a little more life in Ukraine :)

Malaya Alexandrovka reminds me of Southern Oregon. It’s ferny, green and full of trees, bugs and nice people. We live in a five-bedroom house where 12 people live. There are three separate immediate families that each have their own bedrooms. In the midst of 5 mothers, 2 fathers, 4 brothers, 9 sisters, 4 grandmothers, 6 aunts, 2 uncles and a dog, Zoe and I have found a home. I love living with so many people! Their world seems to revolve around their children and their faith, which is beautiful. Pleasantly part of the family is what we’ve become.

During our first week, the kids (who have been taking voice lessons for 3 years) were scheduled to sing at a Ukrainian party. We thought this meant some sort of event with punch and cake, nice people milling around and trying to make conversation, you know, something casual. Turns out to be a protest in front of the government building in Kiev and the kids are on to sing in between fiery speeches about how the government has wronged the people somehow. Zoe and I were slightly surprised but we went with it. The only minor mishap was getting locked within the building by ourselves without our phrase book. After following the kids in to use the bathroom, they left us to go sing. We finished up and found ourselves in a long hallway full of closed locked doors with signs above them in Ukrainian and seven policemen staring suspiciously at us. Our attempt to ask where the exit was flopped miserably so we just tried the handles of about twenty-two doors, giggling nervously the entire time, before finally finding the one that wasn’t an office. I don’t plan on ever asking another Ukrainian policeman for help in the future.

I mistakenly mentioned to Anatoliy, the pastor and eldest man in the household here, that I like to run. I never suspected his 54 year old body was made of pure steel! I discovered this the next day, as we were running our first of many early morning runs, on the forest trails next to the house. He likes to go for an 8 kilometer run, stop back by the house for bikes and then ride half a mile to the lake and swim for a while. After the first kilometer he removes his socks, shoes and shirt and continues trekking away through the forest at a pace just fast enough to make me red-faced and uncomfortable. Fear struck my heart a few times when we passed some unofficial trash dumps out in the woods, but his bare feet continue unfazed over rusty tin can lids, broken glass pieces and other various items. Maybe someday I’ll be as ironman-esk as Anatoliy but until then, I’m content as the wannabe scrambling to keep up with his shadow.

One of my favorite things is sitting during the early morning hours on the back porch, eating almonds and a banana and listening. The house is on the edge of the community, right next to the forest with plenty of room for a giant vegetable garden. I like the moments when I remember to listen to the life happening around me. I’m aware of the people pumping water from the well next door, a few grandmotherly voices discussing something in Russian (or maybe it’s Ukrainian), a dog barking, the faint sound of a train braking in the distance, and the birds and bugs composing an early morning symphony. I appreciate that Zoe appreciates her sleep so much because it gives me some time alone to be still and think each morning before Anatoliy gets ahold of me.