A REAL WINTER

My flat mate (house mate) Igor commented that he was very happy to have a real winter. That means lots of snow and lots of cold temperatures. When I asked him why, he said it felt right to have a cold winter, not a mild one. Weak answer!

Highlights of this ‘real winter’ include:

• Frozen pipes – mine and many of my friends
• Buying more thermal underwear – I now own a pair of ‘stockings for men without socks’
• My van hasn’t gone anywhere in well over a month
• Taking about 15 minutes to get ready to go
  

EXPECTATIONS

As a child I enjoyed reading the Chronicles of Narnia. Being from the southern hemisphere I never fully understood the terrible feeling the children felt knowing that the White Witch of Narnia made it always winter but never Christmas. We grow up with the expectation that certain things should always go hand in hand. Here people expect snow with winter. But we are yet to see snow this winter which is very unusual. We all have expectations for Christmas holidays. We have expectations for New Year. We have our own expectations in friendships, work situations, service in shops and restaurants. And we feel grieved when our expectations are not met. This is natural. Sometimes it is helpful. I have expectations of my workers and if they constantly fall short it is my job to draw their attention to their responsibilities. But often our expectations are unrealistic, selfish or both. We focus on what we expect from life and those around us rather than what we can give to others.

May I grow to give more and expect less. Ouch – that can be a hard lesson.

I was born and grew up in a splendid beautiful small town. It was and is the most pleasant place for me. In this place there are many nice houses with various courtyards. Rzhyshchivites cherish the place of their childhood because of love and their memories. Rzhyshchiv is situated on two hills and between them, on a corner of the Dniper River. Here local citizens have a great opportunity to go by boat with their families to adjacent islands. They can have a wonderful rest there in the summer, because of the sand and the river; and interesting mushrooming in the autumn, generally on weekends. There are a lot of ‘holes-in-the-wall’ and also a bazaar. You will find two museums there: the Tripolye Culture Museum and the Museum of Regional Studies. Here is a gallery where photographs and paintings by local artists are exhibited. There are two childcare centres, two schools, a lot of hobby groups and four higher education establishments. And if you visit any house you will find generosity and hospitality. You will be given a variety of Ukrainian dishes and be regaled with folk songs.

Come to our little town, you won’t regret it. Open Rzhyshchiv a part of Ukraine for yourself.

This was written by Oksana B. (used with permission)