a few things

so i think a lot about all the quirky things about this silly little country i like to call ukraine, and i realized..
1. i wanna share these with my friends and family..and all the other cool people that read my blog
2. i wanna remember these things forever and ever!
and since i am far too lazy to stand up and get my journal off my desk, i am typing them for the world to see.

1. the streamer toilet paper. i literally thought they were decorations left over from a birthday party. nope. the toilet paper is, in fact, made out of the same thing streamers are.

2. the cookies at the osokorky metro station from the lady that speaks barely english, some spanish...but mostly russian. we're already best friends

3. the fact that people are secretly very nice and friendly. dont let the all black wardrobes and stone faces scare you away. the second you crack them, you'll be giggling together in no time. i've had so many people come up to me when they hear me speaking english, and they're so excited to say the one thing they know in english! (which is usually nothing that makes any sense).

the other day i was at the bus stop, and it was soooo cold! and so i was walking around in circles just singing to myself (yeah, i probably looked a little on the handicapped side). but this old lady was pacing back and forth waiting for the bus too. finally she came up to me and started talking, and so i flashed her a grin and said "sorry, i only speak english!" so she giggled and walked away a little bit. and then she turned back around and hugged me and held my hand and did some sort of motion...either telling me i need high heels..or telling me to rock back and forth on my toes to my heels. and we just stood there and laughed until the bus finally came.

4. the sunshine is coming! yes folks, it is a balming 32 degrees outside! in utah, this is ridiculous temperature. nobody goes outside. we scream and cry having to walk from our house to our car. and then it takes 5 minutes to warm up the car!? what?! that is just unacceptable.

but in ukraine, that is springtime calling. people start chipping away at the ice on the sidewalks. (LITERALLY 6 inches thick). you shed layers. you stop wearing gloves. you stop dreading the thought of going anywhere. you stop eating so much.
the world becomes an exciting place again.

5. food with taste. it doesnt come often..but when it does, it adds a little extra color to your life

6. i think i am living the movie 'the birds.' i sometimes fear for my life because there are so many freak stinkin crows everywhere! they're gross and scary and i dont love them.

7. i love riding the metro. i understand the system now. totally 100% confident, and good at riding it!

8. buses are satan's children. i hate them. i like that they get me places. i hate that they change routes unexpectedly. i hate when people yell at you for no good reason. i hate looking like a fool when everyone is looking at you. i hate everything about them.

9. i love the architecture. i think the buildings are beautiful. i love walking down the streets in the city and just imagining going back in time..what it was like to live here so long ago. it just puts a smile on my face..and it makes me realize how rich the culture is here, and how..somewhat bland america is. dont get me wrong..i love/miss america more than the next person. but i love learning about other countries..and the history OH THE HISTORY. so interesting.

10. this one, i'm pretty sure it's not something i love about this place, but it definitely is a characteristic of ukraine that you cannot get anywhere else.
the smell.
yes, other places smell. but i am convinced that everywhere has their own very distinct smell. and ukraine DEFINITELY has a smell. i just love how BO radiates from every armpit. and how greasy hair is praised. i just want to bottle up the smell and take it home with me. i ESPECIALLY cant wait until it gets hot and humid here. i'm going to jump for joy because the smell will be sure to singe my nose hairs. mmmm!
not only the smell of the people gets me...there is more.

the meat stands in the metro.
the never ending sausage stench.
the fish that are laying there for days. in no ice. just sitting there, rotting away.
i want to marinate in it.

11. sometimes, i think i'm really REALLY funny and by sometimes, i mean all the time. especially when i'm by myself for the whole day, and i'm walking around looking at really funny things, and watching funny people. i crack myself UP!

so..since about the first day i got here..i have been wandering around this country with two feet of ice underneath my feet, and a winter wonderland of delicious snow surrounding my every step.
welllll. since that same day that i got here, something else has happened.

i have seen yellow snow EVERYWHERE. and i dont know why i think it's so funny. maybe because i imagine people walking around peeing in the snow, and sometimes i secretly want to because they have no public restrooms, so i am forced to painfully hold it. or worse. but i dont want to talk about it.

anyways, my funniness. every time i walk by yellow snow i think of the words "dont eat the yellow snow!!!" and kinda giggle to myself..or out loud. whichever one i feel like doing at that moment in time.

and then today..i did something i thought was so funny. maybe i'm going crazy (and that's probably a yes) but i cracked up while i was doing it.

for some reason i kept seeing news reporters EVERYWHERE. and so i would loom around until they were on camera. and then i would walk back and forth behind the reporter. i didnt do anything weird or anything. but i just walked. i rather enjoyed a good laugh with myself.

12. so. massive amounts of snow melting = mega puddles. bigger than you would imagine. this would be fun..if i would remember my rain boots! but it mostly ends in cars splashing me and being kinda cold. but luckily the weather has been warming up..so i've been in HEAVEN!

okay, i'm tired of this list. i was thinking about it while i was eating lunch today (alone, yet again) and i made a list on my napkin of all the ideas i had. and i have more..but i cant read them. i think i smeared my boogers on the napkin over the words or something

enjoy your burrito..because i cant.  :(