Village Life

The other day the guy I am staying with, Andriy, took me to work with him. I had the unique opportunity to experience a day of village life here in Ukraine. We woke up at 5:oo and ate some cold borsch for breakfast. Then we took one bus to the bus stop which would take us to the village. We went to a small village southwest of L'viv, which was about a 45 minute ride from the bus station, then a 15 minute walk to get to the place where we would work. Through broken English, broken Ukrainian, and a few dictionaries, I already knew, from the night before, that we would be working with hay. So we got there about 7:30 and prepared the barn for the hay we would be bringing in. Then we waited for another young Ukrainian guy to start the tractor. It was an old model from Belarus made some time during the Soviet Union, and it took about 20 minutes to get started, but it was a good model and finally started. Then we jumped in the trailer and headed out to one of the fields to pick up the hay. It was maybe 10 minutes away, not too far. When we got there I saw maybe 11 or 12 large stacks of hay so I figured it would take only a few trips. My job was to stay in the trailer and keep packing down the hay so we could fit as much as possible. It was very tiring and after an hour or so my pulse was racing like I had just run in a race, but it was good, hard work. Imagining doing it every day on the pay they would receive in Ukraine for such work hardly seemed worth it though! After 6 stacks were in the trailer, and I was now easily 10 or more feet off the ground, I slid off the stack and we went back to the barn to unload and then come back for more. I can definitely relate more now to people I see on farms or working in the fields as I pass by them in many of the villages here in Ukraine. It is not an easy life, and you can see why some of the people look much older than they are sometimes. I still had some energy left, however, and the 2nd trip was much easier because I already knew what to do this time. We finished then rinsed ourselves off. I had hay all over me, in my hair, and I was filthy, but it was great.

After we worked in the field we scooted the horses in the stables and put a saddle on two of them to go horseback riding. My horse was a stubborn guy named Caesar. And I really felt like a cowboy... had the leather leg guards (don't know what they're called) and the cowboy hat and everything. After a "crash course" in Ukrainian horse riding commands (and a little help from one of the other workers) I finally got him to go out of the barn. So we started riding down the road and ended up going into the forest. It was really cool. For me it was the first time riding a horse that you yourself had to steer. I had only gone maybe 1 or 2 times on a trail horse who followed all the other trail horses. I didn't really trust my ability to control him though, so I pretty much thought I was going to die. No... I am only kidding, it wasn't that bad. It was actually pretty fun and exciting, even though I did get smacked in the face by some branches. We tried to make our way up the hill but all the paths were blocked from the previous winter when ice had caused a lot of damage to the trees. We decided to turn back and went out and eventually headed back to the stables. I was very glad to be back because I had become quite sore by the time we finished. Riding horses is not the most comfortable thing to do. In conclusion, I think, to be perfectly honest, it is easier to work with hay than to ride horses! I appreciated this day though, and I think it really does help me to relate with the lifestyle of many of the people of Ukraine...even if for me it was just for one day! Thank you all again for your continued prayer and support! I love you and miss you. God Bless!!! - Joey Kader