First three weeks in Ukraine...

The picture above is a very good description of my strongest experience that I had in Ukraine for the first three weeks! I will just share my thoughts here and you can compare and see whether you ever had a crazy experience like this in your life!...


The first evening after my arrival onto the Ukrainian soil is truly unforgettable. The reason for that is not only the reunion with my family whom I have not seen for the past 11 years! First weirdest thing was that the people speak a "different" language that sounds so weird, so radical compared to the English and Afrikaans pronouncing I am so used to. Yet... I understand that language! It was super cool!!! Yet only until I realised that my brain begins to re-adjust itself to think in Russian so that it can speak Russian fluently. Soon it was a nightmare!!! I dreamt of people talking Russian and Ukrainian to me, it was not a time for resting but learning and more learning!! I even began to hear voices of people in my head that were building Russian phrases. Crazy things like "green cat eats trees" or "big small car on the bus today ever and ever". My brain went bunkers and I had absolutely no control over it, but to pray quietly for God's mercy over my poor physicist's mind.

My eyes got the best flexibility training over this period of time! Nearly lost them out of my sockets you know! I am extremely visual, so if I see, I basically remember. And I literally knew NOTHING of the stuff around me. It was very confusing at first: the streets, the phone numbers, new people's faces, money notes, price tags etc etc etc ... Basically, all the thing that we take for granted while we are in our peaceful environment, got the best of me. I mean, our note of 10 in South Africa is green, and our 50 note is red. Here the green one is the note of 20 ad the red one is the note of 10!!! So imagine me and my gigantic frustration every time I would open the wallet... I also often would forget to look in the right direction while crossing the street, so after a few very unpleasant experiences I finally decided to make it my habit to look both ways! :P


Here in Ukraine people rely immensely on the public transport system. Since in South Africa we do not have any public transportation, but people only - and I mean ONLY - use private cars, it was a great challenge for me to learn how to use a bus or a tram again! When you enter, you have to use the front door because that is where you pay the driver of the bus. Then you have to squash yourself towards the middle of the bus to make room for more people coming in behind you. Since the buses are designed to contain about 20 seated and 20 standing passengers, and everyone uses the buses, there is normally very very very very little space to occupy. Often I shared my bodily space with someone who I would never normally prefer to be close to in the open! Well, let's g community style for God. Then once the bus approaches your needed stop - which you ALREADY have to know by the looks of it, they do not announce the stops! - you have to squeeze back towards the exit, then give out a shout "NA ZUPYNTSI", which means "On the next stop" and hope that the driver heard you and will stop and open the doors. The price for a ride is about R2 ($0.25) so if you do not plan your route carefully, you can actually lose a lot of pocket money. Often I went on faith because the bus was No. 15 and I had to take No. 16 or something. There are so many different routes and different buses, you really have to know where you are going AND how you are going to come back to your original spot - ELSE you are lost in a town where people do not think like you, do not speak your language and do not even understand how you can be lost!

Speaking of different mentalities... I had a very funny incident in a super market with plastic bags. We do not use paper bags in South Africa and in Ukraine it is the same. Also in both countries you have to purchase the bag if you ever need to. So i went to this shop one day and got all my groceries. I did not want to spend some money to buy a bag, so I brought my own bags. So I put all my groceries on the counter and put the bag on top. Then this lady looks at me and asks: "Is this your plastic bag?" I say: "Yeah, sure its mine." Then she took it and tossed it to me and said: "Well, then why in the world did you give it to me??" I was like ... hmmm... what is that reaction?? So I just apologised - maybe I was wrong. And then later, only later, did I realise that here in Ukraine everyone has to put their own stuff into shopping bags - all self-service!! I was stunned! :)


Overall, my life is filled with experiences like that. I am sometimes confused, sometimes lost, sometimes totally out of place. But I can testify that God was always there, guarding me and guiding me every step of the way. Sometimes He even challenges me to take risks (!!) - you know, like He sometimes tells me to get on this bus, that I never took before - or maybe to approach a person on the street that I never spoke to and just to tell them something like: "Good morning! God bless you!" Its very weird to be like this, but He does it all for a sole purpose of teaching me how to be obedient and how to trust Him and His Voice. Things like this tell me that He loves me and that He is concerned about my growth and that's why I love Him so very much!!


