Report for week ending August 26/06

We felt much more comfortable coming back to work here the second time around. We knew what stores sold which items and which clerks would be most helpful. We had developed back-up plans in case we got into trouble. So when I told Linda and Kate that I could go to the milk store to buy water I thought this was very straight forward. Here is my best recollection of the dialogue as I picked up two 4 litre jugs of water.

Ben – “Vada, nyet gas” (water, no gas). I expected her to say “da” (yes)
Bemused clerk --- lkdjwieraya, safdoewiru,diur (in Russian or Ukrainian)
Ben ---- nyet gas? (no gas?)
Bemused clerk ---lksdjjfoiaya, sklkrwe (or something similar)
Ben ---making contorted face “nyet gas!”
Smiling clerk --- kdjfsdopfaya, kjsfiewui (or something similar)
Ben, taking out cell phone and phoning Kate to ask her to explain to clerk, “I want no gas in my water.” Hand phone to clerk so she can talk to Kate.
Laughing clerk – jsdfjpeuruaya, lkjrewur (or something similar)
At this point I have to take my chances, hoping Kate has told her I want water with no gas. I don’t want to lug two jugs home, up a flight of stairs, only to hear a fizz when I open them. Thankfully when I opened it, it didn’t sound like a bicycle tire going flat.

One of the amazing things you find is that when the locals realize you don’t understand a thing they are saying, they talk louder and simply add more words. They must assume that eventually they will hit upon one of the 200 Russian words we do understand…. Same chance as seeing a Ukrainian wearing a seat belt…

We only had Kate for a little more than half the time we were here. She spent one week being the nurse at the teen camp and then took an additional two weeks leave. While that was a challenge it also was very good for us. Kate is very competent, however sometimes bringing a translator along can leave you with the feeling that that you are not connecting directly with the locals. So we make do. For example, when Linda and Hilda went to Zaporozhye to meet with the breast cancer support group a translator was arranged for them. Olga, our receptionist, was a great help when we needed translation. On Thursday night at the Ukrainian Independence Day celebrations in Molochansk we met Marina, a school principal, who speaks German. We had the benefit of her translation services and her numerous contacts. Today we went to Neukirch, a village south of here, and the group we met with found a young university student who speaks passable English. We also have the Aussiedler missionaries here who speak German. We have a watchmen who speaks some English, and our maintenance man, Vitalya, is remembering key English words and phrases. Our receptionist’s granddaughter helps us with her English. And, after the initial nervousness they all seem eager to help. And their status goes up in the eyes of the locals.

And the most encouraging news we heard came early this week from an Aussiedler German lady who was with a group touring the villages of their parents. When we started to describe what the Centre is all about, she interrupted us and said, “we have already heard all about you. In every village where we went, when the Ukrainians and Russians heard that we were Mennonites, they told us about the wonderful Mennonite Centre in Molochansk that is helping so many people.” She said that as Ausseidler they could now talk to the Ukrainians in way they never could before. And the week ended with a 77-year old Ukrainian lady in Neukirch describing how, as a little girl, she joined her Mennonite friends in the Mennonite Church and listened to the choir singing in the balcony, accompanied by an organ. Her closed eyes were a bit moist when with a sigh she said, “kraseevay” (beautiful). They don’t forget--nor should we.

Off to Kiev and back home September 1. Remember our blog site at www.lindaandben.blogspot.com