Between 7th and 12th of March the members of AEGEE-Lviv visited AEGEE-Aachen. Along with being a cultural exchange event, it was also held within the framework of Eastern Partnership Project. Fellow members got to spend a few days filled with activities aimed at discovering the German culture and exploring the charming city Aachen and it’s surroundings. Next to that, members of AEGEE-Aachen got the opportunity to follow workshops and discussions on history, recent events and the current situation in Ukraine. Both organisers and participants shared their thoughts about the event.
What are your impressions of the part of the exchange held in Aachen, people you have met during it and the atmosphere of the event in general?
Kostas Tsoleridis (AEGEE-Aachen): I believe that the atmosphere was beartastic. Despite the fact that most people did not really know each other from before and only a few of us had met previously, there were no problems like a “slow start” in the beginning. After the first day (or better said, the first few hours) the atmosphere was very warm. I think the various activities that we had planned for the beginning (ice breaking games and a rich, tasty and with love prepared brunch) helped a lot.
I want to strongly encourage other antennas to do their own exchanges. It is a fascinating experience, a wonderful way to understand other people’s traditions, culture and habits and the next action agenda encourages it as well!
I am really looking forward to go to Lviv in June and meet all the wonderful AEGEE-Lviv members again!
Olya Ilnytska (AEGEE-Lviv): It was really amazing. Although I couldn’t stay with these fun, mega kind, curious and slightly crazy people untill the end of the exchange, these few days were enough to understand that a certain piece of my heart (or soul – still undecided) will forever remain in this city. The organizers, with the help of some magic (or typical German potion), managed to make us, at least me, feel like home all the time. The atmosphere was as if I came to visit my beloved cousins for the weekend and I didn’t want to go home. You know what? My impressions are not amazing, they’re fantastic, certainly fantastic. P.S: But still one question is unanswered: what does the fox say?
Sarah Buchmin (AEGEE-Aachen): In my opinion, the exchange between AEGEE-Lviv and AEGEE-Aachen was great and we all spent some really nice days together. The exchange students were really friendly, open minded and seemed to have enjoyed their stay in Aachen a lot. The atmosphere was relaxed and pleasant on all events and trips, which shows that the participants of both countries got along with each other very well. For me the best events were the European Night as well as the day trips to Monschau and Cologne and the city rally. The exchange students told us a lot about their country and culture, so now I am really looking forward to visiting them, too.
Nadiia Stasyk (AEGEE-Lviv): I am very excited while recalling the Aachen exchange and these cool people that made it real! Friendly and sunny atmosphere while discovering Germany, eating currywurst in the morning, playing Flunkyball and sunbathing near Aachen river. I couldn’t feel my legs after exploring new places and dancing all nights and in the end I even lost my voice after singing karaoke like a rockstar! I miss Aachen and these lovely people that created the sweetest memories for me and I have a strong desire to come back again.
Was the exchange effective for you in terms of gaining knowledge about the history of Ukraine and getting a better insight on what’s been happening there during the last four months?
Christian Schumann (AEGEE-Aachen): As usual, we only know what the news reporters say. Hence, we know Vladimir Putin is bad, Yulia Tymoschenko was on hunger-strike and Vitalyi Klitschko is fighting with words for democracy. As always, only superficial knowledge. However, for the first time in my life, I had the opportunity to get first-hand information about the current crises. The by far most important point to mention, is why Ukrainians are disappointed by late action of the European Union. Back in 1994 Ukraine gave all their nuclear weapons up to gain acceptance of their sovereignty, territorial integrity and independency. Russia seems to have forgotten this. Complemented by an open discussion, the members of AEGEE-Lviv invited us all to ask questions and to discuss the current situation. Overall it was a very important experience.
Maria Lüke (AEGEE-Aachen): Yes indeed, there was definitely a lot of great cultural exchange! It was especially intense, because during the exchange Russia was just preparing the voting at Crimea and the theme “Ukraine” was (and still is) very omnipresent in the German Media.
Especially interesting was the talk our guests prepared and the discussion that followed. I liked it a lot, that they explained us a lot about the Ukrainian background. Now I know for example, that Cossacks are not necessarily typical for Russia, but also for Ukraine and that there are a lot of special religious groups like the Greek catholics, who acknowledge the Pope in Rome and different Orthodox groups. I liked it a lot that we could discuss even difficult themes, as “how to deal with a transient government, that is authorised not in the typical way” or “reasons for and against being hard with Putin” or “what role do economic interests have for the European governments” in a positive atmosphere.
Also, I enjoyed the chats about the political situation while walking through Aachen and Köln during the following days and I think talking face to face is really good, because it becomes obvious that even if specific views might differ, everyone is caring very much and wants the same thing in the end! For me personally there is a dilemma: on one hand I really want to help Ukrainian people to ensure their sovereignty and support them standing up for more democracy and justice. But, on the other hand I really want to de- escalate a possible conflict between Russia and Europe, especially from a German point of view with the history of brutal fights against Russia during the Second World War and the positive political experience with Russia with the slogan “Change through rapprochement”.
Still, during the exchange I got the point, that for Ukrainians the preventing war argument is not so strong, if there are already some war-like situations in their country. Also for me it was tough to hear, that some were disappointed by Europe, because of the restrained strategy and very tentatively planning of sanctions. I really felt for them when someone said, that it can be exhausting to hear again, that “Europe is deeply concerned“ but doesn’t do something.
If I can make two wishes: firstly, it would be great to have a more neutral and more multi-faceted reporting and commentatorship, because every country seems to have a leak of some pieces of information somewhere. And of course secondly, I wish that after all there will be a good end for Ukraine.
