00:00:00:00 - 00:00:22:14
Unknown
Hi everyone. Welcome to another episode of Tinas arena. Today I have my very special friend Yana with me and she would like to share a story about coming to Canada. Right? Yeah. Thank you. It's a funny story because me and my mom, we were actually going to come to Canada because my sister, my cousin, I should say. But I call her sister because she's the only sister I have.

00:00:22:15 - 00:00:42:05
Unknown
She was going to get married, so we already had our tickets to fly into Canada for June. And the war started in the end of February. So when the war started, my end was like, oh my God, you just have to come here. So we changed our tickets and it was very helpful that we had those tickets already, right?

00:00:42:05 - 00:01:08:20
Unknown
Because we already had our visas open. So all we needed to do was just change the dates. That's why we were able to come here so quickly. We came six of March. I remember the day and since then I stayed here. Didn't plan to, we actually had our tickets back for August of that same year because we thought it was only going to be temporary, and we would go back home and everything would be fine.

00:01:08:20 - 00:01:32:01
Unknown
Right. But but it didn't. So we stayed. And then things got a life. Got in the way. Met my husband, currently my husband. And that's the main reason why, you know, the life started flowing here. My mom stayed, but she's going back very soon, actually, because my dad and my whole family still their rights. So I'm staying.

00:01:32:03 - 00:02:00:18
Unknown
She's going back to her life. I'm in Windsor now. I'm very grateful that it's Windsor, because now that I can compare to. Sorry, Toronto, but Windsor. Windsor it is. You know, it's it's I love my life here. Make my community dance community. We met so many friends through the community. Right. Berlin. Our life here I feel like is just much easier to do it in Windsor.

00:02:00:20 - 00:02:20:05
Unknown
And in general, we like Windsor more than Toronto just because of it's, you know, it's a big city traffic. Oh my gosh. You know what I mean. So yeah, that's that's how I'm here. Was it easy for you to adjust to life in Canada? How is it like coming to a completely different country? Did you know English already?

00:02:20:07 - 00:02:40:06
Unknown
Yes I did. It was easy. I would say it was fairly easy. Despite all the circumstances and why I came here at the first place, I did no English because. And that was a huge factor. That helped me, of course, because I studied English. I went to study English studies in Poland. So that's what I did for my bachelors.

00:02:40:08 - 00:03:03:03
Unknown
So and honestly, I just loved English my whole life. Like since I was at school, I was having like private tutors in English, and that's probably how my love for English grew. But still, it's not perfect and David has the most fun with me and my English, because sometimes I can say something that it's completely out of reality.

00:03:03:05 - 00:03:23:21
Unknown
But he loves it. So in general it was I would say it was easy because we had family here, right? So I didn't come like a lot of people left their houses and just went completely not knowing where they're going, not knowing anybody, not knowing the language. It's hard, right? But we came to our family. We stayed with our family.

00:03:23:21 - 00:03:46:11
Unknown
So this change was very easy in just I think what helped me most was probably the approach for life right there that I have, I try to live by is just whatever happens, happens for the best. So if life brought me here, it means it has a reason, right? As God wants me here, that means he has a plan for me.

00:03:46:14 - 00:04:07:07
Unknown
So I just try to follow the plan. And it's it's honestly, it's amazing where life can take you without you even knowing that. So yeah, I love that. So you've just been like following the ride? Kind of. That's right. Yeah, that's what I try to do. I think there is this popular saying make plans and then God will love.

00:04:07:09 - 00:04:34:20
Unknown
So it's easier the other way, right? Like you, if you follow what God's brings you, what life brings you, universe brings you what whatever you believe in, whatever this higher power is, is just, you know, naturally follow. That flow is just so much easier to live like this. And more interesting, I would say, right. Because if you just plan everything out and it's like, yeah, maybe for for some control and people who love control, it's easier.

00:04:34:20 - 00:05:00:22
Unknown
But to me, I like that flow. I like to just accept whatever life brings me. Right. So it's been always working out for me, honestly. Yeah. That's amazing. I don't know if you know this, but you're one of those people that I look up to. You because you seem so full of life and joyous and like, you just seem like one of those people that has fun everywhere you go.

00:05:01:00 - 00:05:20:10
Unknown
And that is like my goal because I am so reserved and quiet. And I'm like, you were one of those people. Like, what would you had to do in this situation? Or like, how would she she I yeah, I love it. Yeah. So you're an inspiration to me and I thank you for that. Have you always been so joyous?

