Fire & Ice

As I am writing this, it is 85 degrees Fahrenheit (29 C) at 10:30 in the morning in South Florida and the mercury should hit 91 F (33 C) later in the day. For that reason, today I have naturally decided to write about the icy sidewalks in Kharkov.

At this time, I should reveal that if you added up all the days I have spend in the assorted nations around the world, (other than the United States) that Ukraine is far and away the one where I have spent the most time. I’m certain the United Kingdom would have been first for much of my life because on my trips to Europe I made a habit of starting and ending my journey there. In my quest to teach, I think Brazil moved to the second spot after I spent five weeks there while I earned my TEFL certificate in Rio de Janeiro. On the other hand, after spending most of the last year teaching in Kharkiv, it is quite clear that Ukraine now has the country crown. I wasn’t groping around for a place to teach. Ukraine was and always will be my number one choice. I have the simplest of tastes. I always settle for the best. In any case, there are some things that I don’t like about Ukraine. I think the icy sidewalks are in the peak position. The weather in Kharkov is actually very similar to Denver. This is the place where I have spend much of my time since graduating from college so the prospect of spending the winter in Ukraine did not scare me. Nevertheless, once the snow started to fall I realized that I had a problem. It seemed bizarre to me that after the first snowfall, nobody shoveled the sidewalks. The snow would immediately get heavily trampled and then it would begin to transform into ice. This happened in both residential and commercial areas. I began to learn to walk very gingerly although I knew sooner or later I was going to take a tumble. I would like to think I am fearless but this is not wise sans insurance. I also like being in control and somehow I never acquired the ability to control gravity. The first time I fell, it wasn’t that big of a deal. The second time I hit the ground like a sack of potatoes falling off the wagon on its way to the vodka distillery. I thought at first that I had just bruised my elbow. Later I realized that I almost certainly put my hand down to break my fall and that my wrist was injured. Since I did not have insurance I decided to treat the damage myself. I ended up with a sprained wrist which was painful for about two months. I believe I fell once more during the winter. This was even after I brought a nice pair of winter boots back from America that I thought would give me more traction. My goal for next winter is to decrease these incidents as much as possible. It is amusing because as winter was ending I saw workers chipping away at the ice to clear the sidewalks for spring. It seemed to me that it would be easier to shovel the sidewalks after it snows and have them totally clear 98% of the time. I guess this could be upsetting to some people because I have seen Ukrainian that use little sleds on the sidewalks which are used to pull a cargo of groceries or perhaps a child. While in Kiev, this winter, I saw someone shoveling a sidewalk so the idea is not completely foreign.

In America, things are a little dissimilar. It depends on local laws but businesses and homeowners are usually required to clear their sidewalks after the end of a snowstorm. Not only can the city issue a fine for not obeying the law, it is also possible that someone could be held civilly liable if someone is injured. (I know that America has loads of lawyers and that there are way too many frivolous lawsuits) For American children it is a sort of rate of passage to go door to door in their neighborhoods to try to earn money by shoveling walkways and driveways. This service can actually be lifesaving to senior citizens. This is because it is not unusual for the strain to cause mortal heart attacks to people that are out of shape. Some members of the community will in fact use a snow blower. This takes much less effort than a shovel especially if there is a large area to clear. I’m going to end this with a Russian proverb that is one of the few that I know that was not taught to me by Helen. In reality, every so often I think she makes them up to suit her needs.

“The Church is near but the road is icy, the bar is far away but I will walk carefully.”

Posted by John