I have gotten myself lost in this labyrinthian city several times since last weekend, and yesterday lamented to Olga that I didn't have a compass. The sun, which would provide some direction to me, has been out only rarely.
This morning as we walked through the underground marketplace near the Schulyavska, we passed a little kiosk selling pocketknives, lighters, small tools and the like, and Olga inquired about a compass. The eager vendor showed us several, from bulbous compasses to attach to the dashboard of a car, to a green camoflauge colored military style with popout sights and map reading devices. Finally he showed us a small little pocket compass with a key ring for ten hryvnia. I bought two--a blue one for me and a red one for Olga's little grandson. I thought I was now in the navigation business.
As we continued our walk to the campus of Kyiv International University, I asked Olga what direction we were traveling, and we got out our two new compasses to check. It now appeared that her north was about 45 to 60 degrees different from my north. Olga told me that when something is broken or not working properly, one commonly calls it китайский, or "Chinese."
In both of my lectures today, when talking about the need for the advocate to connect with the jury on the human or "common sense" level, I pulled out my new китайский компас (Chinese compass) to show the classes. I told them that as attorneys arguing their cases, they needed to be themselves, be honest and forthright with the jury, and not imitate or pretend to be someone else. Thus they will be aligned to a true north.
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