Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Передмова ~ Introduction




You are probably wondering why there are some strange looking characters on my blog page. They are Ukrainian words, which are followed by their English translations. Until the age of 5, I did not know the English language. I now consider it to be my first language, as I use it the most. However, I am still very much involved in my Ukrainian heritage. I therefore consider myself a Ukrainian-Canadian. I know that many people have trouble understanding such a description. I was born in Canada, therefore I should be considered a Canadian.

There are so many things I love about Canada, having traveled to almost every province within this great country, visiting National and Provincial Parks, heritage sites, and beautiful landmarks. And it has probably contributed to my interest in Public History. But there is this other part of me. I have spent my life, in Canada, going to Ukrainian schools, camps, churches, festivals, dance classes, have many Ukrainian friends and now my research interests are even in Ukrainian history. My life experiences are found within both of these cultures. I am however eager to learn more about Canadian history, which is why I am very excited to be taking the Public History program at UWO.

But enough about me.

As far as blogging goes, I have never done this before. This is something most people write at the beginning of their blogs, which is why I chose to mention it later. I want to make you aware that I am not entirely sure of what to expect or what is expected of me in this process. I will do my best to make it as interesting as possible. It feels a bit strange to be writing all of this, knowing many other people will read it. What will they think? I suppose I will find out...

Well now that I have written much more than I expected, I would like to conclude by welcoming you to my blog! I want to wish everyone a wonderful year!

Photograph: Demonstration in Toronto during the Orange Revolution.

Question: Considering what you know about me so far, can anyone guess why I chose an orange template for my blog? Hint: It has to do with recent history...

2 comments:

Ruthann said...

Might it be the Orange Revolution of late 2004 early 2005?

Kalyna Klymkiw said...

That is correct, Ruthann! :)

For more information on the Orange Revolution, please visit:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orange_Revolution