#009 - Interview

Hello Friends!

Today, I decided to interview my friend from Ukraine. Olya agreed to answer a few questions for you.

Me: First of all, do you find your country interesting? What is the best part of living in Ukraine?

Olya: I think my country is interesting for foreign people. It is good to visit Ukraine, to watch its places of interest and so on... But it is hard to live here. Especially now. I suppose you know what I am talking about.

Yes, we all know the current situation in Ukraine. What do you think about the conflict between Ukraine and Russia? Does it have an impact on the life of people from your city?

Yes, of course. This situation has an impact on the life of people from my whole country. Our currency fell and prices increased, but salaries stayed the same.

You said that Ukraine is an interesting country for foreign people. Do you have many tourists?

Yes. Also a lot of people from all over the worls come to Ukraine to study. As for tourists, our mountains in the west and Crimea attract them.

I guess many tourists are also interested in Ukrainian traditions. What are the most unusual Ukrainian traditions?

The most strange tradition is celebrating "Старого Нового года".

The Old New Year? Yes, it is really weird. (The Old New year is an informal holiday, celebrated traditionally as the start of new day by the Julian Calendar which is used by the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic adopted the Gregorian Calendar in 1918 and it caused the problem of celebrating the New Year. Since then there have been two New Years.)

What are the most popular Ukrainian dishes?

Undoubtedly they are borshch and dumplings. These are traditional Ukrainian dishes.

How do you deal with two languages spoken in your country? All the institutions use Ukrainian but what if somebody speaks only Russian?

All the people in Ukraine understand Ukrainian. And for us it does not matter what language we use. Even in schools many teachers speak only Russian but our books are written in Ukrainian. Because we live in Ukraine and it is our national language.

Alright, thank you very much for your answers. I wish you all the best.

Yours,

Sebastian