This month we are in a little coal mining town in Ukraine. I don’t know the name because all the signs are in Russian and I can’t pronounce it no matter how hard I try. We have been blessed with a wonderful family to stay with. Once again, we have seen hospitality and been treated like royalty.
Before coming to Eastern Europe, we were warned by past racers that going from a culture in Africa where everyone smiles, waves and even talks to you in public to a culture where many people are still stuck in the communist mindset could be tough. So, I came to Ukraine expecting to see cold, blank stares from people on the streets; I expected to have contacts who didn’t have joy.
Well, as usual I didn’t get what I expected. It is true that people on the streets are not the nicest on the surface, but when you sit down with them and have a conversation (with the small amount of English they know), they are wonderful people. We are about 10 miles from the Russian border and if you know anything about American history with Russia, you may know that they do not like us very much. We are learning to love even if people choose not to reciprocate. Thankfully, we haven’t had too much of a problem with people loving us in return once they know us a little.
One thing I am trying to work on is laughing out loud in public. They see it as rude and apparently, I have a big problem with doing it too much.. Hehe.. On top of that, they think if you are just walking down the street and you smile and say hi to them, they think you’re a little crazy. Well, for those of you who know how friendly Texas is, this has been hard for me not to do. I’m just used to waving and smiling at people, but here, they just give me a dirty look and keep walking for the most part. They probably think I’m the crazy girl who can’t hold herself together. Oh that’s okay.. They’re probably right!
We have asked how ending the USSR has impacted Ukraine and were told that there was no immediate change, but more a change that came gradually. One thing they did mention is that because communism ended, the economy was effected for the worse. Many people around where we stay would probably prefer things to go back to the way they used to be. It sounds like they saw it working better that way. The elderly were taken care of and people could find jobs much easier. That answer surprised me since what we hear in America about it all makes it sound so bad.
Overall, I really like Ukraine. Our contacts, Maxim and Olga are wonderful. They have been married for 15 years and are still very much in love. Maxim is the chief doctor at the hospital and Olga is a teacher. They have 4 kids and the entire family can play many instruments. They all play piano and their son, Eagor is learning to play the saxophone. It’s funny to listen to him at night when he practices. He blows so hard into it that every note comes out like he is running a marathon! It’s pretty hilarious. I used to play sax in middle school which was a long time ago. Maxim found out and asked me to play at church on Sunday. Haha! I tried to practice and I can’t even play Mary had a little lamb without messing it up. So, We’ll see how this goes..
