smarphones are awful

Possibly the worst thing ever invented .

univ monastery

It is now my third day here at Univ Monstere in Ukroaine. The monks here are graetbt. I guess there are about 30 brothers here and about 7 priests. And apparently i cant make any mistakes here because i don't know how to edit.the daily weekday routine is as follows: 6am: matins and 1st hour 7.30am: divine liturgy 8.45am: breakfast 10-12am: work 1.30pm: 3rd and 6th hour 2pm: dinner 3-5pm: work 6pm: vespers, 9th hour and 3/4 of complines 7.30pm: supper and forgiveness part of complines And a couple of other notes: there is only warm water here 3 days a week, it !is bloody cold in the chapel all of the time Today we are fasting from dairy for th situation in Ukraine. Thats all for now, folks.

Hello all. I have not really had internet access for more than a few minutes (and on a smartphone) until today. I am currently staying with the wonderful SSMI sisters here in Lviv; they have been extremely hospitable and generous to me. Later today a sister will give me a tour of the city.
My arrival into Lviv yesterday was quite eventful. I first took a bus from Munich to Przemysl, then took another smaller bus to the border, then another one on the other side. This seems to be the cheapest way into Ukraine (but also meant 24 hours on a bus). On the small bus from the border to Lviv, I met a young man who was from Lviv. I asked him to catch me up on the news about Ukraine (as the last time I had heard anything was from Fr. Mykhailo in Paris on January 17th. He told me that it was not good at all. 5 people had been confirmed dead; one of which he knew quite well (from Lviv). He told me that he too was on his way to Kyiv, hopeful for the best, but expecting the worst.
When I arrived in Lviv, I met up with Fr. Stepan, a military chaplain. His parish had been turned into a pharmacy and basically a warehouse to prepare boxes of supplies to ship to Kyiv for the protesters. An amazing sight.
I also saw the people gathered in the square here in Lviv. Off to the side, I was shown the terminal from where people were being brought to Kyiv.
A sister here told me the Ukrainian people have been fighting for freedom all her living memory. However, it seems as if there is an understanding that in the upcoming days there will be a change; that there is no going back now. There is a great sense of hopefullness for change for greater justice here and a government of the people. And the people seem to be completely determined in this regard; even if at great risk and cost.
May God help this people and this nation.

Sorry, but no pictures for now. 

And so it begins

The last night in Calgary has finally come. I have gathered all the required supplies and prepared myself for the long journey to Toronto and then across the ocean to France where I will begin my adventure through Europe. JK I have had a few weeks to get everything done but being the typical Boychuk, I have left everything to the very last minute. I will obviously be pulling an all nighter, running around the house, throwing random stuff into my bag. Writing this blog is clearly a good use of my time. I also played crib for a few hours prior to this and was completely skunked, yet again, the smartest thing I could be doing on my last evening here. The few days leading up to tonight here in Calgary have made me extremely excited for my trip. I am very eager to see what the next 5 months will bring me and am happy to share my adventures with anyone interested. I will be sure to take lots of photos and have clear descriptions of the progress of my beard. I will miss everyone here but am excited for all the new relationships I will be sure to make along the way (get it? the way?)

All my love,

Tobias