This will probably be my last blog I’ll post in Ukraine—not
that I’ve posted very many or anything. But this one will be a little
more—personal? Is that what I’m writing? Shoot, I don’t know. But I do know one
thing for sure; I will miss Ukraine. So I’ve been thinkin’ long and hard about
the things I will miss about this place. Here are 100.
1.
The Temple
2.
My branch
3.
Senior missionaries
4.
Super attractive regular missionaries
5.
SISTER MISSIONARIES!!
6.
How cheap groceries are
7.
Walking EVERYWHERE
8.
Borsch
9.
Cheap public transportation
10.
Men in European-style outfits
11.
Women in their ridiculous stilettos
12.
Cops riding the metro
13.
The metro
14.
Soccer games!
15.
The ballet
16.
Being ‘entitled’ to ignore everyone
17.
Early Spring
18.
L’viv Chocolate
19.
Milka Chocolate
20.
Roshen Chocolate
21.
ANY chocolate!
22.
Making buck-wheat jokes with Devin Kreutz
23.
Everyone wearing perfume
24.
Fancy McDonald’s
25.
Petting strangers’ fur coats
26.
Street vendors
27.
BABUSCHKAS!
28.
Being called “dyevichka”
29.
The winking game on the escalator
30.
Cheap phone bills
31.
Missing home
32.
Guessing who is married
33.
Guessing who is male or female
34.
Flash floods
35.
Playing ‘the banker’ on the marshrutka!
36.
Hot towel racks
37.
My bedroom smelling like laundry detergent
because we hang-dry everything!
38.
People asking if I speak Russian because of my
name
39.
People insisting I have Russian roots because of
my name
40.
Washing my hands after touching ANYTHING!
41.
My freedom
42.
My students
43.
Having less responsibility
44.
All the free-time I have
45.
Being a tourist
46.
Touristy places like Maidan Nezalezhnosti and
Poshtova Plosha
47.
Cops with no guns
48.
Lack of speed limits
49.
Lack of laws
50.
Aggressive yet cautious drivers
51.
Wi-fi everywhere!
52.
Inexpensive musical instruments
53.
Taking a million photos
54.
Getting yelled at for taking someone’s photo
55.
Having to pay someone for taking their photo
56.
New York Bagel guy
57.
Fancy cars
58.
The people I’ve taught with!
59.
My coordinators
60.
Guessing who is a tourist
61.
Pointing people in the wrong direction
62.
Bumble-bee candies!
63.
Laughing when I don’t understand being totally
normal.
64.
Telling drunk old men to leave me alone
65.
Playing charades all day, every day!
66.
The toilet being separated from the rest of the
washroom
67.
Complaining about the heat
68.
Writing postcards
69.
Skyping everyone
70.
Being so excited when I hear people speak
English
71.
Being cautious with my money
72.
How cheap it is to travel to surrounding
countries
73.
Cultural diversity
74.
Challenging myself
75.
A new adventure everyday
76.
FIREWORKS!
77.
Enjoying Domino’s pizza
78.
The endless amounts of people I meet
79.
Being allowed to take just about anything on the
bus!
80.
Having someone drive me around
81.
Randomly speaking Russian words throughout my
sentences
82.
Making fun of people in English and no one
understanding
83.
Getting caught by an English speaker while
making fun of someone
84.
Numerous beautiful parks
85.
Taking a stroll on a warm sunny day and having
nothing better to do
86.
Men carrying their girlfriend’s/wife’s purse
87.
Men carrying their own ‘murse’
88.
People thinking I talk funny
89.
DELICIOUS baked goods
90.
People back home missing me
91.
Realizing, every day, how lucky I am to be from
North America
92.
The funny looks I get when I whistle indoors
93.
Getting yelled at for sitting on the floor
94.
The death glare I get when I pay my bus fare in
petty change
95.
The fruit-stand guy whistling at me every
morning—creep! haha
96.
How easy it is to lose weight here!
97.
Complaining about Ukraine
98.
The endless temptation to buy ANOTHER Dynamo
soccer scarf
99.
Not living my life on my cellphone
100. CHIVALRY!!!
I trust that this list will grow more and more as I am home--but as for now, there are 100 things I will miss about Ukraine and I will miss them very much.
