- Like in America, the police in Ukraine set up check points along the roads; however, unlike the States, you can’t drive down the road without coming to one of these. The police pull over people at random and cause a lot of trouble asking for a large assortment of documents. So far, I’ve been in the car three times when this has happened including our very first car ride in the country! (Don’t worry they just cause a big hassle nothing more.)
- At one intersection we frequently drive through, you will find a large assortment of construction workers and trucks. What I thought was a big construction site is actually where workers will come when they are available for hire. Need a house built? Just drive down the street to hire some people to do it.
- Whistling indoors is frowned upon. Those that are superstitious believe it invites evil spirits to the house, and the whistler wishes misfortune upon the inhabitants.
- Sitting on the ground is another habit that is frowned upon superstitiously in most of Eastern Europe. It is particularly bad for women since they believe sitting on the ground will make you infertile.
- Birch juice is a traditional drink of Ukraine. Locals like drinking the liquid squeezed from a birch tree, and it is actually quite refreshing.
- Russian is widely spoken in addition to Ukrainian. We even saw a play where half the characters spoke Ukrainian and half spoke Russian.
- At the entrance to our village (and right next door to our house), there is a large statue of the Virgin Mary. The majority of our neighbors are Greek Catholic and will gather on certain days around her to sing hymns. We can even listen inside our house when we have the windows open.
- Sour cream is one of my favorite condiments, and there is no short supply in Ukraine. They eat this stuff on everything! Meat. Soup. Pastries. It’s delicious.
- Personal bubbles do not exist in Ukraine. Every time I have gone out in public, someone has bumped in to me or “cut” in front of me in “line” (lines don’t really exist here.) I’m always caught off guard every time.
- Since we are living in a house that is still being constructed, we encounter workmen every day. One day we found a bag of clothes in one of the remodeled rooms. Turns out construction workers, plumbers, electricians, etc. show up to work dressed nicely and then change into their work clothes. Then at the end of the day, they change back and leave the work clothes at the construction site.
- Large gardens are very popular in the villages of Ukraine. It is not uncommon to drive down the road and see elderly ladies tending to their vegetables…..in their underwear. Yes, it’s true. To beat the heat, these women commonly strip off their top layer of clothing. And, yes, we have unfortunately witnessed this sight on more than one occasion.
(Photo Credit of Gorgeous Ukraine to Cabe Stanford)
