Lida Vera Nedilsky and Orest Sosnivka

00:02 Orest, sosnivka. I'm 28 years old. Today is June 22nd. 2021. My location is Chicago, Illinois. The name of my interview. Partners Lida Vera nedilsky. And my relationship to her is we are longtime friends.

00:24 I am leader of your energies,. I'm 51 years old. Today is June 22nd 2021. I'm actually in Milwaukee Wisconsin doing this interview with Artist Artist Snuka. And actually I would say I'm an admirer of August because ever since I met him, I felt like this is an incredible personality, a person with so much creativity and energy. I have to watch him. I have to see where he ends up some very grateful for this chance to speak with artist in a project. That is bringing me in contact. With many people, from Ukrainian Village coming out of covid-19 and artist. I want to underscore that your name is also an attraction to me. I named my son Artist as well, and I don't know.

01:24 How many people are familiar with the Greek mythology?

01:28 That your name August in Ukrainian comes from the Greek edestus.

01:38 I remember reading so well, there's when I was, especially when I went to Greece, when I went to Greece, was the first time that I was in an environment where people knew my name because of the United States. Nobody.

01:52 Always, when I introduced myself, I have to say my name is like Forest without the F because people can, but I've when I was in Italy and Greece, I heard a lot of what I asked those orestes and when I, when I was reading about it, I know he has this was a demigod or or or a Greek god. He's like a brother of another goddess Electra, but I don't remember. I don't remember exactly the god of what, but I remember reading that the name orestes translates to Mountain dweller or someone who evolves who stays in the mountains so I can always remember that but I don't remember the exact God. Would he

02:37 What he was about. Can I tell you why? That name is on the one hand appropriate to you, and then just doesn't do justice. Cannestra and King, Agamemnon and King Agamemnon went to fight to bring back his sister-in-law. Helen and Justice was too young to go with him. So he stayed behind. And in that respect. I think that orestes is a really neat name to describe your situation as someone who was left behind because he was too young to travel for a while. And yet now, at this stage of your life. I think you're more like Odysseus.

03:30 Do you like you were left behind? You were, you were born in Ukraine? Can you tell us a little bit about that and how you came to be in Chicago, in Ukrainian Village, but that never kept you tied to one place and like, what there's a lot that place into a long story short. My father was the champion of Ukraine. In the Soviet Union is a lightweight boxer.

04:05 And,

04:07 I was born right up to so you can collapse. So Ukraine was kind of in turmoil. The currency dropped. Let me know if it was hard as it was during the Soviet Union, but right after I was born, it was, it was

04:21 It was pretty, pretty tough. We were fortunate though because my, you know, it was weird to say. But at the time, the only people that really kind of made it were.

04:34 People that were dirty or people that were athletes and then you can find some times in between but it was. It's very, very difficult to make an honest living like a comfortable living. So my father was an athlete and you know, our source of income was because she traveled throughout Europe fighting. I mean, he literally and metaphorically had two more metaphorically had to fight his way out. So then an opportunity came where where, where all the entire Ukrainian team came to United States to compete.

05:16 Where's your friends? At one of them is an Olympic gold medalist. He's a good friend of ours. There are a lot of them are here, actually, in Chicago.

05:23 And he came here and decided to stay because this was usually 28 years old and just took the quality of life and Ukraine. It's just

05:34 It's 9 today compared to here. So he ended up staying a year later. My mom came and then four years later after my mom. I came. So, I didn't see my father, like, five years. I didn't see my mother for four years. So.

05:52 Did I answer your question? Was there more to it? Or how did I, why am I traveling right to follow up, ended up in Chicago and ukrainians all of the steps your parents. Till you came as a child under 10 years of age, you are what, and what was that? Like, can you tell us that part? I mean, what? What did you think of Ukrainian Village? What did you think of life in the United States? It wasn't a choice. You made you like it at first. I didn't like it because

06:33 Well, you know, it's if you ask me that question, I was eight. My answer might have been different. But you know now I'm I'm applying like I'm applying my adult perspective on what I think I felt at the time so

06:49 You know, when you're 8 years old, you might your, you kind of you're not thinking about this deep and philosophical questions. You're just,

06:55 Rolling with the punches at anything that happens, you expected to be right, but

