Six Peace Corps Volunteers and two Moldovan ladies headed across the border for three days to fairy-tale city. Neighboring Ukraine is home to the port city, and summer hot-spot, Odessa. Much like Prague, Odessa is one of those cities whose architecture is a standing reminder of it's complicated history; ruled by this kingdom, over taken by that empire, and so on. The photo above is the beautiful opera house, which serves as a major hub for the downtown (mostly Russian speaking) tourists.
On the day we arrived, we had the chance to meet up with some Peace Corps Ukraine Volunteers, in the city for a weekend of sunshine and falafel from a sketchy blue and white shack. Naturally, comparisons between our host country and theirs became the topic of conversation. One volunteer from Ukraine, who spent some time in Moldova, observed a difference in living-allowances between the two counties, one more generous than the other. I was also interested to hear that most volunteers in Ukraine don't live with host families following PST. My host family experience is more important to me than my goal one accomplishments.
But I would by lying if I didn't admit that my true motive for seeing Odessa was seeing the sea, the Black Sea, swimming and catching some sun. Now that I'm back at site, Moldovans can't believe I swam in the "dirty sea," but ironically, I hardly even noticed. All that mattered was the sun, sand, and sea! Again here, most of the beach goers are speaking Ukrainian or Russian. I didn't hear English on the beach once. When buying an inter tube, I was reduced to rubbing my fingers together to acquire the price of the floating device. My Romanian did me absolutely no good here.
And if you didn't find us on the beach, then you probably found us devouring yummy yummy sushi, mixed drinks, espresso, or pizza. Our taste buds were very happy on this little three-day get-a-way.
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