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My First Minutes In Ukraine Demonstrated The Positive Spirit Of the People

With the negative news invading my feed, I try to think of better times

Ash Jurberg
6 min readMar 5, 2022
Image taken by author

I looked down at the man on the ground, worried that I had injured him and he would want revenge.

He was over six feet tall, with a shaved head and tattoos, and his biceps were bigger than my legs. I had accidentally crashed into him, sending him sprawling. I had nearly taken out his wife and young child also.

I had been in Kyiv, Ukraine, for less than a minute, and I was about to cause an international incident.

As the man stood, I was scared. He could punch me or perhaps try and get me arrested. This was not how my trip was supposed to begin.

I stooped down almost in deference and kept mumbling sorry, sorry, sorry. Finally, the man stepped forward, shook my hand, and with a wry smile, said, "OK."

He then collected his wife and children and walked off.

Welcome to Ukraine.

A brief interlude from the news

The last few weeks have been a constant barrage of news on the sad situation unfolding in Ukraine. It is devastating to watch as much of the world looks on helplessly.

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Ash Jurberg
Ash Jurberg

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