Babushka

When you go to a different country, it is so easy to notice what is different. Differences can excite you, frustrate you, intrigue you. I love that my commute costs 50 cents each direction, when you consider that my similarly-timed commute in DC was $4.50. I'm not so excited that I can't drink the tap water. I'm intrigued by the fact that my hair seems shinier and redder (something I noted the last time I was in Ukraine). It makes sense, really. My psych prof always talked about the "ways you mess with babies," and he always pointed out that a baby will fixate on things that are surprising, that are different.

What warms my heart most when I am abroad isn't so much what is different, but what is constant. I'm not talking about the omnipresence of American fast food (Full disclosure: I'm taking advantage of the smoke-free room and free wifi at McDonald's, the eatery my brother so fondly refers to as the "American embassy" when traveling), or the fact that people are, generally speaking, dressed in a manner most Americans would recognize. I'm talking about love, about families, about friends.

Last night, my host family's son came to visit with his wife and four-year-old son, Dima. My host mother fretted all day. She bought a huge bag of amazing fresh blueberries (MUST find out where she found those) and hand-made Dima's favorite dumplings (vareniki) from scratch. She beamed every time she talked about "our Dima." She couldn't wait for me to see him, and she babbled on for ages about Dima's every accomplishment. I couldn't understand every word, to be sure, but the look on her face needed no translation. She was a proud babushka, many of whom I've seen roaming around the United States. A babushka who would not rest until everyone had had their fill to eat and then some, who would be begging you to eat just ONE more vareniki as she spoons three onto your plate. You may only understand every fifth word, and your surroundings may be foreign in every sense of the word, but in moments like these, you are home.