L'viv

The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence, that is, if there is any grass at all. In L'viv, green spaces are oft uncontrolled, spilling out of cracks and swelling out of city streets in random places. The 'lawns,' or random green spaces, are never cut and the grass grows to my thigh.
The streets are riddled with potholes, traveled by dinky public buses called "mashrutkas." Imagine a large minivan gutted out and fitted with school bus seating, then add 30 Ukrainians in a space meant for 15 and cheap brakes for the heartstopping effect. The only good thing about them, in my opinion, is the 1.50 Hrivna fair, about 30 cents US.
Ukrainians, a superstitious people, also believe cold air to be equivalent to airborne Anthrax, prompting them to close all doors, windows and crevices regardless of temperature. Add 30 Ukrainians to a Mashrutka, mix in a lack of deordorant and dash of claustrophobia and voila! a moving furnace from hell.
Somewhere between Istanbul, Poland, Russia and all-white chicago suburbs, Ukraine is one of the more colorful places I've been. L'viv is roughly 10-15 years behind Krakow, now a bustling metropolis and hot tourist destination. More prevalent is the Soviet feeling of impending doom here: service sucks at every shop, everyone seems unhappy, the divorce rate is through the roof despite a 95% churchgoing population, and if you try to help an old lady across the street she will kindly tell you to stick your head in the sand in Ukrainian, Polish or Russian.
Oddly enough, crime is very low here other than petty pickpocketing(I've been warned by L'vivians, but seriously, I lived in Rome for 5 months), and the biggest problems have to do with alcoholism. I'm not too worried about safety or about my new job; the people at Ukrainian Catholic university are lovely and very friendly. The french woman in the information department kindly reminds me that she came from Paris for just one year of work, and has stayed five.
Since everyone is multilingual, picking up Ukrainian and a little Polish shouldn't be a problem. I'm going to be studying intensely this summer.
L'viv's true charm lies in its undiscovered potential. This is Nowa Europa, New Europe. This is what Italy was to Rick Steves 30 years ago when he was a snot-nosed college student hiking across the Alps(no offense, Rick). Few have really ventured to this part of the world that doesn't speak any english, is undeveloped and new.