It's here. It's really, really here. In all of its green-sprouting, thunder-storming, sun-shining, shorts-wearing glory, Spring has finally made its self comfortable once again here in Ukraine. And, imagine my surprise when I noticed plenty of cherry and apricot blossoms to announce its presence! Man, how it takes me back to those chilly Hokkaido spring hanami parties back in Japan...
An added marker of spring here in Ukraine is the annual суботник (pronounced subbotnik), a Saturday devoted to some hard core spring cleaning. Originally created by the Bolsheviks during their reign, subbotniks were scheduled public workdays, usually on Saturdays, devoted to cleaning the streets, fixing broken structures, painting fences and playgrounds, and the like, and were required of all individuals to perform without pay. Quite the bang for the Bolshevik buck--or ruble, I might add! These forced voluntary work days were a staple of Soviet times, but today can only really be seen on the weekend after Easter as communities clean up and welcome the new season.
Walking through my block with the smell of freshly painted jungle gyms and apartment doors, and among the carefully cultivated gardens and flower beds and thoroughly swept walkways and paths (all of that, of course, anchored by rows of crisp laundry waving on the lines and the above-mentioned flowering trees poking out of every corner), it's hard to be more than just a little excited that the long, terrible winter has packed it's bags for good.
Now, did somebody mention a little hanami?
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