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Journey to the Borderland

May 10

Posted by Lindsey Whissel on 05/10 at 02:22 PM

A good lesson to learn…

A few times since I’ve arrived, I’ve felt some of the people I met didn’t like me or didn’t have an interest in getting to know me because they made no attempt to communicate. However, I’ve realized often they are just as shy to practice their English as I am to practice my Russian. In almost every instance, once one of us has made the attempt to communicate, smiles have broken out and new friendships have been forged.

This morning I was having breakfast with my host mother and the first few minutes were a bit strained—both of us just drinking coffee in awkward silence. Then we started a few meager attempts at conversation (I asked how old her children were, she asked if I had brothers and sisters) and before you know is, we were both laughing and enjoying each other’s company. When words failed us, we continued our exchange via Google translate; I wish I had a photo of it—her sitting there typing on her cell phone and holding up the English translation for me and me typing on my laptop so I could respond in Russian:). So I’m learning (or relearning) to not let fear of looking silly interfere with reaching out to people and making the most of my time here.

I had a professional visit this morning at a regional affiliate of the National channel. This was interesting because they have quite a different perspective than some of the other stations I’ve visited. My guide at the station slipped in a few of his political views, which were more pro-government than I’ve heard from anyone else so far this trip. This sparked an interesting political conversation with our translator after the visit; she felt very differently than the representative from the station and wanted to make sure I heard more than one viewpoint. I was excited to hear she participated in the Orange Revolution back in 2004 and is interested public affairs both in Ukraine and abroad.

The morning proceeded on a lighter note; we attended a concert at a music school in Dnipropetrovsk (there are many in the city, but we were told this one was the best). I was truly blown away by the talent of the students who ranged in age from maybe five through 16 or 17. The director of the school, who is also a Rotarian, told us about the program and said the school offers free lessons to a local orphanage, which was our next stop. We were given a tour and the children put on another concert for us. After the musical morning/ afternoon, we went for dinner at an Uzbek restaurant.

To end our night and our time with the Dnipropetrovsk Rotary club, our hosts took us to a nightclub on the river Dnieper to hear a jazz band. We knew we were in for a random assortment of music when we heard a cover of “I Believe I can Fly.” They asked us for a request and the only thing we could come up with that they knew was Madonna’s “Like a Prayer.” Since they dedicated the song to the visiting Americans, we did the only thing we could… busted out every cheesy 80’s dance move in our repertoire. I made the mistake of saying to Ashley, “It doesn’t matter because we’re never going to see these people again,” which of course is the incantation for “This video will end up on You Tube.” So I’m sure if you were to Google “cheesy Americans dance in Ukraine,” a video of us will come up:). However, it was worth humiliating ourselves because it gave us a chance to show our hosts our goofy-side, which I think they enjoyed.

Now we’re packing up and getting ready to catch an overnight bus to Kharkiv.

Word of the day: аптека (Ap-tech-ah)- pharmacy. I swear I see this sign every ten feet. [I was tempted to make the word of the day “Richard Simmons,” because in Ashley’s words, the Richard Simmons dance is the universal way to make friends:)]