(Note: I posted a partial packing list for potential Peace Corps Youth Development Volunteers in Ukraine in my supplemental materials section)

A couple unrelated stories for you:

I often say every day holds some new lesson for me in this country, whether it be cultural, professional or personal. Today one of those lessons was cultural, it is not entirely uncommon sight to see a funeral procession, but until today it had always been at a distance. I have always observed a lot of respect for the dead, cars will pull over and stop if they are going the opposite direction and we even stopped a football (soccer) game when one passed by at a distance. But today was the first day I was faced with one head on. Without a clue what exactly to do, I fell behind a woman who had also just gotten off a marshrutka. I observed her stop as the procession reached her.

(Quick description of a funeral procession – a banner bearer leads the procession while what I assume is the families follows immediately after accompanied by a priest. The coffin is what I have always seen to be an extremely old flatbed truck for viewing. The truck is followed by more mourners. I also assume that they all go from the church to the cemetery. All the assumptions are because I haven’t actually attended a funeral yet.)

She stood still until after the truck passed her by and started walking again. As she walked by me she told me to start walking again as well. With that I had my new lesson on how to hand a funeral procession I am not in.

Name Days
I swear it seems like there are constantly new holidays in this country, people laughed at me when I said it felt like every day is a holiday, but I swear every week must have some new holiday or celebration. There are what in English is called name days, Today is Andriy. Not sure of the exact origins of the celebrations, but most everyone in this country has names originating from the Bible (if they don’t, they’re weird) and holidays have been put aside to celebrate as far as I can tell, almost every name people are called here. It generally involves drinking and congratulating those with the same name as the day. For whatever reason, I noticed this one more; maybe because there is a little witchcraft thrown in I didn’t see in other ones. I had heard the holiday would be the next day but didn’t understand why girls were literally running around the school with pieces of paper and signatures on it. Still not sure of the exact reasons, but it has something to do with who their future husband will be. It looked close to chaos to me, plus boys seemed to be trying to steal these papers, for whatever reason that meant. I also heard of another bit of magic of throwing boots through doors and if it landed a certain way it would mean you were bound to get married that year. All of these were what girls did, don’t know if there is anything particular boys do on this day.

What I find funny, or at least interesting is how this country has in its own way combined old pagan traditions with the newer Christian traditions, yet still keeping them traditional and not completely overrun with commercialism. I say that because I know the west has fused pagan and Christian ideas as well, example, Christmas. But I love to see the two parts go together because there are the old traditions, jumping over fires last summer for Ivana Kampala and these superstitions of throwing boots. Funnily enough, they tend to include marriage in their plans.