The Outskirts of Kiev

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Yesterday we went to a reconstructed 19th century Ukrainian village on
the outskirts of Kiev. It was truly amazing. There must be about 100
buildings that make up the village-homes, windmills, churches, barns,
ect. All of them are empty now and are preserved to look exactly as
they looked when first built. The homes are mostly white adobe with
thatched straw roofs. We walked inside some of the homes. The inside
is also made to looks like the homes looked 200 years ago. White
towels fringed with traditional red sewn designs, motar and pestels,
baby cradles, ect. It was amazing. The buildings were spread across a
hilly landscape. Trees, gardens, and fields separated the houses. We
spent five hours walking around the village and still didn’t see all of
it. No one lives in the village now but old babushkas and old men come
to the village in traditional dress. They sell traditional Ukrainian
knickknacks and repair the buildings when needed. One old man was on
top of a thatched hut, laying new hay onto the roof. Today I met up
with Igor after he returned from school and we went to a beech on the
Dniper river. It was gorgeous with all the enormous trees, sandy shore
and blue water. The most beautiful part about it though was the view of
the other side of the river. Hills rise high above the river on the
opposite bank and the trees block the view of most buildings. The only
structures visable above the trees are the domes of churches and a
statue of a woman with a shield and sword.
Igor and I walked along the river. After a while we sat down on a stump
close to where an old man was fishing. He turned to us, saying in
Russian, “I always ask our young people how they like this river. I
come here all the time to fish now that I’m on a pension. Fishing is
my hobby.” I talked with him a bit and he asked me where I’m from. He
didn’t believe that I’m American-he said that I must be German because
Americans don’t learn Russian. I think Ukrainians are much more
friendly than Russians. It is quite rare for a Russian to start a
conversation with a stranger. But so far several Ukrainians have
started talking with me, having no idea who I am or that I’m a
foreigner. This morning I walked around close by for a bit as I waited
for Igor to come home. I bought some flowers, grapes, and apple
pirojok (pastry) for my host family. Then I came back and talked with
some babushkas sitting on a bench next to the apartment. They were very
interested in knowing about American and said that there aren’t any
Americans in Kiev. They told me that life has gotten harder for them
since the collapse of the Soviet Union. With the collapse of the USSR
came the collapse of their pension. So now they only get $70 a month to
live on. One of the babushkas said that life is better for the young
though not for the old. Another babushka disagreed, saying life was
worse for all. They also said that they wish that Ukraine didn’t
accept money from the US. Because now Ukraine has to pay the money
back, at a 6% interest rate.
I’m really enjoying talking to the people here. They are very friendly.
Everyone in Ukraine speaks fluent Russian so it isn’t any more
difficult for me to talk with people here than it is in Russia. The
signs are in Ukrainian but I have no trouble reading them. The words
are usually only a letter or so different from the Russian equivalent.

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Photos

Old shed
All the buildings are real and life size. This buidling is small because it is a shed

Ancient Barn
A man is on the top of the barn, fixing the hay roof