Columns regarding day-to-day life in (west) Ukraine
Since 1999 Corine lives at Berehove and works at the Eastern European Mission, just across the EU border. This area is quite isolated from the rest of Ukraine by the Carpathian Mountains. Through this column Corine gives us an impression regarding daily life in this poor region.
Христос воскрес! Воистину воскрес!
On Easter morning this greeting sounds through the streets. The Lord has risen! He has risen. One greets each other, also during the first days after Easter, not with “goodbye”, but with "the Lord has risen." In response, the other person replies, "He has risen."
Easter in Ukraine is the main party of the year. Easter is an excellent deadline to be ready with spring-cleaning, and during the days preceding Easter everywhere you see carpets hanging outside, the windows are being opened and the house is being cleaned. Food is being cooked the last days before Easter, in order to eat deliciously and a lot during Easter. Self Smoked ham, fish salad and all kinds of delicacies can not be missed. Besides Easter bread is important.
In the Orthodox Church Easter is celebrated in a special way. On Saturday evening Mass begins around 00.00. Everyone goes there, well dressed. In one hand a basket, with a number of dishes one has prepared. The basket is covered with a cloth embroidered with the words of the Easter greeting “The Lord has risen”. The Mass lasts long and has many rituals. The baskets have to be sanctified by the priest with incense. People stand in line for hours. In some large cities this takes until 5 – 6am.
In Protestant churches the Easter service on Sunday morning is a celebration service. The service begins with the words "The Lord has risen", to which the congregation responds with "He has risen." The children sing a song or say a poem. The choir sings and of course the sermon is about Easter.
In the area where I live we have the opportunity to celebrate Easter twice. The first time on the date Easter is celebrated in Europe (according to the Gregorian calendar), which is followed by the Hungarian minority in Ukraine and the second time according to the Julian calendar used by the Russian Orthodox Church. It offers the opportunity to check out how those things are handled in another church. Interesting!
Corine van der Kooi - Berehove UA – 2 May 2012
Ukrainian funeral
Last week I got a phone call. Luba passed away last night. “The funeral is tomorrow at 1pm from his home”. In most cases the deceased stays at home. Special funeral homes and undertakers are unknown here. Hence the family has to do everything themselves like the washing and the dressing. The coffin is purchased and you have to arrange to transport the casket yourselves. You shouldn’t be amazed when you see a Lada with coffin on top or on a hanger. Furthermore the family has to hand in the ID of the deceased as well as a death statement from a doctor so that an official death certificate could be issued at town hall. The evening after a person passed away the house is open and people are welcome to say goodbye. The coffin is in the living room and is as far as I know always open. Children are coming as well and they don’t think it is strange. As many people die at a young age the kids got used to it and are not kept away from the death.
The next day there is a service. This is usually in the garden around the house. Everybody brings a wreath or flowers. These are hung on the grapes and the fence. The coffin is put on a bench or table and the service could begin. Also here the children are around as it is the most natural thing in the world. People are also not afraid to touch the deceased, so that happens often. The coffin has not been refrigerated (this is unknown here), so the funeral is usually the day after somebody dies. Also the body is not being adjusted. So a half-open mouth or a chin with a string around it is quite common. When the service is finished the horse and carriage arrives. It is also possible that people use the van from the neighbours. Dependent on the custom in the village or the area the coffin is either open when it is put on the carriage or closed with nails. After this people present walk to the graveyard while they take the wreaths and the flowers. You are not allowed to pass by a funeral with a running engine, hence everybody stays behind the funeral (possession) or when you come from the opposite direction you kill the engine until the funeral has passed.
At the grave a few words are being said. Finally the coffin is being closed with four nails (in case this has not been done before). Above the manually dug grave two ropes are hanging. The coffin is being put on those two ropes and it is being lowered into the grave. When the coffin is on the bottom of the grave the ropes are pulled up alongside the coffin. With big scoops the earth is immediately put on top of the coffin. When the grave is closed all flowers are put on top of it and that’s the end of the funeral…
It is literally burying and everything goes different then in The Netherlands. It seems that death is more normal here. However whether this is normal? That’s a good question…
Corine van der Kooi - Berehove UA – 15 September 2011
Cultural differences
Since a few days I’m on leave in The Netherlands. I’m enjoying the kindness of the shop personal, the ubiquitous order and the civilisation of people. Maybe you are surprised and you might think is this The Netherlands where I’m living? Yes! That's exactly right.
Hence since last Wednesday I’m making an effort to greet shop staff. And today, Friday, I even said “have a nice weekend” to the cashier. Also I try to look shop staff into the eyes. Why do I do this? Because it is normal here. I have to force myself to do this, as I am accustomed to act differently in Ukraine. But I must say it feels good! Where, do you ask? In The Netherlands or in Ukraine? Currently I am writing about my stay in The Netherlands, hence The Netherlands.
