:: What a country! ::

Wednesday, February 23, 2005

A water cooler conversation with a coworker from the Ukraine:

A: You look sick.
M: I am sick. Are you feeling any better?
A: A little, but I've given up hope of getting entirely well this winter.
M: Yes, our office has no ventilation - it's a germ colony.
A: It reminds me of the old Soviet trains. You would ride for hours in cramped overcrowded cars and you could not open the windows. If you rode the trains in the winter, you would get sick.
M: Are you saying we're no better off here than in a Soviet-era rail car?
A: It's... [long, thoughtful pause]... a little better.

This is not the first time I have been amused by his deadpan and cynical of humor:

A: In the Ukraine, they used to have rolling blackouts because we could not produce enough electricity to meet our needs. In most of the housing complexes, you could not depend on the elevators to run. It was a problem, because many of the buildings were 20 stories tall.
M: What about the people on the upper floors?
A: They were in good shape.
M: What about the elderly?
A: They were in very good shape.

Posted by morland @ 06:01 PM

:: Comments ::

In my country there is problem.

Posted by: Borat on February 24, 2005 09:51 AM

Are you sure your "coworker" isn't a certain awesome comedian that owns his own version of the American Dream in Branson, Mo?

That's what I thought.

Posted by: Ernie Patchwick on February 24, 2005 11:06 AM

- Post a comment -

« I do-thousand five | Main | Summers of my discontent »