Eric's ladies and the mysteries of Ukraine

Eric and his Ladies

A Soviet block

Ohhh, and how could we forget to show you pictures of Eric and his Ladies. Every Wednesday, he meets with his class of 15 beautiful young Ukrainians (perhaps Canadian Studies does not interest any beautiful young Ukrainian males…?), passes around the chocolate and begins to reveal to them the intricacies of Canadian politics. And with them sending Eric text messages saying, "May your and Mary’s day be filled with the light of beautiful harmony", we can’t help but have an ever-growing soft spot for these sensitive and kind super-beauties.

But everything is double-edged here. Slowly we catch tidbits hinting at the exodus of Ukrainian women to (mainly) western countries. Nobody outright mentions "human trafficking" or "sex trade", but they leave us to fill in the blanks. Its heartbreaking…almost everyone, these students included, will receive a monthly cheque from an absent parent. The villages are empty, and the Chernivtsi economy is fueled by euros sent in from abroad. It has been a slow process understanding the complexities of this place…the politics of language, the mysteries of their economy, the evolution of nationalism despite countless changes of empires. We are far from understanding, but with our grasp of Ukrainian (and Russian) getting stronger, all sorts of contradictions are slowly being explained.

Just a brief glimpse into our muddled-up view of this place: we arrive thinking Ukrainian is spoken in Ukraine…an unreasonable assumption? One would think not. BUT…oh my lord, what a hot topic this language business is! Russian is spoken in the streets and homes of most common folk – an obvious remnant of the years of Soviet rule; the youth learn Ukrainian in school, speak (usually) Russian at home, cannot read or write Russian as well as Ukrainian, and understand that language is a significant symbol in preserving an independent Ukraine (a country formed a mere 15 years ago). If we travel west to Lviv, Ukrainian is the language of the streets. But travel east to Odessa, and our shaky Ukrainian words will be met with blank stares and a Russian response. Nationalists see Russian as the language of the empire that is no longer, and Ukrainian as the language that needs to rise up from the dust of Soviet rule. But how easily can you change the language of the people? Ahh, it is so complex, and even these words are bound to infuriate some. All I can say is that Chernivtsi is the city in the grey area – and as a result, our heads are filled with some mixed-up form of both.

So that is mystery #1 shared with you guys. There are many, many more, and we’ll slowly let you all in, as we ourselves, pick up on them.