Currents of People - The Busses

Odessa is a living system. The currents of Odessa flow everywhere: some visible, and some not. The most powerful are the ones you can’t see, because they are in the hearts and minds of the people. But if you can't see the currents, then you can feel the breezes they produce. Take riding on the busses, for instance, which are called “marshrutkas”.

A fast-moving bus will pass you on a busy street almost every minute, in its wake, wind and dust. Take #145 to Suvorovsky; #191 or #221 to Tairovsky; #175 to the Boksal (train station), and then #25 to Illichyovsk. All of these are places we go, so we ride on the busses a lot. If the streets are the blood vessels, the buses are capsules or corpuscles of people moving along in bundles, very efficiently.  Everyone who cannot afford a car rides the bus, and that is most people. That means the buses are sometimes very crowded. The bus comes to you and stops, but you have to get on quickly, because the next bus is right behind. When it is time to get off, you make your way to the front, you say the name of your stop, and you drop the fare on the platform beside the driver. Exact fare, please, or you get a grumpy scolding. Also, tell the driver how many of you there are. Then when the bus stops, move smartly out the front door (always out the front), or you miss your chance.

When the bus is full on a warm and humid day, riding the marshrutka becomes more interesting. In a letter home, Marsha described what happens then as a “full-body contact sport”:

“Full Body Contact Sport:

Riding the #25 bus from Odessa to Illichyovsk

Duration: 55 very long minutes

Object of the game:  Cram as many people as possible into a marshrutka, and then have them exit the bus one at a time

Atmosphere:  Very warm and humid, no open windows

The Players:  SITTERS-People seated two-abreast on both sides of a narrow aisle in rows.  

                      STANDERS-As many as possible, facing sideways in the aisle until more players enter the game, at which point Standers must face forward or backward and stand as close together as possible while clutching bags and packages to their chests. The difficulty is that more Standers enter the game at every stop.

                      GETTER-OFFERS-Eventually all players become Getter-offers, trying to make it to the front of the bus to pay the driver and then exit the bus.

The Play:  Getter-offers push forward from the rear of the bus, twisting and turning, squeezing past the Standers in their path. Standers try to make way for them by bending over Sitters and squeezing in to make a way for the Getter-offer.

Scoring: All possible body parts should touch: fronts, sides, backs, arms, torsos, bosoms, hands, heads, and feet. (Maximum points awarded when 2 people actually occupy the same spot.)

Team Spirit:  All players remain friendly and cordial and helpful and patient. No harsh words are exchanged. This is a cooperative game. Everyone wins.

Uniforms:  Women: Beautifully painted and decorated fingernails. No gray hair allowed. All well groomed. Sleeveless for the heat. Mostly sandals. Shorts and short dresses for the heat.  

Men: Casual shirts and mostly shorts, all lengths.

Referee:  The bus driver. Don't mess with him. Virtuoso performer with the horn. (Do not yet understand the rules for lane switching and dominance over other buses, but the driver is clearly playing for points as well.)  Highly skilled: Can drive and make change for passengers at the same time.

Winners:  We all were. Illichyovsk is a quiet, pleasant town by the Black Sea. Quieter, with more families and open spaces than in central Odessa. We saw a large poster of the Family Proclamation hanging in the window of the chapel.”

People are very patient with these inconveniences. We have found the current of people flowing through Odessa on the busses to be very human and very likable, because they treat each other with honesty and mutual respect. One book on Odessa features it as a “city of thieves”.We have experienced just the opposite. When the bus is crowded and the riders can’t get to the front because of the crush to pay their fare, they give the amount to the person seated in the row in front of them and say the name of their stop.

The money is passed forward to each successive row until it reaches the driver, along with the name of the stop. The money never disappears into a pocket, that we have ever seen. This system works because of the honesty and mutual respect of individuals who are far from wealthy. A 5-hryvin (GR) bill (20 cents) could help a little to balance someone’s budget, but the money always reaches the driver. In one instance, Andy inadvertently dropped a 200 GR (8 USD) bill on the bus seat. As he walked away, he felt a tap on the shoulder and turned to see a hand extended with the money. One of our friends in the missionary work accidentally left her purse in a public place. Fearing it may have been lost, she returned the next day to find it unopened and all of the contents (including her papers) safe.

