I open our most recently delivered batch of boxes (the shipment from Ukraine), sneezing at the dust and trying not to get my white shirt dirty (much easier to handle things gingerly than to go get changed, no?)
I’ve previously touched on the little moments of homesickness I feel for Kyiv. It was my home for 2.5 years. But, as I unpack the few belongings we had in our apartment there that ‘made it feel like home’, I’m overcome with another wave of Ukr-sickness.
Me pregnant. No, I can't believe I am pining for this furniture either.
It’s the smell. I unpack the clothes and linen that we practically wore thin (we didn’t buy much because we knew we’d just ‘have to ship it all home’), and the smell wafts up: the smell of a life that I loved to complain about, but was pretty cool actually (especially now that I’m back in Australia and a min. $2000 flight away from Europe).
The smell of Tide washing powder, mixed with hard water tinged with heavy metal from old pipes. The smell of 24/7 central heating that was created miles away in a huge furnace on the outskirts of the city and beamed into my apartment. The smell of wooden parquet floors, built after WWII (and if you listen to the gossip, built by the hands of German POWs).
The smell of a group of wonderful friends, of being pregnant, of lovely summer days and miserable winter ones, of watching my tiny baby grow a little every day. The smell of a different life, just for a while.
It was my everday smell for over two years. And those wonderful movers managed to pack it into a box, and ship it all the way to Australia.
ETA: Holy moley I became unglamorous when pregnant. Sure haven’t reclaim any glamour. I think I will have to launch project “get glamour mojo back”. At least I’ve finally had a haircut.
Filed under: Things I miss about Kyiv, expat life, kyiv, ukraine
How wonderful! Isn’t it wonderful when a smell evokes a memory. It’s a great feeling. Thanks for all your comments of late ~ have been meaning to get back to you but stuck at work tonight so this is my best way to do it!
Hope Darwin is treating you better ~ at least their is a world of virtual friends at your fingertips!
Hi Kellie. Thanks for visiting! Oh well, hopefully I provided a 30 second diversion from working late
Darwin is treating us fine, we especially love the weather at the moment.
The smells of Ukraine – in a box. That makes me giggle. Are you surprise you miss the place or in a few months when they are covered in snow and you are warm and toasty will that totally disappear?
How sweet is your baby in that last picture! Looks like a Cabbage Patch doll!
The sweet smell of nostalgia!
Sometimes the packers get things right! How lovely to have that, for a little while at least. xox
I have to admit the smell of rusty pipes doesn’t actually sound too appealing to me. I do hope you settle into life in Darwin soon.
Missing Ukraine? You won’t be saying that come December…
Lovely! The tulips are so pretty.
The sense of smell can really take you back! Hope your new home will soon feel like “home!”
I know exactly what you mean, though now I have no sense of smell, so if the movers pack it from Oxford, I won’t be any the wiser.
Thanks for your encouraging moving comment recently, it made me feel like I might get there eventually.