Today I walked into a shopping mall and I had to cough. I tried to do this silently and to restrain myself. Nobody should be able to hear this, otherwise I would get angry faces. Who coughs is sick and could infect others, hence you should stay at home. A few moments later I realise myself this doesn’t apply in The Netherlands. Hence I continue coughing while I walk through the shopping mall. Nobody takes notice. Finally I could cough and sneeze whenever I want. But it feels strange... Why? Because I am no longer accustomed to it.
During my first visit, when drinking coffee and tea, I leave the final bit in the cup. The tea looks bright, but I find it scary to empty the glass completely as you never know what has dropped at the bottom. I see strange looks when the waitress takes my glass. Oops, I could drink it all here, until the last drop, without worrying about swallowing sand, iron and other things.
As you understand, I’m on leave. The idea is to relax from my work in Ukraine and to maintain contacts in the Netherlands. Whether it is really possible to relax I do not know. Especially with all the cultural differences it is sometimes a bit chaotic in my head…
Corine van der Kooi - Berehove UA – 12 March 2011
School life in Ukraine
The summer holidays at Ukrainian school are always during the months of June, July and August. Regardless what day it is, the 31st of May is the last day. And the 1st of September is the day of the “first school bell”.
Two weeks before the “first school bell” the streetscape and market are changing. Everywhere stalls pop-up. Piles of exercise books, pens, pencils and school bags are showcased and sold to the students. You don’t get those at school. The parents need to buy everything themselves. Also study books that belong to a subject at school. The only materials you get from school are the regular schoolbooks to be used during the new school year. In many cases they don’t have enough books so that two or three kids need to share a schoolbook. Next to the stalls with school materials, stalls are set-up with large white bows in the hair, white panty hoses and shiny shoes. For the boys there are real suites. And then there is the day of the “first school bell”.
The first of September. It appears to be a real national holiday. The kids go to school. With a bunch of flowers for the teacher (where does she leave 25 bunches of flowers?) they are all lined up on the schoolyard. After the national anthem is played and sung with the hand on the hart, the school director gives a speech to the kids and their parents. In most cases there is also a bishop from the Russian Orthodox Church who blesses the children, the teachers and other personal and also reads a prayer. And the lessons could start…
At school the competition is still present, and it is the goal of every parent that their child becomes “the perfect” student and ultimately will get a “red diploma”. All A’s is the intent. Schools in the region have regular competitions and the perfect students for a class participate. Starting with the city, then the community, the region and finally national. It doesn’t always occur in a fair manner… corruption is everywhere in Ukraine, also here. Bribing the jury is what you as parent gladly do for your child. The same applies for the teacher. A bottle of Vodka or a box of chocolate leads to improvement of the school results. Schools are punished when students are not promoted to the next class so that they need to redo a class.
And then the 31st of May there is the “last school bell”. On the schoolyard, after singing the national anthem the names of the students are called who have finished 11 classes. Up to higher education or directly into a job. Also the names of the “perfect students” and of the students who have won a competition are mentioned. The (school) year has passed by. A long summer holiday could start!
Corine van der Kooi - Berehove UA – 8 February 2011
Winter in Ukraine
For some people the winter is a romantic and nostalgic part of the year, for others it requires quite some adaptations….
It is a normal working day in December that begins with dull rain. This should have been snow, I thought. During the afternoon the rain is changing into wet snow and when I go home from the office, the snow doesn’t even melt. The next morning it is a beautiful white world. There is at least 4 inches of snow! I try to clean the path from the door the gate with the snow shovel. I’m enjoying the physical labour; it saves me a night at the gym ☺. When the outside temperature drops to -10 degrees (Celsius) the heating is turned up fully. As my room is the coldest of the house, I quickly need additional heating with an electric heater. Oh, I shouldn’t complain. I have visited many people who only have a wood stove. Wood is purchased, which are expensive. Therefore there are people who throw the garbage into stove, which is not really good for your health. If one has no money to buy wood, they themselves go to the forest to cut wood. I was very surprised how much wood is needed. Wood fires away quickly and therefore a lot has to be chopped to get through the winter.
On the eaves of the house icicles are quickly formed. An icicle of one meter is normal, and so I have to consider immediately that they may fall down. You should not imagine that it drops on your head. Every year you hear on the news that people die due to dropping icicles. Hence people no longer walk past the houses, but take a safety zone of two meters from the houses.