One of the nicest experiences for me was of course to meet my family after so many many many years of separation! When they came to meet me at the airport, my sister recognised me purely because of my Facebook pictures. My auntie and my grandma told me that only my eyes remained the same. My aunt even thought someone else was me and she almost went out and greeted him at the airport. When we took a taxi to their house, I was absolutely mesmerised by the sight beyond the windows: the architecture, the people on the streets, the shops and the adverts. Then, to just get away from the flood of experience, I began to speak to the driver - you know, just a polite conversation. To my surprise, he sounded so offended, especially when I asked him what his name was. Later on, my sister told me that in Ukraine people do not just make friends on the street, and that was kind of a shock to me as well. In South Africa we are a little more loose and warm towards each other and towards making friends, and one thing I noticed is that Ukrainians are really task-oriented. When people walk on the streets, the expressions on their faces is of utmost seriousness, focus and concentration. All because they are thinking about what to do next, apparently.

My grandmother was head over heels to see me again, she was the last person to see me off at the airport when I was 14, so my visit was so important to her! Wow, when we were hugging I realised that I missed her a lot too! Thank You, God, for this wonderful reunion! But as I was walking around the house, where I was born and where I used to live for the first 14 years of my life, I noticed that all things were... kind of... small!! No, I mean, like tiny!! It's all probably because I was still a child and all dimensions were bigger then. :) Just a side note, hehe!


I am so very grateful to my family in Odessa! They were extremely patient with me overall, probably realising at least in part what I was going through. They constantly went out with me on the streets of Odessa, taking me to places to help me adapt faster. They took me to all those spots where I used to be when I was a kid - those were some sweet times! We took a lot of pictures too! Also one of my old school friends, whom I also have not seen for over 11 years, had arranged for us to meet and to go out somewhere in town. That afternoon was a total blast! She had an amazing knowledge of Odessa's history of origin and development and enlightened me about it all. As we were walking around our city, she always had something to say about pretty much everything - and I really mean it in a good sense. Through her I learned a lot about my home town and the whole day was fabulous! Also at the end of it we went to a very cosy coffee shop and I had some latte and cheese cake! I almost felt like I was back in South Africa - hmmm,.... Well, except for the smoke... Overall, the standard is expected to be that the smokers are in one sealed-off room and the non-smokers are in the other room. Here in Ukraine the smokers occupy the most of the restaurant, and the non-smokers sit there where the fans are that suck out all the smoke. Or at least it seems that way judging from all the clouds of toxic gases going towards me everywhere I go - up until today! Oh, well, my dark sarcastic humour again...

I also got a chance to see an Ukrainian university on the inside. Wow, what a contrast! The university does not have its own land and premises and has only two doors through which people can enter/exit. The lecture halls are pretty much the same layout as the ones in South Africa, maybe not as big though, the biggest one might maybe fit like 60 - 70 students. What shocked me the most though are the offices. Here the departments or the different schools are called "kAfedra"'s - so it's like a big room with about 5-7 desks - and that's it! Your desk is pretty much your office here! I wondered about the privacy of such layout but it seems to me this is considered a norm. Well, it's understandable since in Europe space for living and accommodation is very scarce and expensive. I just cannot imagine all our physics department fitting into one of those rooms, with each one staring at one another, or talking on the phone 5 people at a time. :D


Another thing I discovered as I was communicating with people and doing business in public places, e.g. shops, markets, pharmacies etc., is the Dima-defined concept of "triple standards". The Ukrainian people are very friendly, hospitable and are ready to help - but only if you and them have some kind of a personal relationship thing going on, like you are friends or colleagues, or you live in the same apartment, or you are family. If I would communicate with total strangers, I would receive a really cold shoulder with anything. This is in such total contrast with what would actually be advertised at e.g. a shop. Like I had this experience while trying to buy a starter pack for my mobile phone. They had about 4 - 5 kiosks in this shopping centre that advertised to provide services for MTC mobile provider that I was looking for. As I was used to South African standards of VodaCom franchises, where you can get anything and everything of VodaCom at any branch, I expected to have the same here. No! At each of these kiosks I was told that the starter pack I was looking for was not available there. I was like "DUH?? What DO you then provide??" - ok, in my thoughts! :) Some salesmen were busy doing their own thing on their mobile phones when I approached them. It would often play out like this:

