Temporary Re-patriation

Today we set out for a summer trip back home……

...the kids are all getting quite skilled rolling large suitcases – today several are going empty – to be loaded up for the return.

After a year of new, different & unusual, the list of what we are looking forward to reuniting with is long.  That said, before we start visiting friends & photographing fountain sodas, there are also several things I will miss about our ‘quirky Kyiv’.....

Parking Freedom: It is perfectly liberating to be able to park wherever you can fit your car.  If a parking attendant happens to come by when you park, you cough up the ~$1/hour.  If not, it’s free.  No tickets, no tow trucks, no drama.  Love it!

Outfit Expression: It’s more fun to walk out the door when you are greeted with such a range of outfits.  Sporty, sexy, ‘babushka’, 1980s….we have it all!  

No need to worry about your own outfit.  Seems anything goes.

‘Babushka Market’: Farm fresh produce stands abound & the cluster of ‘babushka stands’ right near my house are fantastic.  It’s like a farmers market everyday.  Add the random clothing, shoes & housewares stalls & you can almost convince yourself you don’t need the big box retailers

(Zoe and her friend modeling the matching undies they picked out at the market when we stopped for fruit)

Turning a liability (no non-stop flights from Kyiv to Chicago) into an asset, we are stopping in London for a few days en route.  The kids are excited that everyone will speak English.  Xavier proposed we all speak with a British accent whilst there…..I guess that’s the international empathy a year living overseas gets you! 

Here’s to summer & enjoying your favorites! 

Entertainment Dilution

After much anticipation, we made it to the Olympiski Stadium Friday night for a Euro 2012 match – England vs. Sweden!

It was an exciting game & we sat in an English fans' section - especially fun since England won 3-2...

Ukraine has a bit of a reputation for lawlessness, abundant drinking & general disorganization.  Many (including me) assumed the Euro 2012 games would include at least some sort of mayhem.  What we found instead….

Pretty typical sports scene

Hot Damn - High Security  There was no shortage of security of all kinds.....

Some in riot gear.....

Some behind barricades....

'Bouncer like' people on the pitch to deter people storming the field....

 ~100 more filed out on each side when there were 10 minutes left in the game...

Cautious Concessions 

The snack stands also looked pretty typical.  Soda, beer & hot dogs on the menu....

Unlike what I'm used to (2 beer max at Wrigley Field), they offered a 5 beer carrier!  BUT.....

....the beer was 0.5%! I guess that was another way to tame the enthusiastic fans.  

Frankly I walked away a tad disappointed at how orderly and sane everything was.

At the fan zone on Sunday, we were similarly struck by how ‘regular’ everything looked…..

The Ukrainian outfit flair we are used to has been displaced with typical looking garb…..

We were starting to feel unsettled by the lack of outfit extremes

Like the entertainment of walking out the door was being diluted….

But alas, things turned around!

Babushka + hot girl strutting her stuff…..

Hot pants + high heels....

A priest arguing with traffic cops....

And back at school, things got even more ‘back to abnormal’…..

A kid’s outfit for the Water Party....

A mom’s outfit at a school play...

 (Thanks Kirsten for this shot!  One of my faves!)

So while it’s great for the city that the Euro is running smoothly & there are loads of Western Europeans in town spending money, I look forward to getting back to more entertaining ‘abnormal normal’.

Happy Monday - here's hoping you have an entertaining day!

We're fans

While I can't really say I'm an avid sports enthusiast, I'm thrilled that the Euro 2012 is in town.  Road improvements aside, we also get a full month of a festive "fan zone". The kids and I went down to check it out.....

As expected, the major sponsors are quite visible....

The TV Screens are huge (no games showing when we were down there - but our kids were big fans of the roadrunner short)

The themed entertainment is entertaining

And signs of progress present (recycling bins).....

But subtle (empty!)

Happy Monday - Here's to progress & being a fan of festivity!

Random Attractions

One of the things I appreciate about Ukraine is its randomness. Every time I leave my house I generally find something "noteworthy".  Our family outings on the weekends are no exception.......

Park / 70s amusement rides: There's a big park near the kids school.  Central Park of sorts - wide pathways, tons of trees, restaurants and people with strollers, scooters and bikes. But keep walking and you come to this.....a 1970s-style mini amusement park

With some 'standard' rides...

