Been here a Week

Well we have been here a week and survived everything except the jetlag! Slavutych is a lovely little town. Everything is within walking distance.

Rule one: They have western products. If you are thinking you need to stock pile your shampoo or toothpaste no need. They have the most common products. They even have their own products from Ukraine.

The food is amazing. They are lovers of the mushroom. You just have to be careful where they come from. The local mushrooms are off limits because they are radioactive. However, as I understand it, they have their mushrooms shipped in. I did watch a BBC program that showed the mayor of the city out in the forest hunting mushrooms and eating them. The host of the show had them tested at a center here (I am not sure it is still open) for testing radioactivity in the food and they were very dangerous.

We are eating at one of the local restaurants for all of our meals and they are just lovely to us. It doesn't help that we have cutie C. There really is no "non-smoking" section. My life span has been cut in half by all the second hand smoke I have inhaled. They have an outside patio which is a smoking section but with a nice breeze it is better than the non-smoking section.

Rule 2: The way the change money is very different than what we are use to. They have these guys that hang out infront of the bank and have a little bit better rate than the banks. Then they pull out a wad of money for your American dollars. A little tip that we found out and

Rule 3 is you should go to the same money changer because they like banking loyalty. They get jealous if you use another changer. M had to use the bank because our guy wasn't anywhere to be found, so he didn't feel so bad. M said it seemed so much more official because they have a money counter and he got a receipt for his exchange.

We have someone looking for available houses or cottages. We looked at two on Wednesday the first day we were here and found both acceptable. We liked the second we looked at because it seemed a little more modern and less that we needed to do with the place. So, we began negotiating with the babushca. If you are looking for a place in Ukraine as a foreigner you must get your landlord to sponsor you and do your residency paperwork this is Rule #4. Many do not want to do this, but without it you are not allowed to work or stay in the country. Well you could but, hold your hat Americans -you would be an illegal immigrant and could be arrested or deported.

The cottage had a very lovely kitchen that had windows that opened up to the garden and let a ton of sunshine in. It had an updated stove and fridge. They had internet access hooked up to the house and a big luxurious air conditioning unit in the living room. As an added attraction they had a sauna in the basement. The garden was gorgeous and was going to be kept by the babushca. It had two little patio areas for the girls to play and the kids would have had their own rooms. A nice big master bedroom but only one bath.

Sounds great, however, there is another little rule that you should know if you are looking for a place to live and plan to rent. Rule 5: Any family member can veto the idea of the home being rented. In this case the woman's daughter did not agree to rent out the cottage so we are now out of luck.

The good news is that the first house we looked at is still available at the end of the month when the westerners that live there now move out to a different place. We will look at a third place sometime this week but it looks like we will be moving in to the first place. It has a nice big yard for the girls to play just a few hazards that we need to keep on top of.

The hotel where we are staying is very nice and we have a sitting room and then a bedroom. It also has air conditioning in both rooms that we have taken. The bathroom is very big compared to European standards. The WiFi is only in the lobby which is why it has taken me so long to update my blog. The people are kind, but there really is no eye contact and very little acknowledgement of each other. If there is it is very subtle - no smiles. They walk what I have named the communist walk. Head held high looking straight forward but with a vacant look in the eyes. Not really looking at anything except where they are going. They are usually carrying something in one hand like a bag full of groceries or lunches or books. The children seem not to have this walk down yet they run from here to there. They don't seem to have a care in the world. They play in the city fountain on hot days.

Well it is off to do a load of laundry in the bathtub and then hang it to dry on the line I have strung from one towel rack to another. I really hope the chambermaid doesn't kill herself on it.

Thursday I will be visiting the dead zone and getting a tour of the accident area and learning what M is working on. M will not be with me as he has to go to Kiev to go through a series of medical tests.