housing in Kiev

[Robert De Lossa]

Send your request to "announce at infoukes.com". You are more likely to get
productive replies. It would be more helpful, though, if he/you were to
indicate what part of the city he wants/needs to be in and for how long.
Language shouldn't be an issue if he doesn't make it an issue. It is always
appreciated if you show that you have some command of both (even if its
fluency in one and slight command of the other). In Kyiv, Russian is the
koine (except for anything official); fluency and importance of Ukrainian
is generational, regional, and socio-political. It is better for him not to
try to play off his interlocutors' preferences if he doesn't have a really
good command of both.

As for the fine--anyone that goes to that part of the world (Ukraine or
not) has to be prepared for rent-seeking (aka "gotcha" or, simply,
corruption), which is a major fact of life there. He shouldn't give up over
a fine. On the bright side, Kiev/Kyiv/Kiiow seems to be a little safer than
Moscow in terms of organized crime shakedowns. That's not saying much, but,
perhaps, it can afford him a little comfort.

Best, Rob De Lossa


>---------------------- Information from the mail header
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>Sender:       "SEELangs: Slavic & E. European Languages & literatures list"
>              <SEELANGS at CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU>
>Poster:       Emily Tall <mllemily at acsu.buffalo.edu>
>Subject:      housing in Kiev
>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>I've just got a message from a student of mine doing an internship in Kiev
>for an organization called AISEC. They are providing housing and he says
>it's awful, with cockroaches, etc. I wonder if any of you know anyone in
>Kiev who would like to rent out a room to a lovely young man who speaks
>Russian, and knows some Polish and Ukrainian. Of course he could help with
>English lessons, etc. Also, is there some nice person working in our
>Embassy there who might provide a sympathetic ear? He told me he got fined
>(I don't know by whom) because he didn't have some form in on time...and,
>in general, that he was ready to give up and come home.
>Many thanks in advance. Emily Tall, SUNY/Buffalo


____________________________________________________
Robert De Lossa
Director of Publications
Ukrainian Research Institute, Harvard University
1583 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA 02138
617-496-8768; fax. 617-495-8097
reply to: rdelossa at fas.harvard.edu
http://www.sabre.org/huri/