- Roads – On the way to Odessa we were advised to avoid Transnistria (Moldova’s renegade state) and in order to do so we went over horrendous pot-holed roads, making the trip much longer than the distance warranted.
- Map – The Moldova map we had didn’t have all the roads, including the one we were on, and the European map was also missing the roads we were on. We didn’t have a map of Odessa till we actually got there, and the first map we got was all in Russian.
- Road signs – In Moldova a route was indicated only at the exact moment that you have to decide whether you want to take that route or not. In Ukraine the signs (and maps!) were all in Russian (Cyrillic script) so we couldn’t even read them!
- Border crossings – Although, on the way there, we did avoid Transnistria, we still had to cross the Ukrainian border, where they spoke only Russian (or Ukrainian, which is similar but I don’t know the difference). On the return journey we opted for better roads and discovered that the border crossing was an even greater challenge – experiencing realities that I have heard stories about but hoped not to face…
One of the most difficult challenges was the fact that we had no idea what to do when we got to Odessa as I didn’t know the route from the highway to the apartment we had booked (over the internet – in English). We tried to figure out how to get into the city (remember, we couldn’t read the signs!)
but somehow (I’m sure it was God’s direction) we arrived at the airport, where we were able to change some money, use the washroom, buy a map and ask direction. Eventually we made our way to the great apartment we had booked, right near the centre of town.The time in Odessa was great – lots of walking, talking, shopping, planning the wedding, eating, talking and taking pictures, and more walking. Some really funny things have happened, like when Marah was handed a monkey to hold so I could take her picture and pay the guy money for the privilege.
We figure the monkey is due for retirement, at age 23, as he has no teeth but he did gum Marah’s finger. She also told me after that he was incredibly stinky and we’re often laughing about the ‘tooting’ monkey.Of course when I didn’t have my camera we went out for dinner and ended up at a Ukrainian restaurant with folksingers in awesome costumes performing right by our table!
For me the highlight (apart from just time with Marah)
was to find the beach and sit in the sand of the Black Sea shore, listening to the lap of the waves on the shore.
On Sunday morning, (Orthodox) Easter in the Ukraine, we heard the church bells peal out the glad news that Christ is risen. We had planned to attend a Presbyterian church a vendor had invited us to, but instead we went into a nearby building because we could hear the loud praise and worship music from the street. It was a contemporary worship service, complete with liturgical dance, music, lights, smoke, and a communion service too.
It was interesting this weekend being ‘incommunicado’ from the world. Very few people were able to speak English, my Russian consists of ‘please’ and ‘thank you’, we couldn’t read the signs, watch TV, use my cell phone and didn’t seek or find an internet café. Nevertheless, the Good news of Christ’s resurrection was heralded not only by the bells but also when we met a Ukrainian vendor who invited us to her church. And aside from that, some very important communication took place in the deeper twining of souls of mother and daughter sharing together about the joys, sorrows, and mysteries of love and life that has been, is becoming, and that will be. Thanks be to God.
No comments:
Post a Comment