Post for Page (she'll know why!)

This post is in honor of Page (others will most definitely sympathize).

Here's a little factoid about Ukrainian (and Slavic, in general) culture: personal space does not exist. They laugh in the face of personal space.

I've written in the past about how crowded the buses are. Personal space is just not an issue. You can be spooning a stranger on a crowded bus, and no one will even give it the first thought. It's a very overwhelming experience for Americans, because we have almost no frame of reference for it. The same goes with lines in the store; people crowd you. This is mostly because cutting in line is all the rage- you have to guard your territory. They do not mess around. For Americans, particularly those from the South (where public transportation is a rarity), this contributes to culture shock.

Ukrainians just don't understand our issue with it. They make fun of us for the panic-stricken looks that we assume when we're being crushed and can no longer breathe. It's a harsh, harsh world.

Any way, I was watching a movie today and noticed the name "Pasha" in the opening credits. I knew there would be a Slavic man, because "Pasha" is the diminutive name for "Pavel", which means "Paul". Sure enough, the bad guy was Russian mafia. The best part of the whole thing was when the Russian mafia guy was closing in on an American character, and the American said, "Dude, please. A little personal space?"

I nearly died laughing. Personal space = biggest joke of the Slavic world.