Different than we imagined: what do Americans think about Ukraine - ForumDaily
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Different than we imagined: what do Americans think about Ukraine

In their desire to achieve Western values, Ukrainians often downplay their worth and fail to recognize their own advantages. However, it is worth remembering how sincere and hospitable Ukraine is, and how strong and talented its people are. This is confirmed by three Americans who, having no Ukrainian roots, say that they fell in love with Ukraine and even consider it their second homeland.

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“One day I was idle and listened to the music of “Gogol Bordello” - and the soloist was from Ukraine, from near Kyiv. I thought: this is how people who make interesting music are born in Ukraine,” - this is how the American Robin Rohrback from Virginia met Ukraine.

“And I started looking at information about Ukraine and realized that this is a much more interesting country than I, an American who grew up during the Cold War, could imagine. We grew up with the idea that post-Soviet countries are a sad, depressing place, but Ukraine is color and light and life and art.”

Robin first went to Ukraine in 2012 as a tourist and says that she met wonderful people there and fell in love with the country.

“A group of young people in Kyiv invited us to their Borshchagovka district... and they were all so friendly, and cheerful, and smart, and ambitious. And talking with them, we were able to understand what it was like to be a smart young man in Ukraine under the rule of Yanukovych. Later, when I thought about it, I was so angry that these incredible young people would never have the same opportunities as their peers in the West.”

During the Revolution of Dignity, she closely followed the events and remotely helped the Euromaidanites - she edited the news of the press center in English. And since the war in Donbass began, she joined the Ukrainian diaspora group in the United States and sent medical aid to the military.

“My friend’s father was the chief physician, it seems, of the 30th separate mechanized brigade. And we managed to find certain things together, such as stretchers and dressings,” she recalls. “I used my contacts here to help them get the medical supplies they needed at the front.”

Robin returned to Ukraine four months after the Maidan events: “It was very emotional to see with my own eyes what I was watching on the computer screen... It felt like the wounds were very fresh. Every time I discussed this with someone, we cried. There were so many tears."

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In her subsequent travels, she saw how the country and people were changing: “I was able to see the big concert of Okean Elsa at the Olympic Stadium, where there were 70 people, and it was such an honor to be in that stadium, everyone seemed to have experienced catharsis.”

Robin says: Ukrainians must remember to value themselves and their people.

“I admire the Ukrainians so much and what they were able to do during the Euromaidan. There was so much power there, terrible things happened there, but they did not retreat and could still joke about it. I think civil society has become much bolder, not only in terms of political reform, but also in building the country they want to live in,” says Robin.

“I know that loving Ukraine is not easy. But damn, it's a beautiful country and the people are wonderful! When I look at Ukraine, I see talent, warmth, resources, creativity. Know your worth because it is huge and you deserve to be much more visible in the world than you currently are. The world needs Ukraine to be bigger, more visible,” says Robin.

“Every time I go to Ukraine, it’s like returning home”

“At first it was very difficult, because I didn’t know anything, I didn’t know the Ukrainian language, but over time, communicating with Ukrainians, I learned it,” Ellis Tran, a former Peace Corps volunteer, recalls his experience in Ukraine.

He was born and raised in California. After graduating from university, he decided to take part in the Peace Corps volunteer program - and he was assigned to the Transcarpathian village of Yasinya, where he taught English to local schoolchildren.

“After completing the program, I wanted to stay in Ukraine and decided to go to Lviv. And there I rented an apartment and taught English,” says Ellis.

At this time, he met his future wife.

“We were together in Ukraine for a year, but I lived in Lviv, and she lived in Kyiv. We met every weekend, traveled by train,” Ellis recalls. — It was difficult at first, especially in the reserved seat. I saw a lot, heard a lot, smelled a lot. It was fun, to be honest, and when it was time to return home a year later, I asked her if she would like to come with me.”

Ellis has Chinese roots and this caused a lot of surprise in Ukraine. “They asked me: where are you from? I said: from the USA. They said: no, where are you really from? But I understand this, many people, especially in villages, have never communicated with foreigners. Unfortunately, there were also problems when some guys picked on me and my future wife in Lvov. One day I was robbed. There were unpleasant moments, but they were very few compared to the good ones, I had a very good time in Ukraine.”

