Dana L. Yeoman, DDS
Dentures and Implants
The Power of a Smile to Transcend Borders Part 9
Site last published: 10/04/10
The Power of a Smile to Transcend Borders Part 9
One dark night, Vicki and I went out on a quest in the woods to find a Yozhik. She had heard they lived in the forests in Ukraine and she wanted to see one. I didn’t know what she was talking about, but I was always game for an adventure. A young Ukrainian man named Sergei accompanied us, presumably to keep us from getting lost in the woods or else being eaten by wild yozhiks. I asked Vicki again what it was we were looking for. She told me the name of the animal and I practiced it a few times. Then, just because I felt like being silly, I started calling it like I would call a kitty, “Here yozhik, yozhik, yozhik!”
I noticed a smirk on the young fellow’s face. I was undeterred. I called again, “Here yozshik!” The more I called for the yozhik, the more Sergei would laugh until finally he was doubled over crying in hysteria.
In his broken English, I learned that we crazy Americans were pronouncing the name wrong and calling out loud for donkeys. The whole idea of wandering the forest at night calling for a donkey was the funniest thing Sergei had ever heard. We were obviously a huge source of comedy for this young fellow.
Enjoying the joke on ourselves but still determined to find a yozhik, Vicki described what she was looking for. Through his tears of laughter, Sergei corrected our pronunciation. Since I was already labeled a crazy American, I started calling out loud again.
Through fits of being unable to breathe, Sergei blurted out, “Yozhik wild animal! You no can call wild animal!”
Looking back, I noticed that Sergei hung around us more in the subsequent evenings, probably hoping to get another glimpse at what these ridiculous Americans were going to do next. I am sure he had a ton of stories to take back to his friends, and they would all laugh and be glad they were born in the Ukraine where people were sensible enough not to search for donkeys in the woods at night.
Half an hour later, in my pajamas with a toothbrush in my mouth, I heard a gaggle of girls screaming from the living room. Racing down the hall to see the source of the commotion, I found Sergei standing in the middle of the room with a protesting yozhik wrapped up like a threatening ball inside a sweatshirt. The fierce little growling noises coming from the critter was almost comical. When the girls finally quit screaming, Sergei set it down. In a circle, everyone leaned in to see. When it bristled, it doubled in size. The girls standing closest jumped to keep their feet as far away as possible. Still, curiosity kept them from bolting away altogether. We looked like a human teepee, leaning in with our heads nearly touching in order to see. With beady black eyes, the wild animal continued to look upon the world with miniature defiance.
Yozhik was in the building.