Kyiv: First Impressions
Observations of Kyiv During My First Month Here
I like to think that one of the most valuable lessons that I learned in Peace Corps was the value of cultural exchange. People in the U.S. have very large misconceptions about other countries, and people from other countries often have very large misconceptions about the U.S. Therefore, even though it is no longer in my official job description to facilitate the exchange of such information, I feel that it is my duty as a public servant working abroad to do so. Plus, it gives me an excuse to write fun articles and take pictures! I’m sure there are plenty of articles out there about the more well-known aspects of Kyiv, so I would like to mix in a few subtleties that you might not find on a typical wanderlust blog. Please note that these are anecdotal experiences. I have never been to Europe before, so it’s possible that some of the things I’ve noticed aren’t even “Ukraine things,” but “Eurasia things” or some other iteration. I do not mean to make any generalizations about Ukraine, as I am still learning about it!
- If you want to truly represent Ukraine, it’s Kyiv, not Kiev.
Why this distinction? Well, Kiev (pronounced like key-ev) is the Russian spelling and pronunciation of the capital, while Kyiv (pronounced more like — but not quite — Keev) is the Ukrainian spelling and pronunciation. The official language of the country is Ukrainian, not Russian!
2. It’s “Ukraine,” not “The Ukraine.”
This one reminds me of my time in Peace Corps, when people would constantly ask me how I was doing in “Columbia,” when the country is actually spelt “ColOmbia.” The Ukraine version, however, is a bit more honest, albeit outdated. Ukraine did indeed used to be called “The” Ukraine before the collapse of the Soviet Union, but since gaining independence the country has simply been “Ukraine.”
The reason the “the” is so important is because it was used to designate Ukraine as a region of the former Soviet Union. In fact, the word “Ukraine” likely originates from the slavic word for borderland. Think of it as referring to “The Midwest” or “The West Coast” of the United States. In both cases, “The” implies that those regions are an element of the U.S. Ukraine is no longer of the Soviet Union and therefore should not be proceeded by “The.” It is an independent country. Also to be honest the Soviet Union collapsed 30 years ago. Get with the times!
3. They have things in Ukraine.
One of my least favorite characteristics of American Exceptionalism is the common thought that other countries don’t have things. As a very isolated country — despite being a cultural melting pot — we rarely get exposed to the infrastructure of other places. Family and friends have often asked me “if I’m going to bring this to Colombia?” or “how will I survive without this in Thailand?” Other countries have things! And Ukraine is no exception. For example, today I walked to a large supermarket a few blocks from my house. I grabbed a shopping cart and picked out my groceries — including oat milk, tofu, spring roll wraps, and hummus. Then I went to the self-checkout line and scanned my items in and paid with Apple Pay. On the way out, I saw a stand called an IBox which allowed me to electronically pay my internet bill on the spot. I then decided my groceries were too heavy for walking, so I called an Uber home. It was a largely modern experience and quite “normal” by American standards.
3. Yes, Ukraine is often cold.
Ukraine has a reputation for being a cold country, and in some ways it is well-earned. The month of February in Ukrainian is лютий (pronounced “Loo-teh”) which essentially means “angry.” Why is it angry? Because February is so cold.
On hearing where I would be moving, people would often make a comment about how I was going to freeze to death or something of that nature. Well, yes — Ukraine does have formidable winter months; however, so do many regions of the U.S. I know throughout my childhood, my dad would often take pride in the ferocity of the winter storms we experience in Massachusetts— “noreasters.” Going to Patriots games in the blistering cold to watch Tom Brady take on “soft” warm-weather teams is a classic Rogers family past time. I think renaming February to “angry” in my home state would be a welcome change, as I’m sure it would be in Minnesota, and North Dakota, and Montana, and Michigan, and…
4. Ukraine is also often hot!
I was surprised to read in my preparation for moving here that Ukraine also experiences some blisteringly hot summer months, though I haven’t experienced them yet. The Lonely Planet book I read actually highlighted that people often (likely due to misconceptions about the country) come to visit in the middle of the summer and suffer for it. Like my home state of Massachusetts, the most pleasant times of the year are Spring and Fall, when the weather is warm but comfortable. Right now Spring has really started to take hold, and I can say with certainty that it is truly pleasant!
5. In Ukraine, you say “)))”
This one reminds me of one of my favorite facts about Thailand, where the number 5 (in Thai — “ha”) is used (555) instead of “lol” when reacting to something funny. Similarly, in Ukraine “)” is used to mean “:)” and — from my experience so far — it is used a lot. A colleague here with much more experience in Eastern Europe told me that the phones of the region in the past did not have an easily accessible “:” so out of convenience, it has been omitted from use even today. These little facts are my favorite part of living in a different country.
6. Kyiv is extremely hilly.
I am frankly astounded at how many steep hills there are Kyiv. It is easily the hilliest city I have ever lived in. With the exception of San Francisco, I think it may be the hilliest city I have ever been in, including Bogota! I often wonder if its inaccurate reputation as cold overshadows its much more accurate identity of filled with hills!