Odessa isn't perfect, but the majority of its people are good at heart. Of course, there are visible the same criminal elements and signs of corruption that you find in any big city of 1 million people, but the life-blood of the city that flows through artery-like streets in buses is good and honorable.

Stepping Into the Current

Everything is on its way somewhere. That is certainly true of the Ukraine. We feel like we have been swept into a fast-moving current, and we are fully-occupied trying to keep our balance. As we drifted slowly across the Atlantic in an air-ship, Marsha spotted the southern-most tip of Greenland. It flowed by in the reflection of a never-setting summer sun.

From Kiev, we flowed along on a train ride to Odessa. What a beautiful country. As we made our way to Odessa, the intercity train rolled past mile after mile of...sunflower fields. Most of the heads are by now full and drooping, but some of the late fields are still carpeted yellow. For miles and the terrain is perfectly flat, divided into enormous rectangles visible only from the air by windbreaks of tall, mature trees.

After a few hours, the surface turns into rolling hills and shallow valleys. Large towns and concrete block houses give way to small villages of older, well-kept homes, each with an outdoor facility. Vegetable gardens are everywhere, even alongside the track. Dense forest lines the track where there is no cultivation.

Odessa is on its way to somewhere in the current. In summer, a seaside resort; in winter a seaside port in repose, which we will see later. But for now, the summer city is full of currents that we will navigate. While the summer lasts, we will try to describe the tides of Odessa.

Our thanks: Our life raft for a few precious weeks, has been the Mikkelsens, Ned and Janet, from Bunkerville, Nevada. Thank heavens for them, for we certainly would have drowned without them.

M-Minus 0 - Day 1 - 18 July 2016

No more waiting. Today we signed in at the Missionary Training Center for five days of instruction prior to embarking for Kiev, Ukraine, for eighteen months. The day was unlike any we had ever experienced together. Yesterday we were set apart as missionaries, but today we got our "black badges", the symbol to LDS folk that a person is a missionary. Andy's reads "Старишина Гиббонс" (Russianized from Ukrainian), Marsha's reads "Cестра Гиббонс". Both of them then read, "Церква Иисуса Хриcта".

What an amazing group of senior missionary couples we met for the first time, each going to a different place, and each having fascinating stories to tell. We met cattle ranchers, school teachers, retired firemen, and retired business executives. We met the woman whose cancer is in remission sufficiently that she and her husband can accept a call. We met a lawyer who had taught law courses in Russia, and mothers with successful families and lots of grandchildren. Fascinating people, most of them past retirement and looking for significant service to their community and the world.

The variety of assignments these people have is surprising: women are traveling to Chicago to help with the needs of struggling single mothers, office clerks and organizational administrators, leadership support trainers, and gospel teachers. It was pointed out to us today that these missionaries are choosing a course that causes them to turn outward in service just at a time of life when most are turning inward and hanging up the gloves after a successful professional life.

We are humbled by the giving attitudes and vast and varied experience of this new set of friends, one of whom with his wife is being sent to rebuild homes in the Philippines, and others who will be English-language teachers in other countries.

We are most impressed by the assignment of some who will be assigned to work with a worldwide educational programs aimed at elevating the employability of people in many countries throughout the world, while providing the foundations for a lifetime of learning.

M-Minus 17 - 2 July 16

It has been six months since we received our call to serve in the Kiev Ukraine mission. Our

friends have gone from "How long before you leave?" to "You still here?". We are definitely ready

to roll.

There have been pluses and minuses to the long advance notice, but the pluses outweigh the

minuses. Leaving home comes right on the heels of Andy's retirement from BYU. That took some

getting used to. A favorite cartoon shows a man entering his door and calling out to his startled

wife, "Honey, I'm officially retired. Now we can start enjoying each other's company all day, every

day!". The subtitle of the cartoon reads, "The World's Shortest Retirement". Spending more time

together than in the past takes some adjustment, so the longer lead time has been useful in that

way.

There have been more arrangements than we ever expected, which a shorter advance notice

would have made difficult. If you take anything stronger then aspirin, the arrangements for

obtaining an 18-month supply are complicated. For starters, you can't get all 18 months at once.

