My Trip back to Germany - Nice Meeting with 'Corruption'

I was taking the one and only direct train from Kyiv to Berlin, which takes 25 hours. So it started at 8:00 am in the Morning of the Saturday.

So I entered the train at 8:00 am and wanted to go directly to sleep because I was very tired after the last night. I haven’t slept so much because of the several meetings and had just gone to bed at 2:00 am. The train is much better then the normal ones in Ukraine because it is an International one and is going directly to Germany, so there are cabins with three beds in one and I had the lowest bed. Then the first surprise: The conductor of the coach told me that there is a family coming with a child and wanted just to travel within Ukraine to Rafalowka and didn't want to sleep. Okay that meant for me no sleep at all, because when they entered the cabin the child was very loud and they sat on my bed for five hours playing all the time Ukrainian music with their MP3 Player etc. So I had to sit also on my bed and waiting ‘til they went out at 1:00 pm. I thought okay, great now I can go sleeping ‘til the border and then further, but okay all the time happens something unexpected when you not think about it.

In between when the family occupied my bed I also went from time to time out smoking outside the coach in the small room which was kind of smoking room and there I realized that there was sitting a guy who slept on the floor in this small gap. I thought okay, why not, but when the family went out of my cabin and I started to prepare my bed this guy and another one entered my room and took the other two beds in the cabin. I asked them why they slept beforehand in this small gap which is the smoking area. They told me that they had no ticket and that the conductor was so friendly to take them in the train. Aha, okay, but of course they paid the normal price to the conductor without getting a ticket and I understood, that conductors are earning their money by this. So they have extra money which is mainly more than their salary from the Ukrainian Railways. So this was kind of shock for me because for me it is kind of corruption in little.


Train Station of Kovel










Then I went sleeping and after 2 more hours we arrived at the border in Jagodin. Okay now some more explanations: One of the guys is from Russia (Omsk), the other from Odessa (Ukraine) and they both are really proud of Russia what they told me all the time. This was really interesting for me. It was not that they are really proud of Russia, furthermore they were proud of Soviet Union; they told me lots of times how cool the life had been in former times, how strong politically and economically the Soviet Union had been, that all people liked these times and had enough money and enough to eat and nobody had to suffer from something and that they ache for that cool times now. Both are living in Germany and earning their money there by the way. Okay, so then the border guard came and checked our passports. Like always they are taking them away and bringing them back after 90 minutes, when the long train stop is over.

Then a second border guard (customs officer) came and realized (I saw it in his eyes in the first second when he entered our cabin) that the guy from Odessa wore a T-Shirt with the name 'Moscow (Moskau)' on it. He got kind of angry without saying anything, but I felt it. I felt the animosity (here we had been at Western border and he his Ukrainian and dislikes people who like and show their pride concerning Russia). So he asked that guy how much money he has, what else he has to declare etc. He also asked me and the other guy from Omsk about it and handed out a piece of paper that we should use filling in our declaration. The Guy from Odessa with the Moscow Shirt told too much and was not quiet enough, unfortunately.

So we filled the papers, the customs officer came back after five minutes, checked first my declaration, but I understood, he was not interested in me. He was just focussed on the Guy from Odessa (his name is Igor by the way). So the officer told me and the Omsk Guy, that we should leave the cabin now and he closed the door behind us. But we were able to hear what was going on now, the trouble and dispute between the officer and Igor. The main point was that Igor declared to have 3.000$ with him, but in reality he had 5.200$ in his wallet. So he had too much $ in his luggage, which he earned by selling a car in Odessa. And I also think that in the eyes of the officer Igor was behaving a bit too arrogant. So they quarrelled a lot, the officer opened after a while the cabin door and a second woman came, which was the boss of the customs officer. I just heart things like that they want to impose a fine officially of 1.000$. But still there had been lots of discussions.

In between the officer asked me while I was standing in front of the cabin door, what in Germany the officer would do in such situation. I told him that for every delict or misdoing there are laws and rules and every officer knows about these laws. And that there is no discussion in this, everybody is sticking to the rules. If there is the rule that the customer has to impose a fine than he/she has to do it, taking the money and bringing it to the customs agency. That means nobody is allowed to take less money and take it in his/her own pocket.

Okay, so that was maybe too much for him, but he left for 10 minutes, came back and then started to quarrel with Igor again. I was not scared, what could happen to me, because I knew that nothing will happen, I was right in saying this and if e.g. he would take me to police or customs department then he would get really problems afterwards, when I call German Embassy and/or German Ministry of Foreign Affairs etc. I made my declaration right, I had nothing to hide and I was ready for everything which could happen to me. The officer for example was throwing all stuff from Igor’s luggage on my bed, so I was also open for that if it would have happened to me. I was also at border control in other more corrupted countries, where I had to take off all my clothes in order to be checked, so why not? I just wanted to show that stupid guy that he is doing something wrong, that’s it.

Then after 45 minutes, Igor, the customs officer and the boss (lady) agreed in the fine of 200$ what Igor had to give to the conductor of our coach and then she gave it to customs officer, because that man was too arrogant to dirty his own hands by taking it directly from Igor, whom he disliked much I guess. That was a very stupid situation and of course second part of corruption in the train, I was getting aware of. I already was talking with German Ministry of Foreign Affairs this week about it just in order to get clear picture for myself what I have to do when something like this would happen to me.

Okay, so that was the border control and the nice experience with the customs officer from West Ukraine. They are really nice people. And now I would like to tell the third and last story. I guess sometimes I’m really naive or green although I have seen lots of things so far in the world, but okay…

In the evening they conductors of our coach wanted to have the ladder out of our cabin, I just thought okay, for what? But take it, I don't need it, we all are able to get into the beds without any ladder. So then the conductor asked one of the Guys (I remind you they both were kind of 'Black Drivers') to help them in something. One of them (Igor) followed them. Two minutes later I went out of the cabin for another cigarette and realized what was happening outside in the corridor. They just opened the train’s ceiling from the corridor and took out hundreds of cartons of cigarettes and alcoholic drinks as well. It was not the first time during that day that I thought okay! I wondered how they were able to smuggle so many things through the border although Polish and Ukrainian border police controlled the whole train. But sure it was obvious that they just were bribed by the conductors, nothing more. This is just a big business for everyone, for the conductors to have an extra salary, for the customs officers as well as Ukrainian and Polish police. Everyone is earning something by this business. I was really shocked because I haven’t thought about Polish police like this before, I would have taken my own hand into fire, but now I know that I would have lost my hands by burning them. Although Poland is in the EU this does not mean that likewise the people are sticking to law and rules.

