Last week we asked our readers about skvozniak, that pesky draft that sends many Ukrainians running to slam doors and close windows. Ukrainians tend to think drafts are a dangerous threat to health. Westerners usually believe that drafts are as harmless as kittens. The winning response this week was from Dina Smirnova for her take on skvozniak. She wins a Dynamo Kyiv scarf and a roll of masking tape.
You take a cab in Ukraine, and the driver appears to be polite enough to ask if you mind his open windows. He is shocked when you reply that you LOVE skvozniak. Or he is not, if (like me) he thinks that skvozniak is just a fresh air. My babushka has a lot of superstitions, though skvozniak fear is not among them. She came from Russia, and I leave it up to the specialists (if they are interested, of course) to find out the roots of this phenomenon in the Slavic/world culture.
To me, it is OK to have superstition. But the less it interferes with others, the better. For those who donХt share it, the skvozniak fear is certainly in conflict with their right to breathe fresh air. You can open a window and let fresh air blow into the stuffy room only during the breaks! That is how it works at schools, at the meetings Р places were people breathe together for hours.
To make things even worse, skvozniak is not just a winter thing. Many people expand this concept to a blow of fresh air of any temperature taking place in their rooms, or even streets Р be it winter or summer.
I go outside in the winter right after a hot bath without a hat (of course, I dry my hair first). And I look for skvozniaks Р they are so refreshing!
Р Dina Smirnova
In 1971, I was graduating from high school and turning 18 years old. I was told to avoid the draft by many people. Those who could not avoid the draft went to a warmer place for awhile (like Vietnam, I think). Fortunately, President Nixon ended the draft (lots of foam insulation, I suppose), and the fear went away throughout America. I know that the draft never ended in Ukraine. Many people, especially young boys and their mothers, fear the draft in Ukr . . . what? Huh? Oh, you mean, like air? . . . Nevermind.
Р Brian Propp
I have to side with my Ukrainian brethren on this one. I am personally terrified of the draft. Flashback induced stories from my uncles, relating the horrors of ХNam still send shivers down my spine. None of us is immune to the debilitating mental anguish that comes with taking another humanХs life in the heat of battle. Ask a man with no legs from the knees down wearing an American flag for a headband if the draft is a silly superstition. Heed my warning and take the proper precautions: Flee to Canada. There are plenty of Ukrainians there to drink vodka and talk ТskvozniakУ with.
Р Steve Burnham
Why is Ukraine/Russia the only place in the world where the draft is so deadly? Chalk one up for nutty slavicisms.
Р Ty Jaegerson
IХm sure the author hasnХt yet got his share of the Тfresh breezeУ since he seems to easily operate his computer keyboard. ItХll be quite different, believe me, when he eventually catches it. But we will hardly hear about it, unless he hires a secretary to type it down for him.
Р Victor Sabodazh
It was a hot summer evening. The stillness of the nature seemed unbearable. One could hardly breathe. It was impossible even to think of sleeping, especially in a ТwarmУ and cozy bed.
At midnight, tired of the TV and newspapers, I got an idea and decided to make myself comfortable on the floor. For better airing purposes I opened the door of the room and a balcony door. I could feel at least a slight breeze, lying there in the middle of the room and gradually falling asleep.
Bright morning sun and loud birdsХ chirping awakened me quite early. And what a morning it was: The first movement I tried to undertake made me scream! My back was pierced by a hundred painful arrows running through my muscles! I could not breathe, I could not lift my legs, and certainly couldnХt get up!
To make a long story short, I tell you, the consequences of my Тfresh nightУ experience had been cured after two weeks of intense medication. So, IS DRAFT AN ISSUE???
Р Julia Skidan
Is the skvozniak a dangerous threat capable of debilitating any human who fails to take precautions? Or is it just a silly superstition? As usual, you pose silly questions with two silly extreme options. As usual, the truth is in the middle.
1. Skvozniak is DEFINITELY NOT a dangerous threat capable of debilitating ANY human who fails to take precautions.
2. And also itХs DEFINITELY NOT just a silly superstition. Cases differ. Now a skvozniak in the morning makes me sneeze till the noon. Why donХt you try some real question? Good luck.
Р Vasyl Shuba
