What I Learned from Living in the Crimea

 

Aerial view of the coast of Crimea near Yalta

Since the corona virus and the subsequent lock down hit the US last spring, I’ve been thinking a lot about the four months I lived in the Crimea in the spring of 1994. Crimea was a Russian-speaking area of Ukraine when I lived there, but since March 2014, it is part of Russia.

It was one of the defining moments of my life. When I returned home, I would never look at my closet brimming with clothes, full grocery store shelves, reliable electricity and water, and my genuinely easy life the same again. And whenever I hear a few words of Russian, I feel homesick.

My experiences in the Crimea help me keep perspective when life gets tough. 

 

A Crimean party for a dog's birthday. My late Russian professor Lyudmila and myself.

What I learned from living in the Crimea (the short list):

1.  Appreciate the simple joys of life: One day my host father brought home a single orange (fresh fruit was very rare), and my host sister, who was six at the time, ate each segment slowly, as if it was an expensive piece of chocolate. I have learned to appreciate the small joys each day last year: eating food from my backyard, going on walks, and laughing at Mr. Bean antics with my teenage sons.

2. People rise to the occasion. I love the stories of how Russians secretly stood against communism through their music and art. (I think of Achmatova's Requiem, an elegy poem to her husband and son, both arrested by the NKVD.). They became adept at making jokes about Soviet propaganda (when I was there, every joke had a spy in it). Here in the States, I have enjoyed seeing how creative people can be in turning this difficult situation to good: making Youtube movies, repairing or fixing up their homes, baking bread (although I wish they’d leave some flour and yeast for me!)

3. We have lost the illusion of control. We have enjoyed a very long time of peace and prosperity as Americans. So we begin to think we can plan on our lives only getting better. But the truth is, so much of life is out of our control. I’ve been trying to be thankful for each day and what it brings. I wonder if saying something like “If the Lord wills…” when we talk about future plans will become more common.

4. Separating my happiness from world events: When I saw one of my Russian professors in 2014, Russia had just taken over Crimea. She said, “I left as a Ukrainian, I return as a Russian.” She has lived through communism, perestroika, Yeltsin, and Putin. But she continues to find joy in her life, enjoying her time with her grown children and teaching foreigners like me to speak Russian. Just because the world is going crazy doesn’t mean you have to let it make you crazy. Find joy in the things you can control: your relationships, your work (even if it’s working around your home), and making great art.

 Goodbye Party for my professor Irina (center) in 2014. I'm joined by Rachel Humphrey Fleet (left) and Darcy Franzen Syme (right), two other American students who studied in Crimea.

What about you? How do you keep your perspective and joy when life is crazy?

Photo credits: Crimea photo from Vimeo. All other photos are my own or from Rachael Humphrey Fleet, Jennifer Steele, or Darcy Franzen Syme.