Understanding Ukraine

Wow...the pressure is on. Postings every day?!?! I will try.

Confusion is the best word that I can come up with to describe our visit to Kiev thus far. We are settling in…and getting a feel for the city…the culture…the people…but it has taken a few days…and a bit of frustration to reach this point. I suppose that I have become somewhat spoiled to the fact that most of Europe is “American friendly.” As a matter of fact…it has always been quite amazing to me that every place that I have visited seems to cater to English speaking tourists. This year I have spent quite a bit more time outside of the U.S. than I have at home. I have never found a language barrier…and have had no problems finding English speaking tours…or English printed tour guides. Here in Kiev…I have met my match. As a matter of fact…I’m not even certain at this point which language is the most prominent here…Ukrainian…or Russian. My studies led me to believe that it was Ukrainian…therefore the language guide that I purchased prior to leaving is Ukrainian. However…the few English speaking people that we have encountered have informed us that Russian is more widely spoken here than any other language. Since I cannot tell the difference…it tends toward the confusing. Pointing and nodding seems to be a universal language…so we’ll go with that for the time being. We have found that many restaurants do have English menus if you ask. So far…so good. We have yet to sample authentic Ukrainian cuisine…as we are not truly certain what that consists of. We found a fantastic Italian restaurant called Mille Miglia…and an even better sushi restaurant called Nobu. Both are within minutes of our apartment…and the servers spoke English. Maybe we’re just opting for the easy way out. It’s just the beginning…and we have a long way to go. I’m certain in time…we will experience it all.

Sightseeing is what we do most. I finally found a really good English guide book…with pictures. Pictures are a must…since all the signs on the sides of the cathedrals…monasteries…and government buildings are in Ukrainian. The first few days we would stand before the façade of an incredibly beautiful church…and have no clue what we were looking at. Today…we know. With a guide book in hand…we can actually venture out with direction…instead of aimlessly wandering from one place to another. I kind of like aimless…but this is a very large city…and direction is the only way to see it all.

When I was a child…the U.S.S.R. seemed a very scary place to me. It existed behind an “iron curtain”…and was our enemy in what was referred to as “the cold war.” You heard talk of “red phones”…the infamous "button"…and nuclear war. We as a country did not even participate in the 1980 olympics in Moscow. I knew as a child that I wanted to see the world. I also remember saying more than a few times…that I never wanted to visit Russia. Of course at the time…Russia meant the entire Soviet Union. I knew no better. I suppose I was afraid. Well…here I am…sort of…close enough. Where I sit typing this today…was a part of the Soviet Union. At that time…I considered it to be Russia. It is not. It is Ukraine. At the end of the cold war…Ukraine fought hard for it’s independence…with immense success. They wear it proudly…and they celebrate this weekend in it’s honor. I suppose that’s where the confusion comes in. Breaking free from Russia has been of immense importance to these people…yet the culture tends to lean more towards Russian. I’m certain that the history is just too vast for me to comprehend in such a short amount of time. Hopefully I will come to understand it better while I'm here. It will be very important for Dede to understand it…as she will have a native child soon…and it will be important to teach that child about his/her heritage.

Yesterday we stayed close to home. That was my fault. I needed a "time out." You see...we get stared at...a lot. With stares...come snickers. However...when you smile...they never smile back. I'm not exaggerating. They never smile. It's difficult to get used to. I'm not certain whether as a culture they are unhappy...distrusting...or just don't like us in general. Since a few days ago I had to chase a thief down the rode to retrieve my camera that he stole...I think it should be us who are distrusting. When I caught the guy...and took the camera away from him...his response was..."oh...excuse me." Really!?!?! That's all ya got? Well...needless to say...I had a few choice words for him. Since this is a G-rated movie...I will leave those words to your imagination. What I wish I had done...was kick him where it counts. I know I should feel better having not done so...but I don't. I still wish I had kicked him where it counts. It is kind of my fault however. I sat my camera down...turned my back...(all the while knowing that I should not be setting my camera down)...and it was gone in a second. If I had not turned back around when I did...it would be gone...and I would be a very sad nomad. Live...and learn. I normally keep the strap wrapped at least three times around my arm to avoid this very thing. What was I thinking? I will not make that mistake again.

Today is another day of sightseeing. I want to check in with the U.S. Embassy...and we will head towards the botanical gardens as well as a number of cathedrals. There are over 300 churches in Kiev alone...so I will post many pictures of golden domes this weekend. They are my favorite too...Byzantine...mosaics...fantastic!!!

Peace out...