Lviv on the 8th of May

Jeans, T-shirts, introspection. My plan in coming to study Ukrainian in Lviv has been to live as much like a student as possible: jeans, T-shirts, introspection, vocab lists and infinite numbers of Ukrainian podcasts (is this what students do? - Ed). But my hosts are keen to ensure I have the most interesting time imaginable, making introspection a no-no. On balance, this is excellent news. Instead, they take me along to meet fascinating Lviv residents, such as the Vice-Rector of the Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, Dr Volodymyr Kyrylych, or the Rev. Borys Gudziak, Rector of the Ukrainian Catholic University.

Sometimes this happens over a beer, which is even better and fuels my belief that I am making progress with the language. So far in three days I haven't uttered a word of English. There's a buzz around Lviv, as plans are made for new academic institutions and to restore the city ahead of the 2012 European Championships. The fact that the streets are alive with swarms of tourists, attracted by the warmer weather, also lends a sense of dynamism