What a journey. With nothing left to do but polish off our blog posts and finalise the filming, this day is one of reflection and intense writing. We’ve finished all the lectures and learnt all there is to learn about the Danube river, and now we’re left alone, aimlessly wandering through the void that was once filled with hour-long interactive lectures. Our language teacher has left us empty and hollow, wanting to learn more Ukrainian with the help of a fun and enthusiastic teacher, but not being able to for the time being.
But that’s okay. We’ve still got the memories of the not-so-distant past fresh in our minds, spurring us on to reach our final destination: the UCL Global Citizenship Programme’s closing ceremony (or the Black Sea). Looking back, we can see how far we’ve come. At the start, we couldn’t even say ‘hello’ in Ukrainian, and now we can fully introduce ourselves and order beef stroganoff and borscht at any restaraunt in Kyiv. We are now more aware of the interconnectedness of the Danube region, and we’ve realised that we shouldn’t look at it in terms of countries, but in terms of people, languages, and cultures. Finalising our blog posts has also spurred us to research further into the Danube region, and Ukraine in particular, giving us interesting knowledge and making the programme a truly worthwhile and memorable one.
We’ve had a great time on this journey, but sadly the end is in sight. The penultimate day has been challenging, but rewarding, and will be cherished along with other memories gained during our time on our voyage.
Tom and Conor, unfortunately for the last time. It was a pleasure, but all good things must come to an end. We are ready to pass the beacon of knowledge and hope to our counterparts next year, and can only hope that they carry out this task that we have come to perfect and love with as much passion as we have. We don’t know what the future holds for Ukraine’s 2018 group, but we are sure that it will be filled with people who were equally inspired as we were.
Thank you, and goodbye for now.
Tom and Conor, and the Ukraine group of 2017
Danube on Thames 