An Introduction

I would like to introduce you to The Pierogi Blog, the record of my AIESEC Internship in Kyiv, Ukraine to activate youth leadership and teach about Canada at a youth summer camp.

On March 17th, I had been previously thinking of doing this internship, but had decided it wasn't going to happen this summer. On March 18th, I had passed through the interviews, paid my exchange fee, and had committed to the internship program. So, what thought process occurred on the evening of March 17th to instill this JFDI (Just Fuckin Do It!) attitude?

I can sum this up with two quotes:

1) 'Leave the house before you find something worth staying in for' - Banksy

-It's really easy to settle in life. It's comfortable, it's stable. It's easy to find a lot of reasons to stay. My list of reasons that I should stay was long. There's a lot of cool stuff to do in Saskatoon this summer, cool people to hang out with and fun times. I'm gonna miss that. I also wanted to stay and help out with AIESEC Saskatoon. We're really building and there would be a lot I could help get done....but this is a life changing experience I'm talking about here, the chance to live and work in another country. I believe it's in our nature to settle, we'll always find excuses....that's why you just have to leave before you find a reason to be complacent.

2) 'A stair not worn hollow by footsteps is regarded, from its own point of view, only a boring something made of wood' - Franz Kafka

-Okay, I'm forcing this quote into this blog entry a bit, but I really like this quote and it kinda matches what I'm getting at. You have to push yourself in life. When I made the decision to go on this internship, I didn't know if I could afford it, I didn't know what trouble I was getting myself into....but I'll figure it out, and in the process I'll become a stronger person because of it. This is partially the same reason why I stepped into a leadership role with AIESEC Saskatoon. I still don't know what kind of issues I'm going to face, but I'm forcing myself into a situation where I have to adapt, where I have to grow. I'm not sure what this whole experience will end up being, but by the end of it I know I won't be a boring something made of wood.


So, that's my introduction. A little later on I'll fill you in on how unprepared I really am for this whole adventure and hopefully I'll actually have the internet access over there so I can provide you with lots of pictures and stories about the strange, beautiful, and randomness of my Ukraine internship.