So the conductors just selling all the stuff in Polish train stations to people who ordered beforehand. Mainly there are no cartons of cigarettes left when the train enters the border to Germany, so that they are not getting in trouble by unexpected controls from German custom. The conductors were behaving really strange when they realized that I realized what they were doing. But on the other hand my hands are tied; I cannot do anything against it in such situations. If I would call the Police or something similar it is easy for them to tell e.g. that these are my cigarettes or they will keep my face in their minds and I will get in trouble afterwards or when I will take the train again and meet any other conductor. That’s the way it is.

As I said before I’m sometimes green and naive, so now I know that everything could happen, maybe also in Germany and anywhere else.

Okay and we arrived with one hour delay in Berlin. I also know why there was a delay, because every day there is a delay of 30 to 45 minutes. This is due to selling procedure in Polish stations; also the engine driver is bribed and is staying longer in the station ‘til all stuff is sold. And afterwards it is just told that the delay is because of engine problems. Mainly all people in the train are sleeping in the night, so it is easy to lie; everyone is taking it for granted.


Arrival in Berlin Central Station in the Morning








You see, some of in the first page mentioned stereotypes are somehow fulfilled for me, others not. But still this is not the point. For me the people are the most interesting. People are behaving differently, of course they are representing its country, but still it is much better to take every individual as an individual, no matter from which country and culture he/she is. There are of course tendencies in cultural behaviour, customs and habits which put people in one culture together, but nevertheless everyone is different and individual. This we all should take into consideration making any valuation or evaluation about any country and its people.

So that was my small report of my experiences in Ukraine. I hope you enjoyed it.

Take all care and ‘til the next report,

Yours sincerely Olaf

Kyiv again :)

So then I went by train to Kyiv, it was quite hard to get sleep in the night train, I was of course also in the Platzkart coach, because it was cheaper, but unfortunately I got the place directly at the window, which was very inconvenient in the night, because the wind was blowing through the window from all sides and also some passengers thought it is a bad idea to sleep, why not to drink and being loud the whole night? But I survived that trip fortunately in good conditions and arrived in Kyiv safely at 7:00 am. I directly went to MC Flat, which I found thanks to Vova immediately without any problems. And Eugeniu from the current MC opened the door and then the MC flat life started. All members came out of their beds, taking showers (and by the way the washbowl broke down and is not usable anymore) and having quarrels about which bread belongs to girls and which one to the boys section. You have to know that there is special gender separation of food in the flat. That was really funny for me, I have not expected that. But okay, so life in MC started at 8 am and then we went to MC office, I was shown around and some MC member started to work as well as Ganna Soldatenko in her position as Manager of the great event in Kyiv – the 60th anniversary of AIESEC.

In between we went for breakfast/lunch means brunch in Пузата Хата (which I like very much, although it is also just type of Fast Food Restaurant, but a Ukrainian one and I really like the food. In my last evening I also went there and said ‘Good Bye’ to my lovely food.


Пузата Хата Restaurant in Kyiv











By the way The Grandma from Ira also gave me the recipe how to prepare and cook ‘Vareniki’. I just started preparing them straight after coming back to Germany and they had been perfect. Sometimes I feel that I’m getting more and more used to foreign meals, especially Russian and Ukrainian ones. Thanks to Grandma, who really made the most delicious ones I ever tried so far.


Around the City Centre of kyiv










Beautiful Buildings from Stalin Times










So then I started to get around again through the whole city centre I already knew because before coming to the IDS Conference in Mariupol I spend three days in Kyiv. So I was starting walking alone and I had really good luck, because it was warm, the sun was shining and I was taking so many nice and sunny pictures, it was really awesome. Then I went to the Hydropark (Гідропарк) on the small Island of the Dnepr (Дніпро) River and met Kolya (Nick) again, one guy from LC Kyiv who also had been in my home group in Mariupol. Sometimes it is not easy to describe someone in the right words, but this guy is more then great. He is one of the most hospitable persons I ever met in my life. He is so eager to get to know foreigners, to speak to them, to exchange ideas, to speak English in order to improve and he really likes to guide someone through the city just for his/her joy. It is not enough to say thanks to Nick for what he has done and I really appreciate it very much.


Beach in the Centre of Kyiv (Hydropark)

















Olaf on Hydropark Island









In general it is very amazing how many people are open minded towards foreigners, to meet them, to speak with them, I really have not made much experiences like this; especially when I take into consideration the German way of life. Of course we are also open, but not showing so much eagerness to get in touch with foreigners and different cultures. Maybe it is because we have it in our daily life and have to deal with multicultural environment, millions of foreigners are living in Germany, but still….















Майдан Незалежносты

So after the sightseeing tour we went to the LC Meeting which took place in one room nearby the office and I was attending just 30 minutes there, because it was my last evening in Kyiv and I had still some meetings with other people in front of me. But still I had the chance to thank the LC for an amazing time which I spent in Kyiv and to arrange final date in a pub in Kyiv afterwards for all who were interested in meeting me a last time.


The LC Meeting Room in the Univerity of Finances









In the later evening I met Dima Dotsenko – a guy whom I met already after the quest two weeks ago. We had a great conversation about differences of Culture, about History of Ukraine, how people are socialized etc., etc. I started to understand more, because Dima was able to explain more of the really deep Culture of Ukraine and its people. It really helped me a lot to understand more about Ukraine and why people mainly have different point of views or just behaving differently. This was a great end point of my travel around Ukraine and I know for sure that I have to come back soon to internalize Ukrainian Culture in a better way and by this understanding attitudes of people better. Dima of course also was worrying about my security and because there was no bus or Metro anymore (because it was late in the night) he decided to accompany me to the MC flat. This is also something which I really appreciate in Germany. Mainly in all cities all students who are going out for party in clubs or privately can rely on functioning public transportation system during the whole night. So e.g. in my city – Leipzig – there are 10 different busses every night at 1:11; 2:22 and 3:33 from a central point in the centre and then they just spread in the suburbs of Leipzig and coming back to the central point again. Additionally there are busses every Friday and Saturday night at 1:45 and 3:00 from the same place. So nobody had to take a taxi, because it is really expensive in Germany or has to walk alone through the streets, especially girls need not to be frightened and take the busses. This is a system I really love and I’m wondering why it is not possible to develop such system also in Kyiv or other cities in Ukraine or Russia. Maybe you all should think about it to force such idea.

