Narrative essay on an unusual vacation
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Travelling has been a longtime passion of mine. Being a photographer, I find seeing unfamiliar places, meeting new people, and getting to know different cultures exceptionally inspiring. By the age of 32, I had already been to the majority of exotic places: the Emirates, Ethiopia, Turkey, India, Laos, Thailand, Japan, Egypt, Malaysia, New Zealand, Australia, and Cuba. So, when a friend of mine who was working as a Peace Corps volunteer in Ukraine invited me to visit him for a couple of weeks, I thought: “Why not?!” I did not know what to expect from Ukraine since I knew little about it. I usually studied up for weeks on the country that I desired to leave to, but I did not have enough time to indulge in this practice—the prices of the plane tickets shot up after a week or so. I knew that it would be an intriguing experience due to the spontaneous nature of my travel.
Ukraine turned out to be completely different from any place I had visited so far. A post-Soviet=Union country, it is still struggling to build a developed society. But being a photographer, I was far more interested in its nature, people, and sites than its politics. Ukraine appeared to be an attractive, even gorgeous country. Being slightly smaller than Texas, it is extremely diverse and is full of natural wonders that take your breath away. Kyiv, the capital city, appeared unexpectedly well-groomed, green, and wealthy. Lots of bridges across the Dnipro River, a great number of outstanding parks, a couple of botanical gardens, and many, many flowers everywhere you go. A lot friendlier than you would think. Next, we went to Western Ukraine with its own peculiar culture and atmosphere.