She captured Ukraine in writing.

I am a people-watcher. Not by profession obviously, but if it could be a profession, I'd be really, really good at my job. I don't know if it's appropriate to list as a "hobby" on a get-to-know-you questionnaire or a job application, but nonetheless, it is one of my favorite things to do. So it's not hard to guess why airports are some of my favorite places or understand why going to different places around the world thrills me.

I've especially loved people-watching since being in Ukraine. I often find myself thinking about people, "They live here. They sleep on a bed in some house or apartment somewhere. They cry, they smile, they get sick, they love, they get broken-hearted." And since being here, I find myself wondering the most often about how the Soviet Union effected these people - what it did to their families, how it has effected them individually. There are so many facets to a "cultural experience" but I think the people are at the heart of it.

The immensity of the world baffles me and I am constantly amazed that life exists beyond my own little sphere. As cliche as that may sound, I am often (or more than often) so caught up in the goings-on of my own life and the lives of my family and friends that I forget that life exists in other parts of the world. Call it naivete or lack of experience or self-centeredness, but sometimes it is beyond my comprehension that somewhere, in some part of the world, there is a young woman gathering apples off the ground in the forest and selling them on the street in order to save enough money to go do missionary work.

I've not quite grasped how to put into words the things I have seen and experienced. Sure, I blog and feel somewhat articulate in what I write, but I think I have yet to achieve eloquence. So when I came across this piece that was featured in the Deseret News recently, I was grateful for someone else's ability to be so eloquent and expressive.

It was written by a darling girl who I've recently had the pleasure of becoming acquainted and who I hope continues to write things as beautiful as this. If she were to write a book, I'd be the first to buy it (ok, maybe the second - behind her mother of course). But it puts into words things I have become very familiar with but have yet been able to properly capture in words. I think it will paint you the perfect picture of the place I currently call home.

Thank you, Danielle for your amazingly written essay. To me, it is the essence of Ukraine.