After a night with a lot of frost the automatic locking of the car is frozen. Fortunately, I could get in via the back door. Fifteen minutes after I got the car running with the heater on full, I can get behind the wheel in the normal way. Public affairs only attempts to free up the main road with a snowplough. This does not always work out as the road has to be flat and more or less level. But ….one has to say it is a considerable improvement compared to a number of years ago. The sprinkling of sand over the remaining snow makes the main road reasonable passable. However, not so for the side roads. Those change rapidly from beautiful snow covered streets into real ice rinks. That implies no braking, when you want to stop, you lower gear. It does take some training, but is definitely worth it. No one wants a collision. Unfortunately in the mean time I am now facing a small dent... no not a collision. As I did not need my car one day I had parked it next to the house. Because it was just above freezing point, ice came rumbling down from the roof of the house... Fortunately, my windshield is not broken and the small dent is hardly noticeable. Since yesterday it thaws well. And as the saying is ‘wherever an ass falls, there he will never fall again’, I parked my car adequately last night. And I’m glad it was not for nothing as while I woke up early this morning thick layers of ice came were sailing down to the exact spot where I use to park my car.
After this first winter month I'm again used to it. Bring on January and February. On to the minus 25 (Celsius), on to more snow!
Corine van der Kooi - Berehove UA – 1 January 2011
Closer to nature
In Eastern European countries, and consequently in Ukraine as well, people are living close to nature. Once in spring the snow has melted and no more frost is being expected, the families go into the field. Everyone has a large vegetable garden, or some acres of land on which people grow everything. The children walk behind the ploughing grandparents, to plant potatoes in the grooves. Later during the year the children assist to secure the tomato plants to sticks to prevent them from hanging. During drought people pray for rain and after rain they thank God for it. When the potato beetle emerges the children walk with a bowl alongside the potatoes to catch the beetles. The people depend on their harvest, since it is the food for the winter. During the summer people eat plenty of spring onions, radishes, sweet peppers and delicious tomatoes. During every meal a delicious fruit salad put on the table. I should mention when you do not like tomatoes you should consider coming to Ukraine. There tomatoes are most delicious.
And it is time for the harvest. Potatoes, beets, onions, carrots, cabbage. Everything comes from the field and is stored in the cellars. Thanksgiving Day is celebrated in the churches. There is no nationwide Thanksgiving Day like in the Netherlands, but on a Sunday during autumn people celebrate Thanksgiving Day. The Saturday before the youth decorates the church. In the front of the church a scaffold is made consisting of vegetables, fruits, breads and natural materials. It is always a marvellous sight. From the surrounding villages there are guests during the service and there is a festive atmosphere. The children from the Sunday School sing a song, the youth gives a performance occurs and the old granny with her head scarf, thick glasses says a nine couplet long poem with her shaky voice entirely from her head. During the sermon the relation is highlighted between the natural and spiritual harvest. What spiritual fruits have you harvested? Have you been able to disseminate? During the service several women from the congregation are absent. They are in the kitchen preparing a meal. After the service the people literally enjoy the harvest and to have a meal together outside, or when this is available, in one of the halls of the church.
When I was young my mother used to say when we complained the rain: "the farmers will be pleased with it." Here in Ukraine one does not have to say this as everyone knows that rain is important for the crops that are on the fields. After all a summer that is too dry will result in a bad harvest. And a bad harvest means a limited food supply for the winter.
Corine van der Kooi - Berehove UA – 3 December 2010
The customer is king, no so in Ukraine….
The famous saying "the customer is king" does not apply everywhere in the World. At least not in Ukraine ....
One day I decided just 45 minutes before closing time to go shopping. While walking in one of the trails in the grocery store one of the employees bluntly asks me: “don’t you see that the floor is wet?" I answer affirmatively. Then the employee asks again bluntly "then why do you walk here?” I reply: “because I am getting my groceries”. Then she responds: "the floor has just been mopped, so the trails are wet, you may not walk here." Then I say "yeah but I need something on this trail.” The baffling reply is: "then you should have come sooner or you should have considered to come tomorrow. " As I can not be pushed around, I ask: 'what are the hours?" She mentioned a time 45 minutes later and I replied: 'you should consider changing the opening hours if you do not want people to walk on a wet floor. I continued doing my shopping. Meanwhile the staff spoke of their displeasure against each other regarding this brutal customer, while I could hear everything ...
The bank opens at 9am, but there is a high likelihood that you cannot change money before 9.30am. One of the experiences I had went as follows: "I'd like to exchange 100 euro’s. "I have not yet received the exchange rate from the main office”. "Oh, when will you get it?" “When? [very outraged] What do you think? I get it when I will get is”. "Could you tell me at what time that usually is on average? Angry: "How could I know that? They pass me the information when they pass me the information”. "Yes, but I ask you whether you could give me an indication. Do you get it usually around this time, or around 11am or.... I need money within 15 minutes”. The reaction I get was (angry again): "I do not know, go to another bank”.
