LIVING IN CHERKASY, UKRAINE

As of today we have been living in Cherkasy for a month, so what has it been like?

Well the month has flown by, which has to be a good sign! We have a comfortable 2 bedroom apartment that is only a few minutes walk to the main street where there are plenty of shops and restaurants. Most importantly, it has very efficient central heating, a mandatory requirement for 2 Aussies living in the snow!

Talking of snow, this is definitely a new experience for us. Yes we went skiing when we were younger, however that is quite different to actually living in it and we have had to figure out things the locals take for granted. Simple things like how to walk down the footpath without falling on your butt – the ice is super slippery!! Testing out our new winter clothes and shoes and determining which layers work together the best for the temperature – so far we have been out in -7 and survived, but it will get colder than that before long. Clearing the snow off your car before you can even open the door to get in, and of course driving in it. Then there was the chore of getting winter tyres fitted, what a pain in the behind!

There is only one place here in Cherkasy that can change the tyres for you. Our first attempt was on a Friday evening, however when we arrived there were quite a few cars already waiting so we didn’t even try. We turned up again on Saturday morning, only to be told there was at least a 5 hour wait, (and that wait is outside), so we decided to pass. When we drove past maybe 6 hours later they had only just started on the car that was in front of us! Back again on the Monday morning and this time we waited for about 3 hours before finally it was our turn. All 4 rims were bent and had to be straightened which is not surprising given the state of the roads here, they are FULL of potholes! One tyre was unusable as it had a 10 cm split in the side wall. After about 90 minutes (but only about $45 AUS) we were finally out of there with 3 winter tyres fitted. New tyres were ordered, and here you always have to buy 2 of them, and we were back yet again to get them fitted. This time it was about an hour all up as we did not have to wait at the end of the queue again. So glad we do not have to do this in Australia!

The biggest “challenge” is doing the grocery shopping, however it is all part of the adventure! Naturally everything is in Ukrainian so Google Translate is a required tool before entering the supermarket! There is no “quick trip” to the supermarket these days, although it is getting easier as we purchase the same items again, and the locals are more than willing to help us. One of the most time consuming parts is weighing the fruit and vegetables. The process goes like this:

1. Take a photo of the sign for each item so you have at least some chance of being able to spell it!

2. Go to the scales and select whether it is fruit or vegetables or flour etc, which is easy as this part has pictures.

3. Attempt to type in Ukrainian and hope that something that remotely looks like the sign appears!

4. Put the label on the item.

An excellent part of living here is the chance to try different foods, and the fact that it is very cheap for us certainly helps! At the start we were eating at least one meal out per day, now it is perhaps one every second day. We can have a great feed of at least 2 courses and an alcoholic drink each for about $25 AUS. Sometimes lunch can cost us maybe $10 if we try hard. There are quite a few restaurants within walking distance of the apartment, even when it is snowing! Surprisingly, nearly every restaurant we have been to has had an English menu, although sometimes the translation is somewhat amusing.  😉 Some of our favourites so far include:

Borscht

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