Oh the places we go

With most things these days, we don't really know what to expect. This "element of surprise" is particularly visible in the WC! 

Starting at the bottom, inside a fairly nice mall downtown, I was shocked to find such a basic pot...

Hmm, I'm not sure it is accurate to call it a 'pot'

Surprising in a mall, but even more surprising inside the cute kids center where Zoe just started ballet.....

 How is a girl in a tutu expected to aim into that?!

The good news - these hole toilets are pretty rare. The bad news - pots like this are fairly common...fairly basic pot - but, note the large trash can along side. 

Apparently it's fairly common to discard TP in trash cans vs down the tube - the larger the trash can, the stinker the John. Honestly makes you wish for a hole in the ground again

Moving up the chain, I came across a pot with those automatic moving plastic seat protectors (like at Chicago's Ohare airport). Was totally shocked given my estimate that 0.5% of bathrooms here even have paper covers...

To quote oprah, "One thing I know for sure" is that it is an adventure each time you pee. One friend's house has a 'powder room' off the kitchen so large, you could honestly fit a sleeper sofa in it....

(and there is no bedroom on this floor - yet it has a full shower too!)

At another friend's house, I was surprised to find their own in home urinal (or "penis holder" according to Zoe)!  

Given the number of wet seats I've sat on at home, brilliant I say!

Anyhow, here's to the joy of pleasantly surprising bathrooms and hoping you have a 'hap-pee' Wednesday (sorry, couldn't resist!)

What's news

I've come to decide that local news is disturbing in most places....must be that dirt & gore is more noteworthy than success & happiness.  Regardless why, the news here is just as disconcerting as back home.  But does have a slightly different flavor...




So while tax inspectors are still able to come & seize your files,..

....the archaic masked method is being toned down.

And basically everyone with any sort of power or influence is either a family member or close personal friend of the president.....

AND, if that wasn't enough, people are basically cutting ~8 years off of their lives via unhealthy living habits...(the beer & cigarettes while waiting for the morning bus are apparently not recommended)

But - happier news....the 'Crazy Horse' cabaret show was in town from France. 

 Apparently it is ultra provocative, almost soft-porn like..... 

And given that was the story to make the front-page, I guess we are all looking for a little escape from the depressing.


Given it would be far too depressing to sign off here, I will share some of our positive news:


Our snow is finally melting!!!!!!  

(While I keep hearing about the 80 degrees & even more mean, "I'm wearing shorts today" from Chicago, we've been chills-ville here.)   



And, I found a 'recycling center' near our house!  

(Ok - so it's a random guy at the market gathering beer bottles - but hell, it's better than landfill bound) 


AND, Possibly most exciting - discovered a fantastic Napoleon dessert here...

(it doesn't look that good because I was too busy eating it to stop and take a good shot....trust me on this one though!)




So with that - Happy Sunday & here's to happy news!    

Warsaw – who knew?!

I spent much of this past week in Warsaw, Poland for another business trip.  What a surprisingly cool city…..in some ways similar to Kyiv – but in more ways than not, different…..let’s compare:

Warsaw is like Kyiv because…….

EURO CUP FEVER: Poland & Ukraine are co-hosting the Euro Cup this spring.  Within Europe, this even feels like the Olympics….there is serious excitement about this & of course loads of licensed merchandise...

Both cities have also expanded their old stadiums to modernize and add bodies.  Warsaw’s was pretty cool looking…

...the red & white is meant to represent their national flag

Additionally, both are constructing roads / buildings day & night to get ready…..

OLD & NEW: Both cities have elements of old world charm, mixed with some more modern stuff.  That said, I was super excited about this example from Warsaw…

 This building looked just like the Wrigley Building in Chicago to me.  Either that or I’ve been away too long & am getting nostalgic

VALUE MINDED: A few of the Polish people I worked with told me about the days of communist rule…..of going to the store to only find vinegar & canned peas on the shelves - and trading ration coupon with neighbors & friends (e.g. I have enough petrol, but not enough meat this week – you?).  This helped explain why our Polish nanny in Chicago used to rinse out & re-use Zip-Lock baggies (as does our sitter here). 

This ‘value focus’ was visible with the 'low overhead' retailers....

As well as in the grocery store….no wasted boxes in the cereal aisle….

