Spring seems to be here (finally) in Donetsk, and we are very happy about it. So is Yana, a fellow English teacher. She loves to garden and plant flowers, and has big plans for improving the looks of DCU's campus, now that she has a few people (Dave and I) who share her enthusiasm for being outside and are willing to help. Our first planting project took place Friday afternoon, a not very springy and rather cold day. We had cleared it with the powers that be to plant tulip bulbs in front of the administration building, and, on the advice of some friends, Yana was determined to do it that day. The ground proved to be quite cold, but thawed, so we proceeded. Although the location we chose will be a great place for many people to see all our beautiful tulips, it was also a great place to be scrutinized by everyone. The administration building is where all classes are held and all offices are housed, so we had a building full of onlookers, and just about as much advice. Yana warned us ahead of time that everyone would stop and tell us how to plant our tulips, but probably no one would volunteer to help, and her prediction came true. But the funny part was that as people came up to us and told us this and that, Yana, who usually translates whatever is being said, instead talked to us in English about how she knew it would be this way. Thus, all the helpful suggestions, not understood by us and ignored by Yana, went unheeded. It was truly a cultural learning experience. And we ended up having a good time, just the three of us. Now hopefully our tulips will grow!
-Laura
