http://www.AgnesPages.typepad.com: odessa

I've never been to Odessa. Or anywhere in the Ukraine for that matter.

But of all places, that's where my mom and dad met, back in the day. Neither of them is from there but they happened to be living there at the same time. My mom got pregnant with me in Odessa but she had me in Hungary. Globe trotting seems to run in my family's genes in case you haven't noticed.

A few years after my mom died, my dad went back to Odessa, just for that bittersweet trip down memory lane. He fell in love again, with his now wife. Who is also n-o-t Ukrainian. No one in my family is Ukrainian but they all seem to gravitate there for some mysterious reason. And fall in love! It must be really beautiful there.

Ironically, Geoff's great-grandparents were from Odessa. They decided to come to America in search of a better life but when their boat dropped them off in Liverpool telling them it was New York, they couldn't tell the difference. I am guessing at some point they must have realized they were in England, decided to stay and that's how Geoff ended up being British for the first 13 years of his life.

My good friend Lucky's parents are Ukrainian.

What is it about the Ukraine?

Why does something Ukraine-related keep popping up everywhere I go?

I wanna go there.

Agnes

EDIT: I think it's technically "Ukraine" not "the Ukraine" but for some reason it sounds funny to me without the "the". Weird.