FULBRIGHT ORIENTATION

                                                                                FULBRIGHT ORIENTATION
                                                                                            KYIV (cont'd)

     Several people, including my own daughter, very politely suggested less words and more photos. Although I intended to follow these suggestions, the last post was not intended to be sans words. For some reason the blogger.com would not let me add any words after posting the photos.

To begin, I flew from Odesa to Kyiv, Borispol Airport, the morning of 7 Feb. Valera asked if I would mind waiting for him at the airport as he and all his drivers were already scheduled for 8:00 a.m. jobs. Waiting for Valera led to a RIP OFF!!!!  The only time I have been totally ripped off since arriving in Ukraine over 6 weeks ago occurred at Borispol. I walked to the lobby, sat down in a coffee shop, ordered a capuchino and piece of cake, either a Neapolitan or a Napoleon. The one with three different colors. Enjoyed both, continued to read Book 1 of Game of Thrones, and waited for Valera. At 9:00, I asked for my bill. It was 120 HR ($15)!!!!. Valera walked up a few minutes later, casually saw the ticket and couldn't believe it. More on this later.
ORIENTATION: Learned that the President deposed during the Orange Revolution is now the President again. Seems both of his successors were either terrible administrators or just plain lazy and the country turned to a wannabe Putin who was a good administrator. As a result, there is a movement toward further centralization and regulation. The Ministry of Education, Health, Sport and some other stuff, is trying to control all aspects of education from grade 1 to completion of a masters of law. Its control includes who is named President of universities and academies. There is a bill pending in Parliament which would give the Ministry authority to remove professors and dictate course content.
Ukraine is very important to the USA, there are more Peace Corps volunteers in Ukraine than any other country. There is aid from USAID, the Fulbright program, various other programs and a tremendous number of private foundations.
HEALTH: You can't drink the water anywhere in Ukraine or Russia. Must boil any water from the city pipes, drop in iodine, bleach or some other agent before using it. One may bath or use it for brushing teeth and washing vegetables. I have gone over board and actually boil my dishes while rinsing after removing them from dish soap. I have it the end of the page and can't blog further.