So it was time to say Good Bye to everyone, to MC, to LC Member, to whole Kyiv and to Ukraine at all. And I thought okay, the next morning I have to take train from Kyiv to Berlin and nothing exciting would happen anymore. But I was wrong.

Farewell to Donets'k and my great Friends :)

Okay and then unfortunately came the time to say Goodbye to LC Donets’k, I had to leave in the evening of the Thursday by night train to Kyiv. I decided to take the night train, just not to waste time during the day spending hours in a train. So I had more time to be in Donets’k and after a big meal in Grandma’s place we started to go to Train station. I was very sad and it was not easy to say goodbye after three amazing days, in which a felt very, very comfortable every second thanks especially to both Ira. You are the perfect hosts and I hope also to welcome you in Germany one day and showing such great attitude like you in hospitality.


Farewell Photo at Donets’k Railway Station









Olaf at train to Kyiv five minutes before departure

Children are our Future :)

I also made friendship with one child, with David. He is six years old and his mother is working the whole day, not really taking care and educating her son in a proper way. She is not taking care much about proper food for him, but David is lucky. The Grandma from Ira Ivanova is taking care about David every day, when his mother is working. She is playing with him, she is cooking for him appropriate meals a child needs in these times for growing. Grandma is just taking care in a way I haven’t seen before. It seems that David is her grandson. It was really amazing. I also was making friendship with David although we had of course communication problems. But this really doesn’t matter anyway. I was speaking in my poor Russian, mixed with English and German, he was mainly not understanding, but he was so happy that I was playing with him, he was so cute and nice, I just thought it is time for me to get the right girlfriend and having children too the next years. I guess that Gosia and Vova know what I’m speaking about after travelling from Kyiv to Mariupol when we also met a small girl in the train and I started to play with her. I deeply hope that I will have the chance to come back soon to Donets’k and meet David again. Children are our future and I think that everywhere in the world it is more than needed taking care about every child.


David & Olaf having Fun












David is happy

Donets'k - not just a Mining City

The whole LC was there, just waiting for me. They took my luggage and transported it by car to the place I was supposed to live: Grandma’s place together with Ira Ivanova, a great girl who always taking care about foreigners in Donets’k. Ira Khorunzhaya picked me up from bus station. I know her from New Horizons Conference, she was in my home group and I was very happy to meet her again. Everything started in the LC Office, I got to know lots of people there.

So the whole LC was taking care about me all the next two and a half days. They never went away from my side and haven’t expected that I at the second day told them, okay, it would be great if I have also some free time at least for two hours to walk around alone and I also promised them that I won’t get lost and take care about myself. There you can also see cultural differences somehow. In Ukraine and Russia mainly everyone is worrying about their guests that something can happen, that I cannot understand the language, that I cannot buy anything because of communication problems and that I cannot survive without any help. Yes of course, sometimes it is not so easy because of language barrier, but still I believe that you just can grow and getting self-confidence when you have to jump into the cold water and start swimming. When you never face any problems how can you grow? Of course when someone from a foreign culture is visiting me in Leipzig I always take care about him/her. But I also let him/her freedom to do whatever they want to do, which also means, okay, go ahead and start exploring the city, the culture by your own. If you have any problems I will be there, but try to solve it first alone. But nevertheless also Germans are really hospitable persons, but it simply looks different.

Okay, so we made Sightseeing and I realized how green and nice Donets’k really is. It is definitely not as ugly as many people tried to tell me beforehand. Maybe these persons never had been in that city and have just stereotypes about Donets’k and its surroundings which they think is mainly covered by mines, grey landscape and poor people who have to work quite hard for less money etc. So here is now the truth: Donets’k has many, many parks, lots of green fields, trees besides the street and many, many sights. The city is developing rapidly (okay the Metro is built since 1994 and not finished yet due to ground problems - soft ground and people are afraid that it will break down and with it the whole city), everywhere new buildings, the old ones are renovated etc. Of course there are also some problems with the local government and the mayor of the city - they don’t know for which projects they need investments from foreign companies or organizations. So when delegations e.g. from Germany are arriving they are shown around the whole city, but city responsibles are unprepared, they have no real plan for which projects they want foreigners’ investments, there is no clear plan how development of Donets’k should look like. In this case I think that there is much more work to do, to change attitude from local government side towards its investors, they cannot expect that someone is giving money and does not know for what, for which project. There has to be a huge plan of city development and this has to be presented. But this is not fixed yet and will take more time due to attitude problems of the local leader.

I also realized how hard work in LC is. They just have one small room, but at least with telephone (its costs are covered by local government) and one internet connection. But still there are at the same time LCM or OC Meetings while people have to do phone calls to potential local partners or making promotion for AIESEC. So it is not easy to handle everything in one small room without getting disturbed. In the three days I had been there the new elected VP ERs made a good job, were getting a new local partner ‘Райффайзенбанк’ and this was really not easy for them. I really like their attitude, I think that they are kind of role-modelling for lots of LCs in the wide world.

On the second day I decided to go to a Haircutter, because first of all it was really needed and secondly (I don’t know really why but …) I want to try any haircutter in every country, just to see if there are any differences or not. So I went with Ira to a haircutter and it was also very nice there and I was happy afterwards, because now I was able to walk around Donets’k with the feeling that I’m looking more okay than beforehand. Yes sometimes I’m also kind of vain in this, but I guess everyone has its own vain sides.