7. So many stairs.
In addition to hills, Kyiv is absolutely filled with stairs. This isn’t much of an issue for me because I love stairs. Whenever I go for runs and I stumble upon some stairs, I see a fun opportunity for a quick circuit workout! I have to imagine the citizens of Kyiv are generally in good shape, as I see them hefting their groceries up and down flights and flights of steps.
8. Fun Infrastructure
There are a few super unique things about Kyiv in terms of infrastructure. The first is that in addition to having crosswalks on busy streets, they also have these underground tunnels at regular intervals to walk under the streets. Maybe these exist in the States, but I have certainly never seen them. Sometimes the tunnels are simple pathways, sometimes they have a few venders selling flowers or clothing, and sometimes they are expansive underground malls! This strategy for reducing the stopping of traffic seems brilliant, but it may not be sufficient as the traffic in Kyiv is still pretty congested.
Something else interesting is the “layeredness” of the city infrastructure. In the States while driving down the street, you see the faces of buildings and what you see is often what you get. In Kyiv, the faces of the buildings will often have businesses, apartments, etc. but they will also have these alley-like pathways you can walk or drive through that will lead to entire coves of other apartments and businesses that you cannot see from the street. It is truly interesting and has taken me a while to get accustomed to.
9. Social animals.
In my life I have seen leashed, controlled dogs (US) and unleashed out-of-control dogs (Colombia/Thailand), but I have never seen such cool, calm, collected and unleashed dogs in my life. People walk around the city with their dogs unleashed and at their side, completely unfazed by other pedestrians. Frankly it is amazing.
Moreover, the pigeons here (or as my friend Dan would say, “cliff birds”) are the most comfortable around humans that I have ever seen — a little too comfortable…
10. There are tons of skaters.
If you know me, you know I love (and also sometimes hate) my skateboard. I have yet to find an actual park, but I have seen tons of skaters around the city skating various stair sets, ledges, etc. I don’t have my skateboard yet, but I look forward to making some skater friends as the weather warms up. Mostly, I have seen kids and teens skating, so I will have to get out there and show them that old men can still hang.
11. Green parks.
It makes sense to me now why my Ukrainian lessons often used the phrase зелені парки or “green parks.” I remember thinking that this phrase sounded kind of awkward when translated to English, but there are in fact tons of parks here. The one right outside the embassy is huge and perfect for running (yes, even in the snow). There is also a botanical garden right outside my house that I look forward to seeing in the warmer months.
12. Markets.
As someone with what others might describe as “dietary restrictions,” I often face skepticism when I tell people I will be moving to other countries. What will you eat? people often say. It used to get to me, but after living abroad for most of my adult life, I always seem to manage. The same is true here in Ukraine, where the markets (from local to super) offer a great variety of produce, plant milks, breads, and even tofu! My favorite thing to eat so far has been lots of dates and figs which are more affordable here than in the U.S.
13. Coffee, coffee, coffee.
Kyiv is definitely a coffee city. It is hard to walk a city block without seeing some sort of cafe. Also very common are small food truck-like carts that sell coffee and baked goods.
14. Ukraine is super safe.
From what I have been told, there are few areas of the city one should categorically avoid, which is more than I can say for the majority of large U.S. cities.
15. Ukraine is one of the cheapest countries in Europe.
I have for example enjoyed the affordability of Uber here, especially during COVID. I have been taking an Uber to work every day, which would likely amount to around $7 each way in the States. Here — $2.50! Affordability of Ubers has definitely made exploring easier during winter and COVID.
16. Many people in Ukraine speak a combination of Ukrainian and Russian called surzhyk.
This is an interesting experience from the perspective of a foreigner, especially one that learned Ukrainian. As someone who has lived in other countries for much of his adult life, usually when I haven’t been able to understand someone it was because my language skills were not high enough or because I didn’t understand a bit of local slang. Ukraine is unique in that when I can’t understand someone, it may be because my language skills aren’t high enough, but it may also be because they are speaking Russian or surzhyk. Ukraine is especially unique because some have difficulty separating the two languages even though they speak them both! Ukrainian law states that all business must be conducted in Ukrainian. Moreover official documents, menus, street signs, etc. are all written in Ukrainian. However, while in a music shop the other day, the clerk told me that his boss often struggles to just speak Ukrainian when he is interacting with customers. For example, I have much more often heard the Russian “da” than the Ukrainian “tak” (both meaning “yes”) even when interacting with Ukrainian-leaning speakers.
So there you have it! A close runner-up was my affinity for Ukrainian plastic bag culture in supermarkets. Not only do they charge for bags, but they are also big, thiccccc, and sturdy allowing them to be repurposed as garbage bags. Ultimately, I decided it was too niche to merit it’s own number on the list, but here it is anyways! I hope you enjoyed. Also, come visit.
