Olga.

Olga works in the small shop nearby. I go into her shop almost everyday on my way home. I buy small things. Some sweets. Noodles. A bar of soap. But my favourite thing to buy there is cider.

Olga always seems so alone in this small shop.

Today, I asked her about the different phone cards she had on display and we got a chance to chat.

She is from Russia. Her husband who I often see in the shop is from Syria. They have been married for 26 years. They are both engineers and her husband studied for his Phd in Russia and thats how they met. They moved to the Ukriane first before moving here. They have one son who attends the technical University, also studying to be an engineer.

This is how life is, she said. She says her husband regrets studying for so many years and now...this is what it has come to. A small shop. She never thought this would be her life, but this is what it is now. This small shop. She is happy she did not waste so much time studying...like her husband.

Well, there you have it.