Ukraine greeted me with cold weather, absence of my suitcase for days, and forever-angry sales ladies. So far I have been yelled at with my every purchase. Yesterday, for example, I tried to pay for some face cream with a credit card and was asked for a PIN. I politely explain that I have not requested a PIN for this credit card – it does not exist. As a response the sales lady started screaming that every “plastic card” has a PIN and offered to bring hers to demonstrate. Five minutes into my stubbornness, i.e. the actual lack of the PIN, she was forced to change the way she was executing the transaction, and, voila, a receipt for signature sans entering a PIN emerged.
As of today, technology and its usage was the most frustrating part. I needed to email out 15 proofread essays to our students and brought a USB drive to the internet café, to which I was told that they “do not work with the USB devices” and was asked to bring a floppy disk (??!!!) Another saddening factor is my non-working blackberry. I have dutifully researched the GPRS coverage in Ukraine, found a press release about MTS covering Ukraine with GRPS since this summer, called up T-Mobile and enabled the international berry plan. After landing I have discovered that MTS does have a very good coverage, just not the GPRS one. The phone sees the GPRS network, but it does not function once you go 10 km outside of Kiev and Boryspil.
Even dogs on the streets are angrily-neurotic and do not apply reason to their actions. Yesterday I saw a pack of 5 large animals calmly strolling in the street. Suddenly, when passing one of many cars, one of the dogs turned around, barked at the vehicle and continued on its course. I have been perplexed for a while, getting on and riding in a falling-apart bus.