Me: "Good morning, can I please have MTC Super Freedom?"
Them: "Haven't got..." ("NemA")
Me: "Could you maybe tell me where I can find it?"
Them: "Dunno..."
Me: Thank you, bye!
Them: ....
----No eye contact whatsoever!!

The people here do not make eye contact easily - it's a shock! Especially when they sell me something and I want to tell them how grateful I am that they served me so well and professionally. I tell them THANKS looking at their face, they turn away and say COME BACK AGAIN. Very very weird reaction! This reminded me of those cases when I was in South Africa and as little as some people may think of the black Africans, those people were so much more polite to me, actually taking trouble to go with me and to dig around the shop searching for the item I would need, or pick up the phone and call all other branches for more info for me. It also takes place in Ukraine (I speak from my experience), but waaay less.


So why the triple standard?? Well, I noticed that one layer of it are the colourful informative ads all over the shops, the second one is the general unwillingness of the people inside this shop to be of assistance. And finally, I noticed, by grace of God, that there is another element to a heart of a Ukrainian. They are such nice people, but I can see that no one really appreciates what they are and how they do things, so they shut themselves off and to the general public that walks over them every day they are just as cold and mean. Yet, when I would just become a little more personal with them, talk with then in a light conversation, ask them stuff like "How was your day here at the shop?" or say some sully-funny stuff, they would really melt and become SO much more friendly! A few shut off, considering me a weirdo, but that I believe is merely a self-defence mechanism. Most become very warm and responsive. I remember this lady in the MTC shop where I finally received some assistance. She was considering me one of the crowd, after I actually spoke to her about some personal things like her work and my work - in my broken Ukrainian!! She appreciated it so much that eventually she helped me by taking my phone and doing all the activation and the button clicking herself! That was awesome! Same happens at the local banks when I went there for some assistance with my finances. man, don't I just love it to see people around me smiling!!


Speaking of the broken Ukrainian, I am picking it up really well and can already help myself in the shops and in the buses. I still can't really preach in Ukrainian and it is a little frustrating when we go and do street evangelism. Still, I am positive. And people notice me trying - and it makes them more friendly towards me. There is a similarity here with some areas in South Africa. There some Afrikaans speaking people value their language highly, and refuse to speak English because they believe that Afrikaans is the most important language in the world. Maybe also because their pride cannot handle all the mistakes they would make if they would speak English? Well, I don't know. Anyway, here the stuff is so similar - people would not speak Russian to you even if you were the Prime minister! So when I speak Ukrainian, mixed with some Russian words, they take it as a compliment and their attitude towards me changes for the better! Thank God for my talent to foreign tongues!!


The weather has been keeping well so far. On the streets the difference between day and night is no more than 10*C, max being around 11, and min being around 3. In our homes we have central heating, a curled pipe in each room that winds along one wall, carrying hot water from the central boiler room for a city district. This makes a huge difference, believe me! Also we have the thickest walls ever, and double windows to keep the cold and the noise out. The weather now changes from warm to winter, and strongly depends on the air masses and whether or not we have a cold front. Last week the temperatures were dancing around 0*C so the puddles froze, we were really well dressed and many of us (including me! :( ) got sick. this week the weather is an amazing 15*C during the day and it's sunshine and all! Utopia if you ask me! The food is extremely cheap here, except the meat and the dairy. A loaf of GOOD bread is about R2 ($0.25), a litre of GOOD milk is R5 ($0.70) and a kg of GOOD potatoes is R4 ($0.60) - except that the latter are not washed and when I bring mine home I first soak them for a few minutes to get rid of the thick layer of black mud on them! :)))


I am really happy here, overall! The country of Ukraine, in particular the part where I am, is lovely, with great people, interesting culture and many things that challenge my way of thinking. I like it all and I really do look forward to the next few weeks or months here. But it all is subject to where God wants me, of course... :)

Flying from South Africa to Ukraine

The anticipation was enormous... So was the stress... Sure, this was my first solo international flight EVER! The last time I went international was 11 years ago when our family came over to stay in South Africa - but then my parents arranged everything and I was just enjoying the view out the window...