...and I suspect they rinse these out and use them for something else after at home!  Makes me feel a bit like a boob for a pantry full of lord knows what & thinking ‘we have nothing to make for dinner’!

RANDOM NON-PC: One of the last things you would describe Kyiv as is 'politically correct' - the abundance of fur coats is enough for any PETA member to cringe.  And it appears that Warsaw has the same appreciation for animals.....a display case in the airport....a full tiger skin, why not?!

And a nice polar bear.....

...there were many more - alligators, a brown bear, some turtles, and the most surprising...an elephant foot...(aren't any of these protected?!)

But from there, the 2 cities seriously diverge……if I had to sum it up, Warsaw ‘has its shit far more together’.  What does that look like?

MORE MULTINATIONAL RETAILERS:  So while Quincy would have been super excited to see this US born franchise…..

I was FAR more excited to see this non-US based one….

…BUT, I was totally denied.  The store was closed for what appeared to be a private event with some sort of red carpet coming out the door.  While my Polish is 0, it was clear they were not going to let me in despite my look of desperate longing.

So I continued on to another US based chain…..while I don’t really like this store anymore at home (way too much work), I thought it might be different in Poland.

But no –even despite the 1 letter difference in the name, it's still the same store - just as chaotic and hard to shop…..

ORDERLY INFRASTRUCTURE: The roads were very nice – smooth & new looking…..

Not only that, but the cars seemed parked exclusively in clearly marked Parking spots! 

OMG - it's even a handicap spot!  None of those in Kyiv.

And people appeared to actually follow the rules of the road - totally novel. 

When I told my cab driver I was surprised how rich Warsaw looked, he explained it was because it was not part of the Euro (thus still relatively cheap) so attracts a fair amount of International investment.

While the not being part of the Euro is true for Ukraine too, I think many multi-nationals walk away due to the grey rules and corruption (despite Poland having ~80% of Ukraine's population, it brought in ~4x the international investment - almost $200B vs ~$50B for Ukraine)  

Damn I wish Ukraine would behave so we could get H&M too!

LESS BARBIE LIKE LADIES:  A very noticeable difference was with the outfits on the women.  Now that I’ve become accustomed to night club attire round the clock, I was shocked to see a woman in A SKI COAT!!!!  

Gasp – you never see people going out like this in Kyiv.  And I saw far more flat shoes than heels.  While the men might be a little disappointed with the decrease in eye candy, I’ll take it as a sign of progress.

A HEALTHY EVOLUTION: I was pretty surprised to see a jogger running down a main city street (jogging is reserved for parks or the gym in Kyiv)….

...and again taken aback by the number of bikers.  I saw at least a dozen in 3 days - including bike messengers!

...but even more shocked to see a Salad restaurant!  Green as an entrée is a totally foreign concept here.

Net, net, Warsaw was a pretty cool city – lots of restaurants & shops, modern & neat old town etc.  I’d definitely go back for a social visit….

Here’s to Poland & hoping Ukraine can follow in its neighbor’s footsteps to being square enough to be attractive to the outside world!

Happy Friday

Hip Hip Hooray, it’s International Women’s Day!!!!

Yes, that is a NATIONAL HOLIDAY in Ukraine – businesses closed, schools out in order to spend the day honoring their women.  HOW FANTASTIC IS THAT?!?

What is that all about you might be asking…….Wikipedia is our friend, but kind of long winded – let me synthesize:

WHEN?: every March 8

WHO?: While the first one was in the US in 1909, Russia adopted it in 1917 & word seemed to spread among nearby communist & socialist countries.  In order to enjoy a day off for Women’s day, you will need to move to one of the following:

• Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Burkina Faso (has anyone even heard of that?!), Cambodia, Cuba, Georgia, Guinea-Bissau, Eritrea, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vietnam or Zambia

If you are a woman you have a few more options: China, Macedonia, Madagascar or Nepal

WHY?: It originated as a way to celebrate the social and political achievements of women, honor the martyrs etc.  Basically to say to the ladies ‘you rock!”

WHAT?: Across the board, women are given gifts of flowers & candy.  However, in some lucky countries – Ukraine!!! – everyone also get the day off!  In others, just the ladies are rewarded (in China the women get a ½ day off – damn, those guys don’t get many breaks!)