00:05:20:12 - 00:05:45:11
Unknown
Probably. No. I think there was a moment where I consciously wanted to be like that, and I started reading books to develop myself more spiritually in that way, just trying to go, you know, that path. And that helped a lot. But I must say that it was pretty easy for me. I know that it's hard for a lot of people because it is hard.

00:05:45:11 - 00:06:07:06
Unknown
It is hard to surrender. It is hard to let go, especially if you're used to like, right, as I said, control everything in your life and I still do that. Of course, you know, we all do that, but to some extent, right. So to be able to find that golden middle, that balance between, you know, I have to do this and then maybe I should just let go and see what happens.

00:06:07:06 - 00:06:42:01
Unknown
Right. It it's still hard, but the more you do it, I would say the easier it becomes and the more enjoyable it becomes to. So I'm hearing you say that spirituality has been a big part of that. For you. It was. Yeah, I am coming from a religious family. Christianity. But at some point of my life I started to explore other ways of spirituality, and I got really interested in that because, you know, when we are brought up in a family, which is, you know, one type of religion, then that's the only type of religion we are exposed to, right?

00:06:42:06 - 00:07:05:20
Unknown
But then when you grow up and you have the ability to explore for yourself, all the doors are open, right? So yeah, just in general, you know, I was reading different books and still the last one, both me and my husband there was the most, I would say impactful was by an author, Michael Singer, and I read two of his books.

00:07:05:20 - 00:07:35:09
Unknown
I'm celebrating his third one, but his concept is the same. It's just those words that I already said. It's let go, relax, release, surrender. One of his books is called The Surrender Experiment, where he talks about how he actually surrendered to everything, what came, his life. And it's awesome. I'm still on that journey. Obviously, we're still learning, but just to have that kind of at the back of your mind always helps, you know?

00:07:35:11 - 00:07:53:02
Unknown
So it's like a place where you can always come back to if you're in a moment where, like, I, I know what I should know, right? Something's going not the way you want. You ask yourself, okay, but who am I to to say, what do I want? Life will be going the way it will be going, despite the fact if I want it or not.

00:07:53:02 - 00:08:16:23
Unknown
Right. So it's me who needs to change the attitude, right? And it helps. Yeah, I love that. Thank you for recapping that. Yeah. Okay. So then for your dance, have you always dance or when did you start dance. How to dance come up in your life. Yeah it was it came up pretty early I would say in my life again, it wasn't my decision.

00:08:17:01 - 00:08:38:06
Unknown
My grandma, I found an ensemble back in Ukraine for me. I was, I think it was my first grade of school. So I was like, I don't know, six, seven years old. And this is where I started dancing. It was in a temple where we sang in a choir and danced Ukrainian and folk dances. Spent my ten years there.

00:08:38:07 - 00:09:01:16
Unknown
Actually, I did not realize for quite some time that the bass, like the basis for for the dance that we danced was like the warm up that we were doing was actually a lot coming from ballet. And I just recently took a ballet lesson with our Ashley from Art of dance. She was doing like an one for instructors, and it was such a nostalgia for me.

00:09:01:16 - 00:09:28:05
Unknown
I was like, oh my God, this is what I used to do. You know, I know like all the pics in Quarter Brother. It was so cool. So I realized that that was probably what gave me the foundation for dance without even realizing it. But back then. So that was my ten years of life. After I went to study to Poland, I tried to enroll into their ensemble of Polish folk dancers for a little bit, and I actually did.

00:09:28:07 - 00:09:46:10
Unknown
I auditioned and they got me into it, which was very hard to get in there, so I was very happy I got in, but actually they said that I was the first one in the history who left on my own beat just because it was too hard for me. You know, like I was in Poland. It's a different city.

00:09:46:12 - 00:10:08:20
Unknown
It's the first year of university, different language, a lot to do, a lot to study. And it was just too much. So I left, unfortunately. So that was a little bit of a break. I did try a little bit of ballroom, I think, in Poland too, but it was very immature. And then Covid happened and that's when I wanted to go back into some kind of dancing.

00:10:08:20 - 00:10:30:09
Unknown
Any kind of dancing you very much. But we couldn't. So I knew that after Covid ends, I will go back to that thing. And that's when I got introduced to salsa dancing. Salsa and bachata were my first ones. No, I remember I was crazy. I was when, you know, when you start, you're like, all n that was me.