But Ellis was sympathetic to the lack of awareness of Ukrainians - due to a lack of communication with people different from them. “I grew up in San Jose, and the city is very ethnically homogeneous, there were a lot of people with Asian roots. All my friends were of Chinese or Vietnamese descent, especially in my area. And I didn't interact much with other people either until I started studying at UCLA, and that's when I decided to go study in Australia for a semester. I loved it there, so that motivated me to volunteer for the Peace Corps.”

“The very idea that an American decided to become a volunteer in a Ukrainian village was very strange for many. Some thought I was a spy, some said I worked for the government, especially when they found out that volunteers were paid the same salary as Ukrainian teachers - the whole idea was shocking,” Ellis says.

It was in Yasinya that Ellis first learned what real winter was. “I remember it shocked me a little. There were days when I just sat in my apartment. My Ukrainian friends called me, but I didn’t pick up the phone, I had such a short-term depression. My pipes froze and I flooded my neighbor. And we had to defrost the pipes with a blowtorch,” recalls the American.

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“One winter I was sick and sitting at home, and my friends came over and brought me blueberry cough syrup, I always remember that when I go there,” Ellis said.

He says that in general, Ukrainian hospitality is more reminiscent of Asian than American. He believes that Ukrainians should develop tourism so that this hospitality can be felt not only when you come to visit the owners, but also outside the home. He also advises Ukrainians to show the same sincerity and openness to each other - even to strangers.

Ellis himself showed Ukraine twice to his American friends and does not forget about his Ukrainian experience: “Some of the things I learned in Ukraine and from Ukrainians, I apply in my life. My wife is Ukrainian, my dog’s name is Misha, and my license plate is “Dude,” and I definitely had a good time in Ukraine and every time I go there, it’s like coming home.”

"My name is Mishka"

Malcolm Phillips from Pennsylvania has been to Ukraine fifty times in the last 15 years alone: ​​“My American name is Malcolm Phillips, but my name is Mishka, because at heart I am Ukrainian.”

And I first got there during the Soviet Union. First - since the Cold War - as an analyst, collecting information about life in the USSR and the countries of the Eastern bloc. “I looked at photos, read literature about what happened before - and compared it with what changes were happening in the country, traveled by train around the country. In the Soviet Union, people increasingly wanted change. I met local people. I was looking for unobvious changes, I was looking for signals of how power was changing, of what people wanted. And I wrote reports on my findings,” says Malcolm.

His travels lasted from a week to two months, “and I was looking for reasons to stay in Ukraine as long as possible... At that time, people in the USA, Germany, France, England did not travel to Eastern Europe, to Ukraine, because it was the Soviet Union . And people in the West thought badly of people in the East, but not me. I didn’t like the Soviet regime, but I loved the people.”

At the university, Malcolm studied Russian and Ukrainian, and after the collapse of the Union, he continued to work with Ukraine - as an expert in the field of renewable energy and also as a pastor of the Protestant church, he has a number of charitable projects for orphans, and now also for migrants from Donbass. “We have been holding summer language camps in the Carpathians for 15 years now. We once brought two girls from our church to Virginia—and we still keep in touch with them.”

He says that Eastern Europeans, and in particular Ukrainians, have always reacted to him, first of all, with interest and openness.

“It’s hard not to notice me,” he smiles. “In many places, I was the first non-white person people saw.” I like people. I usually have a big beard and I have a belly and kids were just drawn to me and I adore kids - and they always thought I was Santa Claus."

The declaration of independence of Ukraine, the Orange Revolution, the Revolution of Dignity - Malcolm saw with his own eyes how the state and people were changing: “The Orange Revolution gave hope, but then the expectations were not met. I saw it all happen, but I said: don't lose hope, don't despair. Yes, it’s hard now, but I still believe in Ukraine - as I always have.”

Malcolm adds: “I love your country, your culture. And they brought me dumplings, cabbage rolls, cheesecakes, sometimes vodka. And it was home. And usually I felt like a king, especially in a village where no one saw people like me, I was different, but I felt at home. and so I go back there. Now it is no secret that there are many problems in the United States, and I say to black Americans: go to Europe, to Eastern Europe, to Ukraine, and you will see what it means to be together. "

The original column is published on the website. Ukrainian service "Voices of America".

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