What's up, the world? How is it going? The planet is spinning, the seasons are changing and we are already past the summer solstice. Time flies. So, summer is officially everywhere in the Northern Hemisphere. Have you noticed that everything slows down in summer? I always found it interesting. You see, you would assume that since it's too warm in summer for quick movements and intensive activities, in winter it should be on the contrary - everyone should be energized and productive. But it happens that it's not exactly true - everyone is cold and complains about freezing temperatures outside and grey skies and when they get into warm premises they turn into a jellyfish. In summer people definitely don't like to think about work or stay at work. All their thoughts are occupied about rest, for some unknown for me reason. You see, most of my professional life I've been a freelancer and right now I'm doing a job that is pretty much 7 days a week. So even during summer, there are no options for me not to work. When I worked as a language tutor I tried to have at least a week or two of vacations in summer, but I discovered that my travelling wasn't very enjoyable during this time - there were crowds of people literally everywhere: in the streets, in the restaurants, in the museums, on the beach and in the forest. Not fun at all! So now I have a plan to go on vacations in between the touristic seasons because the best rest can take place only in a quiet atmosphere.
But, there is still the main question unanswered! What do Ukrainians do in summer?! Well, from the end of May Ukrainians start dreaming about vacations. Any office worker is literally daydreaming about holidays and the sea. The work tangibly slows down and every new post on Facebook with the sea, beaches, lakes and foreign cityscapes collects a ton of likes and jealous comments. People exchange recommendations as for restaurants, prices, routes and hotels. But, not all Ukrainians spend summer travelling. While I studied at school and university my summers took place at my grandparents' house. I bet you are surprised that I didn't try to find a part-time job as many students do in the US, but Ukraine in the 90s and 2000s young people didn't have too many options for part-time jobs. Most employers didn't want to play the games with inexperienced young people that would work for them only 2-3 months a year. So my options for summer mostly consisted of visiting my grandparents and helping with their homesteads. In summer I would tan while gardening, taking care of chickens, collecting strawberries, deweeding onion, carrot, tomato etc. patches, cleaning the house, cleaning around the house, watering garden, collecting ripe fruit and vegetables and many many other activities. Doing all that in summer I still somewhat envied my peers that went to visit their grandparents in the villages. All summer long they were herding cows and goats, took ducks and geese to the ponds, lakes or rivers. Their summer seemed so much more exciting to me than mine in a small town where I could do some shopping, or have something tasty in a cafe. Now I understand that these were the best summers: I could read as much as I wanted, play badminton with my friends, ride my bicycle, swim in the river at the end of our property along with doing something useful. Summer also is a period of time that we, Ukrainians, use to prepare for winter. We pickle and marinade a lot of vegetables, make jams, confitures and jars of fruit butter, harvest potatoes, onions, carrots and other veggies that can be preserved in cellars through winter.
So you might wonder whether anything has changed since then and whether in 2019 Ukrainians still spend summers the same way I did back at the beginning of the 2000s. I can't tell you about all Ukraine but there are definitely more changes in lifestyle. Office workers with good salaries try to travel in summer abroad. One of the most popular countries until recent was Turkey with its all-inclusive resorts. After receiving visa-free access to most of the European countries people started broadening their horizons and improving the quality of their travels. A lot of people that don't have the opportunity to travel abroad either stay at home, take trips to relatives or explore Ukraine. The latter activity becomes more and more popular because of a great number of resources that promote internal travelling. Ukraine is historically and naturally very rich country and it has a lot to offer not just to its own citizens but has a lot to surprise with people from all over the world.
In case you would like to refresh how wonderful is my country, I welcome you to read my other story https://kwetlorienua.blogspot.com/2019/01/what-to-expect-from-trip-to-ukraine.html
I just want to wish you a wonderful summer Friday and even better summer weekend!
Behave!
Sincerely yours!
But, there is still the main question unanswered! What do Ukrainians do in summer?! Well, from the end of May Ukrainians start dreaming about vacations. Any office worker is literally daydreaming about holidays and the sea. The work tangibly slows down and every new post on Facebook with the sea, beaches, lakes and foreign cityscapes collects a ton of likes and jealous comments. People exchange recommendations as for restaurants, prices, routes and hotels. But, not all Ukrainians spend summer travelling. While I studied at school and university my summers took place at my grandparents' house. I bet you are surprised that I didn't try to find a part-time job as many students do in the US, but Ukraine in the 90s and 2000s young people didn't have too many options for part-time jobs. Most employers didn't want to play the games with inexperienced young people that would work for them only 2-3 months a year. So my options for summer mostly consisted of visiting my grandparents and helping with their homesteads. In summer I would tan while gardening, taking care of chickens, collecting strawberries, deweeding onion, carrot, tomato etc. patches, cleaning the house, cleaning around the house, watering garden, collecting ripe fruit and vegetables and many many other activities. Doing all that in summer I still somewhat envied my peers that went to visit their grandparents in the villages. All summer long they were herding cows and goats, took ducks and geese to the ponds, lakes or rivers. Their summer seemed so much more exciting to me than mine in a small town where I could do some shopping, or have something tasty in a cafe. Now I understand that these were the best summers: I could read as much as I wanted, play badminton with my friends, ride my bicycle, swim in the river at the end of our property along with doing something useful. Summer also is a period of time that we, Ukrainians, use to prepare for winter. We pickle and marinade a lot of vegetables, make jams, confitures and jars of fruit butter, harvest potatoes, onions, carrots and other veggies that can be preserved in cellars through winter.
So you might wonder whether anything has changed since then and whether in 2019 Ukrainians still spend summers the same way I did back at the beginning of the 2000s. I can't tell you about all Ukraine but there are definitely more changes in lifestyle. Office workers with good salaries try to travel in summer abroad. One of the most popular countries until recent was Turkey with its all-inclusive resorts. After receiving visa-free access to most of the European countries people started broadening their horizons and improving the quality of their travels. A lot of people that don't have the opportunity to travel abroad either stay at home, take trips to relatives or explore Ukraine. The latter activity becomes more and more popular because of a great number of resources that promote internal travelling. Ukraine is historically and naturally very rich country and it has a lot to offer not just to its own citizens but has a lot to surprise with people from all over the world.
In case you would like to refresh how wonderful is my country, I welcome you to read my other story https://kwetlorienua.blogspot.com/2019/01/what-to-expect-from-trip-to-ukraine.html
I just want to wish you a wonderful summer Friday and even better summer weekend!
Behave!
Sincerely yours!
All photos were taken by me. All right reserved.