I said good-bye to my friends and family, some were crying including my 10-year old brother. I guess I also wanted to shed a tear or two, because the stress of the many many many many weeks of fighting for something as big as God's call in your life was getting so unbearable. but I knew if I would let myself cry now, I would not be able to stop - so I was as dry as Sahara desert.

God has provided for me again: my friend had to go see a doctor in Pretoria that day, so she agreed to drop me off at the airport on her way back. Before we left, he asked if all was well with me packing and with my luggage. To which I replied and said that I was about 10 kg (20 lbs) overweight. This fact came up when I re=packed for like a 3rd time, but then I already threw out most of my stuff, making room only for the most essential things, like winter clothes, and gifts for my family and colleagues. Then my friend told me over the phone that before we would leave next day she would have me over at her house and she would re-pack my bags in a "woman" way! Hahaha! So when it all happened, my main luggage was just slightly over the allowed weight, and we hoped that they would give me grace and allow me through without having to pay for extra weight. My hand luggage was super heavy, but the customs do not weigh it so I was hoping to slip by unnoticed. Hmmm, maybe the Ukrainian mafia could use someone like me? :)


Anyway, here I was at the airport, with my 3 bags and a little backpack, hoping that a real miracle would happen and that I will not have to pay for extra weight. The thought of losing a sum equal to my monthly support was so intense that I could think of nothing else. My only hope was Exodus 14:13:

"Don't be afraid. Just stand still and watch the Lord rescue you today."

This verse is one of my favorites and God has been faithful every time to keep to this promise of His. so it was my comfort there and then, and as my heart was pounding I was whispering it.

As the line was getting shorter, we were getting closer and closer to the luggage checking. Finally it was my turn. I stood there before the guy. trying to look innocent, while inside I felt like I had all the sins of the world on me. I was so overweight. My friend had just left me with my super-heavy hand luggage and was standing so far away for me... So I was told to load my bags on the scales... and they were promptly overweight! The guy looked at the screen, then he looked at me and asked, pointing to my small backpack: "Is this your hand luggage?" I said "Yes". This was definitely NOT my ONLY hand luggage but he asked nothing like that so I just kept smiling, happy that he did not, because I do not lie. So he sighed and let it all through. Like in a dream, i got my luggage tags, my boarding pass and left the counter.

The joy in my heart was overwhelming! I was so proud that God is my Caretaker and that He came through for me again - He is just awesome! Its like He is letting me live my life and when I come to a brick wall situation and run out of options, He just steps in and solves it all! Truly He lives up to the title of the Savior! I just need to do the possible and He will do the impossible.

So now we were on our way to the boarding section. We still had about an hour before the boarding would begin, so we decided to go and drink some coffee and say all last good-byes! While we were sitting there resting, another one of my friends phoned me and said he is near the airport and he would love to come and say good-bye too! This was so special for me! By the time we finished drinking coffee and I went to board the plane, he was there, at the customs gates, waiting for me. We said by to each other and he prayed for me - I felt like God was really there! It was an amazing moment of encouragement!

When I went through to the customs, I realized something terrible. Although the boarding had already begun, I still had to stand in a long line for passport control, then I had to go through the X-ray gates for my hand luggage, and again for a passport control. Only then would I reach my boarding gates. This would mean three (!) awfully long lines, which I really had no time for! i had no idea this was the case because I never flew international before. I did not even have a chance to get scared or worried! My friends told me to run for it, so I did. Boldly I ran to each of the three lines, one by one, shouting to let me through because I was late for my flight! Embarrassing? Maybe, but I did not care! :) I just wanted to get on that plane!!! The people I guess had no choice but to let me to the front of the line each time. So instead of waiting for an hour, I was through in 5 minutes and was off to my boarding gates! Awesome!!