Another cultural highlight for me was the Ukrainian movie- night, where our Ukrainian friends showed us Firecrosser. It is a love story taking place during the second world war in the Ukraine, and very interesting, e.g. because of the diversity in language, with the Ukrainian, Russian and Tatar language and because of the unexpected twist, which is definitely not the predictable Hollywood end we were expecting somehow!
What impressed you the most during the event?
Nataliia Bidnyk (AEGEE-Lviv): Since it was only my second experience as a member of AEGEE and I have never been to Germany before, this exchange was really full of new impressions. I was amazed by the friendliness and hospitality of AEGEE-Aachen members and the beauty of all German cities we have visited. The program of event was very intensive and interesting, which made everyday an exciting adventure. Also I was pleasantly surprised by their profound knowledge about the current political situation in Ukraine and genuine interest towards it and the Ukrainian culture and history. I really liked the first part of exchange held in Aachen!
Sarah Buchmin (AEGEE-Aachen): I was impressed the most by the way people from different countries get used to each other in such a short period of time. The exchange students from Lviv were in Aachen only for a couple of days, but this time was still enough to get to know them pretty well and to take them into ones heart. I was positively surprised by that, because up to that point I only had a comparable experience during my Erasmus semester abroad, which took more than four months. Now I am more convinced of the great value of exchanges, even if they only last four or five days. Additionally, I was impressed by our guests’ ability to speak English. Most of them speak really fluently and hardly any problems came up with regard to communication.
Victoria Horiachko (AEGEE-Lviv): It’s challenging to choose one thing that was the most impressive for me – travelling to a foreign country, living and spending all that time with its citizens and getting to know their culture always brings loads of impressions. Thus I wouldn’t bore the interested reader with my subjective observations and rather concentrate on what amazed me the most about the people who were hosting us, organising everything, showing us around and keeping an enjoyable company.
Probably the most astonishing for me about our friends from Aachen was finding out their deep awareness of the situation in Ukraine. Sure, you would say, everything that’s been happening there has been a hot topic for months already – everyone is acquainted with what’s been going on. However during the workshop and discussions not only were they listening to our points of view but they were also taking active part in those conversations and expressed their attitude to the discussed topics.
Ana Isabel Ramones (AEGEE-Aachen): I was impressed the most by the enthusiasm of the AEGEE-Aachen people. In every part of the programme Aachen people were involved and it was great to see what an active and motivated local we are at the moment! I am really looking forward to the other half of the exchange in Lviv and to see the great spirit of AEGEE-Lviv and Aachen together again!
For five days you were hosted by students in Aachen and have spent all that time with them. How would you compare your everyday life with theirs?
Natalka Kinash (AEGEE-Lviv): People in Aachen seem to be magical creatures, who live in a wonderland, where you have beer instead of water and summer instead of spring. I’ll try to be an unbiased observer, who just compares some obvious facts.
First and foremost, the average age of an university graduate in Lviv varies between 21 and 22, whereas in Aachen people graduate from university when they are already 25-26. The main benefit, of course, is that they can enjoy an independent joyful life without many responsibilities longer than people in Ukraine. On the other hand, if you are willing to start your career as soon as possible, then education in Ukraine is much better option. Aachen is full of students whose studies have more or less a technical orientation. That’s not true about Lviv, because we still have lots of classical disciplines such as history, philosophy, culturology, etc. The next important issue is money. Many Ukrainian students get paid scholarships from government if they pass their exams successfully. You don’t have to apply for it, it’s just a part of our system of education. In Aachen the situation is quite different: you have to pay some fee for your studies and normally you work during your studies. Most students are employed by the university and their job is connected with the topic of a course paper. In my opinion, that’s a really big benefit for them.
Finally, I want to describe my personal impressions. All the people from Aachen are more mature, than we are. Most of them live apart from their families, so they are more independent. They live, work, study, socialize and have fun. Students have to multitask a lot. None of them behaves like a closed strict German from the stereotypes. Everybody is so open-minded, ready to dialogue, that I simply admire that. Leo, who was hosting me and Nadiia, was doing his Erasmus in Barcelona, his diploma is about photoeffect, he teaches children maths at the weekends. Leo is always smiling. I can’t say that many people live like this in Lviv, but maybe it’s just about being in AEGEE, about being active. But anyway I like it!
Oksana Stuha (AEGEE-Lviv): Well, during the five days of the incredible stay in Aachen we have come across a lot of similar and divergent features of life styles among the Ukrainian and German students. I would say that it was not so apparent since the time we have spent with our new friends was not enough for a deeper look into the real everyday life, but still some of the differences were obvious.
The most striking distinctive feature lied in the issues of where to live. It puzzled me that the dorms in Germany are almost the same price as the hired apartments, whereas, the dorms in Ukraine are extremely cheap but correspondingly they are in a bad condition as well. Moreover for Germans the possibility to have a job, at least part-time, is pretty high, notwithstanding the fact that it has some limited hours per week. Sometimes Ukrainian students have to choose between work and studies, but it is not always the case.
And what I liked most in their everyday life was the fact that they are always positive. They always look on the bright side of their lives. This fact inspires a lot! On the contrary, our youth is lost in their problems, which gives an impression that everyone lives in her or his own shell and never wants to put her/his nose out of it. One more thing, Aachen people were very punctual! What interests me too is the fact whether German girls are as punctual while getting ready for a date as they are on the daily basis. I dare to say that it is something that all the girls from all around the world have in common. And last but not the least, both Germans and Ukrainians are very friendly. They are friendly not only every day, but every hour, every minute and every waking moment in general and this is the fact that unites everyone!
Written by Victoria Horiachko, AEGEE-Lviv