I have been “Ukraine’d”…and that didn’t take long!

Before heading off to Ukraine, I read of a funny concept called “being Ukraine’d”. Basically, it is finding yourself in a situation that appears to be normal, but since your language or cross-cultural understanding may be limited leads you into an experience that you couldn’t have predicted. (One example I read about was someone who thought she was being asked to hold a neighbors pet chicken...only to find she was actually agreeing to perform the slaughter of said chicken.) You get the point? Well, I have only been in country 7 days and have already had my first experience. My host mom, Tanya, buys a lot of food from local farmers and markets, so the packages in our fridge don’t exactly look like your typical packaging that I am used to. So the other night she asks me if I would like some tea. Sure, I am a tea drinker, a little sugar, a little milk, I like it. So, for my first cup, I ask for “молоко” (moloko/milk) and she gives me a little coffee creamer. I use it and the tea is good. This, as it turns out is her last creamer. For my after dinner cup of tea, I ask again for “молоко”, but this time she says no. Having seen the large jar of milk in the fridge, I insist, it is OK that there is no more creamer, I can just use this “молоко”. Again, she says no, but only waves her hand- as if to say…”I wouldn’t use that, but if that is what you want, I will not stop you”. I pour the milk into the tea, noticing a little skin on the top- you know like when the cream rises to the top of the fresh, homogenized milk? I start drinking the tea, which does have quite a bit of a tang to it. Yep, turns out Tanya makes her own homemade sour cream from the cream that she buys at the farmer…and by my calculations, this baby is beyond ready for her!
In other news, I have started to enjoy my tea without sugar and milk these days, hopefully leading to a “healthier” drink choice.

Until next time,
До свидания,

Sim (Сим)