I boarded the plane, put all my things into the overhead compartments and just dissolved in my seat, still not fully able to believe that it was all over and that I was on the plane. :( After the first shock was over, I began to look around and to process the environment. The plane was full, like a can of sardines! The economy class as not a luxury place, and Turkish airlines here and now uses a bare minimum to accommodate its passengers. But I have to admit - the food was super-delicious! Also they had this great feature of digital tracking of our plane on screen, so any time you could look at the map of Africa and see where we are, how much further is left in time and distance, and what was the speed and the altitude of the plane. I liked it a lot, I like numbers! :)

I sat next to a young guy from Germany. He majored in geography and went to work in Swaziland in September. He was a great companion and we spoke about many things. Being a listener, I mostly let him have the reigns and just enjoyed the time we had. Interestingly, when we got to the subject of religion, he spoke a few things against Christians (not Christianity), the biggest one of them being hypocrites, living a life of double standards. I was glad that I did not tell him about my beliefs before hand, otherwise he would not be so open with me - truly Proverbs is so true when it says that silence is better than words! Well, I told him there and then that I was also very upset and annoyed about all the co-believers of mine and that they behaved like they did. I also told him about immorality in the church in particular and shared how it all disappointed me that people who said they believed in the same God I did had they day-to-day lives so radically different, and in fact nothing like the words that they spoke. In this regard, the people who believe that God does not exist are actually more upright, because at least their words and deeds are alike. And Christians fail here miserably. Also, after this conversation, I realized that our generation is being watched very very closely. People in the secular world are broken and empty and has no help or hope in life before and after death, and they are quietly looking for an answer, even though on the outside they might look super-cool. We have the answers because God gave it to us, yet our actions speak louder than words, and these actions show the opposite. So, knowing that someone somewhere is watching you, thinking about your words and actions, "searching for a hope that's tucked away in you and me" (Does anybody hear her, by Casting Crowns) - this all is a very humbling experience. Paul sums it up very well in 1 Peter 3: 16:

"Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ."

The whole trip on the plane was about 11 hours long and it was somewhat uncomfortable. I was so glad I brought a couple of books along to read, I read a lot on the plane. I also tried to sleep, but the seats were very uncomfortable and I could not put mine into horizontal position. I was on and off like Christmas lights and at the end of the journey my neck and back were hurting a lot! Thank God, after I prayed for them, it all went away and did not come back for the rest of the day. Lets say, I had worse days and the flight was OK. My primary goal was not to fly in style but to get to Ukraine and it was accomplished, so I am very grateful.

The landing was OK. We all got out of the plane and went into the building of Istanbul airport - Ataturk International. There some of us, including me, followed through to the transit hallway. and there I was getting ready to spend the next 10 hours in waiting. Actually 11 because our plane from South Africa arrived ahead of schedule, yippee!...... :\ I did my best to find a good plane ticket, and for the price that I was willing to pay this was the best deal I could find. I walked around the hall, pushing in front of me the little cart with my hand luggage, looking at the Turkish people, adverts and other stuff. By the way, try not to buy Turkish water, its really nasty, I bought juice and it was supposed to be fresh, but it did something to my tummy and I felt so sick! Fortunately I had some activated carbon with me but I had to use ALL of it! And the bread and pies there are very expensive, I paid like R70 ($10) for a pie. So try to have some food with you before you board the plane to Turkey.

My South African phone was set for roaming just before I left Johannesburg, and wonderfully Vodacom and Turkey had a contract together, so once I put it on I could send an sms to my mom and tell her I was OK. Then a whole flood of sms'es came through on my phone, from all my friends who said they were praying for me and wished me a safe journey further on. The reception of sms'es while on Vodacom roaming is free, but its R3 ($0.50) to send one, so I used words sparingly. :)


