Stories of Ukraine

I've had a bit of time to reflect and refocus my thoughts yesterday as we walked around Budapest. I condensed my time in Ukraine into a few stories. So, in order to not become too long-winded or boring, here they are:

Story #1: Friendly Hungarian Students
One of the highlights of the time in Ukraine was meeting with students and talking to them. As was true in Russia as well, the Hungarian students were friendly, open, inquisitive, polite, and lots of fun! Interacting with them in the classroom and talking to them in English was truly a joy. This is not an exciting story exactly, but it was a highlight of my time there, and therefore worth sharing.

Story #2: The Cows Come Home
We were in a small village in Ukraine called Peterfalva--population about 2000 I think. Every household in the village had their own animals: pigs, chickens, rabbits and so on. But the one animal every household owned was a cow. A really neat thing about the smaller villages in Ukraine and one positive testament to the Communist era was their "common grounds." Every village had a common area that cows would graze in. So each morning about 6:00, the cows would amble down the street, and a few shepherds would follow them. Then about 6:30 in the evening, the cows would come back wandering down the street. The funniest part was watching the cars swerve in and out and around all the cows. The other funny part was that every cow knew exactly which house to return to in the evening!

Story #3: Sad Little Babies
One day I went along with some of the Hungarian students to the hospital near Peterfalva. The hospital had a ward of abandoned babies that basically lay in cribs all day staring at the ceiling. The Hungarian students went once a week to play with them and hold them. The only other human contact these babies receive before they're old enough to be shipped off to an orphanage is when a nurse feeds them for a few minutes each day. The hot water heater was broken for quite some time, so the nurses hadn't been washing the babies. Yes, they smelled. We spent a whole afternoon playing with them, which they obviously loved. When we had to leave, every single one of them started wailing, like a chorus of sadness. It almost broke my heart.

Story #4: Visiting the Babushkas
One day we were scheduled to visit one of the old women from the Hungarian Reformed Church. We went there mid-morning, and she fed us royally well, a full-course meal. During the time we were there, the old woman's neighbour, another old woman, heard that we were there. So she stopped in, and right after we were finished visiting Old Woman #1, we had to go next door to visit Old Woman #2. Old Woman #2 also fed us a full-course meal. Just as my stomach felt like it was going to burst, and like it couldn't possibly hold any more food, another old woman dropped by Old Woman #2's house. Seeing us there, Old Woman #3 demanded that we come and visit her after we were finished at Old Woman #2's house. So then we headed next door to Old Woman #3's house for YET ANOTHER full-course meal. Incidentally, there was an Old Woman #4 who lived next door to Old Woman #3, but she died a few months ago. I mean no disrespect, but I was thankful that she was no longer living. By the time we were finished with Old Woman #1, 2, and 3, we all walked home moaning and clutching our stomachs.

Story #5: Gas Smuggling and Shortages
Going over the border from Hungary to Ukraine signified a very obvious drop in living standards. Everything in Ukraine is dirt cheap, including their gas. In Hungary, gas is approximately $5 a gallon! When Yushenko finally came to power some months back, he capped the gas prices at a certain price. So gas smugglers from Hungary started going to Ukraine to fill up their tanks with as much gas as they could. These gas smugglers were quite easy to pick out as we waited to cross the border--they typically drove Mercedes and fit the Mafia-esque profile. At all the gas stations in Ukraine there are little wooden ramps by the pumps. The gas smugglers drive up to the pump and put one back tire up on the ramp so the rear of the car is sticking up in the air. Then they fill their tanks, and because of the ramp they can fit in a few more drops of gas. During the time we were in Ukraine, there was a gas shortage. Well, I don't think the stations were short of gas actually. But because Yushenko capped the prices, the gas station owners have decided it's not worth it for them to sell gas to the average people. Instead, they started exporting it because the large corporations will pay a lot more for it. So then gas stations will randomly say they have "no gas." There were several times last week we would drive around and around looking for fuel. When there was a station selling gas, the lineup would be at least a mile long down the road and you could expect to spend several hours in line.

Story #6: Oh, Those Gypsies!
Hungary and Ukraine (and much of this part of the world) is alive with gypsies. The problems gypsies face is a complex one and is dependent on a long cultural history. Therefore, there are no easy solutions to their poverty or poor living standards, and "just get a job and work" is not a helpful piece of advice to them. It is a constant struggle in my mind to balance this with how I find myself reacting to them. It is admittedly sometimes difficult to be patient or kind towards them. For example, we went to the market one day. Some gypsies started hanging around us, begging for money. It's always little kids who are sent to do this, and they tug on your clothes and rub your arms. They'll also follow you for 1/2 an hour. Anyway, one boy attached himself to me and wouldn't leave me alone. I kept saying "No" to him, but he persisted. So I turned around and looked straight into his eyes and didn't say anything. His response? Well, he spit on his hands, then hit me. Then he ran away. I was shocked. I expected harassment, but not to be physically attacked.

Well, I apologize that it took so long to get through all those stories. There are many more, but I will leave it at that now. Today is our last day in Budapest. Tomorrow we head for Vienna!