Hi,

I'am in Kiev for nearly 3 weeks. I get used to. Everything is okay except accommodation. It is very difficult and expensive in Kiev. Because there is not enough flat in the city center. So I deciced to stay in a hostel till I leave Kiev. There are six beds in my room. Hostel is crowded, people come from various countries, we have good time together. Also the hostel is in a very central place. My workplace is 15 minutes away by foot, entertainment centers is 3-5 minutes away. It's like Alsancak in Izmir, Taksimin Istanbul.

I've been working for 2 weeks, I've created 3 logos.  I liked the agent and the people workng. We're about 40 people.I'm in the creative team but the department has no space for me, so my desk is in another department. I'm in a different room but I'm just 10 meters away from my team. Working hours are 10:00 to 18:30. By now I haven't worked overtime. But making overtime is optional. At the end of the shift, we can have a beer and kill time. And i want to come back here after 3 years...

On weekdays I shuttle between work and the hostel. On the weekends I enjoy Kiev. The first week was very cold, but it's better these days. I can go on a walkabout. I am feeling myself undefended. I do not use phone. I am completely free. I have a lots of time for stay alone myself. But i am not alone. Like a bird. In short I'm doing what I want it. No one effect my life. And i do not know that what will happen tomorrow. I think it is my power supply…

Kiev is a nice city, I liked in here. It's pretty cheap. I nearly make the same money I made in Turkey but my standarts are much higher in here. One kilo of red meat is 2-4 $. Beer is 0.20-0.60 $. Having a decent meal and two beers in a nice jazz bar with live music is 3-7 $. Marlboro is 0.80 $. 1 litre vodka is 3-4 $. One night of entertainment in a high-class club is 10-20 $. In short, eating, drinlink, having fun is nut luxury in here. And I repeat: My salary is almost the same as when in Turkey.At the same time this country is in an economic chrisis and has a war going on.

Kiev is a seven bridged city that a river divides as right and left. It has an impressive architecture. You can see a gorgeous church any time. The buildings are incredible. New building are being made but they look old with some architecrural touch. It is approach that I appreciate. I would like to say "this place ic nice", "that place is nice" but I don't know and can't learn their names. The alphabet is different. Although I go to work by subway for two weeks, I hardly learned the stations. It's just two stations. By the way the subway in much below the ground. You might get bored when going down the escalator. Nobody climbes up and down the stairs.

They don't have a much traditional cuisine. They have a soup called Bors or Borsh or Borc and I've tried it several times. But I didn't liked it much. Maybe it's because I don't like cabbage much. If you ask what I missed most: Ayran. You can find Ayran here but it has mint and soda in it. I bought it from market but I couldn't drink it. I can't bu like my mother's homemade ayran anyway. I only once went to Turkish restaurant to drink Ayran and it was not that bad.

This weekend I'll start snowboarding. The ski resort is two bus stations away from my work. They say it's very much fun. And I will go to the fleamarket when I got the chance. And i want to go to Chernobyl but it is a bit expensive. I looked some photos on internet, it seemed very interesting. I hope i can go...

Yes, Ukranian women are elegant and pretty. They have a different style. Sometimes when I walk on the street thinking that there's nothing to exaggerate, A women passes by and slaps myface with her wind.They know how to act. Grace is at its most. Some are shy and some are feel free to chat. Ukranian men aren't much handsome but 10 to 15 percent of them are pretty handsome. They are nice but it is too soon to say that they are frank. It's easy to get social. One day when t Divan Jazz Bar, I couldn't find beer in the menu. I asked a woman sitting next to me. She tried to help bu she couldn't find it either. We've been talking for couple of minutes. A man came, I supposed her husband or lover. He came like he was going to say "she is my wife buddy! I thought I messed up  but we were just looking for beer in the menu and the menu was not in English. The conclusion: we altogether had fun all the night. They were really a fun couple. The guy is an underwater archeologist and his wife is an interior architect.

