So the other day my friend Oleh Yaroslavovich, who studies history at university in Chernivtsi and is doing his 2-month teaching practicum at my school, wanted to sit in on my 11th form class. However, my 11th form didn’t show up, so Oleh and I spent an hour having interesting conversations in a mix of Ukrainian and English. At one point Oleh was talking about some funny cultural stereotypes — Russians vs. Ukrainians — and I knew I had to post them on my blog.
Russians, Oleh said, are known for: the balalaika (musical instrument), drinking lots of vodka, bears, матрьошка (those nesting dolls, I think), and the accordion.
Ukrainians, on the other hand, are known for: Cossacks, drinking lots of vodka (only here it’s called horilka), onions/garlic, salo, and the tsymbali (musical instrument).
Which would you choose?
Ukrainians for sure. I’ve met some cute Cossacks 😉