YMCA Calgary Ukraine Partnership Blog

The names Geddes, Ben Geddes!

An exact thought from the mind of Ben Geddes as he left the airport in Kiev:

“OMG, it’s just like from Goldeneye”

I believe in reality, my entrance to Kiev brought me one step closer to achieving my childhood goal of becoming a spy. More accurately, becoming Bond.

The drive into Kiev can only be described as mind blowing. The beauty of the city runs hand in hand with its simplicity, and as I sat wide eyed in the car I found 3 things develop in my mind.

1. The culture of this place is incredible, 2 weeks is not going to be enough

2. Mum’s not gonna like me fuelling my travel addiction, might hinder my plans to head home

3. I have not seen so many Soviet Lada cars since “From Russia With Love”

As would be expected on your first night in Kiev me and my new friend Maria headed to a pizza shop. Containing my urge to order a Vesper, shaken not stirred, we sat in the warm night and chatted, indulging in the sights, sounds, smells and colors of the bustling city below. As life flowed on in what seemed like such a laxed pace so did time and soon it was time to make like Anastasia and hit the rails. Taking a train in this area has been a dream for a while, and it did not disappoint. Truly feeling like the last, lost heir to the Russian throne I headed off into the Ukrainian sunset.

My train compartment contained me and my travel buddy West and my soon to be friend Ivan (how awesome is that btw). As always communication was hard, and we began to talk in broken and simplistic language. But we didn’t care as this human interaction seemed to brighten both our trips. Although we didn’t understand much of what each person said, on word was crystal clear to us both. Beer. And as we headed west with a smile on our face and a beer in our hand I think we both thought to ourselves “We aint all that different, my friend”

My long travels were nearly over and my real adventure was just about to begin. As I sat in the bus station, surrounded by smiling venders, playing children, businessmen enjoying their early morning vodka before their commute to work and signs that looked like someone had accidentally changed the settings to wing dings, I wondered just what I had gotten myself into this time. But that was about to change dramatically.

So it’s hard to comprehend myself, let alone explain, just how at home you can feel when you are so far from where you actually live. And not just in a manner f distance. But such is the awesome power of friendship and human spirit. The moment I stepped of the rickety old bus into a humid and rainy Swityaz, I was met by a deluge of smiles and loving hugs. I instantly felt welcomed into an atmosphere that can only be described as incredible. I believe family is very relative term, and to me there was no stronger family in the world than what these foreigners, children, teens, leaders and followers, orphans and presidents alike had forged together. And even though I had arrived late, I never felt like I had missed a thing.

Till next time, stay safe and keep smiling.

Benny G