Things alike and different

When I am traveling in a foreign country, I am first struck by the things that are different.  They are easy to remember because what is normal here would seem out of place at home. After that, what registers is that there are so many things that are familiar.

Take the way we dress. So often when I travel, it is easy to tell Americans apart from these native to where you are visiting,  Here, not so much. Driven by the weather, jeans, stocking caps and puffy jackets are just as popular with the Ukrainian as they are with the Americans.  

The countryside as you drive across the Ukraine is also familiar.  It is just as flat as western Kansas. The buildings in the towns are different in construction but the layout of the farms with their farm machinery are quite familiar.  But the homes that were destroyed houses during ground combat are different. They maybe similar to towns hit by tornados, but different in that many were blown up from within by rockets or tank shells. In many of these towns, most of the buildings are destroyed or are still uninhabited. For the ones that are inhabited, they may have no electricity or heat except wood stoves. Electrical, heating and water infrastructure were primary Russian targets. In some of the  formerly occupied towns, partially repaired houses have blossomed along with fields greening with canola crops. They make me smile. 

I wish that these towns could all be restored to normal, but that will take a successful ending of the war. Thanks for following along with me and please pray for and support the people of the Ukraine.