As well as some pretty random ones...

You get inside the round floaties and run to make them turn / move & bump into each other.

Next Stop - Ostrich Farm: Just being an ostrich farm is pretty random to me.....

...and kind of creepy (but delish) that they serve all kinds of Ostrich fair at the restaurant

(| guess that IS the point of a farm - but I still like my meat to be faceless.  I had to convince the kids we were eating the 'mean ostriches' - the friendly ones got to live on the farm)

With seemingly 'industry standard' bouncy things....

..as well as some more funky trampoline things with a harness

(Q learned that if you don't bounce enough you become stranded in mid air!)

And of course some animal rides - a camel, why not?!

(OK this is a donkey - can't fool you!  Turns out Ukraine DOES have safety rules - Zoe was deemed too small for the camel.  I was too big - I think that part is for camel safety tho!)


Add in the random parks & malls with mechanical, ride-on stuffed animals....

And you have yourself random fun times!


So while our country may not make most people's "Top 10 Destinations" & certainly has its challenges, it is chop full of random fun & is never a dull moment.


Here's to enjoying the random - come visit, we promise you won't be bored!

Euro 2012 Countdown

Kiev has been preparing & literally counting down (days, hours...below) for the Euro Cup since we arrived almost a year ago 

– now just 6 days from kick off! 

 The excitement has brought a lot of good, some bad and some ugly. 

Let's review….

What the heck is it?  No European would ask.  But as an American I needed the headlines. It's kind of like the Super Bowl but for soccer.  Starts with 16 European teams.  Sounds kind of no big deal to me, but it's not.  You'd think the Olympics were coming.  It's huge!

First step - spend like hell

Ukraine & Poland are co-hosting the tournament.  Ukraine has games in 4 cities - including Kiev.  The state $ pumped into improvements is staggering....  

$10B reported - $550MM on the Kiev stadium rebuild alone (stadium behind the building they just started putting a new facade on a few weeks ago - hurry people!).

(May sound reasonable vs. Chicago’s $660MM spend on Soldier Field upgrade ~10 years ago – but with labor at 150UAH (~$19) for an 11 hour work day – the #’s seem a bit rich)

And while there have been some questionable spending decisions (e.g. the company who was awarded the biggest construction contract is rumored to be connected to the Vice Prime Minister of Infrastructure – cozy!), the improvements are quite visible…

The rebuilt stadium is now HUGE holding 70,000!  (Madonna is even coming later this summer!).  We now boast some smooth roads in the city center AND English signs!

But the most very shocking of all was the sudden appearance of this….

 …YES – it is a BIKE LANE!!!!!!  OK it is just one stretch off of a major roadway – and a cynic might say it was put there for the image it will project rather than real dedication to alternative transportation BUT it looks like progress to me!

Second Step – promote, promote, promote

Euro cup fever is everywhere……signs on as many flat surfaces as possible….

  

….and non-flat surfaces 

Next step – jack up prices

Allegedly the hotel prices got jacked up so high (In Donesk a 40 euro room was going for 600), it detracted some.  Good news for us – we were able to secure tickets to a game via a late release of un-sold tickets!

Final step – deny controversy

As Ukraine gets more attention for hosting, it has a bigger stage on which to respond to the fairly extensive criticism.  The key allegations:

·       POLITICAL: Holding the former Prime Minister in prison & their belief that Ukraine ‘is suffering under dictatorship & repression’ is causing several Western European leaders to skip the tournament in protest 

·       RACIAL: After a TV clip showed Ukrainian ‘football hooligans’ beating an Indian fan, England’s ex-team captain Sol Campbell warned fans to “stay at home or they could end up in a coffin”

·       SEXUAL: The Dutch aired a TV ad that advises women to keep their husbands from attending Euro 2012 because they are likely to be seduced by Ukraine's beautiful women! 

My gym teacher's t-shirt reflects the sentiment

Zoe is staging her own protest - says she doesn't want to go since there aren't any girls playing!  

Net, net, the good news is the city has seen some major improvements it would not likely have otherwise & all the trouble has created a 'low bar' of expectations.  Here's to hoping Ukraine clears the bar by a big margin surprising skeptics.

Happy Sundays & here's to hoping for pleasant surprises!