Donets’k LC – Nick, Vitalik & Artjom










Developing City Donets’k










Olaf likes ‘Nu Pogodi’ :)

















Ira, Ira & Olaf in front of Bell from Partner City Bochum (Germany)








Ira, Ira & Sveta (my hosts all the time)










Olaf climbing on Cannon (Gift from Moscow)

Other Views on Berdyans'k

Olaf and the Fisherboy

















Olaf is resting












Olaf meets Lenin

















A Frightliner in the middle of the Spa Promenade

Me in German Class of Berdyans’k’ University









Meeting with Teacher (German Language) in Teacher’s Room







Olaf, Superman & the Bride

Berdyans'k University and its educational System

We also went to University and it turned out by coincidence that Dasha proposed that I should present myself to several student groups which have lectures in English and German language. So I did it three times and it was really cool. The students had been really shy when it came to the point to ask questions to me. And I haven’t known that this is something unique for most of the students, that there is coming a foreigner just talking with them in English or German. That was challenging for them but it was really helpful and I felt that they liked this for a change. I also discussed with teachers about educational system, how they are teaching languages, which circumstances limit them (e.g. just one lecture per week is definitely not enough to learn a language properly etc.). The teacher were really eager to speak with me, how it is running e.g. in German Universities, what they can change and they also ‘forced’ me somehow to speak with the rector of the University to give my impressions and feedback to him. But this I declined, I was not feeling in the mood to do that, because I felt that I’m not the right person and have not the right to speak with the rector about it. I was just a visitor with small insight into University life and therefore had no full picture about everything. But still I was impressed that teachers as well as students had been really eager to get to know more about my person, my point of view etc. I think still there is much work left to push the Universities in Ukraine (in general) in a more international position with lots of international students to have the possibility to exchange point of views, ideas and cultures.

Then in the Afternoon something really surprising happened. We met some guys on the street when the started to shoot a funny video (some of them are also members of AIESEC). The Hero was Superman with very funny clothes. The team shoot a scene when a husband after marriage was jumping from 11th floor of a skyscraper and Superman tried to rescue him. It was really funny. I hope that I will get the Video as soon as possible, then I also will send it to you.

In the evening Vova and me went to a small restaurant at the seashore of Berdyans’k. We went in and realized that there had been a group of Georgians who celebrated the birthday of one of them. Georgian Music was played all the time and I realized that there is special friendship between Ukrainians and Georgians maybe related to historical facts. It was really amazing meeting them, they also invited us for a glass of champagne and Vova and I spent some incredible time in that restaurant with deep talks about our lives etc. Vova, thank you very much, that we both had been so open, I really know that I have a new real friend and I hope we will keep this also in future.

The next Day was Vova’s Birthday. So before I took Marschrutka to Donets’k we met for some minutes in a restaurant in front of the Bus station and had some red wine and Schaschlik. I also had a small present for Vova, something special which I’ve written down on a piece of paper (gift coupon) and now Vova has to find out what is the content of the paper about. Vova by the way, you already had been successful in solving this kind of German Quiz? I hope because otherwise you won’t get the present.

Last Photo of Facis of IDS Track in Berdyans’k before Separating








Me, Dasha and Masha at Seashore from Berdyans’k









Olaf at the Seashore in Berdyans’k

Berdyans'k - a typical toristy City at the Azov Sea

I was staying in Ukraine one week more after we all separated in Berdyans’k after a great Gala Night. I really have to say, that the upcoming week was one of the most exciting ones and offered me a very deep Learning Experience in my life. Although it was just one week, just 7 more days, I learnt so much new about Ukraine, about the differences between the East and the West Part of this great country, that I have still problems getting back to normal life here in Germany and concentrating on my own work as well as on my several job interviews I already had this week. I have really problems to clear my mind which is still somehow in Ukraine working on all new impressions I got. And it is not easy to make a suitable summary of all my different experiences, but I try to do it now for myself, which might help firstly me to start putting everything into a right order and secondly to summarize it for all of you, maybe it is also nice for you to read over my impressions and what I experienced, I deeply hope so.

So after all of the Facilitator left from the venue in Berdyans’k I also left immediately with two girls from new elected EB of AIESEC in Berdyans’k. We went together to the flat were I was supposed to live the next two days. I had been very, very tired and I thought it would be great to sleep now, but I also was very hungry so what happened, we cooked some Pelmeni and spoke a lot about the Conferences in Berdyans’k and Mariupol. Also in Berdyans’k there had been some challenges with OC as well as we experienced it in Mariupol which led to the situation that lots of normal member from Berdyans’k had to work with OC in order to secure some standard although the members had also to attend at normal sessions. But that was really something I was appreciating while talking about it, that they also saw the need of a helping hand and they just did it and nevertheless took all important parts out of different sessions. I really admire them.

So then Vova came and we spent approximately 2 hours at his Grandma’s place to eat something again. As all Grandmas in the whole wide world she was all the time keeping an eye on me and Vova and his brother that we have something to eat not dying at her table and I was really thankful for that, because she provided us with all different traditional food from Ukraine which was a great experience for me. And I liked everything, especially after the poor food in both venues – in Mariupol as well as Berdyans’k. Vova, thanks a lot for that experience and please remember me to your grandma, she is a really great person and I wish you that you will take time spending with her as much as you can. I really enjoy every minute spending time with grandparents, which maybe is strongly related with the fact hat all my grandparents are dead now, so I cannot spend time anymore with them, which makes me really sad and I’m missing it much in my normal life just relaxing there and be shepherd by them. So keep in mind ‘Time is passing by very, very fast and therefore act now, it could be too late’.

Okay, unfortunately I was not in good condition this night. When Vova and me left her home and took a Маршрутка to the centre, my circulation was collapsing; I had problems with briefing and my heart and was not able to walk properly. I guess it was related to the fact, that Conference was over, so my adrenaline level was sinking after exciting Conference, I was drinking and smoking too much as well as had not good food. So all this in combination made my body feel bad and sending such signs. I just thought, okay, I have to go to hospital now, maybe to get injection with most important substances like vitamins, heart strengthen medicine etc., but I did not want to go, because I was kind of scared going into a foreign hospital. So Vova and I decided to go slowly back to my home and then I took 10 hours of sleep and felt a bit better the next morning. But still I feel now at home here in Germany that I haven’t recovered to 100%, I guess I really have to check my body and soul as well as giving up smoking and drinking for several weeks or months (especially giving up smoking forever, but it is not as easy as it sounds, just give up and everything will be okay).

