A Review of Ukraine for Vova

I recently fulfilled an adolescent whim by living in Kyiv for three months straight. Before I boarded my casual 24 hour train across the border a friend asked me to review his country. and so here it is.

Why I always wanted to go to Ukraine:

Undoubtedly in response to USSR History lessons in my Western Catholic School, heartily sandwiched between a notorious timetable of theology and textiles. Those were the days.

Why I like Ukraine:

The culture is complicated. I don’t know the rules and neither do they. It’s a big far eastern country with an intimidating Russian presence, not quite in the European cake tin. But not quite in anybody else’s either.  

Both alphabets are beautiful. I liked the trains. The food was surprisingly delicious. Of course they know how to drink. There are interesting things to see and interesting things to do. But Ukraine is special in itself. The people seem inwardly stubborn and keep to their own time. Twenty years on and it still feels on the brink. Things can begin in Ukraine. They do in fact have some raw resources. The government is absurd and takes the piss so bad that the state’s golden brains leave the country for renewed lives. But I respect Ukraine for its potential strength.

My own experience was a warm one. The people were very good to me and I will never forget it.

What I will miss about Ukraine:

Kyiv’s Underground ●

Soviet Architecture. It’s different for me ●

Spying on community dynamics in Over Night trains from my Bunker ●

Home made Varenki ●
Sitting in Puzata Hata minding my own business ●
Sitting in pubs and cafes with Marina ●

Various hot potato dishes with sour cream ●

Ukrainian food generally ●

Being given presents ●

The cities’ skylines ●

Being surprised ●

The sound of the languages ●

Diversity between its East and West ●

An abundance of trees. Kyiv’s a Jungle City ●
Kind Hearts ●

What I will not miss about Ukraine:

Society’s underlying homophobia and other conservative attitudes (forgive this generalisation, my friends) ●

Being yelled at by old women for no apparent reason ●

Dreading being asked an unguessable question at the supermarket check out ●

A distinct lack of organisation ●