50% of the world live in urban areas, so by my reasoning 50% of the population must live in villages. So part of my traveling logic is the necessity to spend some time in a village. We all flock as travellers to the 'cliché' sights associated with a region but how many of us try to embrace the day to day life of people living in everyday towns and villages? I can assure you from experience, when I lived in a big urban area in Poland the shock was incredible when I went on to live in a village.
The contrast is incredible: People have different lifestyles, different beliefs therefore to travel and only see the urbanised part of your destination is the equivalent of not really traveling at all - especially when we consider how globalised cities tend to be.
Kyiv was great. Now, I want to talk about Ружин (Ruzhyn). Kyiv has a population of over 3 million and is fully globalised. Ружин has a population of under 5k and has no real man made sights worth mentioning. That said, the natural beauty is breathtaking. Untouched forests and a crystal clear river on your doorstep. The problem is a haven't really got anything to say about Ружин, it's just a village. I wouldn't recommend that people go and visit it, no, you need to find
your own rural area of Ukraine to embrace.
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| Great place to sit with a beer |
Not that I regret my time in Ружин. I got to experience first hand how the idea of community is essential to many Ukrainians, as people swap and traded home produced foodstuff and wares on a daily basis. I observed how people take the time to open their eyes and really experience the nature so close to them. Fishing, swimming, hiking or just enjoying the view. I got to experience how people welcomed me as a foreigner with open arms and fed and washed me. The openess and generosity was incredible, particularily because I never imagine ex-soviet countries to be particularily open places yet it was also slightly humbling, I can't say that I would myself be that welcoming or generous; especially to a foriegner who hadn't washed in a few days.
Upon leaving Ружин, I had learned more about Ukraine than a month in Kyiv or L'viv. So my message to all fellow travellers out there, head to the village! and embrace the different lifestyle and philosophy you're sure to encounter.
Definitely something I need to do more of; I barely leave my flat, let alone the city.
ReplyDeleteWhere actually are you based now? And how did you end up there?
I'm still based in Poland, Ukraine is just something to satisfy my sense of adventure. Next summer I'm thinking of either Norway or Belarus - depending on what is stronger, my desire for adventure or my desire for money.
ReplyDeleteI ended up in Ruzhyn because my Ukrainian teacher's hometown is close by and it was a free bed in an unusual location!
Can't tell you how many times I've wondered if I would've been better off living in a rural area of SKorea than in Seoul. That being said, I haven't actually even visited any rural areas since I got here -- like Da Teacher, I can barely find the motivation to leave my apartment these days.
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