Living for two years in a country does not exactly make one an expert about it. In relative terms, however, two years provides sufficient experience to provide others an objective sense of life in a foreign country, in contrast to any views that may emerge from a brief vacation here. As well, there are perhaps 1,500 – 2,000 Americans living on a long-term basis in Ukraine, of a population of approximately 47 million. Ukraine is not a place for everyone…indeed, since 1990 its population actually shrank by 5 million – mostly to work abroad.

It is appropriate to qualify my life here as having followed sixteen months in Iraq. That serves to say that after being in Iraq, pretty much anywhere else you might go is, by default, better. Even in Iraq as a civilian contractor, once in the swing of things – it wasn’t so bad. One either adjusts to the way things are and tries to improve them, or one does nothing except complain. I’m not by nature a complainer.

In my own opinion, life in Odessa, Ukraine is very much like life anywhere else except for two things. First, depending upon where you live, you are surrounded by people who speak Ukrainian or Russian. A natural and obvious matter, it is not really a problem even if you can’t speak their language – but after a while, it does leave you thirsty to have more frequent and intelligent dialogue with someone who speaks English. Second, Ukraine requires a bit more patience and flexibility than in the west. Everything is on a sort of maybe today, maybe tomorrow footing. Que sera, sera – but with persistence!

Life in Ukraine is easy for me because I can easily afford to live here. I’m not rich by any stretch of the imagination. I don’t live extravagantly, but I do live comfortably with my average twelve month cost of living not exceeding $900 monthly. If I was truly conservative about it, I could cut it down to perhaps $600 a month and still be reasonably comfortable. It took about a year to get to this point though.

The only thing I really want that I cannot have is maple syrup. Everything else is accessible if you know what and where to look for it. There are Wal-Mart like supermarkets in the major cities of Kiev, Odessa and Lvov, but probably not in the smaller or less developed cities. What you find may not be exactly what you want, but a close approximation. Ok, the bread is bad and so is everything else that is baked. On that, my comments may seem like complaints. I’ll accept that, but I’m also working on a solution…just missing one or two ingredients – either corn starch, baking powder or self-rising flour. Otherwise, my last attempt to bake a real cake was a near success, 100% better than anything in the stores – just…not quite right. Close though…

Problems… The only real problem I’ve encountered was having my wallet and credit card inside, pickpocketed by two children begging for money as I was walking down Derabosovskaya. I always avoid that road, but that day it happened to be the fastest way to get to where I was going. Going to the OVIR office to get an extension or renewing a visa is never fun – my response to it is not unlike someone scraping their fingernails on a chalkboard…the sheer inefficiency and lack of customer service requires….patience….and….flexibility.

Transportation… I managed to get an apartment about ten minutes from the center of town by car – almost everything I need is within immediate walking distance, supermarket, bank, restaurants, office supply stores, computer store. I only go downtown these days to meet people. For the longest time, I preferred taking gypsy taxis, and still do – but my integration is to the point now where I have no difficulty getting on a bus or trolley, provided it is not crowded. On peak hours…forget it, there is no way in, under, or above hell that I will get on a crowded bus….there is no limit to the number of people who will get on afterwards.

The way most Ukrainians think…is different. Continuing on the above note, I would think to myself, Hmmm….looks like there’s…300 or 400 people on that bus, might be best to wait for the next one…ah, hell with it, get a taxi A typical Ukrainian seeing the same bus would think, There’s room for at least 200 or 300 more people…heck, look at that! I can feel at least two of my toes touching the floor! Practically and seriously, the costs of convenience and comfort are not proportional to their income – they accept conditions as they are as they have no viable alternative. The next bus is likely to be just as crowded, same for the bus after that.

For us, the What the heck…it’s only three dollars… is for most Ukrainians 1% of their monthly income, for a ride home.

So…for living here as a westerner, that’s easy. Getting a bottle of maple syrup…well, that requires some serious doing. Can I live here without maple syrup? Is the extra patience and flexibility needed to live here killing me?

Sometimes we have to make a sacrifice. Lower taxes; virtually no drive-by shootings; no one going into the shopping malls with Uzi’s; a few dollars for medicine and a few dollars more for a trip to the doctor for a check-up; being able to have a cigarette in my own apartment without fear of going to jail or getting sued by half the State of California; not having to work two jobs to get ahead…

I dunno… hot fudge sundae, or hot poker in the eye… Maybe I spent too long in the desert…but, all in all…I like it here.