When someone has one’s own business, one is often more customer friendly. Although ... with all kinds of tricks sales people try to persuade the Ukrainian customer to buy their stuff. One (unknown Chinese) brand is even better then the other (also unknown Chinese) brand. And ultimately the customer is persuaded. For a fee you will get even a guarantee. Until it breaks ... "Yes ... but madam … you know that everything here in "our Ukraine" is of very poor quality? Certainly that Chinese stuff. Then you should have gone to another shop where they sell real German brands. For these prices you could have guessed it is nothing? For this price you cannot expect quality. I hope you do understand you bought something inferior for such a low price? "
It's nice to shop in The Netherlands. The staff greets you when you arrives, they are friendly and try to give you as a customer the feeling that you are welcome. Just a few months, then I could enjoy this feeling again for a while!
Corine van der Kooi - Berehove UA – 1 November 2010
Travelling by train in Ukraine
Recently I had to travel 250 km by train within Ukraine. A few days before my departure I had already bought my train ticket, which is the habit here. Price: 1,65 euro. While waiting for the train I listen to the blaring radio on the railway station. Suddenly I see people standing up, grabbing their bags and walking to the platform. No dingdongding… and then a clear announcement, but in stead unnoticeably while the radio continues playing. I haven’t heart anything and try to catch some parts of the repetition. The only thing I hear is the word “tail”. This is very important information for me. My train ticket contains a wagon number and seat/bed number. At some trains the numbering starts at the head for others at the tail. My wagon number is 4 hence reasonably at the tail. That saves me a run on the platform, along a train of 20 wagons ... always very exhausting with a packed weekend bag.
At the entrance of the wagon stands a conductress, she looks at my ticket and puts it into her pocket. As I had forgotten to check the seat number and I have to ask her. Proper customer care is non-existing here. Hence when looks could kill I would have died there and then. Boarding is hard. There is no raised platform and the steps are right on top of each other, so I bruised the shin on my leg. AUW!
Inside the wagon it stinks. It is a sleeper train and most people are still sleeping. I decide not to lay down myself as it is 6.30am. After about an hour most people start to wake up. The bags are opened and the stale air in the car gets worse. The smell of salami, meat, garlic and vodka make me sit close to gag. The people eat something and then start to make their toilet. People walk on slippers and in a bathrobe through the corridor towards the toilet. As if they are at home!
Halfway I decide to go to the toilet. I'd rather not, but yes sometimes you just have to go. The door from the toilet cannot be locked. I hang my purse on the door handle, but in a reflex I take it away again. On the floor is at least 2 inches of fluid and that is not tap water. Bah! I'm glad I got my boots on. In one way or another I hang above the hole in the ground while keeping my bag. I try to touch as little as possible. I am happy that I don’t need to use this toilet again as I will be on my final destination soon.
It is that travelling by train is so much more economic that driving a car, but for fun I would rather sit in my car then in the train...
Corine van der Kooi - Berehove UA – 1 October 2010
The only bright spot of my youth...
During 1995 I came to Ukraine for the first time. Ukraine was a sober gray unknown country. Together with some friends we raised money during a year to enable a Christian summer camp for kids (in Ukraine). Three weeks we were separated from the outside world and we were in a camp in the middle of the forest. There was no Internet. There were no mobile phones. For our friends & family back in the Netherlands the words "no news is good news" became a reality.
The people were poor. Children walked in too large shoes without laces. Clothes were washed too many times and readjusted. We ate every day at least 1 x buckwheat. I still do not dare to eat it and will never forget the air that hung in the dining hall... Recently I spoke with one of the organizers of that particular summer camp. "You did not like that buckwheat. While I was so proud that I had found two jute sacks of buckwheat. It was very scarce at that time. For the children it was a feast ...". My heart cringed when he said that.
I'm still in contact with Micha one of the teenagers who was at that camp. He maried one of my friends and they got three sons. During the first Oekroe summer camp at Lavki (in 2003) he was one of the leaders. When we ran into each other last summer he unsolicited told me about his youth. "We had nothing. I slept with my brothers and sisters in the same bed. My father tried to make money and was a hard worker, but wages were not paid for months that time. We were poor. And that while my parents are Christians. They didn't even drink (alcohol) and despite that they couldn't feed and clothe us. Because of this I do not have fond memories of my childhood. The camps were the only bright spot in my life." While he is telling me this I feel the pain. But I see him shine when he talks thankfully about the summer camps which he could have been part off. What kind of person and where would he have been if we wouldn't have had that opportunity?
Sometimes I wonder why I am living here already for 12 years and commit myself to the people here. During the 'casual' conversations with the organizer from back then and Micha I do know the answer again.
Corine van der Kooi - Berehove UA - 31 August 2010