07:01 Yeah, I didn't really like it because

07:06 I was, you know, I came and, you know, you coming to Ukrainian Village. You expect, ukrainians to did you like your people, right? You're supposed to be taking in and

07:17 You know, like,

07:20 Taking care of in a way, right? But we're not like the other kids. You know that I am, I made out of, I had a very hard accent actually didn't speak English at all. I only knew like the alphabet, you know, a few words cuz I was learning English first, second grade and I was just kind of singled out. A lot of times. I wouldn't say bully because my my my personality was very

07:46 It was different like, you know, you're born in Ukraine and it eight years old you see and learn a lot more than 8 years old here, especially today. So I came from Ukraine and I'm in, you do second grade does children making your mama jokes. And that's like, what, what is that? You don't like? I was already in a fighting. So it was tough. I don't understand this until way into my adult life that I had severe culture shock for a long time because I did not understand a pop called sure. I do not understand that the little Motif, the joke, the metaphors, slang any of that, and

08:26 A lot of times because I didn't fit in like that. I was the kind of the butt of the joke or the

08:35 Yeah, just people use me. You don't at their own expense or at my own expense for them, you know, too.

08:43 Can I get to raise your social status if that makes sense? And

08:48 Yeah, I swore to myself that that would never ever ever happen again. So what did you do to change that situation? Because I don't think of you as someone to laugh at as I said because I demand respect and I don't mean that in an aggressive way. I mean that

09:11 I've taken a lot of time working on myself in a sense of like looking looking at my behavioral flaws and and benefits or, I don't know the opposite of what kind of like analytically. And you don't just seeing where my week or like.

09:32 I was kind of I didn't like to do, I'm actually very comfortable talking in large groups of people, large groups of audiences or whatever because of the performer for many years, but there was a time where I didn't feel comfortable doing a speech in front of a classroom, so,

09:51 That level of on Comfort made is, I don't know if it's my ego or what it is. But I would just forcefully, put myself in situations, where I'm extremely uncomfortable to kind of overcome the, you know,

10:06 This.

10:08 The sphere of, you know, people judge me and then eventually you kind of get comfortable with being uncomfortable and you realize that, you know, wait a minute. It's actually, it's not that bad. It's usually like at usually everyone in the room is thinking and feeling the same thing, you know, we just kind of trade this like this, just like narrative that everyone's looking at you. And everyone is you don't like thinking

10:36 Something stupid, you sad or something. Ridiculous, you did, but that's nonsense. Every person has some sort of insecurity and we're just all pretending. You know, we're all pretending to be something. So I just kind of stopped you. Let it go and Learn To Love Yourself first. Then

10:58 My my understanding of your history includes your performing on many stages on an actual dance stage on a soccer field in a circus on the back of a horse. So these are not normal performances. These are often pretty dramatic performances. Can you, can you say what that has meant in your life? Before we talk about the broader stage? Because again, you're not someone who sits you're someone who's always in motion. So tell us about those performances that you've been involved in and what they meant to you.

11:38 Call roisum.

11:44 I don't really know. I mean, I feel like sooner or later, just my personality. I would have been. I feel like I was put on this planet to entertain and I think it would be a crime to neglect myself away from that. I feel very comfortable at night. Like I like making people laugh. I like working with children. I like seeing like a positive reaction from them. That's not what's in a dog. But before I was always just kind of, I don't know. I'm just in situations where I'm entertaining one way or another. So when I was little when I was maybe you looked I don't know 10, 11 12, my my mother sign me up to Ukrainian dance because I live in Ukrainian Village. So I was like kind of, you know to keep the history in the culture and

12:37 She didn't do it because I was, she thought it was going to be a performer. She just did it because of the Ukrainian aspect of it. So, I did that. And then I started acting shortly afterwards. Then we have family friends that are from there from Kazakhstan, but half of them are Russian because a lot of Russians immigrated to Kazakhstan.

13:01 And, you know, like to know the mid 70s 80s.