00:10:30:09 - 00:10:53:06
Unknown
Yes, that was me. I was going for classes every single day of the week. At just straight after work. I was going for salsa, bachata, and then kizomba was actually my last dance that I got introduced to do, just a social party. I just started dancing and then I got really interested. So I started taking classes after and then yeah, it just took off.

00:10:53:06 - 00:11:12:00
Unknown
It was social parties. I remember that first summer when I started, I was going to every social party. I honestly don't know how I survived that as I we did, but we were gonna go, right? Yeah. When was this? But honestly, I like, you know, they had because it was summer. So we had like outside parties for free.

00:11:12:00 - 00:11:31:11
Unknown
So you would go like every almost every day of the week, come home like 2 a.m., go back to work at like seven. I don't know how I did this, but yeah. So it's still in Toronto. That was in Ukraine. That was still in Ukraine. So then I came here and in Toronto I was just going social dancing.

00:11:31:11 - 00:12:04:11
Unknown
You know, different workshops, festivals. I did my first festival back in Ukraine, and then I did a few here. But my actual love for kizomba grew, probably here in Toronto. That's when I started to go to all the kizomba related festivals, and honestly, I was just dancing for my own pleasure, enjoying it, taking lessons, workshops, everything possible. And then when I moved to Windsor, this is when Eric just started teaching here and we danced.

00:12:04:11 - 00:12:24:14
Unknown
I don't even remember where we danced for the first time, but it was one pop up social or something where he actually pulled me out of the crowd and I helped him teach. And then when I moved and we danced again and he's like, you're teaching me? That's it. I'm like, oh yeah. So again, you know, that's another example of how just things come into my life.

00:12:24:19 - 00:12:51:01
Unknown
I never imagined or saw or dreamt of being a teacher. I was just doing it for fun, for myself. Right. And then it just came my way. And who am I to say no? I'm surrendering, right? So I said yes. And ever since then, we've been building this kizomba community here in Windsor, which has been awesome. I remember when I came to Windsor, there was no kizomba and nobody knew what kizomba is.

00:12:51:07 - 00:13:18:10
Unknown
And now we have socials. We have an upcoming event, actually, which we are organizing in September. Again. Never would have even imagined that I would be organizing a kizomba event. But it is happening when kids x everybody. So yeah, that's that's how I, I came to where I am right now. It was just, again, a flow of different kind of dance styles, dance journeys.

00:13:18:10 - 00:13:40:13
Unknown
And when you find kizomba, it's what I think where I will stay. Because when you find that in an hour you really like in, you're drawn to you just want to, you know, share it with people. And that's exactly that's exactly why we do what we do here in Windsor. It's it's not it's never about, you know, we just want to go dance and teach and that's it.

00:13:40:13 - 00:14:00:21
Unknown
That's just a lesson. We want it to be more. We want more people to know about kizomba, to teach them how to dance, how to, you know, enjoy themselves in the dance. Because I always say, once you try kizomba that you're never gonna be out. It's true. Yeah. Of it. Okay, wait. Take a second and plug your event.

00:14:01:00 - 00:14:23:14
Unknown
You're even flying in talent, right? I think right, and not flying. I think there will be driving because it's mostly on talent. Yeah, but, yeah, these are some people that I think they haven't been to Windsor before. September 1st September 6th seven. It's a weekend event. Saturday, Sunday. We have a couple of artists coming. A couple of days we have workshops.

00:14:23:14 - 00:14:52:07
Unknown
It will be traditional kizomba event focused, but we will have both rooms for the social, traditional and urban for everybody to enjoy. We have one of the artist is Babs. He's the organizer of one of the other biggest kizomba festivals here in Canada, César, which is happening in June. We have David and Daria from Toronto. We have Javi, who is a DJ and a teacher, and we have Yana and Larissa from Toronto.

00:14:52:13 - 00:15:18:16
Unknown
Yan is also the co-organizer of another event in Toronto, his own show. So yeah. And of course, featuring our very own deejay Sima. He will also be there. Yeah. Very excited. Jose Mo is Yanis husband. That's right. I feel like okay, I so so I'm not. You are I? You see that pattern? And you were like, you just love things and then things happen and it works out for you.

00:15:18:16 - 00:15:41:14
Unknown
And that's so awesome. Yeah. What about your newest undertaking with your husband? Tell us about that. Yes. Wife versus world. It is very recent. It was totally David's idea. How did you guys come up with idea what was happening? So basically David, David just thought that I'm funny and, we should take advantage of that. Yeah, I agree, that's it.

