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‘I’ll Never Be the Same’: My Ukrainian Wife’s First Trip to the United States
The Daily Signal ^ | November 02, 2018 | Nolan Peterson

Posted on 11/03/2018 12:06:03 PM PDT by AFreeBird

KYIV, Ukraine—How do you measure America’s greatness?

By the size of its economy, or the strength of its military?

By the height of its city skylines, or the audacity of the moon landings?

Perhaps, by the heroism of the Marines who landed on Iwo Jima, or of the Army soldiers who landed on Omaha Beach?

Maybe. But America’s greatness is not always measured like in the movies or a campaign speech. Sometimes, an anonymous act of gratitude is proof enough, even if we, as Americans, don’t always see it that way.

In August, my wife, Lilya, and I were at dinner in Geyserville, California, with my younger brother, Drew, and his girlfriend, Gabrielle.

We’d been wine tasting all afternoon and had rounded off the day with a few cocktails to boot. Feeling a bit loosened up, my brother and I, as is our habit, slipped into a familiar topic of conversation—the war in Afghanistan.

You see, both Drew and I are U.S. military veterans. And, naturally, we get to talking about our wartime experiences whenever we’re together. Often a bit too loudly, as Lilya and Gabrielle gently suggested on that night in Geyserville.

....

(Excerpt) Read more at dailysignal.com ...


TOPICS:
KEYWORDS: america; celebration; great; greatness; ukrainian
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To: missthethunder

Yea.. I’ll admit my screen got a little blurry... might be a technical glitch....


21 posted on 11/03/2018 12:36:41 PM PDT by AFreeBird
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To: AFreeBird

Very nice. Thanks for posting!


22 posted on 11/03/2018 12:49:05 PM PDT by Nevadan
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To: AFreeBird

Americans are a different breed, and we are sometimes unaware until we visit other countries or foreigners visit us. I’ve had the privilege of serving on medical teams with my church in India, and the lower castes were aghast when we would kneel down and tend to foot wounds or take the first one in line, regardless of background. When traveling in Russia to adopt, our guide was shocked to learn that many Americans would love to adopt children without consideration of race, and we were shocked to hear his ongoing blatant unrestrained racist tirades. A German woman from our church told us her family was brought to tears because we sent some sympathy cards, without personally knowing the family. And I learned in a Paris airport that not all men will help a strange lady retrieve her heavy luggage, something I think we ladies take for granted here. This truly is an American quality. I had not realized it was rare until I became more well traveled.


23 posted on 11/03/2018 12:54:25 PM PDT by keats5
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To: AFreeBird

What an inspiring article. Thank you for posting it.

We need more positive reminders in life.


24 posted on 11/03/2018 12:54:57 PM PDT by HollyB
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To: CondoleezzaProtege

He took her to a lot of places. What a magnificent trip.


25 posted on 11/03/2018 12:55:48 PM PDT by HollyB
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To: AFreeBird

Cool story. USAF enlisted Veteran here...


26 posted on 11/03/2018 12:57:43 PM PDT by EEGator
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To: AFreeBird
“This is the greatest country in the world. But most Americans don’t know it.”

My husband and I are both immigrants (legal!) and we say the same thing over and over. It takes a "Lilya" to see how truly great America is. Thanks for posting this article,.
27 posted on 11/03/2018 1:02:09 PM PDT by georgiegirl (Count me Deplorable)
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To: AFreeBird

Without missing a beat, Lilya replied: “This is the greatest country in the world. But most Americans don’t know it.”

Yea, too many don’t understand.

><><

And it is so sad and such a shame.


28 posted on 11/03/2018 1:06:57 PM PDT by laplata (The Left/Progressives have diseased minds.)
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To: AFreeBird

I immediately thought of my next door neighbors, immigrants from the Soviet Union. They were Russian Refuseniks who finally got out in the period of Glasnost and Perestroika. The are ultra proud Americans now and their son graduated from Harvard with a full scholarship.


29 posted on 11/03/2018 1:15:24 PM PDT by higgmeister ( In the Shadow of The Big Chicken)
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To: AFreeBird

Thanks for posting this! I pray that God will always bless America.


30 posted on 11/03/2018 1:18:02 PM PDT by outofsalt (If history teaches us anything, it's that history rarely teaches us anything.)
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To: AFreeBird
She does seem tickled pink.


31 posted on 11/03/2018 1:32:18 PM PDT by BeauBo
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To: higgmeister

My GF/SO used to live next door to a Ukrainian family. Hubby was a physicist in the old country. His wife, whom we later learned had lukemia, died several months later after they had moved in. Very sad. He was a great guy loved to grill out.

My GF moved away and we lost track of him. He did share with us his recipe for Ukrainian (Russian borscht is shit - his words) borscht. And a batch he made. Outstanding meal.

Despite the loss of his wife, he was making the most of his new country.


32 posted on 11/03/2018 1:35:39 PM PDT by AFreeBird
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To: AFreeBird
Without missing a beat, Lilya replied: “This is the greatest country in the world. But most Americans don’t know it.”

Didn't grow up here and have traveled the world. I certainly understand the above statement. However, you can't fix American attitudes. I've tried.

33 posted on 11/03/2018 1:37:02 PM PDT by MeneMeneTekelUpharsin (Freedom is the freedom to discipline yourself so others don't have to do it for you.)
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To: AFreeBird

leftards are too stupid to know what 8000 illegal aliens marching thru Mexico know - that what a great country America is.


34 posted on 11/03/2018 1:37:44 PM PDT by mjp ((pro-{God, reality, reason, egoism, individualism, natural rights, limited government, capitalism}))
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To: MeneMeneTekelUpharsin

It can be a slow and sometimes painful process.


35 posted on 11/03/2018 1:38:38 PM PDT by AFreeBird
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To: Yaelle

I saw a meme that said something like:

“If you’re reading this you probably didn’t win the Powerball lottery. But you did wake up in America. Which is pretty much the same thing.”


36 posted on 11/03/2018 1:42:16 PM PDT by 21twelve (!)
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To: AFreeBird

Too many Americans don’t even want to MAGA.

They’re called DemocRATS.


37 posted on 11/03/2018 1:49:33 PM PDT by 353FMG
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To: Steely Tom

“I let her take my window seat when we were on final approach. I stood in the aisle and watched her.” You stood in the aisle on final approach?


38 posted on 11/03/2018 1:50:13 PM PDT by FreedomNotSafety
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To: CondoleezzaProtege

Maybe part of the problems is ignoring the cesspools in our society. If we avoid the truth and tell others to do likewise, the cancer remains and will grow.


39 posted on 11/03/2018 1:51:51 PM PDT by Kirkwood (Zombie Hunter)
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.


40 posted on 11/03/2018 1:58:04 PM PDT by TADSLOS (I hate Russian Dolls. They are so full of themselves.)
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