13:05 So Dave do these tricks. It's also Kasich writing and it's not just people from Kazakhstan. It's just Ukrainian Cossack Riders. There's Russian Cossack Riders, and I just thought what they eat, like, what when they were up there doing there cuz they're close family friends, when I would see them. It's just like,

13:25 The way the people looked at them. It was like I was like, wow. Okay. That's the kind of reaction. I've never seen. So I just had to do it myself plus. I think that when I was younger like

13:41 I think I had this is not a sign of superiority complex. I know how to say it's like,

13:47 I always felt that I had to prove something to someone I always had to like I I felt like if I did this and actually I love doing it. Every second of it. I still do it. Actually I didn't it's still something that I really enjoyed. But at the time, you know, 10-12 years ago. I think the reasons for me doing it. We're not as good as they are. Now. I always doing it to like

14:15 To prove that I'm, you know, I'm better or I'm confident or and I don't know, I think that is a lot to plan with when I came here with all the nonsense I do with specifically, know, Ukrainian,. So when I got older and I thought I'd check on a building. I felt like I

14:33 I needed to do this really cool thing. And then yeah, just love it. I mean, you're working with horses, you're working with really cool people. Performers are some of those fine people to be around with by the way cuz you're always doing something cool. Like they're just really really cool people and very very hard like creative. So, yeah, I love it.

14:56 And that's taking you where, where have you gone as? As part of this experience?

15:04 Well, travel throughout all the states as a circus. What's it called? A circus performer. I didn't go to perform in Europe, but I've traveled all of all the states and it's cool because you really get like even you go to, you know, like like south south of Indiana. It's a different culture than it is in Chicago. So,

15:31 You just meeting just different people all the time and it's cool because it's there's like a sense of like Ron is to it where it's you're not, you're never bored. And even if even if you need someone that you like, you don't like it's still like it's it's never boring. And I think that's the that's the worse if it's boring. So, you're never bored and I like that. It's always like you don't know where you're going to get.

16:02 And do you continue to have friends among those people you've traveled. With one of them, is one of them like a brother. I met him actually, when I always funny story, when I just came to the United States.

16:21 That same summer that same summer. My mother took me to Wisconsin for camp in Baraboo, Wisconsin to the Ukrainian Camp. There is there campgrounds there that they have like camps for kids for a week, for 2 weeks and nearby was Circus World Museum. I'm sure you, you know, definitely and my mom took me there. She took me there. Like I think it was, I think you are what's called him, a lunch with David meaning like younger camp where you can translate it to your younger Camp was over and my mom is a tree, took me to Circus World Museum and my mom and I were speaking Russian and this little girl heard us and she will this is like Baraboo, Wisconsin. Like there's no one speak in Russian that you know, so she heard it isn't this girl from college.

17:21 Like oh my God, you guys speak Russian. Let you know if you have to meet, you know, my mama or whatever. So we went backstage and we met this entire.

17:32 In a group of performers, acrobats, and we just became really good friends with them and have been friends with them. Since then, for the last, you know, this actually, we just passed 20 years and one of them he was like, kind of. I just really looked up to him. Just this demeanor, the way he behaved how the girls really like them. I know I was paid attention to that too. So, he's ten years older than me and, you know, now I'm 28, she met me, I met him. I was eight. He was 18. Now. I'm 28 and he is a 6 1/2 year old son. And my mother is his son's godmother. So it's like you kind of

18:24 Again, comes full circle. It is funny because I look at his son and I'm like, God damn.

18:35 It's like you don't, you know the saying like the student becomes the teacher, it's kind of like that. Look.

18:47 And you literally literally become a teacher.

18:54 Can you can you tell us more about that? I mean, what it is that you're doing? Because again, there are strange ways that I look at you and your life and the lives of your siblings and I think, wow, we're sort of moving on Parallel tracks. This is someone I can relate to even though you're not we're not in the same generation. There's so much that I see in you that I remember in myself actually really enjoyed our conversations.

19:27 But,

19:29 Well, I was a dance teacher. I work with a camp out, each trick riding on horses. And then I started teaching ESL like 2 years ago, and I don't know. Just like, I don't know why. I was always, I never made like a conscious decision in my brain. Like, I want to be a teacher. A matter of fact, I didn't want to be a teacher for like when I was growing up. I was in my mind. I was going to be a professional soccer player for a Dell is my you know, and I had very good prospects, but sadly, I don't have all my paperwork for

