In Odessa, there is an empty playground every block. Stray
dogs roam the streets. We can hear dog fights, cars honking in traffic, and somehow
are always within earshot of roosters crowing. Random whiffs of raw fish
accompany our walk into town. From the look of houses and buildings I sometimes
think I am in Central America. Other times, Holland. Every once in a while, the
Shire.
People wear shirts with random sayings in English. Construction workers are very fast and efficient. It is hard
to find lunch meat like turkey or ham. It is very easy to find any type of
sausage. Dill is used in almost everything. Ice cream here is delightful.
In general, people wear the same outfit multiple days in a
row. (Right now, I do too, so I am totally down with this social norm.) There
are plenty of mullets, faux hawks, shag, and 80s hairstyles. I wish I had some
pictures of some of the amazing haircuts we’ve seen… honestly, it looks good on most of these people. (My mom used to cut my hair before I wouldn’t let her
anymore, and let’s just say I would’ve fit in fabulously.)
Ukraine was one of the countries on our itinerary that I did
not put much thought into. I was very excited about Ireland, Uganda, and
Cambodia, but somehow certain countries like Ukraine fell through the cracks. However, I love it here.
The people in general seem like a hard sort. Walking down
the street, people do not laugh or smile or talk to each other. Not even the
young people. They come across to me as a very sober, serious people. This
could be one of the reasons we stand out so much as we laugh and talk the whole
walk into town and back. Or better yet as we scream and shout while watching
USA beat Algeria on our laptops outside of McDonalds.
One of our translators helped us out by giving us an analogy
of the people of Ukraine. He said they are like a watermelon. A hard shell on
the outside but all soft and sweet on the inside. This analogy has helped us
much, and I have to say that I agree. Under the rind, everyone we have
encountered has been nothing but kind, helpful, and extremely generous. We just
have to communicate enough to get to the juicy part inside, and that has been an adventure at times. I continue to wave at people on the street and say ‘Preveit’
(hello). I have only had two success stories (out of about 60-something tries). But, one old man gave me the head nod. (Score!) And one old lady responded with
‘Preveit’ and gave me a smile that made the other 59 rejections all worth it.
If you want to share my experience here in Ukraine just a
little, here is what I suggest. Put on what you wore yesterday, then pack
yourself and 4 friends into a very small car (you can use mine- it’s in
Tallahassee with Ed), pick out the worst driver of the 4 friends (i.e., Tammy),
and go get the movie ‘Everything is Illuminated.’ It takes place in Odessa and
the surrounding villages. We’ve been talking as a team about the similarities
between what we’ve been through and that movie. Finally, watch the movie with
the friends, while eating LOTS of meat (preferably sausage) and potatoes
with tons of dill on them. Finish it off with the best ice cream you can find.
If you want to be real hardcore, find a rooster crow on
iTunes and play it on a loop every 12 minutes.
