The Canadian ex-pat discusses Ukrainian hospitality and his love for his adopted land.
Diplomacy comes naturally to John Karwatsky. When we enter the Soho Steakhouse, he graciously asks the waiter to recommend any special dishes, encouraging the young man to take advantage of this bit of free advertising. The native Canadian developed his conversational savvy back in his student days as a concierge for the Four Seasons Hotel in Montreal, recommending restaurants to guests as famous as Madonna.
Now, as program officer for the NATO Information and Documentation Centre based in Kyiv, John has plenty of opportunities to exercise his easygoing charm interacting with Ukrainian officials, foreign diplomats, journalists and NGO representatives with whom NATO supports joint projects all over Ukraine.
Ukrainian beginnings
Growing up in Montreal, John spoke the diplomatic languages of French and English on the insistence of his French-Canadian mother. His father’s Ukrainian ancestors had arrived in Canada before World War I, but did not pass on their language to John’s generation. Instead, while researching the Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko for a high school project, John discovered a “Ukrainian for Beginners” textbook. “I remember spending 3-4 hours sitting down reading, memorizing the alphabet, and coming home and saying, ‘Dad, let’s speak Ukrainian!’” Now, he says, “My mother is more proud of the fact that I speak Ukrainian than my father.”
Sipping a blend of fresh pineapple and celery juice (Hr 55), John tells me about his first trip to Ukraine in 1992. Not wanting him to leave after only two weeks, his cousin “stole” his passport, claiming that as a foreigner he had to register with the authorities. She didn’t return it for a month, so he was only allowed to travel within the Ukrainian border. He doesn’t regret the prank.
Drawn toward Europe
John decided to return to Ukraine in 1996 to teach French at Taras Shevchenko University. After a year, he took a three-month job with NATO, opening the NATO Information and Documentation Centre in 1997 (the alliance’s first such center in a partner country), and “establishing the new diplomatic representation of NATO in Ukraine.” Biting into a complimentary salmon and cream cheese crepe garnished with sesame-sprinkled soy sauce, John admits, “I never thought I’d actually enjoy living here.” When invited to stay on as a program officer, he agreed, working in the capital for a few years, and then at the NATO headquarters in Brussels. He was glad to return to his post in Kyiv. “I always enjoy traveling in the regions. I love discovering different parts of Ukraine,” he says, displaying his infectiously positive outlook. “I really enjoy my job,” he continues, especially now that NATO is such a hot topic in Ukraine.
A master linguist with a degree in translation and an arsenal of French, English, Ukrainian, Russian, German and Italian at his disposal, John is a Europhile. He loves Ukraine, and “would prefer being somewhere in Europe rather than going back to Canada. I love Canada – I think people are nice and it’s a very comfortable life – but I prefer having access to different cultures. For me, it’s more important. In Europe, you can take a flight for an hour and you’re in a totally different environment.”
Forever on the move, you can find John biking along the Dnipro or in Dubky or Holosiyevsky Park. Kyiv traffic can be treacherous, so he gathers his cycling buddies for excursions outside the city. “It’s just a nice feeling of freedom. You go where you want, discover new spots,” he says, listing sites of past tours like Crimea, the Carpathians and the lake district of Volyn region. Though not a member of Kyiv’s official bicycling society, John appreciates the camaraderie of the city’s cyclists: “If I’m biking alone or with a friend, they’ll always invite us to join in.”
When asked about what has kept him here for most of the past ten years, John replies, “I think the people are special. There is a certain joie de vivre, despite certain difficulties.”
Moving on
Encouraged to see many of his friends doing better financially, John adds, “I wish it reflected the full population or the majority of the population.” Biting into a perfectly charred strip of veal under Marsala sauce served with creamy layers of scalloped potatoes (Hr 116), he tells me, “People are changing. What’s nice is that … they still hold onto certain parts of the culture, whether it be Ukrainian or Soviet Ukrainian, I think it’s good to hold on to the best of each.”
John’s unmovable optimism resonates with the warm hospitality of Ukrainian culture. He appreciates the spontaneity with which the locals offer their time and energy. “If you’re visiting someone in another city you can always count on having a meal waiting for you.” He adds, “Especially if you’re a foreigner, they feel that they have to protect you, make sure that you’re getting decent treatment. You can always call upon people at the last minute whether it’s moving, whether it’s meeting a friend at the train station … North American people don’t do this.”
Over “mint dessert” (Hr 40) and cappuccino (Hr 17), I ask John whether he could call Kyiv “home.” He replies in the affirmative, adding, “All of Ukraine is, in a sense.” He boasts that here he has five godchildren. “I don’t have any in Canada, so I wonder where I’m more attached.”
John cannot predict where his active, mobile life will lead him, but Ukraine will always be a part of it. Echoing many ex-pats, he speaks from his own experience, “You really do get attached to the country. It doesn’t have anything to do with being of Ukrainian origin, there is just something special here.”
Soho (82 Artema, 244-7351)
Open daily from 11 a.m. until the last customer
English menu: Yes
English-speaking staff: YesAverage price of main dish: Hr 100
