The Ukrainian Post Office

It’s like Disneyland but with only the waiting in line part. Yet, Disneyland makes more sense because you’ll wait in line for an hour with one hundred people in front of you, and here you’ll wait in line for an hour with just two people in front of you.  Coincidentally, the same preparations can be made for visiting a Disney park as a Ukrainian post office. Dress in layers, comfortable footwear is ideal, water is absolutely necessary, and a snack will provide that extra bit of sustenance during a hard-hitting time of energy depletion. 

After the first 30 minutes of waiting, the anxiety starts to set in. At Disney the voice in your head may sound like “Am I cut out for this ride? No, I can’t back out now, I’ve waited too long for this”. At the post office it’s more like, “Am I standing in the right line? No, I can’t back out now, I’ve waited too long for this.” Just when I think I must be part of some sick social experiment- that I will never make it to the teller and everyone around me is a low-paid actor waiting for me to publicly breakdown, the person in front of me finishes and my time has come. 

This is it: time to step onto the ride, mouth dry, legs shaking.  It’s the same feeling as I take my final steps to the counter. I regain my confidence “If that person can do it, I can do it too.” I find the words I had been rehearsing for the last hour and I communicate with a real person and it’s amazing and I’m doing it! In the end it wasn’t so scary but I need some time to rest before doing it again.