What did the holiday look like for me?  Well, I just returned from a business trip to Warsaw - and the driver who picked me up at the airport brought me flowers......

And Logan and the kids make me dinner....but while Logan reported the kids were great while I was away, the 'wheels seemed to fall off'' when I got home..

But things started to look up when we decided we'd pretend it was everyone's birthday today....

....and when daddy decided we should toast to the occasion!

So here's 3 cheers to all the women out there and making everyday as much of a holiday as you can!  

Gains & Losses

Moving to Kyiv has clearly resulted in some significant differences…..greater access to some things – and less access to others.  To illustrate this, let’s review some specific examples:

Gains

If you ever pondered what ever happened to Legg’s and basically the entire pantyhose market, wonder no more....


......It picked up moved to Ukraine too!

Honestly, I have never seen such an abundance of pantyhose – and that even includes when I interned in the hosiery department at Macy’s (I was hoping for Mens) AND when I waitressed at Coco’s donning fabulous tan colored hose daily.

Losses

I know I talk about food a lot.  I like to claim its because I’m trying to keep familiar, acceptable foods for the kids.  But it is a HUGE adjustment trying to live off only seasonal products (I don’t know how our forefathers – or parents who grew up in Minnesota did it.  Hard to imagine it has only been a generation of abundant, off-season access and we are already so spoiled).  Anyhow, I was in an indulging mood, so sprung for some fresh strawberries….(corkscrew for scale - bottle of wine to ease pain of price)

They were delish as long as you could ignore the ~$0.50/berry price ($12 for this pack!)...

...And this side of fresh asparagus set us back ~$8.  

I justified it as like a fancy restaurant price…..rationalizing purchases is a finely honed skill, you know.

You Decide

Like many things, your perspective determines the next one:

Coming from me, someone with a healthy dose of facial hair, it appears to me that there is a serious case of 'missing eyebrows' in Ukraine…..

But to a local, for whom body hair is aggressively managed (after witnessing a few too many towel-free conversations in the locker room, you might even say un-tolerated), one might say the eyebrows are merely well-shaped.

You be the judge..…

Three cheers for canned & frozen produce and not waiting till it’s time to stock up on hosiery before you come visit!

Paris: Meant to be enjoyed, not employed

In January I started a project for the firm I worked with in Chicago - GfK. This past week, that project took me to Paris for a week of consumer immersions and meetings......what I learned along the way:

What a city!  I can't believe that in my early 20s I decided Paris was over rated. While I'll be the first to admit that my judgement in my 20s was a bit suspect, I was floored with what a fab city it is.....

Shopping bonanza!  Not only is their version of Michigan avenue huge & full of fantastic shops...

...most appeared to stay open till 10 or even 11......

Absolute torture given I spent the evenings in focus group rooms instead of stores.   But at least safer for our Visa card that my 'retail finds' were trapped behind locked shop doors..

Old & fancy: The architecture is amazing. Old, yet clean and fancy buildings everywhere. Even the newspaper - cigarette stands are cute. 

OMG Pastries: given the name "French bread", we all know France has baking down. But honestly if you ever go to Paris, you MUST eat dessert at Fauchon.  The odd looking seashell inspired dessert was the most fantastic carmely goodness in a cake I've ever had...

We don't need no stinking cars: I don't think there is anywhere you need to go to in Paris that the Metro cannot take you.  While the spiderweb of lines can be a bit daunting, there is a super-easy site to figure out how to get to your destination....

....making a car totally unnecessary!  But if you insist on having your own wheels......

Bikers encouraged: Paris appears to have gone beyond welcoming bikers to downright encouraging them. The townships bought communal bikes you can rent cheaply and return to another spot....

...and even made special bike lanes on the sidewalks

....Oh, how I wanted to bike around all day shopping and eating pastries!

Wine: And to top it off, they live up to their reputation with the wine.....while I sadly spent all my dinners working, I enjoyed some wine on my air France flight back to Kyiv. Not only was the airplane wine delish, it was abundant...

....187 ml of wine serving vs a mere 150 ml serving of soda......clearly the French have their priorities straight!

Net, net, Paris is well worth a visit -- but given all its fab features, ideally a pleasure one.

Here's to pouring yourself 187ml of wine and toasting to a fantastic weekend!