Swine flu epidemic in ukraine

For those of you that haven’t been watching the news, the last month or so the local scene in Ukraine has been like something out of a zombie movie or something.

With swine flu being declared an official pandemic, Ukrainians have been flung into a state of frenzied hysteria not unlike our Y2K(a total let-down). People are buying gobs of medicine off the shelves and take to the streets wearing gauze masks apparently to show their moral determination not to get swine flu. Even the local relief society has gotten together and sewed masks for everyone!

It’s a strange day when you order a happy meal from an entire crew of masked employees.

JB

Apartment search in Odessa

After about a week of constantly searching for an apartment, we have finally found a great apartment that we will be moving into tomorrow. Prices in the Odessa area are a little higher than I remember, but $400 per month for a nice apartment still is nothing like US prices.

The one that we are getting is like the 10th apartment that we have looked at, and actually the second one that we wanted. Yesterday, we found a great apartment right next to the train station(that is a good thing here as it is really cool looking) and told them that we would take it, but then this morning the landlady of the apartment called and told our agent that she would not rent to foreigners. It is a funny feeling to be discriminated against, especially by another white person- but there you have it. Generally, people dont want anyone that is foreign, especially Armenians, Aizerbaijanis, Moldovans, Turks, Jews, or anyone else that may fit into the category of “Chornie Lyudi”(Black People- which doesnt mean just african, just darker skin like Arabs).

Well, so we got back on the horse and looked at a few more today and we got a really nice one. Pictures below:

The bedroom

No, but seriously folks… here are the pictures:

Mascarade Ball at the Odessa Opera theater

Last night we had an awesome opportunity fall into our laps as we were walking around downtown and noticed a poster for an Opera performance and so we decided last minute to buy tickets.

Tickets were 70UAH(8.37USD) per person for lower balcony box seats- the best seats in the house, and we rented a pair of Soviet-era opera binoculars

I must say that the opera theater itself is BREATHTAKING. I haven’t seen such an ornate building… Anywhere. It was really cool and I felt like I should have been carrying a sword and wearing a cape.

Herbal tea on the Black Sea

Wow. Long time since the last update- After a few days of rest in Kiev after our trip to Germany, we took a night train to Odessa, which is a much shorter process to write than to accomplish. After waiting in the Train station for about 45 minutes in one line, the cashier closed her station for a break(which are indefinite here) and we had to go to the line next to it, which luckily was going much faster and we were able to get our tickets after waiting in that line for only about 30 minutes.

I think Lottie’s impression of the train is much more descriptive as it was her train ride, but for those of you that have never taken a Soviet style train before I will lay it out for you. For longer trips I always take the “Koo-peh” tickets as they are like the little compartments that you see in James Bond movies(the old ones) where you have 4 bunk beds that also double as bench seats. Because we bought our tickets with little advance notice, we were both on the top bunks. Train travel is the most efficient travel here for longer trips, especially taking a night train as you get to sleep all night and arrive well rested. For the 10 hour train ride it cost us about 150UAH each(about $18US) and included a fresh set of sheets to sleep for the night.

Waiting at the train station as we arrived, there are people with small signs that say “apartment for rent” or “room for rent” and catering to the incoming crowds. This is normally the most cost-effective way to stay in a different city as hotel stays can get expensive and are generally booked in advance. People rent apartments nightly though, and usually for a decent price. When it was realized that we were looking for an apartment, 2 ladies immediately approached me and started competing with eachother for price and amenities. After showing me photos of the apartment for rent, and a bit of bargaining on the nightly price, I was able to get a 2 bedroom apartment with a washing machine, hot water, TV, Air conditioning, full kitchen, located right in center for 200UAH per night($24US). Although this is more than I would usually pay, I really wanted a washing machine as we needed to wash our laundry from Kiev.

After locking down the price and agreeing to take it, the lady asked me where we were from. Here was the moment of truth- Generally

people can’t guess where I am from by my accent in Russian. When I told her that we were from America, she turned her head an cussed and gave me a dirty look. She then proceeded to tell me how I was cheating her and this is about how the conversation went:

Lady: “200UAH is NOTHING for this apartment! Do you know how much I rent this out for in the summer?! $80-100 US!”

Me: “Yeah, well it is NOT summer anymore.”

Lady: “I cant believe I just rented it out for so little- I see your maneuvers now!”

The apartment is pretty nice, and we have enjoyed staying here although we wont be renting it for too long- I am going to be looking for an apartment to rent monthly for under $300/mo. Also mentionable is that I have 3G right in the apartment and throughout the area- so tethering is my current source of internet right now. I will be putting together information on cost effectiveness of this as a more permanent method later.