In my daily life as an expat, I have come across the phrase first world problems. Some examples might include:
-You can't just turn the oven on, you must turn on the gas first.
-You can't just hand someone something, you need to use both hands or touch empty hand to your forearm of the giving hand.
-You can't just enter your code in your door, you must first touch the two random digits that light up after you press start.
-You can't just turn the doorknob to leave, you have to press open/go and then turn the knob.
-The cottage cheese that you were prepared to pay nine dollars for was snatched up by someone else and so you decide to buy six brussel sprouts for $14 instead.
The point is, they are not really problems. Life here is good if not great. They only seem like problems because you are having a bad day, or no one speaks English and you can't speak Korean, or you having been pushed around the subway by one-to-many commuters, or you miss your family--usually it's a combination of all of these.
My good friend Jess recently relocated to Kyiv, Ukraine, with her husband Nolan. Like us, Seoul was their first assignment outside the USA. She so hilariously reminds me of how we both started out and how far we have all come as trailing spouses (another phrase I came across). Miss you, Jess! Here's a pic from the "last buck wild Korean BBQ night with the girls" that she mentions in the letter.
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| L to R: Urmila, Jess, me and Anna |
Anyway, I wanted to share her current first world problems:
Greetings from Kyiv! It is finally starting to
sink in that we are actually living here and this is not just a
vacation. I feel like I have come a long way from my unceremonious
arrival last Friday. After packing up our Seoul apartment and having
one last buck wild Korean BBQ night with the girls, I was ready to
depart for Incheon Airport. Full of resentment for Ukraine already
after hearing about the items stolen from Nolan's luggage, I wasn't
taking any chances and had my bags cable wrapped to ensure the security
of the 74kg of luggage I was hauling to my new home. Upon check in, I
was left with one final reminder of the Korean rigidity I have become so
accustomed to when they made me pay for each and every kg of overweight
luggage - the total amount rivaling that of a Barney's shopping spree.
Shortly after my bags disappeared into the dark abyss of checked
luggage, my flip flop broke and I proceeded through customs barefoot.
The only affordable shoes I could find that fit were a pair of Korean
men's golf shoes - with spikes. They really completed my outfit. Alas,
my flight leaving Korea was delayed and any hope I had of leisurely
noshing on an authentic kebab and cup of Turkish coffee during my
Istanbul layover was shot to sh*t as I did more running across that
airport than I have done in months. I was, however, confidently assured
by airport personnel that my many kgs of luggage would surely make the
connection and we'd be happily reunited in Kyiv.
After 16 hours of travel, I arrived in Kyiv with no luggage. That was
it, the floodgates opened and I had a full meltdown. I haven't cried
that hard since watching the Notebook. Fueling this was my imagination
that some Ukrainian thugs were manhandling my luggage and helping
themselves to all of my most precious belongings as they allegedly did
with Nolan's. So those are the conditions under which I met our lovely
driver Valik. Horrifying in hindsight! He was so kind and filled out
all the lost baggage paperwork while trying to calm me down.
When I got the hotel I found Nolan with a big grin confessing his
belongings actually never got stolen, he had just forgotten to pack them
for his business trip to Croatia. Naturally, I feel guilty for all of
my misplaced anger at the Ukrainians who actually had not done anything
wrong. And in continuation of that theme, my luggage arrived safely in
tact the following day. Soooo, I am now approaching this all with a far
more positive attitude and giving my lovely new host country the benefit
of the doubt!
Things are much better now and I am really liking it here. First things
first, the food is unreal and inexpensive- amazing cheese selections,
fresh baked breads, local butchers, fish markets and even a great
variety of ethnic foods abound. Yesterday, my $2 lunch appetizer ( a
cup of borscht with rye bread and cured pork) came with a shot of vodka!
What's not to love!?
We are still living at a hotel until we can sign a lease. We found an
apartment right in the center of the city we really love with stunning
views of the tops of cathedrals and a very spacious wine fridge!
Unfortunately paperwork takes an extraordinarily long time to process
here. It also doesn't help that we think the owner is some Russian
oligarch as he seems to operate with a great deal of mystique and we
have only dealt with his 2 intimidating henchmen.
I have been spending my days on city tours and market trips with Valik.
He is quite a character. His 'uniform' is a leather coat, jeans and a
mullet and it all comes together in quite a bad ass way. He is still
working on his English and just the other day I figured out whenever he
says "free" he actually means "fresh". He kept pointing out all these
food vendors and telling me their items were all free. I imagine we
will have many of these linguistic hurdles to overcome. Valik also
views his role as somewhat of a financial advisor - if I can save 5
cents on a baguette, rest assured, he will drive across the city to
another market that sells it for cheaper. :) Who am I to argue?
I joined the International Women's group here and remembered what it was
like in Seoul to start out with no friends again. It cheered me up to
look at pics from my farewell party at Urmilas and reminded me of how it
just takes time. I look forward to the days when I will have lunch
companions again and I really miss all of you.
So that sums up my first impressions of Ukraine (not THE Ukraine as I
have so often been corrected now). Please keep in touch and write me at
my new email.
Love,
Jessica
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| I assume this is the view from her apartment? |
:)sbc