The next day Dasha (my host) and I went out for a sightseeing tour in Berdyans’k. This city is very touristy and very, very beautiful.

Beautiful Berdyans’k Seashore by Night










IDS Faci Team enjoying the Beach










Gosia, Magda, Tomek & Olaf at Award Ceremony








Award Party Local Committee Sevastopol










Juliana (Brazil), Sasha & Olaf in the early Morning

Gala Night in Berdyans'k

After the official part of the Conference mostly all Facilitator and some IDS delegates went to Berdyans’k in order to celebrate the Gala Night. In Berdyans’k the second part (Planning and Discovery Tracks) of the whole Spring Conference was held. Unfortunately the whole Conference was divided because of lack of space in Berdyans’k, but this was not leading to lack of mood for IDS Track.

It was now the time starting to recover from a very exciting conference, not to think about the next sessions as well as just having free time for talks and fun. So when arriving at the venue I realized how nice it was, everything was rebuild and appeared in nice colours and all buildings really looked like in very good condition – but I just can warn on first impressions. When we entered our house where all Facis were supposed to live I realized that maybe the heating system was not working well – it was really cold in our rooms. Then I needed to visit the toilet and I realized that also the toilets haven’t kept its promises and I went out immediately, the lavatories also had been in poor conditions, there was just one washbowl with fluent water. Showers were totally missing. It was really strange for me, but now I felt how lucky I was staying in Mariupol with hot water and showers.

But it didn’t really matter, because we had been here for the Gala Night and not for sleeping much. First I went with my Faci mates to the beach of the Azov Sea and it was one of the coolest moments, because we started to drink a bottle of champagne and the weather was really great. I felt somehow like in my home city which is situated at the Baltic Sea. I was kind of melancholic as well and really wanted to be home now, but the Azov Sea somehow attenuated my feelings and substituted my beloved Baltic Sae.

In the later evening all delegates, Facis and MC member eject and elect came together in the big plenary room in order to celebrate the ejected MC as well as having the ceremony in which some LCs were getting awards for their successful projects or development. I really liked the whole session as well as was more than impressed about mood and atmosphere which was created by all participants. I never have experienced so far any other country or conference in which so many shouts and roll calls had been. It was a really unique atmosphere, which you just can find in AIESEC in Ukraine. I was really touched and still think about why just in Ukraine all members are so positively crazy about AIESEC and showing their pride being in the organization. It was just amazing and I’m looking forward coming back soon to one of the National Conferences again also the feel the power and passion of all members again. Just great!

After the official ceremony I was getting together with LC Sevastopol in order to celebrate the two awards they won: The Bronze Excellence award and the award for the biggest contribution to Spring Exchange Delivery. It was a wow atmosphere in the Sevastopol room; we had lots of speeches from LC responsibles and also I and we started to drink some Vodka as well. In the following hours I was going around with lots of people, joined the party, had good and meaningful talks and also had all the time some Vodka in my hands. Everyone took care about me and wanted to talk with me and it was very amazing time for me. I just slept two hours and then we had to leave the room at 9:00 am because the charladies had to clean our rooms. So a great Conference with a big highlight at the last night was over.

Conference Manager and Chair are lazy :)










Polish Faci Team Mates :)

Special Thanks to my beloved Faci Mates

I also want to take the chance to thank the whole Facilitator team for a great experience and for a wonderful cooperation between all of us. I am very happy I could be part of IDS 2008. Thank you all for making this conference happen. It was amazing to see all your passion and expertise. It was more than a pleasure for me to cooperate with all of you, with such strong characters. I really believe that we as one team inspired a lot as well as were leading by example. That is what most of the delegates liked most.

Yulia, you as the Conference Manager will always stay in my mind with your energetic and unique laughter. I’m really thankful to you for giving me the opportunity to be part of the IDS Facilitator team. I really think it was not easy for you to put together all different individuals with its strong personalities, but you really was successful in this and I really appreciated very much your patience when we not kept to your deadlines or broke out of some rules you set for us. You simply had been a great Manager of our team.

Magda, it was amazing staying with you together and to understand your unique sense of humour. I really liked that all the time you were taking care a lot of your Home Group delegates and furthermore you was really active in improving our team skills. You had been a great ambassador of Poland and I know that people enjoyed spending the time with you together. Keep yourself like you are and you will be successful in your future career.

Gosia, I haven’t met such a person like you before with such eagerness getting feedback and try to improve in everything you are doing. I totally relieve you of your self-awareness and I know for sure that you will be a great Facilitator in future what you already showed here at this Conference. I deeply wish you all the best and hope to meet you soon again in one Faci team.

Lora, you know how to run sessions, what is most important for delegates. It is not the way just to deliver a lecture in front of the audience like a professor does in university. No moreover it is setting inspiration and you simply did it in all your sessions. You took care about significant knowledge and experiences which we altogether transported towards the delegates. And the delegates appreciated it a lot. Go further like this, thank you very, very much for all your effort and support.

Nastja, your great competence and high professionalism in delivering sessions is really impressing me a lot. I still remember also the New Horizons Conference when we cooperated in one of the sessions for Newies - the AIESEC XP Simulation; also there I got the impression that in everything you are doing you are putting more than just effort in it. You are just living the sessions and contents and you are aware in every second what you are talking about. People believe you because you are just credible and reliable. I guess that all delegates and Facis were able to learn a lot from you and for that experience I really thank you very much.

Yulia, I guess in our special relationship I can point out what cultural or better individual differences really mean. I think that the first hours or maybe days I had the challenge to crack your reservation as well as you had the challenge to handle with my special kind of humour. We both were really successful at the end but this is what real challenges mean – to take them actively and to improve by handling with that special and new situation and to grow by this. This is something I appreciate a lot; you just took the challenge and I know that we both grow a lot by this. You will always stay in my mind as a positive and energetic person who will have lots of success as Facilitator in and outside AIESEC. Thanks a lot for everything.

