Ukraine Memories
Slowly, unexpectedly, the memories come back to me.
The worship team at the Obolon church singing "хвали, душа моя, господа, аллелуйя"
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| Different song, same church |
Bringing flowers or chocolate as a sign of gratitude for hospitality
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| Flowers from KCA for International Women's Day |
Bundling up for the frigid temperatures during the winter
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| Photo credit: Amy |
Older ladies with hair in all kinds of colors -- especially purple or "babushka red" as I call it
The overwhelming selection of dairy products at the grocery store
Eating Chinese food with friends on Sunday afternoons
Reading books to pass the time on the metro but looking out the marshrutka windows
KCA faculty/staff prayer time on Tuesday mornings and meetings on Friday mornings
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| Fellow KCA teachers and friends |
Being EXTREMELY warm indoors thanks to city heat that you cannot regulate yourself
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| Our dining room was always very toasty, especially when I kept the door closed while Skyping |
The way passengers could pass up a 10грн note for a 3грн bus fare, via the 10 passengers that stood between you and the bus driver - and still get the correct change back!
Overhearing conversations in the hall or in my classroom, or chatting with my students
Listening to student worship teams practice their music after school
Milk and ice cream in a bag
The movement of my students between Ukrainian culture and their own "third culture" school
Cramming into friends' minivans with at least 8 others after KCA sports games
Hoping that I wouldn't watch the bus I needed pass right by me
Walking with friends in the city center
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| Masha and I after walking in the center |
I want to go back. But I know now it is only to visit, and that so much has changed in the past 18 months, particularly in these last two months.
The experiences, memories, and of course friends/people will be a (huge) part of me forever.
// Thoughts of Home //
I had already wanted to write about what I missed about Ukraine, a place that was home for three years, and here are some ways that I have adjusted to being away:
1. Find similar activities, foods, routines in your new land. For me, this is an ongoing hunt of finding and developing deep friendships - which takes much longer when you're NOT in a missionary-international context! I miss my friends in Ukraine, and the supportive community that I found at church and school. It will take a long time for me to figure out my niche here in Holland.
2. Keep in touch. With all the recent events in Ukraine, I have been keeping up with the news, but also talking with friends and hearing their perspectives. If at all possible, try to meet up with friends in person. While I lived in America for a year, I had coffee a few times with a former student. Here in Holland, I've reconnected with another former student, and friends from Ukraine came to our Dutch wedding. The benefit of living here in Europe is the travel time back to Kyiv is much shorter and cheaper than from America! It is our hope that we will be able to visit Kyiv again soon!
3. Show hospitality in your own home/life. Invite new friends over for tea/coffee or dinner. Play games. We have slowly been doing this, but it takes a number of regular visits to "normalize" the relationship and grow it into a friendship (at least in my American experience). It's almost like the old cliche - "If you want a good friend, BE a good friend!"
~*~
Do you have any additional thoughts?
~*~
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// Thoughts of Home //
I had already wanted to write about what I missed about Ukraine, a place that was home for three years, and here are some ways that I have adjusted to being away:
1. Find similar activities, foods, routines in your new land. For me, this is an ongoing hunt of finding and developing deep friendships - which takes much longer when you're NOT in a missionary-international context! I miss my friends in Ukraine, and the supportive community that I found at church and school. It will take a long time for me to figure out my niche here in Holland.
2. Keep in touch. With all the recent events in Ukraine, I have been keeping up with the news, but also talking with friends and hearing their perspectives. If at all possible, try to meet up with friends in person. While I lived in America for a year, I had coffee a few times with a former student. Here in Holland, I've reconnected with another former student, and friends from Ukraine came to our Dutch wedding. The benefit of living here in Europe is the travel time back to Kyiv is much shorter and cheaper than from America! It is our hope that we will be able to visit Kyiv again soon!
3. Show hospitality in your own home/life. Invite new friends over for tea/coffee or dinner. Play games. We have slowly been doing this, but it takes a number of regular visits to "normalize" the relationship and grow it into a friendship (at least in my American experience). It's almost like the old cliche - "If you want a good friend, BE a good friend!"
~*~
Do you have any additional thoughts?
~*~
Like this post and want to receive updates of new entries? Please consider subscribing to my blog via this link!
Hahaha, random thing - was it really so cold that you mentioned it twice? :D
ReplyDeleteI've read your post and wondered how I would fit in case I one day move somewhere else. So far, in my 28 years of life, I haven't even moved to another apartment... Which is great on one hand, but terrible on the other - I have absolutely ZERO experience in this area (thankfully, Sam is good with that kind of stuff because he moved a lot).
I look at how I changed jobs... I thought I would miss it more. But I just moved my entire self, in a way, to this new job, and while I do think of the Chamber every once in a while, I don't really miss it. But then, my last few weeks at the Chamber weren't exactly the best... so... I don't know.
Oops, copy/paste mistake. :) I fixed the one, but yes, I really do miss the toasty indoors during the winter. It's 20*C inside our house, about 19* at my Bible study....my mom kept the thermostat at LEAST 21*C...I guess doors and windows just feel draftier here. I do still bundle up, even though it's been above freezing most of the time -- there's a windchill when you are cycling :) What do you estimate the indoor temp for city heat (windows closed)?
DeleteRe: moving - just wait till you have to pack everything up! Moving here vs. moving within country means I don't have the luxury of throwing everything into a box without sifting through it. Moving also makes you look at familiar sites with different perspectives - I'm thinking of marshrutka routes from my various residences to school/church...464 was the only one that I could use all 3 years for various purposes :).