Day 12- Same but Different

Many things about today were the same but different. If you are unfamiliar with this phrase, hopefully you will get in through the context of my writing. I went to the Center of Lviv today. The center for them is similar to what we would call downtown area of our cities. I went with Shane, Tim’s oldest son, down to the center and he showed me a few sites on the way down there. We got down there by riding a city bus which was crowded with people and people kept pilling on at each stop. Shane said it is actually more crowded on the weekends. Anyway, when we got off the bus, we walked a couple blocks. We passed one church that has a statue of Jesus sitting down:


I was told that there is only one other statue of Jesus like this one and that is in Venice. Then we passed the center building of Lviv:

This was a same but different moment. Ivano-Frankivsk has a building at its center as well, but the one in Lviv is a little different. We ate lunch at a Greek restaurant just around the corner from this building; we ate Gyros, my dad would be proud of me. After we ate we walked a couple of more blocks and met up with some of Shane’s friends from church and a couple of American College students, Evan and Jory, who are living in Lviv. They offered to show me around some while Shane caught up with some of his friends. This is the place in which we met:


The statue is of a famous Ukrainian poet, Shevchenko (not to be confused with the great footballer). Shevchenko wrote a poem about having a free Ukraine and also wrote about one about a ship and famine. The thing in the background is the ship. Evan was mad that we went to the Greek restaurant before meeting up with him, so the three of us went back there leaving Shane back at this area to hang out with his friends that we would later meet up with again. I went and sat at the Greek restaurant with Evan and Jory and talked with them some. They told me more things about Lviv and showed me a few more sights:

This is the door to a church that is apparently a cursed church. They have completely shut off the church and you can not go in it anymore. I took a picture of it for Bob thinking about he would probably try to find some way to go in it.



We went to a chocolate factory. Downstairs is a café you can eat in and then you pass by where they make the chocolate and you can go upstairs to buy individual chocolates or chocolate bars. I looked for Lucy and Ethel in there, but did not see them. I did get some chocolate upstairs and it was tasty. We then went to a souvenir shop that had a lot of good stuff, but I did not get anything there. The place where I did get two shirts though was an outdoor art market place. It was very neat and I hope to go back there before I leave if I get the chance. We passed an Armenian church that is the second oldest church in Lviv. I got a couple pictures of it to share:






You can pay to have a tour of it, but we passed because we were on the way to meet up with the rest of the group. We met up around the same area. I did not know before that we were right outside a beautiful opera house. I got a lot of pictures of it and will share a couple:

The guy on the segway behind me got his turn after the chimpanzee got off (if you don’t get this reference don’t worry about it).




I find it rather interesting that you look straight ahead and you see this. Then you look just to the left of the fountain across the street and you see this:



All the youth wanted to go get ice cream from Mickey D’s, but Evan and I passed since we had just left the chocolate store. One last shot of the Opera house:

This is the relief at the top of the opera house. We then went and walked around to some other parts of the center. We saw the oldest apteka (drug store) in Lviv. Then we passed a church that is the same as Beeson (where I go to school in Bham) but different:




It is the same because we have similar domes and our chapel says Soli Deo Gloria (God alone be the Glory) and this one is Soli Deo Honor et Gloria (God alone be honor and glory). It is different because this church is much, much, much, older and I don’t think it is Protestant. Then we went to a skate park. I know Daniel K. and Conner B. would be happy to see it:






Meet Evan: from North Carolina, been living in Lviv for 5 years because his parents work over here. He is a close friend of Shane.


This is the group I hung out with around Lviv (minus Evan who is taking the picture). I thought I was getting just a tour of Lviv on this day, but God had bigger plans. I really got to a good glimpse into how the youth of Lviv are the same but different from our youth in America. This picture explains part of it. The guy off by himself was also part of our group as well as the three girls just pasted him. But, in similar fashion to high school students of America, there was some drama going on and part of the group would split off at times. Shane is the guy with bright blonde hair. The girl on the far side of him seemed to have a different food item almost every place we went. But, she was always sharing and even gave me some food. The girl closest to the camera was born in America, but has been living here since she was little (about 10 years she said). Anyway, I have babbled enough, more pictures eh?



Here they are trying to sort out some of the drama I think.


The guys of the group. Each City of Ukraine has an animal that represents it. Lviv is fortunate enough to have a lion be its animal.


The girls of the group (minus one who would not get in the picture).




Another famous Ukrainian writer. Apparently it is good luck to touch his nose and finger at the same time.



Evan teaching Kaylee (Tim’s daughter) some dance moves. Sophia and I looked on while the rest went to get more ice cream.



A better view of the boat that Shevchenko wrote about in his poem.

We went to a big park near a University. The young ones had a good time playing on the seesaw, but I had a good time laughing at them.




This child did not know what to think….he stood there with that same expression for a few minutes just watching.



I thought this picture was classic.




Euro 2012 is going to be partly in Lviv and partly in Poland. They are getting ready for it and have already added many things to the City in preparation for it.


Thought or lesson for the day: I have two thoughts, but they relate. One is what I thought would be just a tour of the city, turned out to be a great introduction into seeing how youth of Lviv react around each other and what type of things interest them. So, the first thought is never underestimate what God has planned for you. You may go into something thinking that it is something simple, when in reality God has a bigger plan for you (that is the case in many other instances as well).
The second thought relates directly to the youth. I got a good picture today of some pluses and minuses of the youth culture here. I got a glimpse of not only the youth around me (who are for the most part in church), but I also got a glimpse into other groups of youth (mainly from the skate park). The youth around me seemed well behaved and independent. They seemed to look out for each other and enjoyed just hanging out with each other. We saw another group of youth at the skate park who seemed to be a rougher crowd. They were not quite as well behaved and seemed to be a group that things they are too cool for school (or something along that line). I am not saying that they were necessarily non-Christian or bad, but they were doing certain things that when I am a parent I hope my child does not do. I learned that many of the youth had taken the city bus down to the center with a friend or two and either had a time their parents told them to be home or went home when their parents called. The three I rode the bus back with (Shane, Kaylee, and Evan) knew which bus went where and even knew if they could not get on the bus they wanted, they knew how to go on another route and change buses. Basically, what I am saying is that they had a certain independence about them that I am sure many youth in America is lacking (I realize the set up of the city plays a major factor in this though). I started thinking last night about how over the years I have witnessed parents that completely shelter their children and parents on the opposite spectrum that seem to not care what the child does. Then of course there are the parents I highly admire that somehow find a way to have a good balance between giving your child freedom, but not too much. Anyway, I mention that to say here I am sure it is hard to find that balance, but it seemed like at least a good many of the youth I was around today had parents (or a parent) that had that good balance. Anyway….

Got to rest my fingers from typing so much,
Ben