Tomek, I don‘t believe that you are originally from Poland. So far I met lots of Polish people beforehand and of course this led me to the assumption that mainly Polish guys are more reserved, business-related and not so easy going. But you are the direct opposite. You are really open to everyone, easy going and you inspired me and all others a lot, especially your activities in very unique sports like Capoeira (the Brazilian blend of art, game and dance) or your contribution to the renaissance of the knighthood. I hope that I will have a deeper insight into your activities soon and you are really a great guy, thanks a lot for everything.

Vova, please show us your Roll Call again, it would be great to get a Video with your dancing on youtube.com. I think that now we altogether created great IDS contently as well as setting mainly the right mood with your great support. Thanks to your serious approach and constancy you created your legacy for AIESEC in Ukraine. It was really an adventure to create such Conference out of more or less nothing up from the end of last year. You really can be proud of what you have done and I deeply wish you all the best for your future in and outside AIESEC. I wish you a great experience in the Netherlands as Vice President Exchange in the local MC.

Home Group Germany












Cross Cultural Simulation - Group Photo










Parties are great and something special in Ukrainian Culture :)








Yulia, Gosia, Lora and Olaf in Action

The Intercultural Development Seminar (IDS)

On Wednesday Midday most the delegates of the Conference arrived at the venue. So we started in the afternoon with the Opening of the IDS. We separated all delegates in different so called Home Groups and I got 12 individuals in my group. 12 very interesting and open minded persons from five different cities all over Ukraine: Sevastopol, Cherkasy, Kyiv, Mariupol and Odessa. Our group had been a great mixture of different individuals who all had been really eager to learn something new as well as get to know me as a German better. Besides that I also was really glad that lots of people from the other Home Groups wanted to speak with me apart from all official sessions, during the parties, the room parties as well as during the breaks and meals.

Room Parties: This is really something new for me because in Germany it is not very common first to meet in the rooms and drink something together as well as communicating a lot. So here I was getting aware of Cultural Differences at all. I really like that parties, especially I was invited by lots of people to join there parties. I realized that maybe it is not so common in Ukraine to get acquainted with foreigners or have such opportunity to get in touch and communicate with people from other cultures. In the evenings after the official sessions first we had a meeting with all Facis in order to reflect on the day, what has happened, what was good and what should be improved the next day to get better and better. After a while I was really getting impatient when we talked too much and spent too much time in discussions, especially when I realized that there was no added value at all. I was really looking forward meeting my delegates again and have the chance to speak with them apart from all sessions in a more convenient informal way. I learnt by these conversations a lot about Ukrainian culture as well as domestic issues like differences between South and East part of Ukraine and the capital and West part. People are really different in their point of views how the future of their country should look like. But they have one thing in common: they all are so hospitable and open minded that I sometimes was getting sad thinking about attitude of most of the Germans in these issues. I really learnt a lot from each individual at this Conference and I’m really thankful for all experiences.

The Organizing Committee of the Conference was not very organized up from the beginning due to the fact that all of them had been very inexperienced and maybe were not showing the right attitude. But still what I really liked after a deep conversation with the president of the team on the one hand and Vova (MC responsible) and me on the other hand that they changed a lot. It was getting more smoothly after that and they understood what it really means to be responsible for the Conference and its organization.

What we all disliked very much had been the meals at all. It didn’t matter if breakfast, lunch or dinner, all the time we had just one main ingredient: noodles (pasta). I really started to hate pasta in fried or cooked form, sometimes hearty, sometimes sweet. We all started to make fun of it a lot, when we watched out for the meals and realized: okay pasta again, why not? The thing was, that although meals had been simple and not really tasteful and also had not been enough (we all the time just got a small plate which is normally for a piece of cake) it was not really influencing the mood of all participants. It was because everyone more or less liked all contents of the session, liked to communicate and to learn something new which might be important for every individual’s learning experience. So the whole atmosphere at the Conference was cool enough that everyone felt more or less comfortable. I really liked this attitude of each delegate a lot and of course we all haven’t died of hunger because we all bought lots of food in small shops in the city centre or around the venue and we had enough to drink as well (not just alcoholic drinks but also. Vodka is really important for the mood and I also started to get more and more used to this spirit.

In the last evening (Friday night) we had organized a Global Village. Each Home Group had been assigned to a different country and had the task within maximum 10 minutes to present something out of this culture what came up into their minds. It was a really funny and great night. We had represented 8 different countries: Spain, Brazil, Poland, Germany, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan and Japan. Every group was really imaginative and full of energy presenting themselves on the stage. I haven’t experienced such kind of event beforehand but really can just recommend going further with such session because people really like it and can improve their presentation skills as well as their knowledge about different countries and cultures. Of course we also were activated lots of stereotypes by doing this but still it was really opening everyone’s mind as well as giving so much fun and joy. It was also one of the most intensive actions during the conference and will stay in my memories forever.

But as always all good things are coming to an end , so also the Conference had to finish on Saturday with the Closing Plenary. It was really hard to say good bye to all delegates as we really came closer together and just started to cooperate in a more pleasant way. Lots of delegates also told me that they really like the Conference and the attitude of the Facilitator and that they are really sad that now the Conference is over although they mostly would like to get more. I just can say that I really miss all good conversations and all funny parts and I deeply have to thank everyone who made my experience in Mariupol so intensive and unique. Thanks a lot to my Home Group, to Sasha, Tamara, Dasha, Zhenya, Yulia, Dasha, Anna, Galina, Misha, Anton, Victor and Kolya. You all had been really great and I deeply hope that we will keep in touch and will meet altogether soon again, in Ukraine or Germany or somewhere else in the whole wide world. I wish you a great experience in your internship abroad and as well the same to all the other delegates.

Mariupol - an industrial City

We arrived in Mariupol around 9:30 am and I was very happy entering the hostel/hotel. But it was not so easy to identify the venue what is really should be: for a hotel it was too poor, but for a hostel it was somehow too fine. But what really stood behind that venue I should just realize later. First I was just happy to take a shower with at least hot water. In between some charladies cleaned the shower room as well as the toilet, but I was just wondering what they cleaned? Because it was not visible afterwards that something was tidied up. All facilities had been in very poor conditions; the whole building was approximately 30 years old, but all walls especially in the lavatories had been covered with mould or were not painted that it looked like in a building shell. Mirrors were totally missing, but the best had been the toilets: just black wholes in the cabins without lights, but for what you should see something when you are just peeing or doing your ‘big deal’. So the next days I really was balancing the advantages and disadvantages going to the toilet or not, is it really needed now or maybe I can retard the walk to the toilet for some hours.

