Now, before you judge me too harshly for being no fun, please take these reasons into account:
1. In Ukraine, the snow is around for about 4-5 months.
2. Snow turns brown/black very quickly, and it's gross.
3. I don't have a car. I take public transportation, which means that a) there is no heater b) I wait at bus stops- in the ice, snow, and wind- for periods of time, waiting for the bus and c) when I arrive at my destination, I usually have to walk for a ways to get to my actual destination. By the time I get to where I'm going, my pants are soaked/frozen, and my face is chapped by the wind.
4. Many buildings here are not heated.
5. Ice. It's often difficult to remain vertical.
6. During the snow months, the sun almost never comes out. Living in grayness is difficult.
7. Ukrainians don't take snow days!
It's very daunting to know that you'll be trekking around in the ice and snow for at least half an hour, riding on unheated and overcrowded buses, and potentially spending several hours after that in an unheated building. What about that is appealing?
As much as I love scarves, winter-wear is a bit exhausting to deal with, as well. A typical outfit for venturing forth looks something like this:
1. tights
2. long johns
3. 1-2 pairs of socks
4. tank top over long john top
5. long-sleeve shirt
6. sweater
7. coat
8. gloves
9. boots
10. scarf
11. hat
AND, after all of this, I usually get corrected by Ukrainians I may or may not know on not wearing enough/ warm enough clothing. Sigh...what's a girl to do?
In spite of how inconvenient I find snow, it is very pretty in the beginning. Here are some shots from last year:
On the way to church.
On the 20-minute trek from the bus stop to Ira's and Tanya's house.
Same place as the picture above.
2 comments:
I don't care for the cold either. Did you know that about me?
It's no fun being so isolated I do love that you are posting more often! Keep up the good work :)
Post a Comment