My Town

It's breakfast time...at Nautica Coffee

Breakfast is undoubtedly the best meal of the day. While it's always been prescribed as the necessary meal of the day, I think breakfast is important only because you get to have so many options: omelets, pancakes, French toast, turkey bacon, unlimited varieties of cereal, doughnuts, and so many other unhealthy things. Some days I do eat a healthy breakfast (cereal with chopped banana and unsweetened soy milk), but mostly, I view it as my "cheat meal" of the day, meaning I can eat something that's not low in calories and still get away with it, because it will have all day to burn off. 

This morning I chose to visit Nautica Coffee, which is located in the Shoppes of Mayberry Square, near Centennial Terrace. It's in the same building as Mayberry Ice Cream (which serves hand dipped ice cream, great smoothies and endless frappes and milkshakes). I ordered just a regular brewed coffee, which was strong, but not so strong that I couldn't drink it. 

The clerk at the counter pointed me toward a bakery rack next to the pastry case, which was full of chocolate muffins, low-fat cinnamon muffins, blueberry crumb muffins and so much more. I opted with the blueberry crumb, because I love the crumb topping and I don't even need the rest, but I ate it anyway because it was good and not dried out. 

Hello, breakfast. 

For 9 a.m., Nautica was pretty quiet, with the exception of the television, reporting the morning news. Maybe it's just a yet-to-be-discovered Sylvania spot. It's decorated interestingly, with yellow and orange paint covering the counters and walls. Overall, it seems like a good place to get studying done or work on a project where some concentration is necessary. 

Meeting Ukrainian journalist Volodymyr Torbich

It's no secret that I love to travel. The doors of my fridge are packed with photos of my travels –there's a picture of a memorable cup of coffee I had in Florence, Italy, followed by a photo taken in Germany, and then there is also my collection of scarves/pashminas, which is the one souvenir I get in every country (that tradition all started during a trip to Prague in 2006).

There are also memories from my travels that I'll never forget, like eating the best ham and cheese sandwich I've ever had in my life, while in a train car in Ireland. Or the time I got miserably slapped in the head by one of those vehicle barrier gates in a parking garage in Bratislava. Times like that keep me boarding planes and shipping off to weird destinations just for the fun of it.

All in all, knowing I love travel and learning about the customs and cultures of other countries, I was most surprised when I got a call this morning from Elizabeth Balint, project manager for the Great Lakes Consortium for International Training and Development.

I was connected to Elizabeth through Sylvania resident Fran Cary, who is a returned Peace Corps volunteer who was in Ukraine for two years. Ms. Cary said there was a Ukrainian journalist in town and it would be great for us to meet.

This morning I got to meet that journalist – Volodymyr Torbich. Mr. Torbich is director and the main editor of Rivne (a city in Western Ukraine) NGO “Agency for Investigative Journalism.” He also worked as a journalist for the newspaper “SIMYA I DIM,” before that.

Mainly, I asked him a lot of questions, through translator Marina Vysotska, curious to know about his life as a journalist and how he views his time spent here.

Here's some of our interview:

Me: What's different about American life?

Volodymyr: Very few people are out in the streets. Without a car, you're hopeless and helpless. In Ukraine, public transportation is very well developed and people rely on that chiefly.

Me: What made you want to work in journalism?

Volodymyr: Generally speaking, my first desire was to become a lawyer, and I tried several times, but I never made it to the law school. Eventually, I've chosen the path where journalism coincides with law and overlaps with certain issues. That's now my specialization – of journalism and law coming together.

Me: Do you ever receive negative opinions/threats about the stories you write?

Volodymyr: In fact we have some protecting on our operation. All of our stories are first approved by a lawyer, so that after we publish the materials, no one can take us to court. Me personally, no.

Me: How is online journalism changing the game?

Volodymyr: Journalism on the Internet is more free and it has less control. It's subjected to less control. Online journalism is the freest of all. Myself for example, I never watch TV news these days. I can get all of the news online.

Me: It's your first visit to the United States. Have you encountered anything negative?

Volodymyr: Coffee is no good.

(Translator Marina Vysotska and Volodymyr Torbich listen to Elizabeth Balint) 

Ms. Balint also asked Volodymyr about the Chernobyl disaster and whether he had any comments on how that is perceived.

“It's not always health issues,” he said, considering the aftermath of the issue. “Of course, I would like to express here the social aftermath. All of the people who were relocated are entitled to different sorts of benefits, directly from the Chernobyl disaster. I would say it's rather social.”

Sponsored by USAID Community Connections, Mr. Torbich is part of a professional program that has brought a nine-member delegation to the Toledo/Sylvania area from Aug. 6-Aug. 27. For more information about the Great Lakes Consortium of the group of delegates, visit www.gl-consortium.org.

 

'Tree City' has many serene and peaceful outdoor spots

I'm surrounded by technology all the time. I look at a computer screen for most of my day and if I'm not sending an email or writing an article, I'm probably on the phone conducting an interview. 

But some days, I just feel like being less connected and writing my stories out in a notebook. Sure, it's easier to write a story or an article using my laptop. Then I can send it in right away and I don't have to re-write or re-type words multiple times.

Although, since writing is a creative endeavor, there are days where the words just don't want to go together and where I find myself having what is commonly known as writer's block.

When that happens, I have to find something to bring my creativity back.

When I need creative, meditative stillness, I know where to go in Sylvania: The Sisters of St. Francis campus.

Okay, I admit to being a little obsessed with the property since I wrote a story about the Portiuncula Chapel last week. But it's so nice! The campus is extremely quiet and the flowers and statues inspire a lot of creativity for me.

For an hour this week, this was my desk:

It's great to live in "Tree City."

 

Contact Kelly McLendon at

kmclendon@theblade.com

or 419-206-0356 or @MyTownSylvania.