Before Premeeting of all Facis started we had to wait for all other Facis who came with train from L’viv, so Gosia, Vova and me went to the centre of Mariupol to buy some stuff as well as to eat some lunch and had some minutes checking our mails in any Internet Café. Mariupol is a very industrial city, not very nice and beautiful and for me everything appeared in a disorder. Some stands here, some street hawkers there, lots of traffic everywhere and lots of poor people on the street. I was buying some stuff to eat in a Mom-and-Pop grocery store around the corner, some bread, sausages and sweets for the next days.

So the Premeeting started at 2:00 pm. It was quite strange up from the beginning because most of us haven’t known each other before and we met for the first time. We started just after 30 minutes Get-to-know with serious work, running through all sessions and its outlines and it was not easy to get deeper into this work and handling all people with all individual characteristics and personalities in a right way up from the very beginning. Some appeared to me very reserved, others had been more open up from the first minute. I really just can recommend the fact that Teambuilding is a really needed process for a starting team in order to get into the right mood and get to know the people better. Otherwise it is normally really hard to understand each person with its individual characteristics.

In our case it went out positively. After some hours and when it came to the discussion about how to create a good mood for the whole Conference we all started to understand each other better and gave up more or less the reservation. We became in the next days more and more a team in which al participants interacted in a good way with each other. We all supported each other in order also to have a Learning effect for our own development as Facis. It was really great to see the development of each team member and I really have to say it was one of the most deep and sustainable Learning experiences for me as well. I think we all took so much out of this experience and I guess we all will follow each other’s path in the future in and outside AIESEC for a long time. I’m really proud of our team. And this was just the beginning; what has happened then in the following days exceeded my expectations totally.

Vova, Gosia and Olaf on the way to Mariupol

Trip by Train in Platzkart Coach to Mariupol

We had booked tickets in the Platzkart coach. For me it was not the first time to spend the time in such coach, but I have to say that I’m not very used to such conditions. It also turned out that I had to sleep in the upper bed. I know about my sleep that I’m moving a lot. So it happened what has to happen: I nearly felt out of the bed; thanks god I was able to avoid such situation, but unfortunately my pillow felt down on the table which was full of bottles and several other things. So one of the bottles which was not empty yet, fall down and the liquid (beer) was running out. Unfortunately it was running on the bed linen of a woman who lied on the right side of the table. I guess she realized it somehow while she was sleeping, but she was not really waken up and so I decided just to jump from my bed, to clean a bit all the mass and then tried to catch some sleep again. The next day in the Morning when we arrived in Donets’k I was not able to fall asleep again and so I decided to stand up and getting ready for the upcoming day. Of course it is not really possible to wash yourself in a proper way in such toilets, so I decided just brushing my teeth and washing myself a bit. I’m really wondering when I watched some other people in the train who prepared themselves for any business meeting or their normal work, wearing suit and neck tie but not looking quite rested after the night trip. But I guess it is really something normal and you have to get used to it so not many people are really taking care about your appearance or your feelings. I just know from myself that I have to have a shower or at least wash myself everywhere to feel comfortable and to have a good start into the day.

Beautiful View on Kyiv












Olaf loves Kyiv (especially when it is sunny and warm)








View on Sophis’ka Square & Michajlis’ka Church

The Metro Story and for now the last day in Kyiv

After spending the last night at Dania’s place we had to leave really early in the morning at 7:00 am in order to meet Vova at Metro station Petschers’ka (Печерська). I was not really in the mood after short sleep and not awake enough. So I realized when entering the Metro that it was really overcrowded, so now I realized how Rush-Hour in Kyiv Metro looks like. It was quite hard to fight for some space in the Metro especially I was going with my whole luggage (suitcase and backpack). I also was getting aware of one guy with his small child. They were standing at one door of the Metro which is not opened normally, because all platforms are to the left side, so he was standing with his daughter on the right side. When at every stop more and more people entered the Metro it was very hard for him to protect his daughter from like a flood pouring in people. Nobody took really care of small people like children, everyone was just looking for some space and when there was no space they just carved out for their space without noticing that children were in real danger maybe to get squashed by the crowd. Everyone was just thinking of himself/herself. I think that such behaviour is really rude especially taking into consideration that in other situations e.g. people keep doors open for others walking behind them etc. Men are gentle and open doors for girls, but in the Metro nobody takes care about children? This is very strange for me.

When we arrived at the Metro Station Petschers’ka it took me nearly five minutes to come to fresh air outside the station, because escalators are very, very deep. Someone told me it is because of soft ground and lots of underground lakes which are in that region of Kyiv. So in order to protect all tunnels from landslip they were build really d eep in the underground. Maybe it is also because of fear of nuclear war so that many people could survive and escape maybe in the underground not get affected by radioactivity. But I have no idea if this thought is right or not.

So Dania and me went out of the underground and we had to say good bye to each other as well. I am really thankful to Dania who really took care of me, was e.g. picking me up from Metro station to lead me home to his flat the day before and giving me a great host. I really appreciated his care and hope to meet him soon again; we agreed in meeting again when I come back to Kyiv. And I hope Dania you also will read my report as well.

So then Vova and I went to MC flat in order to put my luggage there ‘til our departure to Mariupol. Then we immediately had to leave to pick up Gosia (one Faci from Poland) from bus station which was in the West of Kyiv, so it took us nearly 40 minutes to get here by Metro.

We had been late for 30 minutes but fortunately Gosia’s bus was also late, so we had been in time. So after getting to the railway station in order to leave Gosia’s luggage there I was going around with her through the city centre. Now I felt somehow like a real Kyiv guy who is proud of Kyiv and have the opportunity to show someone around. It was kind of strange but still a great feeling. So we visited two main churches in the old town (Старе Місто). One of them is the Sophis’ka Church (Софійська Церковь) at the Sophis’ka Square (Софійська Пл.). There is a big tower which you can climb on for just 3 UAH. This day was very beautiful, just blue sky, the sun was shining and was bringing high temperature; so we both enjoyed the day having a great view on the old town of Kyiv.