00:15:41:19 - 00:16:02:09
Unknown
He was like, you're just too funny. He loves the way I react to things. And this is kind of what we do because David is a gamer. He used to game his whole life and I am complete opposite of that. I probably played like two games in my whole life Barbie and racing, a need for speed, I think.

00:16:02:10 - 00:16:25:01
Unknown
And some gardening. Maybe that's it. So you see. Yeah, I'm very limited in that. So okay, so he was like, it's going to be awesome. We'll have you play different video games for the first time. Andrew will record your reaction to those and his. He was right. It's hilarious. We we did we've done one. And then we kind of took a break I think last year.

00:16:25:01 - 00:16:53:14
Unknown
But then this year we decided to really put focus on it. And yeah, our I think our focus is just again to share the joy. It's created with joy. We want to share the joy, the like. The goal is every time we record and you game that I play, we tried also different things. I think with League of Legends we had one where I guest characters, their names and what they do, their specialties, etc. that was fun.

00:16:53:14 - 00:17:16:00
Unknown
So yeah, I think it's going well. We are very excited. I'm actually excited about the fact that we are getting people and views from people like, I don't know. So it's not our friends, it's not our followers. That's like crazy to me. Like they like the abilities we have nowadays. You can reach whatever you want to, wherever you want out there in the world.

00:17:16:00 - 00:17:37:03
Unknown
I was like, wow, that's crazy. So yeah, we'll be going forward with that. We are on YouTube. This is our main channel, but we're also on Facebook and Instagram, and I think we're actually recorded a new episode this Saturday. Awesome. What is it called? Wife versus world. Wife versus world. I don't game either. But I watched one of your episodes and it was hilarious.

00:17:37:03 - 00:17:53:09
Unknown
I totally agree with David. He's brilliant. Yeah, that idea. Brilliant idea. Yeah, yeah, thank you for that. I guess it's going to be surprised what game you're playing. You don't know yet. It was supposed to be like that. But I think he. I thought he told me what I already forgot, so. Yeah, it will be a surprise.

00:17:53:09 - 00:18:14:04
Unknown
Surprise? Is there anything else that you want to plug or share that you're working on? I did not realize that greenhouse will also bring a lot of work with it. I totally love it. Don't get me wrong, because, you know, we kind of split the difference. David is the builder. I'm the designer, which I love. But, yeah, just, you know, everyday I do this.

00:18:14:04 - 00:18:40:19
Unknown
So that's, that's my life. Your Instagram as wife versus world as well. That's right. For the for that channel. Yeah. We have a separate Instagram wife versus world. Same Facebook and same YouTube. But me my personal Instagram page is just younger. Yeah it's is actually very Ukrainian. I created it when I was like, I don't know, when did we all started using Instagram?

00:18:41:00 - 00:19:01:02
Unknown
And this is very this is a very cheesy name. Just so that, you know, because it's like you don't have that in English. You know, it's like, yeah, the cutesy like you create this diminutive for. Yeah. So because that's how you know, my mom and my family used to call me and that's how I put myself there. And now I actually don't want to change it because it's so cute.

00:19:01:03 - 00:19:26:19
Unknown
To make a reference I have is in, Spanish. People say senorita. Yes. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. That's the same concept. Yeah, yeah. So that's, And then that your dance studio is Art of dance are another dance Windsor. Yes. The best studio I can think of. But honestly, Denise, the owner, she is just. I feel like sometimes she lives by the same, like rule that I like, you know.

00:19:26:21 - 00:19:46:22
Unknown
But she is. That opener of the door is like I come to her and she's just going to give you the world. And she has been a great, a big part of everything the studio offers, obviously, but also just to see how the studio grew in the past, I would even say a year, maybe a little bit more.

00:19:46:22 - 00:20:08:02
Unknown
Yeah, it's amazing. Yeah. And it's yeah, great. Thanks to her because she, she leads with her heart. And she also I think her goal for this studio is just to share that love for dance that she has. And that's why she draws the same people. Yeah, yeah. Her energy is impeccable for sure. And she's coming up on the podcast soon.

00:20:08:03 - 00:20:21:22
Unknown
I love it I'm going to watch it. Yes. Okay. So that's all that we have for day today. Thank you so much, Fiona, for sharing a little bit of your life with me. I really, really appreciate it. This is fun. Thank you. Was fun. Okay, bye.