The Heart of the Matter

I was asked to write a bit about our Christmas shopping experience here in Kyiv.  Our personal experience will likely vary from others because we do not own a car and depend entirely upon public transportation, or a hailed car.

Early last week, Jim and I set out for a particular above-ground mall-like group of stores.  This is a newly-remodeled building called "Ukraine."  Clever so far, eh?  Last year we found a great sweater for Jeanne there so we thought this would be a good place to look for sweaters, or SOMETHING special, for Jeanne, Jamie and Dasha. 

We left our flat amidst snow flurries and walked several blocks to the tram stop -- Jim is great at remembering which direction we need to go and which number tram we need to ride.  I'd probably be going in circles if it were up to me.

We waited only about 5 minutes (thankfully there was not a breeze adding to the chill in the air), and as soon as we sat on the metal seat I remembered...the cold hard truth of shopping...always wear a coat long enough to sit on.  Whew!  If I hadn't been cold enough standing outside, sitting on the tram was a chilling experience.

We rode past a few locations selling Christmas trees.  Or, more like Christmas branches.  Or tops of Christmas trees.  And quite expensive.  We were impressed that this year the trees were actually available a full week ahead of the western Christmas day...when we first arrived in Kyiv we could find nothing decorative before the last couple of days of the year.  In Ukraine, New Year's is the big celebrated holiday where gifts are exchanged, and then Christmas is celebrated on January 7, according to the Orthodox calendar.  More and more protestant churches are celebrating Christmas on December 25, though, so it does feel more like Christmas earlier and earlier.

Anyway, back to shopping.  After our 30-minute ride to "Ukraine," we began exploring each of the stores inside, hoping that we would be inspired by what we saw.  I love to poke around in different stores and see if anything simply strikes me as the perfect gift for someone. 

We eventually arrived at the clothing store where we had found Jeanne's sweater the year before.  We were not too impressed with the offerings this year.  I have never quite understood why I would want to spend good money on clothes that looked like they have been wrung through a wringer over and over!  We noticed a white sweater that we thought Dasha might be able to wear as a teacher (not too casual for work, yet not so dressy that it looks like she is heading straight to a party!).  As we examined it more closely the head-banging music in the store got louder and louder.  I remarked to Jim that I wondered if they were trying to cause people to leave.  Well, that was exactly what they were doing.  As I glanced around I realized that buckets and mops were being placed strategically around the store, and the loud music was "music to mop by," not "shop by!"  Jim's watch showed 15 more minutes of shopping time left, but no one seemed much interested in waiting on us.

As we made our way back outside, we passed by a store that I had not remembered from the previous year.  The clothes actually looked classic.  No big holes in them.  Pretty colors.  Attractive styles.  We decided that we would head back there later in the week.

Though we intended to take the tram back home, while waiting for ours a marSHROOTka came by.  Marshrootkas are considered like buses, but smaller, a bit more expensive, and you can have the driver stop wherever you'd like along the route -- not just at official bus stops.  The challenge is actually getting on them.  These over-sized vans are jam-packed with people and if you want to be among the number, be prepared to be squished.  Jim and I were two of the last to get on at this particular location, so we were standing actually on the inside steps.  After a couple of stops I spotted a seat in the front of the van.  I slithered around passengers who chose to stand, and just as I was close to the seat, the van lurched forward.  I noticed a handrail just in front of my potential seat and grabbed ahold...only to find that the whole section of wall from floor to ceiling gave way.  Why they had a handle there I'll never know.  But both the money-taker and the driver were not impressed.  If looks could kill...

I sheepishly settled into my seat, peered through the crowd to catch Jim's eyes, and shrugged my shoulders.  I wasn't even sure how to express in Ukrainian what I was feeling, so I just sat there...mute!

I was thankful when it was time for us to exit.  After climbing over and around fellow riders, I took Jim's helping hand and jumped out.  We walked the few blocks home and entered our nice warm flat.

Though we came home with nothing except the experience itself, we were able to determine that there might be some good finds on a return trip.   And we settled back with a hot drink and Christmas cards to sign and turned on a Christmas video...all was well.