my phone was in while in my shirt pocket around my waist. And there was this one hole on the dock. Not sure what for, but just one, it was right there just by where I was sitting. And I was sitting on the dock and then thought maybe it was a good idea to sit back down in the shade (flashback two days, my face+sun+not enough sunscreen=lobster sunburn thing going on). And so anyways I got up to go sit in the shade and .. *whoooooooooosssshhhh* .. that’s the sound of my phone gliding right into this hole with high precision and accuracy, almost like it was made to perform this sort of thing. And well, me, I was kinda confused and startled. It kinda plopped and sank afterwards, real fast, it’s not exactly feather material. Anyways, this dock was a some 3-4 meters from shore and enough for the bottom to be out of sight, and the phone, well, that was that.

And then I guess slowly it kinda hits you that you shouldn’t have brought it on the dock on the first place and that you should have backed up all your exchange photos on iCloud or any other form of accessible technology. And that you really can’t afford a new phone right now you know, it kinda just sucks.

So this was all really sucky. But you know, then Isabel, and two of the girls that we became friends with during the trip, they were there, and they were really supportive and there with me through this. And when I was there trying to calm myself in the shade which I finally got to, they were still right with me. And they helped to talk me through all the post-phoneless logistics. Which aren’t super fun when you rely on your phone for probably too many things like me, and are also smart enough to not back it up often.

And yeah, stuff like this can spoil your trip, it’s hard not to let it affect you.

But can you believe I’m in Switzerland right now. And my friends are giggling over sillies while hiking down, where you look down and see greenery, look to the side and see lush forests and endless lake waters. It’s. So. Cool. Yup.

Well now I think somehow I’ll be able to get my hands on my old phone for the rest of my semester. And maybe some epic photos are down under lake waters, but but my memories will still be here. :’)

And mmmmm did I mention about the gelato we had on this trip? Mmmmm pistachio…

à bientôt:-)
Yuliya

… make new friends!

In the midst of classes, essays and presentations, when you know it’s the last month and deadlines start to creep up on you…

Well at least for me it sometimes feels like a whirlwind of thoughts going through my head. Today especially, maybe because I also realized I have a presentation and essay due at a date which before seemed liked months away but now somehow is next week… !! Erm what?

But hey, as the semester is coming to a close, it also means end of semester celebrations! Next week there is a music festival held at the sister university of UNIL, EPFL, that I’m really looking forward to going to. And last week was an event called Unilive with some local bands! Which I really liked since coming here I noticed a way way smaller number of concerts, and music gigs held in the city. Coming from Vancouver where local music is in the air and can be found around the city most nights of the week, this was very exciting!

But I guess initially the story I was trying to say, and finally am now getting to the point of, is about something that happened today. Since during the Unilive event that was held last week we found an ID that we guessed someone had lost amidst the crowd, I decided to send a message to return the ID.

After some coordination we finally found the time and today I returned the ID to its owner, Iolanda. Handing it back to her, I was mid-thinking about the homework deadlines, trying to figure out how to organize my schedule, and mid-thinking about other to-do list type things for my last month here, when I spotted Iolanda where we had arranged to meet in the afternoon. After receiving her ID she was very thankful; she thanked me some five times and offered to grab a coffee together. After introducing ourselves she explained what she was studying here and how it turns out that half of her family (all from her father’s side) is totally Ukrainian!! Which is super cool. You know, it’s like this instant bond forms when you find out someone is from Ukraine, or has family in Ukraine. And then we talked about her family and mine, and how my family is mostly russian speaking in Ukraine, and about being able to learn Ukrainian when you are growing up outside of Ukraine. And about some beautiful parts of Switzerland, there were some places she had suggested I visit in my last month here.

Speeding over to my next class I couldn’t help to think back on this experience as one of those moments where someone just comes in and completely unexpectedly turns your day around with their openness and kindness. When I think back on my exchange to Lausanne this is one of those experiences that I will remember.

À bientôt les amis,
Yuliya:-)