Simferopol, Ukraine

Hitchhiking in Ukraine works like this: those who hold their hands out, their palms down, want to pay for a ride, those who stick their thumbs out as we do in America want a free ride. A young man with his thumb out catches my eye. Okay, why not, what can I lose? I roll down the window. “Hello,” I say. “Do you speak English?” “Yes, a little,” the young man says excitedly. “I’m going to Simferopol,” I say. “Good, good, we go there too.” Then I notice the woman and the dog. “My wife and dog — is okay?” Oh my god, what am I getting myself into? “No problem. Kevin a good dog.” I hesitate, quickly trying to size them up. They look harmless enough. “I tell you about this country,” the young man says, smiling beseechingly through the window. I relent, “Okay, get in.” The young woman, the dog, and their two big bags go in the back seat. The young man jumps in the front seat.

My Hippy Friends

“Don’t speak very good English just what I learned in school. My wife doesn’t speak any English. Her name is Olga. I’m Demitri. This is our dog, Kevin — You know, like Kevin Costner, the movie star. We’re going to the Rainbow Gathering. It’s in western Ukraine this year. People from Ukraine, Belarus, Poland, and Moldova will be there. It’s about peace, love, and freedom. It started in the U.S. with the hippies. I guess we’re hippies. It’s an opportunity to meet others like us, be with nature, and learn new things. I want to learn pottery making and yoga. I will teach people how to play the drums and Olga teach them how to make jewelry. We come from a big smelly city in Russia. Since March, we live in Ukraine. It’s a better country than Russia. It’s freer here. It’s neither Russian nor European — something in between. Russia is a totalitarian state. Putin is a dictator. Most people in Russia don’t like him. He has lots of money to throw around and that’s how he wins elections. You know, the head of the Orthodox Church, the patriarch, he also very rich, very powerful — tells people what to do. It’s bad the way they treat homosexuals. I don’t like any of it. I’m an atheist and a naturalist and that’s why we want to live here in Ukraine. We love nature, peace, friendship, and adventure too. When we’re not doing something like this, I work as a tour guide for Russians visiting the Crimea. Olga and I don’t need much to live on.”