An Unusual Occurance

It's not unusual to see Americans in N---, well American men, since my town does boast marriage and dating agencies/services. But what is unusual is to see Americans in places outside of Sovietskaya-our main drag-let alone on a marshtrutka!

On my way to English club a few weeks ago, I saw a woman advance to get on the marshtrutka I was on. When she saw there was no room, she turned to her companion behind her and said, "standing ok?" When he got on I eyed him up and down, as the marshtrutka took off he lost his balance, no uncommon for those unaccustomed to traveling in crowded vans. He then attempted to pay the driver, which is sometimes the case, but nearly all the people seated in the front (myself included) pointed to the young man with a fanny pack, typically the dead give away that the driver has someone collecting the money for him. Then there was the way that he said "thank you" in Russian, unpracticed and not too far from how I say it, I imagine.

I grinned my widest smile and laughed. It is the first time in Ukraine something like that had ever happened, so as we got to my stop, I turned and said "have a great day!" and descended the marshtrutka which quickly whizzed away with the other native English speaker inside (I mean, he actually could be Canadian, I guess.)