Ukraine is awesome, I like it a lot. Everyone asks: So, why Ukraine? I don’t really have a good answer. I’m in a city of about 5 million people. I think. Lonely planet says 6 million. Some of the locals say it was 6, but now with the poor economy many have returned back to their regional cities and the countryside, so right now there is only about 3 or 4 million. There is a pretty good metro system, if you read Cyrillic alphabet, but I’m improving at it. The people here are very friendly if they speak English. All the AIESEC members and their families I’ve encountered so far are very generous and kind. They’ll do anything for you, even if it’s out of their way or they can’t afford it. You really have to insist that they don’t sometimes. They money is crazy too. Everything is about a third of the price of things in Canada, or cheaper. Food costs a lot less at the grocery store, a subway ride is about 30 cents Canadian, and a meal at a restaurant, with side salad and a beer is only $4.
Things are cheaper but it comes with a price. Most of Ukraine is still developing, with only a few modern things around. Technically it’s a “second world” country. You can’t drink the tap water. People sell meet out of their car everywhere, and you have to buy produce from poor old ladies who travel in from the countryside everyday and sell it on the street. There are regions of the city without hot water for a couple weeks at a time, like our neighbourhood right now for example...
Our apartment is absolutely hilarious. When we first arrived we couldn’t stop laughing, but thought it would be good to stay here because of the experience. It’s soviet style, and nothing has changed in here since the 1970’s I don’t think. It’s like living in a museum. They were going to try to find another place with hot water, but it will be back in a couple weeks, and it’s a really good location. We’re on the second floor of a big apartment block. We face the back, so no traffic or noise. There are 2 bedrooms, a small kitchen, shower/toilet, and living room. We have a small deck too, and glassed in porch.
The meat vendors outside our apartment that sell (hopefully pork) meat from their car
I’m sharing a room with a guy from Germany who’s studying in the US at Brown. He’s doing an internship with a political NGO but not an AIESEC intern, he just knows a guy from Kiev. There’s a guy from Mexico and a guy from India who sleep in the living room on a bed and the “couch”, and the girls from Poland and India share the other bedroom.
Stuff is pretty close. There is a grocery store in the first floor, and lots of vendors around selling meat or fruits and vegetables. The metro station is only 1 block away, and so is the main street leading to the city centre. It’s in a student neighbourhood, close to the biggest school, Kiev Polytechnic Institute. There are lots of vendors, shops, and restaurants around the metro station. Right now, it’s only one stop to work at the school, but that will change every two weeks as we move around to a different school. It’s only one stop to the AIESEC office (and the internet), and a few stops to the city centre and Revolution square.
When we first arrived in the flat, it was definitely an experience. Everything we touched broke. Everything we opened was a hilarious surprise of personal items left behind from the previous owner. Every gasp, or “oh no”, is still assumed to be something dead or almost dead, but nothing like that yet. We threw out a lot, and put a lot of the nic-nacs up and around. The rug on the wall is now a nice rug on the floor. There are lots of tools, irons, wash boards, and paintings from the 1960’s for us.
We have forgone most of the modern amenities of a flat in Canada. There is no cold water for at least another 10 days. It’s not so bad, because with six people and one shower it’s good to take quick showers. I also have done a load of laundry since I arrived. I boiled water on the stove in two large kettles. I did two weeks of laundry by hand in a bucket on the bathroom floor. I rinsed everything five times in cold water in the tub, and hung it all out to dry on the lines on our balcony. I ached so much after. You really should appreciate your washing machine. The interns from India and the locals got a big kick out of it because it’s normal for them. They also showed me a couple tricks, it’s more complicated than you think. We also have a rotary phone, which means I can’t use my touch-tone dial only calling card. We don’t have the internet yet, but maybe sometime next week if they figure it out.
Time for sleep, even though I think the floor would be more comfortable than this mattress, but who’s complaining?
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