Petro (best friend in Kiev) He has a good knowledge of the city. sometimes we stroll after work. He invited me to a party last weekend. We went there. It was an old and a large place. People were dancing like crazy. The music was good. I wanted to drink someting and asked Petro where to buy some alcohol. His answer was "there is no alcohol in here, just water and tea." I thought he was joking and then thought he missunderstand me and so asked him again. He was pretty serious. I was surprised. Water was free. I didn't asked tea since I'm not fond of it. Anyway, thank you Petro for showing me the city and being present for help at anytime. "This is Kiev baby" -Petro

Svetlana: Art Director. We usually work together. She is very hard. Sometimes i want to turn back to Turkey because of she :) I like Svitlana comment, very helpful. She is the best Ukrainian woman art director i have ever work together. By the way i worked one Ukrainian woman art director until yet… Thank you Svetlana…

Misha (Copywriter): He designed a post card and left on my desk. There is this not under the card "I WISH YOU TO LEAVE YOUR FUCKING JOB TO FIND ANOTHER FUCKING JOB!" Thank you for good best wishes Misha…

Misha (beer man): Sanat ve bira yonetmeni. Ofise bira akisini sagliyor. Sirt cantasindan 1000 bira kapasiteli. Biralar ve sohbet icin tesekkurler Misha. SEREFE!
`en iyi musteri olu musteri` Michka

Misha (Art and Beer Director) he responsible about beer. His backpack capacity is 1000 beers. Beer never finish. Thank you for conversation and beers Misha. Let`s SEREFE!
"The best client is dead client" -Michka

Ilona: Cute hat woman. She tried to help me many times. But she did not :) Thank you for your trying Ilone, you are very good…

Olga: Last week We've met. We were going to meet again one week after. She asked what to do and I wanted a city tour by car. She showed me the city with her red car. It was cold and her clothes were not suitable for such a cold weather. But even so she get out of her car many times to show me around. I really enjoyed the trip. Thank you Olga with a red car.

And of course Anna. When I was in Turkey, Anna was the person who get in contact with me. She is helpful and a great person. She was all by me through my tough Ukrania journey. She still is. Sometims when there is something good about me, she even get excited even more than me. I hope through my journey I will come across people like you. Thank you dear Anna…

And thank you all of people who i cant remember names, i have met in one place (Irina, Vera, Lena, Alex etc)  and working together with me in company and agency (Svitlana, Pasa, Elena, Sasha, Maria, Vova Marina, Alexy, Vlad Elena, Ivanna, Ann, Olga and the others who i can not remember names. Sorry) and from hostel (Alexy, Furkan, Anna (Valeri), Mashka, Joffrey, Romana, Ira, Helen) and thank you too for reading…

For now this is all I wanted to share with you. Here's some photos attached.

See you...




Selam.

Yaklasik 3 haftadir Kievdeyim. Alistim buralara. Her sey yolunda tek sorunum ev bulamamak. Bu isler zor ve pahali. Cunku merkezde cok fazla ev yok. Bu yuzden Kiev`den ayrilana kadar hostelde kalmaya karar verdim. Odamda 6 yatak var.  Bazen 6 bazen 2 kisi oluyoruz. Hostel kalabalik oldugu icin keyifli zaman geciriyorum. Mutfakta istedigim gibi yemek yapabiliyorum. Farkli ulkeden insanlarla sohbet etmek surekli insan gormek guzel. Tek sorun ozel odam olmamasi onu da askerdeymisim gibi dusunerek hallettim.
Ayrica cok merkezi bir yerde. Ise yuruyerek 15 dk. Eglence merkezlerine 3-5 dk. Izmir`de Alsancak Istanbul`da Taksim gibi.