Then came the wait... I found for myself a spot near the announcement board with all the scheduled flights and waited... and waited... and waited... and waited... and waited a little longer... and a little more... and then I waited again... and again... and then I took a walk... and then I sat and waited again... and again... and then guess what? Yep! I waited just a little longer!! WOW! What an experience..... :| I brought some books with me but after about 7 hours of reading even child psychology becomes unattractive. But literally there was NOTHING for me to do. This was a very frustrating time. My butt was all sore from sitting and not moving, but I could not go too far to leave my luggage, and to take luggage with would mean to abandon my precious seat and I would have to wait standing. Add to this the anxiety that the enemy had been putting into my head: there were some announcements in Russian for Slavonic travelers and I thought - maybe one of those was for my flight, and maybe my flight was moved? So for a couple of hours I was really stressing out there, the devil got the best of me here. But then I became sick of being a victim! I said to Jesus, devil, myself and to whoever else was listening: "Listen, Jesus, I am worried sick about missing my flight and we both know it! Yet I know that You were in control for the past 3 months and that You brought me up to this point, and that you will not drop me like this in the middle of nowhere. So I just stop worrying and I let You do it all for me, since I know that You are better at this than me anyway!" Then I received peace, a lot of peace. Just knowing that someone stronger and better and wiser will now take care of all the things for me and will not let me down, just this thought already relieved me. I know He would make a way, even through the deepest sea.

And then, FINALLY!!!!!! My flight came up on the board!!! ODESSA 467!!! I was so exhausted from waiting any change was welcomed. I made a mistake with the boarding gates and walked all the way to one side of the airport, only to find out that the right spot was on the other end. But there and then I really welcomed the stretch! When I came to the right gate, I discovered that the boarding still had not begun, so I .... yeah you guessed it... sat down and waited another hour.... uuuughhhh!! Next to me were some people traveling to Odessa too, and they were speaking Russian. This was a little intro to my culture shock I will have to go through in the future and which I will write about later on. But now I just sat and listened and was amazed that the words sound nothing like English or Afrikaans and yet I am somehow able to understand it all! Hahaha!

The plane was late - is this some kind of stronghold on the Slavs?? When it docked and all was ready, all people just rose up and rushed through the doors to the boarding gate. There was something like a line (where I was one of the first in line, waiting faithfully), but in a few seconds it all disappeared and there was only a huge crowd trying to squeeze through the little gate.
>: shock :


But all my cares and worries faded away in an instant when I saw the vastness of the Black Sea beneath us! The thought of actually BEING there where I dreamed of being for so many years, of seeing things I missed so much, was overwhelming and I felt my eyes getting wet. I put on my iPod - the awesome little friend that kept me at the edge of boredom for the past 23 hours - I heard a song by Delirious "History Maker" and I felt like something really BIG was happening right now. It almost felt like all angels of heavens were watching me throughout my trip, and were so very excited about my decision to come to Ukraine. i can just imagine their innocent quarrels about who would be looking after my luggage!! :) Well, whoever it was, thank you, you did a good job guarding it, I haven't lost anything!

Finally, after about an hour, we were flying over Odessa, preparing for the landing. My city laid there, proud and vast in the orange rays of sunset and I felt so warm inside! We landed well and everyone rose and began to leave the plane. Since my bag was somewhat heavier than average, I decided to leave the plane last. This proved to be a good idea! Outside the plane there was a bus waiting for us that would take us to customs. Since I was the last one on the bus, I was the nearest to the door and when the bus arrived and all people started leaving the bus, I was the first one to enter the building and to stand in the line! Wow! Actually, I had so much on my mind that I never thought about this. But when people started coming out of the bus, everyone began running! Since the building was only a few steps away, I realized that I better run too! Things are not always what they seem and if the Ukrainians run, you better make a run for it too! Hahaha! So it all proved to be OK. I went through passport control and the guy was inspecting my visa very meticulously - but finally he let me pass. :) As I entered the luggage hall, my two bags were right there on the floor waiting for me. I went through the X-ray gates, expecting them to open my bags and to search me thoroughly, but no one said anything.... so I just took my bags and went out the door! (Side note: They should really think about upgrading that exit door, because a 1.5 meter wide door (5 foot wide) that opens in your face, by hand is a terrible inconvenience for someone like me who has tons of luggage on their hands!)

... to be continued ....