Things that are different in Kiev...

The most exciting and compelling thing about being in a new place is discovering all the little practices and normalities that differ from those we are familiar with. Here's a list of a few things I've noticed about Kiev.

1. People don't drink in pubs.

On-trade alcohol is so expensive here that there is almost no pub culture. This is a big change from Prague, a city where people travel home from the pub and back, rather than the other way round. The way they do it here is, get dressed up, buy some booze from one of the many kiosks in the centre and sit around on a park bench or street and socialize in public. Drinking in public in most places is frowned upon, but here it seems to be the backbone of the nightlife. Whole streets are closed down on the weekend evenings and become huge street parties teeming with young socialites.

2. Cars are a man's home.

The cars in Kiev are huge. Really huge. When you see a Merc, it's an S600L, when you see a Lexus, it's a GS600h, when you see a BMW - you see a 760iL. All the cars, bar a few, have massive alloys, and a great deal of them are tuned to hell. Porsche Cayennes with carbon fibre hoods, lowered Range Rovers, AMG Mercs, Hartge BMWs, TechArt Porsches. As if these cars weren't fast and expensive enough. But the funniest thing about it all is that when they park up, usually after having run over several kids and broken the window of an expensive boutique, out steps a bloke who doesn't even look fit to clean the bloody thing. How did you come to afford that mate?

3. There are no corner shops.

None. None at all. If you want to pick up a few things on the way home, the only option is a whacking great hypermarket. And it's not as if there's a lot of them either. The nearest one to me is a kilometer away and I live slap bang in the centre. By contrast, if you want to nip out quickly to buy an gaudy, overpriced Louis Vuitton handbag, a new washing machine or a Porsche Cayenne, fear not my son, they're everywhere. How strange!

That's it for now, as I discover new strangeitudes I shall inform.

Peas.

Alone but with a full fridge.

I just moved into my second place of residence in Kiev. The first one was really too expensive for the company and more of a gesture for my first few days here. It was very nice indeed but totally over the top. I'm now in a more down-to-earth place where I actually feel more comfortable. I never really feel at home when there's too much posh about the place.

This flat is more central, just 5 minutes from work and right in the centre. So hopefully I'll be able to do some walking about and get to grips with the geography of the place. I'm still not sure which way is north.

I went out to get some groceries at the supermarket down the road, because a home isn't a home without some food in it. I went a bit nuts and bought too much to carry forgetting I don't have any wheels yet. My hands are still shaking from the walk. Here's what I bought:

Orange juice, apple juice, smoked salmon, Щпикачки (Ukranian Salami), mushrooms, leeks, red onions, chives, cream, a selection of Ukranian variety beers, bottle of Русский Бриллиант vodka, Actimel, cheddar cheese, cambozola cheese, butter, honey nut cheerios, mezze penne tricolore, olive oil, black olives, Ahmad english breakfast tea, pistachios, dried spiced calamari, pesto genovese, salmon caviar and a kilo of carrots.

So, what am I gonna cook with that? Recipes please!

Settling In

When I moved to Prague in 1993, the reaction of most of my family and friends was fairly suspicious and apprehensive. When I told many of my Czech friends in 2008 that I was moving to Kiev, they had a similar response.

Why are you going there? It's practically the USSR, full of criminals, mafia, thugs, corrupt businessmen.

The fact of the matter is though, Kiev has a certain magic about it that Prague did all those years ago. A sense of something big brewing under the surface, something wonderful about to happen.

Sure, Kiev is a mess. The buildings – though beautiful – are falling apart, the roads are ridden down, the drivers psychotic, there is evident poverty across the board, the wealth of the chosen few is excessive, a class difference similar to that which I saw in South Africa last year.

But it's got that je ne sais quoi that tells you; despite all the mess, this city has what it takes to make it.

I arrived here on Saturday morning, got picked up from the airport by a mute driver of a big Mercedes, who silently chauffeured me to my new place of residence. A ludicrously over-the-top executive apartments complex in a run-down area just off the city centre, near the state circus. It's a nice district though, perhaps a bit like Karlin in Prague, or Stoke Newington in London, where I grew up.

After I arrived, I was picked up by my MD and taken out to a long awaited lunch. The food on the plane was borderline inedible, so it was a welcome introduction to real Kiev cuisine. We chatted about the future and realities of the job, and after a couple of beers in the sun, I went back home and slept for 12 hours straight. It was a relief after all the build up to the move and endlessly saying goodbye to relax with a clean slate in front of me.

On Sunday I ventured on a nice long walk into the centre along Shevchenko Blvd. to a sports bar to watch the footy. On the way I stopped at one of Kiev's many bustling churches to have a look inside. I have never lived in a country where anyone cared about religion, and to be honest, I never really cared either. But the church was packed, people crossing themselves on the way in and out. It's nice to see that some people actually believe in something, however superfluous and superstitious it may seem.

After the footy I walked back and saw a guy begging whilst swigging a beer and noted his gall. I was impressed and gave the guy 50 Hryvnia (about 10 USD) for being a cheeky bugger. After all, being cheeky is what success in the modern world is all about innit?

Then this morning I got picked up and taken to work, where was thrust into what I can only describe as baptism by fire. These guys are seriously busy. I drew 7 press ads and wrote three scripts and didn't finish work until 9pm this evening.

Sitting in my flat now, I am trying to come to terms with life in a new country, a new city. But the people I work with seem cool, everybody's really friendly, and they are all doing their utmost to make me feel at home. I am a very lucky man and despite missing my family and friends deeply, I couldn't have hoped for a nicer start.

I have taken lots of photos which I'll be editing and posting up in the next few days.

Lots and lots of love to you all x

w

The run off.

It's Sunday, half past midnight. Yesterday my daughter, Anna, turned 13, which means she's a teenager. Two days before that I proposed to my partner Liza, which means we're engaged.

This Saturday coming I move to Kiev, in the Ukraine, to take a job working for Ogilvy (who I work for in the Czech Republic). I will work there for two years, and for the first four months I will be alone. Liza and Anna will join me at the end of August.

I started this blog ahead of the biggest period of change in my life since moving to the Czech Republic in 1993. Back then things were pretty interesting, except that I can't exactly remember how. So this time I'm going to write it down.

I'm still not sure what to expect, and the first few months are going to be difficult without my family and friends.

I'll keep this blog updated, daily if possible, to let you know how things are going and how much I miss you. Simultaneously I'll be trying to see if a man can survive on vodka, dried fish and d&b alone.