Beaches, taxis, and Chris Norman
Several weeks ago a group of PCVs went to the beach. It has continued to be crazy hot here, so the shore of the Black Sea is the best place for a retreat. After a nice sunny day swimming in water warmer than I can ever remember the Jersey shore being, I was ready to head home while everyone else wanted more. (Remember, readers, I can no longer drink, which has furthermore decreased my interest in socialization).
After several attempts in asking for a taxi to the bus station, my companion flagged one down. The driver, once I got in the car, proceeded to persuade me to let him take me all the way back to my site over an hour away. I was skeptical of how much this would be, and just asked to go to the local bus station, but he was persistant. He inquired how much a marshrutka would cost, and he added an extremely modest sum of money and asked for 30 UAH. In comparison, we paid 20 UAH just to go from the local bus stop there to the beach. A less than 10 minute drive.
This seemed like it was too good to be true, but he was insistant, so I decided to sit back, relax and for once in Ukraine, actually use a seat belt in a vehicle that did not belong to the US government.
He told me many things and asked a lot of questions. He served in the Afghanistan war, his daughter was a student at the teachers university in the foreign languages department, where my former site mate taught and she had talked about the PCVs who have served there to her father. He tried to teach me about Russian humor and for some reason called his daughter to have her tell him the English word for wool. I never quite understood why.
He got very excited sharing his music with me, as he pumped up the volume when the band "Smokey" came on. He loved this English band, he told me, and was amazed I never heard of them or their lead singer Chris Norman before. Guess they are just big in Ukraine.
After an hour together we arived at my site and he took me directly to my door. I offered him 50 UAH, instead of the agreed 30, and he looked for change, telling me that he was a gentleman, but I insisted, saying that he had given me a Russian language lesson. Finally he agreed to take it. It was only later that I realized that he was probably already heading to N--, so that is why he asked for so little money for the trip. Taxi driving was his hobby, he owned a store and his daughter lived in the city. But when the rest of the crew the next day attempted to get a cab back they were told it would be 200 UAH ($40)--a really huge sum of money, so I had clearly made out rather well, and scored a possible ride back in N-- the next time from the beach, and all in the name of posnakomnitsa or "getting acquainted." Sometimes being a foreigner can be a good thing.
After several attempts in asking for a taxi to the bus station, my companion flagged one down. The driver, once I got in the car, proceeded to persuade me to let him take me all the way back to my site over an hour away. I was skeptical of how much this would be, and just asked to go to the local bus station, but he was persistant. He inquired how much a marshrutka would cost, and he added an extremely modest sum of money and asked for 30 UAH. In comparison, we paid 20 UAH just to go from the local bus stop there to the beach. A less than 10 minute drive.
This seemed like it was too good to be true, but he was insistant, so I decided to sit back, relax and for once in Ukraine, actually use a seat belt in a vehicle that did not belong to the US government.
He told me many things and asked a lot of questions. He served in the Afghanistan war, his daughter was a student at the teachers university in the foreign languages department, where my former site mate taught and she had talked about the PCVs who have served there to her father. He tried to teach me about Russian humor and for some reason called his daughter to have her tell him the English word for wool. I never quite understood why.
He got very excited sharing his music with me, as he pumped up the volume when the band "Smokey" came on. He loved this English band, he told me, and was amazed I never heard of them or their lead singer Chris Norman before. Guess they are just big in Ukraine.
After an hour together we arived at my site and he took me directly to my door. I offered him 50 UAH, instead of the agreed 30, and he looked for change, telling me that he was a gentleman, but I insisted, saying that he had given me a Russian language lesson. Finally he agreed to take it. It was only later that I realized that he was probably already heading to N--, so that is why he asked for so little money for the trip. Taxi driving was his hobby, he owned a store and his daughter lived in the city. But when the rest of the crew the next day attempted to get a cab back they were told it would be 200 UAH ($40)--a really huge sum of money, so I had clearly made out rather well, and scored a possible ride back in N-- the next time from the beach, and all in the name of posnakomnitsa or "getting acquainted." Sometimes being a foreigner can be a good thing.
posted by Molly | 7:40 AM
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