The visa and passport arrangements took some time. Arranging mail, bill payment, and home

maintenance took a lot of Marsha's time.

Another benefit of longer advance notice has been the chance to study not only the Russian

language but the fascinating culture and history of the Ukraine. In the West our views center on

our own part of the world and our very young (in comparison) nation. In contrast, the history of

the Ukraine goes back, back, and back, disappearing into a dim past inhabited by characters

and societies that captivate the imagination. Conquering armies have swept across the land and

its constantly-shifting borders, each one leaving behind its unique residue of customs, values,

and world views. A blend of all of these is what makes up the Ukraine today.

We can't wait to see the real thing now. Besides, our friends are beginning to wonder if we really intend to go.

M-Minus 33 - 15 June 16

As we prepare for international travel, Marsha and I have occasion to recall that we first met on a tour of Europe in the summer of 1967. Marsha was a dancer in the BYU Folk Dancers and had been selected for the tour. 

Andy was convinced by a banjo-playing friend, John Simmons, to try out for the live western band that would play for the dancers. After some resistance, he tried out and was signed up. (I think they were desperate at that point.) If you can believe it, the whole cost of the tour to us was $1,000 each.

The tour wound its way through Portugal, Spain, France, Belgium, Holland, Luxembourg, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, England, Ireland, and Scotland. We saw what were then to us wonders - famous places we had read about but never imagined we would see. We performed American dances from the Contra to the Jitterbug.

We had wonderful leaders like Mary Bee Jensen, Roy (m’boy) Jensen, and Dr. and Sister Crofts. We had Ken, an Indian dancer, who fascinated Europeans with hoop and snake dances. On one occasion the snakes escaped from their bag as we were riding on the bus. You never saw people move so fast as piling off the bus. Once we stopped in Holland to scour a wetland for fresh frogs to feed the snakes. 

The best memories were made when we met and got to know people.

It was a great way to spend a summer.

We anticipate many new and funny, and maybe trying experiences in the Ukraine. But here we go - on the road again. 

M-Minus 43 - 5 June 16

It's official! We have tickets. We report to the Missionary Training Center in Provo on 18 July and fly on 25 July, just one week later. Because we are close to the MTC, we can commute and return home in the evenings.

It seems like forever since we first decided to serve and received our call two months later. On the one hand, there has scarcely been enough time to cut the red tape connected with passports, visas, filling forms, and planning a departure. Marsha has been masterful and patient at doing this, which is her forte.

On the other, it is hard to remember all of those things happening, because our report date came so far after the call--six and a half months. We feel like we have been preparing and making lists forever. In the final analysis, the timing is probably just about right, but we are ready to get going.

We decided to learn Russian on the advice of our Mission President. This began with acquiring a boatload of self-study materials: books...

...web URLs...

 ...audio CDs...

...and even Russian radio station URLs. (They talk really fast.)


The MTC has also provided tutoring opportunities with some of the greatest and most helpful young people. We spend a few hours each week practicing our Russian on them. They have the patience of Job, all of them. How many times can rookies like us mispronounce "хорошо" and still draw a smile from the face on the other side of the Skype screen? It turns out, seventy times seven.

We have read reports from couples already in the field, exchanged emails, and had phone calls across several time zones. We are excited to meet the kind and helpful people we have met over the distance. But in the meantime, we will concentrate on learning how to pronounce "свидетедьствовать" and "Перевоначальное общество".

M-Minus 53 - 26 May 16

The Kiev Ukraine temple is one of many symbols in a country filled with monuments to the strength of the human will and its aspirations. It is a beautiful building that we hope to visit, in a country that so far we have only seen in pictures.

We have been told so many wonderful things about the Ukraine. We have met so many who have been there or who are there now who give glowing descriptions of the people, of the beauty of the land, and of the rich cultural heritage.

For now, the task is language learning. Marsha and I are knee-deep in noun and adjective cases, noun genders, verb conjugations, aspects, tenses, prepositions, and pronouns. Right now the question is, Will we ever touch bottom? As rich as the language is, we think not, and we hope not. We are off on an exciting exploration in expression.