Insane In The Ukraine

Thursday, September 14, 2006

I got in touch with my friend Chester today, who I met while during a short stint at Lambesis last year. We hadn't talked in a while and it turns out him and his wife went abroad for a great vacation. Wanderlust-inducing description below:

  • [14:20] alperabut: what's new with you? any theater action?
  • [14:23] Chester: not other than ushering every two months or so. travelled to Ukraine with my wife in June. best 2 week vacation ever
  • [14:23] alperabut: nice!
  • [14:23] alperabut: ukraine, kinda random?
  • [14:25] Chester: Elisa (wife) became friends with a Ukrainian student a few years back when she was at college and they've stayed in touch. The friends parents still live in Ukraine, so as we were thinking of somewhere we wanted to travel, the possibility came up and we made it happen.
  • [14:26] Chester: here's more photos than you'll care to look at: http://chestermclaughlin.com/photos/Ukraine-All
  • [14:27] alperabut: man, I love getting off the beaten path like that
  • [14:27] alperabut: what was the most surprising thing about the trip?
  • [14:31] Chester: How the breakup of the Soviet Union and the subsequent fall of communism left so many industries and services "out in the cold" so to speak. There is a lot of infrastructure (both physical and social) that ceased to operate once communism wasn't paying for it. The most visible example was empty and unfinished buildings and factories... just sitting there falling apart. Street lights that never light up. Some roads falling into disrepair. This phenomenon exists mostly outside Kiev. Kiev was VERY functional, beautiful and logical.
  • [14:32] alperabut: wow, sounds like there's some great urban photography to be had, as horrible tourist-centric as that sounds
  • [14:34] alperabut: so the whole country felt kinda ghost town-like?
  • [14:38] Chester: not at all... that's why the empty buildings and unfinished projects seemed so odd. There was so much life and and so many people everywhere. They just tended to revert to more old world living styles. Here in the US, people don't hang out in front of their house, and in a lot of areas you don't see people unless they're walking to/from their car or you happen to be in the same building with them. There, people walked, biked, sat, talked anywhere and everywhere. Chickens and goats and gardens occupied peoples time, and there was a very strong sense of neighborhood. The town I was staying in is still referred to as a village from time to time... very interesting "contradictions" over there
  • [14:45] alperabut: wow, that sounds rad
  • [14:52] Chester: I want to clarify that since I spent the majority of my two weeks in Chyhyryn, my commentaries only pertain to that small area. What I saw of Kiev and other parts of Ukraine rival some of the best cities in the US. Here's more info on where I stayed. they have a very rich history.
  • [14:52] Chester: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chyhyryn
  • [14:54] alperabut: awesome, it actually makes me want to visit
  • [14:54] Chester: fresh butter and sour cream rule

Mmm, fresh butter and sour cream...

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