20:05 I mean 16 years 16 years. I couldn't do it. I mean, 16 years. I

20:11 Couldn't do anything. So

20:14 It was soccer just sucked. You know, you're right. I couldn't play top no College. I couldn't, you know, I was out at two different universities. Like I just passed it up. I went to LA as I was 15 and is one of the Disney Channel agents. He flew me out there. This was right, my father, he just had a heart attack. So we had very little money. My mom use the last of it, you know, to to fly me there because my agent in Chicago was, like, you got to go there like, you, you know, we don't know anything about this, by the way, in this was, you know, my mom didn't know how this works. I don't know this works, but our agent here, and people in that industry said, don't miss this opportunity. You got to go and I went there. And then again, one of the agents from Disney channel is like, you know, maybe, you know, some of these names like Selena Gomez or the High School, Musical cast, whatever representing all of them.

21:14 And they flew me out there and they offered me a contract. He wanted to sign me to their group, but I couldn't because because sometimes life has a different plan for you or sometimes God has a different plan for you. So yeah that for a long time really kind of devastated me and I just stopped trying because what's the point, right? What's the point of trying, if if you're you can't even play the game, you're just excluded, you know, because he didn't have the papers meaning. I'm so I let that resonate into my, you know, I look kind of adulthood where I just

21:55 I kind of had a resent towards like the system and I just quit trying and that's not even as foolish. I'm happy that I got out of that because

22:10 You know, other people's actions towards you. It's not your fault and just like in a casino. If you're dealt a bad hand. It's not your fault. But how you react to your environment? That's your fault, and it sucks. If, you know, sometimes it's very hard for people to hear that but it is and it does. The moment. You stop worrying about everybody else and you take full ownership of yourself. What can I do different? Then you start to see, usually a positive change, so I didn't I'll make it. I'm cool with her. Why? I became a teacher.

22:47 Yeah, I just

22:50 Yeah, it does it suck, of course, but it's it's easy to say, you know, like all I could have been distant because I don't know, you know, ya clarification. Do you relate to the concept of Dhaka? I mean, does that describe what it is that you would want to have for yourself? Because you were a child who came here because of the actions of your parents.

23:16 It right now or back then.

23:20 Well, now the concept exists. Does it apply to a child arrivals meaning that you came without an official status as a child does that apply to does that, protect you does that. There are more we were, I was looking at we were doing, we were, I was going a different route and I was thinking of that. But, you know, we spoke with some immigration lawyers and they advised us, not to, and I'm happy I didn't because they're always, I feel the people that did do it.

24:03 Depending on the president through it, it always seems like they're being brought up and they don't, they just don't let him go. Like, I don't want to swear or anything like that big, but am I allowed to swear, by the way? Or not? Because I use it as a form of expression and I don't think there's a like unethical reason for, but if we need to be professional, I can anyways

24:27 It's fucked up. I don't know. It's like that. You know, these are just let him live, you know, and but fortunately we had good. We we were given some good advice and I took the longer route, but you know, I'm fortunately I don't know. I don't have to worry about that. I did. I wanted as it as a teenager or something. I mean God, I just so many opportunities I had to and for so long. I just you just like you're trapped. You're just

24:59 You're really just rap. You can't do anything, apart from actually, going through the process of securing your citizenship, which was a tremendous accomplishment, not just an accomplishment for you. How else have you dealt with that feeling of being trapped? Because especially coming out of covid-19, are more people can relate to that feeling in their lives and how you felt obstructed for so long, you know how to manage that as a way to others through.

25:37 Look up, you don't.

25:42 Like, I really don't go out of my way, telling people how to get. There's, there's many things. I really don't like to do. I don't like to blame. I don't like to have right or wrong arguments. I only like two. I only the only conversation I'm willing to have with someone is, if it's in, regards to Solutions, not complaining, not whining. Because my entire kind of belief system resonates about this idea of of ownership and

26:15 It's like the saying goes with money, but you can apply this with anyting. It's not your fault. If you're born, poor, but it's your fault. If you died for and you can apply that to anything, you take away the poor part and you can imply anything you want. If it's not your fault, if you're born into unhappy situations or an unhappy and toxic environment, but it's your fault, if you keep letting that manifest in your culture hitting it. So when you start taking ownership of yourself and seeing what, what is it?

