Easter break has been the turning point of spring for the past two years. We came back from break and the cherries were in bloom, then it was the lilacs and chestnuts, next (my favorite) something which I believe might be black locust--it has the most intoxicating smell. Along with spring comes a million and one events. People seem to want to break out of winter hibernation with a bang, so we've kept ourselves quite busy most evenings and every weekend. Needless to say, we're looking forward to a (hopefully) more relaxing summer! Though our road trip though BC last summer is one our all time favorites, this pregnant mum is hoping to do a little less traveling back and forth.
Kyiv in non-winter months is a very social place. In the evenings as we walk to our friends' places, the parks are full of people of all ages. Kids playing on the playgrounds, groups of older men or women, gaggles of youth. There are a couple of makeshift stools and table outside of an apartment building where people sit and play some type of board game, other times you'll see a babushka and younger children sitting spitting sunflower seeds. When you stop and think about it, it's pretty cool. I love all the walking that we do here (again, this is when the weather is nice and we're not trudging through un-plowed streets.) I enjoy hearing people laugh and sing. But it's what we haven't heard the past two nights that's been truly great...Saturday our landlord had an AC unit installed for us. Living on the south western side of the 10th floor can get quite hot which has forced us to sleep with our windows open at night. But since Saturday, we've had three rest-filled nights without waking up to the pack of wild dogs who inhabit the forest, no more drunkards shouting at one am, and no blaring neighbors' TVs. What peace!
As for interesting things that I've seen this spring...there have been so many times when I've wished that I had my camera with me. But there was one that needed no photo, a surprise that I knew would come one day while living here, but that still only made it mildly less shocking. Coming home one afternoon, I rounded the corner to find a mom dangling her sprawled bare-bottomed girl. Potty training here can begin as young as one and I've heard that it's quite common (and socially acceptable) for kids to take a squat whenever and wherever they need.
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