Traveler, Writer, Aquarius, Peace Corps Volunteer
The evidence
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I�m not sure whether these people are embarrassed or indignant. I�m not sure whether they see me as an example of a culture with no patience or tolerance for mistakes or an example of a culture that is used to getting things done properly and knowing how to work. There are times when I feel awful for my reactions, and times when I feel completely justified because they�ve mishandled every single thing I�ve asked of them. And the response is always the same: �This is Ukraine.� And then I understand that the whole country suffers learned helplessness because they�ve been under the Soviet yoke for so long nobody knows how to work or worse, how to take responsibility for anything. Or else they have no hope because they see the only way to get ahead here is through corruption. With the apartment situation, I couldn�t understand how no one knew what the hell they were doing. But then I realized no one here bought their home. They were all given to them by the government. So they took what they got and were thankful for it.
I�ll get it. It�ll take time, but I�ll get it. And hopefully, through continued cross-cultural exchange, so will they.
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