26:48 That's making me unhappy and you start to work on that slowly, but surely you're not going to feel trapped anymore. I think so, but you know, everyone is different, but even if

27:03 Even if my my notion of how to overcome this is the correct one. I'm not out there preaching it because

27:11 Change has to come from within. So if someone is usually, if my friends and I actually we have a really healthy habit of always just asking each other advice, especially if the topic were talking about is mixed with emotion, you know, I can have the best vepr someone else, but if I'm like in a, in a, in a place where like my emotions are tied, I'll ask my friends with similar value in belief systems, as me. Like, can you like analyze this from your perspective? Like am I am I in the right, you know, vicinity of in mind the right track and I'll confirm like, yeah, I'll just actually I think you're, you're probably being a little overdramatic and yes, it's good to have that. So I can't really give you one right answer. I don't, I think it's, I don't think it's like a

28:00 I think it's a go one behavioral modification. I think it's just a different evaluation of Life, what it takes to to be happy and and how to find that happiness. You know. Let me ask it differently.

28:16 Your person who moves.

28:20 When covid lockdown happened and we couldn't move anymore, right? How did you get it? What did you do or was lucky in that situation? Because when covid happened, I should give me just one second, my dog. Just open the door and they're going to get noisy. 30 seconds. One moment.

28:42 Okay, so when covid happened I was living in Berlin, Germany. I was there for almost.

28:53 A like a three-year time frame. I was there like two years, first. You're going back and forth II. Yours is there?

29:00 And it actually did a hand or Germany, handled it very well, but mostly neighboring, European states did like Italy, had it really bad.

29:12 Where is it? What what, what country is the red light district on my Gotham?

29:22 I'm thinking hungry, but it's going to kill me now with the red light district. And the fact that marijuana there's legal where most Neverland Holland.

29:39 Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Amsterdam Spain. Where I went to the islands wasn't Malta was good. So when it happened I was it was like people didn't really Berlin life didn't really change for the first month. Then then we started to get like a not really, not a lockdown but it was like the bars are closed, the clubs are closed. But all the all the neighboring European countries were open. So I will actually never buy tickets round-trip anymore. I haven't for the last three years, only buy them one way, so my girlfriend and I were both you're both getting an MBA. We just you know, it was summer time. It was like June at end of made Junior like, you know, let's just

30:34 The money that we're going to spend on rent, here we can use that to, you know, very cheap and the prices dropped because of, you know, because of covid. And actually, I don't want to brag because covid, really affected so many people in such a negative way in some situations, very, very dramatically.

30:58 But it just I was lucky enough to be in a situation where I could kind of take advantage of the few say the price drop and you know, like locations being open. So yeah, I did that. I was traveling was like 10 countries and yeah, it was nice. I can't complain. Beautiful sights. And how did the technology fit into your life under covid? Because that's a constant. You're very oriented toward connecting through Skype, especially is that something that allowed you to stay up on people situations where you working remotely? What was that? Like

31:46 And most of my students there from China. So they're 13 hours at work. 13 hours ahead of Chicago. But 7 Up, Wait A Minute, five, six hours, ahead of whatever country. Anyway, I'm in Europe. So Derek, it's like, it works out perfectly because they're taking the online classes either before or after school, mostly after school and I'm waking up around the same time. They're getting out of school. So I became kind of like a full-time job where I would still travel.

32:19 But to have my computer with me, work in the morning until 12 or 1. And then, you know,

32:27 Do everything. You know, I'm so Technologies of very, very vital. Very, it's like a key factor in my life not to mention it it. It'll if it wasn't for technology, the way it is. I wouldn't be able to connect with so many people because I have so many friends all over the world that we met some, how sometimes an accident, sometimes to performing sometimes to school, but we've all kept in each other touching each other's lives. So, you know, it's nice going to a new place. And you know that someone's there and because of things like social media, this is the one way. Social media is really good and people can stay up-to-date with what's happening in your life. But even I went to I live in Istanbul. Now, I'm going to Turkey and there's a guy that I went to college with Kieran Chicago and we used to party together all the time and I honestly didn't even know. He was from Turkey, but I just put in that I'm moving it. Like, hey.

