Perpetual Change

Center of the Universe (not Fremont, Seattle)

My time with Gino was so interesting, unique, and fun. It defined a part of my Peace Corps experience. I have never believed that line about how some friends come into your life for a reason, for a season, or for good, but I think I just might now. Because I don’t know how to capture the time we spent in my town, I will just say that Gino has been in Ukraine for two years, speaks Ukrainian, and it still took me a long time to show him the west, to really open for him the culture here. Even in homogeneous societies, there is such diversity; I’ll leave it up to him to add more. Gino, you are welcome anytime, where ever I might be, but because I feel more words are fitting (though perhaps silence would be the most illustrative), I dedicate this post to you and your pursuit of meaning.

Almost from my first day, actually I started noticing before I left the States, Ukraine has a strange amount of coincidences with my life.

Ukraine is where the ancient land of Scythia was located, the home to the fabled Griffin, which from childhood has always been one of my favorites.

You all know my love for the sea. The ancient Kyivan Rus came from Scandinavia, and somewhere along the way, they picked up a Trident as their symbol. The Ukrainian letters for “freedom” are visible in it today.

Although this is commonly called Eastern Europe, a small village near where I live is actually the geographical center of Europe (from Iberia to the Urals). Go look for yourself.

President Bush had some big scare last year about a bomb on train, that turned out to be bogus (after they reacted a bit extremely) and they traced it back to a conversation held between to men at a urinal in Ukraine. How do you trace something like that? I hope it wasn’t one of the conversations I have with my Peace Corps friends when we pretend to be spies.

The woman who recommended my apartment has a niece with a degree from Harvard that worked in Romania for Peace Corps, if I understood her correctly. I learned this after I had lived here a year.

The Ukrainian chapter of Amnesty International was started in my town. It moved offices about 2 years before I got here.

My host mom uses one of those toothbrushes with a phone number on it from a dentist’s office. She bought it here. The area code is for Orlando.

The lesson which life repeats and constantly enforces is “look under foot.”: You are always nearer to the divine and the true sources of your power than you think. The lure of the distant and the difficult is deceptive. The greatest opportunity is where you are. Do not despise your own place and hour. Every place is under the stars, everyplace is in the center of the world.” John Burroughs.

posted by jjs @ 4:21 AM