Russian Smussian: brought to you by the letter “3�
The last 10 days, the Citizens of Hope have been ministering
to University students in Odessa, Ukraine, a city that touches the Black Sea.
Odessa is home to over 5 Universities but “International Fellowship of
Evangelical Students� or “IFES� is the only Christian campus ministry present.
Every day we unite with our contact Sveta (who we like to
call “Sweater�) and set off to the Universities. A typical day consists of
passing out flyers to an upcoming event. We repeatedly make fools of ourselves
(for Christ) to get the attention of students and convince them to read the
flyer and actually show up.
One event that we hosted was a photoquest, where we split
into teams and went on a photo scavenger hunt around the city. We ended at a
park on the Seaside and gave out prizes to the winners. We met many new friends
who have showed interest in future events.
Another event was an International Cultural Event where we
gave a presentation of the many cultures we’ve seen throughout the year. We
even included slides on America and Canada! The students then had the
opportunity to tell us about their home cultures.
Fun fact: I have a love/hate relationship with the language
spoken in Odessa: Russian. Since when did “3” become a letter?
Once again, we cannot read any of the street signs, store
signs, nor can we communicate if we get lost. It is a challenge to feel “dumb�
everyday.
On the other hand, the Russian language intrigues me. It is a mix
between Latin and Greek letters, with some letters making similar sounds and
with some sounding completely confusing.
It’s REALLY exciting when I find English words hidden in
Russian letters… Have a go!
HINT: FIND “Kiev”
ANSWERS: Cafe, bank, taxi, auto, bar, “happy meal”, “Fillet-o-fish”, “McMuffin”
