Predictable

So the other night an 'expatriaton consultant' came to meet with me (apparently disgruntled spouses are the #1 cause of ex-pat assignment failures).  She ended up staying for ~3 hours - spent at least 50% of the time talking about her boyfriend that lives in the States.....then took me through a handy binder with facts about Ukraine, self assessment tools etc.  One chart showed the 'stages of the expatriation process'....it graphed morale over time & showed that at the beginning it is common to be in a 'isn't this novel' euphoria, then followed by a "WTF were we thinking" abyss, ultimately rebounding into some sort of moderate satisfaction.  Here I had been thinking I was doing fabulously - feeling entertained vs. annoyed by my constant miscommunication, enjoying the daily 'taste offs' of one kind or another, totally convinced I will be able to speak Russian some day etc.  Come to find out, I am being TOTALLY PREDICTABLE!  Agh...


So I figure I'd better share some of the entertaining highlights before the emotional abyss:

Bureaucracy & the Wild West: One thing I find entertaining is the extremes that are daily life here.  Many simple tasks are plagued with bureaucracy.....paying a water bill requires getting a form, reading your meter, calculating the cost, writing it in, taking that to an office and paying in cash.  Driving a car requires monthly forms to be completed, notarized & posted in your vehicle. 

In contrast, there are other areas no one seems to pay much mind - stray dogs roaming the street everywhere....

and if you can't find a parking spot, don't fret - just pull onto the sidewalk!....

Absolute Outfit Freedom: I'm working on my stealth photography to share the fabulousness that are the outfits around here.....net, net - you do NOT have to worry about petty things like matching, if you are too old for your outfit, if it reveals too much etc.  ANYTHING GOES!

Cute & happy (mostly) kids