It’s So Creepy

I was writing the last blog about environmentally friendly Ukrainians in the evening yesterday.  Wandered into the kitchen, struck up a conversation with Ulyana and her friend Olya.  Music was playing in the background and we were all kind of shyly dancing to the beat.  This went on for a while. Finally, we couldn’t take it anymore and decided that we need to go somewhere to dance for real.  So at 10.30 pm we decided to go to the danceclub.  I was totally up for it because I love to dance and when you’ve got a husband and son your energy is shot by about 5 pm and unfortunately the daytimes danceclubs have not quite caught on.

What’s more I pinched a nerve in my back earlier  in the day and I was feeling like a starushka (old lady) and so I felt like a logical solution for my condition was to go out and do something that would make me feel young again.  So we all got dressed up in our 4-inch heels and went to the club.  It was fun.  I don’t have any girlfriends in Utah that I can go clubbin with so I really appreciated the opportunity.

There was hardly anyone in the club but we had a great time.  We met a few guys from Poland who came over and asked us if we speak English.  My girls amazed me when the guy was speaking Polish and they not only understood but were able to answer in Polish.  KRUTO!!!!  (COOL!!!!) This is such an interesting place, Western Ukraine.  People here speak 3 languages.  Anyway, we had a great time talking about his impressions of Ukraine.  They were just passing through on their way back to Poland from Romania.  His English was pretty funny.  He used the word ‘creepy’ a lot.  I think he was using it instead of weird. I got a kick out of it.  Here are some of the things he thought were ‘creepy’:

The fact that women on the trains inRomania fan themselves with fans (‘it’s so creepy’)

That the shirt he bought to wear to the club was fromPoland(‘It’s creepy, you know?’)

The fact that an older man was hitting on Olya (appropriate word here)

The way the Ukrainian language sounds to him (‘for me it’s something so creepy’)

The fact that an American girl was in Ukraine speaking Ukrainian (‘it’s just creepy’, appropriate perhaps?)

It was very fascinating.  I love hearing languages and peoples’  accents in English and especially love talking with foreigners.  Then he tried to teach us a Polish tongue twister.  But all the Polish stuff sounded like a tongue twister to me.  But I better get used to it because it’s my next language. Ukrainian is a good segue between Russian and Polish.

So we got home at 2 am.  I felt triumphant because I defied my age.  But it was a temporary triumph.  I paid for it the next morning.  My back hurt so bad.  I wabbled into the kitchen and took like 4 tylenol so that I could even just stand up.   But I’m sorry, I can’t control my love for dancing.  I hurt my back every time I do it and I still can’t resist the opportunity to shake my booty.

Earlier in the day while I was killing time between friend sessions I went up to the top of the Vezha  Ratusha or Ratusha tower.  You have to climb up a bunch of stairs and from the top of the tower you can see the whole city.  It’s beautiful.  The climb is not bad at all.  And it’s totally worth it. Entrance costs 5 hriven, or about 60 cents.

I like myself here so much.  I’m so tough. My husband would be so proud of me.  Although, for some reason when my husband is around I’m such a whiner.  Here I just keep pushing forward even when I don’t feel good, when I’m tired.  I hang out with people if they want to hang out.  I feel sticky and hot all day and I just keep going.  And what’s more, I thoroughly enjoy myself.  That’s why I love being here and inUkrainebecause the lack of luxury really refines your character.  I’m hoping that when my husband finds out that something about living here makes me complain less that he’s going to put in his two week notice at work and emigrate to me.  He’d love it here. It’s so low key and historic.  People are so wonderful.  Today I found out the houses in the countryside cost about 17,000 dollars.  So now that I’m in the middle of having one dream come true I’m frantically searching for a new dream that will bring me back here and I think I might be on to something.  (Sorry hun, that you’re learning about this this way). He’ll probably think it’s just creepy.