My Ukrainian Roommate

Two years ago, Ukraine was just a country next to Russia. I had no clue what Ukrainian people looked like, what they ate, or anything about their culture. That is until I met one of my closest friends, Olya.

Olya is not an American citizen, she is instead an Ukrainian citizen born in Ternapol, Ukraine. She moved to the United States as a child, yet her parents held roots to their Ukrainian background and heritage. She speaks fluent Ukrainian with an extremely thick accent. Not only were her cultural traditions different from my American ones but also from my Hispanic ones. 

Olya speaks Ukrainian to her parents, where I speak Spanish to my grandma. The first time I heard her speak Ukrainian to her mom on the phone was a completely new experience for me, personally. Olya and I were roommates with another one of our friends and her and her mother had gotten into a heated argument. I looked at my other roommate shocked that she was speaking another language, even though I knew she could fluently speak Ukrainian. Sometimes because I live in Rhode Island, I forget that there are other languages and cultures out there. I don't forget my Hispanic background and my grandmother really only speaking Spanish to me, but that was a norm for me. Whereas Ukrainian was not a norm for me. Ukrainian, the language, is actually a beautiful Slavic language. I would have never known that if I hadn't heard her speaking.

Throughout the year Olya would bring Ukrainian food back to our room after she got back from being on break at home. I'll never forget my first Ukrainian perohy. I had eaten "American" versions of a pierogi, but this was authentic and homemade. It was delicious. I encourage everyone to try "Americanized" versions of food made by someone from the country. I guarantee that the dish will be even better made the original way.

I loved living with Olya. She opened me up to the fact that there are other cultures out there that are just as interesting as mine. I showed her empanadas and she showed me her version of them. Each different but great in their own way. I really think food and language can bring people together and they can open up your eyes to a new experience. It was great that we were friends and could talk about it afterwards and not worry about having to offend the other. It widdened my worldview and I'm so glad I got to have this experience with one of my close friends.