Reflection: Our most interesting cross-cultural experiences

          

Central and Eastern Europe

May-June 2011

1. Watching a samurai movie on Hungarian TV dubbed perfectly in German
2. Sitting on a park bench in Budapest eating a Hungarian salami and cheese sandwich while a pair of Hungarian men walk by with a McDonalds bag in their hand
3. Riding the Metro in Rome at rush hour.  It is the closest you will ever get to someone while still being clothed.
4. Trying to get haircuts in a Croatian town where neither of us understands the others’ language.
5. Listing to “Hit the Road, Jack” on the radio - in Russian!
6. Trying to purchase sandwiches (?) from a ancient Ukrainian babushka and actually attempting conversation.  We did get our sandwiches.
7. Purchasing beads from a young Bulgarian shop owner.  Her radiant and enthusiastic manner made it such a pleasure.
8. Spotting a Mexican restaurant in Odessa, Ukraine.  (Yes the sign was in Russian!)
9. We have discovered that wherever we are in the United States, people stop us and ask us for directions.  When we were walking in Odessa, Ukraine, the same thing happened, but it was a man who spoke only Russian. We were unable to help him.

 And the very best experiences…

10.           Trying to read signs in the Cyrillic alphabet in Serbia, Bulgaria and Ukraine as we walk down the street!