12 | January | 2014 | Break the mold

Wow, I have received the “Sunshine” Award – my very first Bog Award! Thank you, Victoria, for nominating me!

Per the Sunshine Award protocol (see below), here are 11 facts about myself:

My favorite book growing up was The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, by C.S. Lewis.
I read it in Russian, which is my native tongue.
I was born and raised in Ukraine, but speak fluently in Russian, not Ukrainian. Ukrainian was secondary to Russian when I was growing up (although it is the national language and heavily emphasized there now), but I can understand it…whether or not Ukrainians understand my Ukrainian is a different story.
I had a similar experience of mis-communication when I tried to speak Spanish in Italy. I understood a lot of what was said to me by picking out the Latin roots, but my listeners were lost when I tried to answer back in Spanish.
The above happened when a friend and I visited her long-lost relatives in Sicily. She looked them up when we studied abroad in Europe. I spent a wonderful semester in 3 countries: 5 weeks each in Salamanca (Spain), Paris (France) and Rome (Italy).
As you have probably gathered, I love to travel. My personal theory is that immigrants are more predisposed to moving throughout their lives and traveling. For some reason, we just can’t sit still and are always on the lookout for a better place to be, whether temporarily or to settle down in. And since we’ve gone through it before, it takes the pressure and the fear off of attempting it yet again.
I moved to America with my family when I was 9.
Without having to go to far, I love to immerse myself in other worlds, through various forms of art. This is why I love to read, listen to music, see performances of the opera/ballet/dance shows, visit art exhibits, and watch movies.
I also like to participate in the arts. I dance and teach dance, and I sketch. Recently I have started to paint.
My favorite color is purple.
And to bring it back full circle: I am currently re-reading the entire Chronicles of Narnia series, in English this time. It’s a little awkward reading a children’s illustrated novel on the public transport, but hey – stranger things are seen in NYC!