Altogether in a Ukrainian Fast Food Restaurant








Olaf at bank of Dnepr River




















Olaf likes to travel around the World

Kyiv again with the Interns and great Guides :)

We started to eat in a Ukrainian Fast Food Restaurant nearby the Metro station Khreshchatyk (Хрещатик). I really started to like Ukrainian food, although I know that such restaurants are not offering the traditional food at all. But still it is great to try all the stuff like Borschtsch (борщ), the national dish par excellence. It is a strong soup, from a remarkably hearty taste mainly made out of beetroot, potatoes and sometimes meat, but all times with sour cream for decoration and its great flavour.

One other typical Ukrainian dish is ‘Vareniki’ (вареник[и]). These are stuffed pastries with potatoes, mushrooms, curd cheese or meat fillings. Mostly it is served with melted butter. It is very delicious and I like it very much!

In my opinion for Ukrainians there are no big differences between breakfast, lunch and dinner concerning what should be eaten. There are just differences in the quantity: for breakfast you are just eating less from what you normally it for lunch.

There are also some traditional drinks in Ukraine. Besides Beer and of course Vodka (водка) or Ukrainian Gurilka (горiлка) there is the sweet-rich red dessert wine called Kahor (Кагор), which is especially cultivated on peninsula Crimea. I also realized that you can find mainly in all restaurants or bars a wide variety of different beers, most of them unfortunately foreign ones like Tuborg, Stella Artois or Holsten. You also can find lots of domestic non-alcoholic drinks like juice but also foreign labels like Coca Cola, Fanta, Sprite, etc. Really seldom I found domestic brands of beer, unfortunately, because these beers are in my opinion high-quality beers, so the owners of the restaurants should not refuse from offering their own traditional Ukrainian trademarks moreover to make positive promotion. In bars I quite often found a flood of alcoholic drinks: Hard Liquor, Sparkling Wine and Champagne as well as Beers and miscellaneous spirituous beverages take lots of space on menus in restaurants, mostly more than meals. This is very interesting for me as I’m going to a restaurant mainly for eating and have maybe one, two beers for my normal dish, so the majority should be the meals in a menu, but in Ukraine I found out the opposite way.

For a one-person lunch with opulent starter, main dish and dessert, drinks and coffee you mainly pay around 40-50 UAH (Griwnas) so around 7 EUR. I guess that for a ‘normal’ Ukrainian it is really much and quite often not affordable compared with averaged salary. For a Western European tourist it is more or less cheap. For your comparison only: a normal loaf of bread in Ukraine costs around 3 UAH (50 Eurocents). In West Europe you have to pay normally 7-10 times more for equivalent bread.

I also realized that for amusement, pastime or patience training many people are eating roasted sunflower seeds which they can buy in lots of shops or mainly from street hawkers (a fistful costs around 1 UAH). With these seeds you just remove the shell and eat the inner soft core of them. Very delicious!

So after we had a big meal in that restaurant we went for sightseeing again, but not all people had been in the mood to walk a lot after long party the night before. So we just visited the main sights and streets of Kyiv. We had great guides from Kyiv, e.g. Kolya (Nick) joined us in the afternoon and showed us around the city ‘til the Interns had to leave to their cities in the evening. It was really great, he was up from the beginning a bit shy due to language barriers but he really was eager to make us a nice afternoon and to show us the beauty of Kyiv. Then later in the evening Firat from Turkey left first to Ivano-Frankivs’k, then Juliana from Brazil left to Sevastopol and finally Mario from Mexico left to Kharkiv. In the evening Vladimir Bogdan (called Vova) joined us. He is a member of the AIESEC National Committee of Ukraine and I had the opportunity to meet him firstly the last autumn when we had been together working and facilitating on Intercultural Development Seminar of New Horizons Conference in Chervonograd (червоноград). I was really happy that we had the opportunity to cooperate together a second time as he is a really cool and serious guy in working behaviour. So we met in the evening and we spent some hours together, drinking a beer on Square ‘Majdan Nesaleshnosti’ (Майдан Незалежності). We also started to speak about the next week when IDS Conference in Mariupol will take place. And we accompanied Mario as last Intern to his train and said good bye to him. The great day in Kyiv was over, unfortunately.

The problem with drunk people

By the way because I haven’t known beforehand that we will go directly from the quest to the party location I haven’t had any additional clothes or sanitary products with me, but who cares? Everything was fine with me and the next day after just a short sleep of four hours shoulder by shoulder with an Italian Guy who tried to take my small space while we slept we went to the city centre back. 

Unfortunately the weather was not the best; it was over cloudy but not started raining yet. On the way by taking a tram we made acquaintance with a totally drunken guy (maybe 40 years old man). He was really drunk and spoke with the passengers in the tram, moreover let’s say he shouted at them. And then it happened: He was standing nearby the back door of the tram and was getting aggressive and destroyed the door totally. He was stroke against the acrylic glass of the door and destroyed it totally while the tram was running through the suburban woods of Kyiv. No passenger was doing something against him or was telling what has happened to the conductor/driver of the engine/tram. This was really wondering me, that mostly people here haven’t shown any interest in what happened besides them as well as that a drunken guy destroys any public goods like this tram. So the next stop this guy went out of the tram and he disappeared in a small Ukrainian pub nearby. Now the tram driver came out and looked at the destroyed window/door. And he asked where the guy disappeared now. So the tram was not going further and people left the tram to take any other bus or Marschrutka. Also we decided to leave the tram. What was most wondering for me as well as fulfilling my stereotypes that on Sunday Morning at 11:30 it was possible to see some drunken people on the streets who also not caring of public goods, moreover they are destroying it intentionally. But that also nobody tried to stop him, that just people were caring about not getting affected by broken glass on their clothes and seats that was really shocking me. It seems for me that in general there is no attitude of one’s own initiative or courage to stand up for one’s own beliefs. So maybe in general they have not such beliefs that on the one hand such people should get any help to come out of such situation (unemployment, drugs, alcohol etc.) and on the other hand to help each other when there is any danger (like we had the situation in the tram). It’s a pity that I experienced one the one hand so much hospitality from Ukrainians and on the other hand there is no attitude in helping each other in such situations. This is confusing me a lot now.