33:27 Or I put a picture next to this beautiful mosque. Like did they have some of the most beautiful? I mean, oh my goodness, just like this. Just grabbed desk mosque and I put it on my social media and he was like, hey, what the hell man? Are you in Istanbul? Like, you know, I live here like so, yeah, we just would be able to be linked up like that. And that's pretty cool. So, technology is a very important piece of like, it fits directly with my life. And do you connect to Ukraine to the technology or physically cuz you're also locating yourself in Europe and and across the Black Sea turkey. Do you feel confident going to Ukraine right now, or you large be connected through social media with my grandparents does apps like WhatsApp viber viber, Ukraine, so

34:25 No, I'm I'm always I'm always talking to them and then as soon as I got my passport, I don't think like every 3 months, the latest I was going there for like a month or something like that. This is the longest I've ever been there because because the pandemic although it's weird like their borders were closed but like every Ukrainian, I don't have no problem flying in there. So I'm planning on going to summer, but I'm first relocating to Istanbul.

34:55 My girlfriend's looking for like, for a nice place for us there.

34:59 And it's I have a Rottweiler and I'm taking him with me. So it's like this whole it, it's a process. But yeah, I'll definitely be seeing them live. A farm, actually like 5 hours away from review. And I think we talked about this later. I believe we did. And those that Community there just loves me and me being the eaglemania. It works both ways. You know, I'm like, I can entertain them and I can get the attention that for some reason. I like so much. So, yeah, I go there all the time and as soon as I as soon as I have a chance, as soon as I have that ability to it's always the things that one is that your grandparents raised you while your parents were in Chicago. And so that, that debt, that you have to them is something that you

35:59 You have expressed to me and the witch, you teach English and work with young people in the in an area. That's really isolated and unlimited write a so many rural areas are in the world today. I think that's important to understand the other is it's been twenty years, you know, since they took care of you and like again Odysseus. He was gone for 20 years, you're returning to this rural place of of people who miss you. And have no struggles in your absence. Is there anything that you want to bring them that special at this point in their lives, on my grandparents? Like I just, I mean,

36:53 I took him to the lake cuz you know, going on vacation Ukraine. It's not like going to vacation in America, where you can you know, go to Cancun or going to get a week Resort. It's not like that. I mean their vacation is like going camping or something because it's the cheapest option.

37:09 So, which by the way I love, like, my grandfather was a hunter and it's like, it's my element. You know, it's soon as I'm anywhere where there is nature, like all my shoes and everything come off. Like I'm not everything but my shoes and start like I'm I'm don't, you know, it's Mike. My phone isn't, like I don't even want to, you know, I'm just doing something with either. I'm fishing or building or something. So I love that, but I also know that you have reached a certain age that

37:40 Date. You don't like I should be able to do something different for them. So I took them to Berlin for a week. Like it was really cool. Like I took them both shopping first because my grandma likes the shopping but you know, she can't financially all ourselves some things in my grandfather's and he doesn't really eat whatever and then once you started trying things on himself, and he was like, you know, I don't need anything. I can just go like this. We're going to get you some nice jeans and we're going to get all that gets. It's about time. And when you started trying it on he's like

38:22 Actually, let me, let me try the blue one. Let me look at the blue one looks super Lynn cuz we went shopping in Ukraine. He just moved to go to the stores that they don't have any grain. If you just go by yourself and he's like,. Hey, what do you think of this one? Can I how do you think this looks when she seen it on himself? You know, we got him a nice haircut in a line them up and everything. And once he saw what he can look like then he was it it was so funny that you can like you 70 or 75 but his like his face like a lit up, you know, so yeah, I made an oath that like when I come back to Ukraine, I'm going to take him somewhere.

39:04 So, I did this whole kind of

39:08 It's like shopping sprees and I don't know, like, right in the center of Berlin, right near.

39:17 The location coordinates like this really kind of wealth your area, like still for them to see something else different like that. It was really, I shall send you pictures, but it was really cool to see them again. You're twenty-eight years old. Your father was 28 when he made the move leave, Ukraine.

39:49 And again, you have this position now that you created for yourself, where you can make, things happen for others, and then again, I didn't buyer of that. Thank you, and I'm so grateful that we had this conversation about Ukraine and Ukrainian villagers, especially those who keeps lying. They never stopped flying. So thank you for this. It was really nice. I'm happy to, I haven't talked to you in awhile. So is it was an, it was nice to her. He have an age of the day, by the way, you do it every time I look at you, you look the same, and I'm so grateful for bringing you. So, thank you.