2 haftadir calisiyorum, 3 farkli logo yaptim. Ajans insanlarini ve ajansi sevdim. Yaklasik 40 kisiyiz. Yaratici takimdayim ama departmanda yer olmadigi icin masam baska bir birimde. Farkli odadayim ama aramizda 10 metre var. Mesai saatleri 10:00 - 18: 30. Simdiye kadar fazla mesai yapmadim. Cani isteyen kaliyor, istemeyen gidiyor. Mesai sonrasi bira icip muhabbet etme durumlari var.  Ve evet 3 yil sonra buraya tekrar donmek istiyorum...

Hafta ici genelde ev hostel arasi gidip geliyorum. Islerimi halledip dinlenmek isin iyi oluyor. Hafta sonu calismiyorum, cumadan baslayarak durmaksizin Kiev`in tadini
cikarmaya calisiyorum,. Ilk hafta cok soguktu ama bu aralar iyi. Gezmek icin firsat bulabiliyorum. Kendimi bagimsiz hissediyorum. Kus gibi. Canim ne isterse onu yapiyorum.
Telefon kullanmiyorum. Kimse hayatima etki edemiyor. Kisacasi salt yasiyorum...

Kiev guzel bir sehir, sevdim. Epey ucuz. Alim gucu yuksek. Turkeye`de kazandigim paraya yakin kazaniyorum ama standartlarim burada hayli yuksek. Etin kilosu 2 - 4 dolar arasi. Bira 0.60 - 1 tl arasi. Canli muzikli guzel bir jazz barda guzel yemek yiyip 2 bira icmek 10-15 TL arasi. Marlboro 2 TL. 1lt votka 8-10 TL. Klas bir gece klubunde 1 gece eglenmenin bedeli 30-60 TL arasi. Kisacasi burada yemek, icmek, eglenmek luks degil. Ve tekrar ediyorum maasim neredeyse Turkiye ile ayni. Ayni zamanda bu ulkede ekonomik kriz ve sicak savas var. Canim Turkiyem demek isterdim :)

Kiev bir nehrin sag ve sol diye 2 ye boldugu 7 koprulu bir sehir.  Mimarisi etkileyici. Her an muazzam bir kilise gorebilirsiniz. Binalar sahane. Yeni binalar yapiliyor
fakat mimari dokunuslarla  eski gibi gorunuyor. Takdir ettigim bir yaklasim. Surasi guzel burasi guzel demek isterdim ama isimlerini bilmiyorum cunku cok zor :)
Alfabe farkli. Ise her gun metroyla gidip gelmeme ragmen 2 haftada zor ogrendim. Topu topu 2 durak gidiyorum. Bu arada metro cok asagida. Yuruyen merdivende
caniniz sikilabilir. Inerken ve cikarken kimse yurumuyor. Bu gune kadar belki yuruyen en fazla 5 kisi gormusumdur.

Cok fazla geleneksel yemekleri yok. Bors ya da borsh ya da borc diye bir corbalari var 1-2 yerde yedim. Cok sevmedim. Lahana sevmedigim icin olabilir. En cok neyi ozledim diye sorarsak; ayran. Burada yok degil ama icinde nane ve sanirim soda var. Marketten  1 kez aldim icemedim.  Zaten Anam`in ev yapimi ayraninin yanidan sansi sifirdi. Turkrestaurantina bir kez sadece ayran icmek icin gittim. Fena degildi...

Bu haftasonu snowboard a baslayacagim.  Heyecanliyim. Kayak merkezi isyerime iki otobus duragi uzaklikta. Keyfi yuksek bir faaliyet oldugunu soyluyorlar. Bir bakayim
dedim. Sonraki hafta Cernobil`e gitmek istiyorum ama biraz pahali. Internetten fotograflara baktim. Cok acayip goronuyor. Umarim gidebilirim. Bir de firsatim olursa bitpazarina gidecegim. Burnuma acayip kokular geliyor...

Evet, Ukrayna`li kadinlar  zarif ve guzeller. Havalari farkli. Bazen yolda yururken cok abartili bir durum yokmus diye dusunurken karsidan bir kadin gelir ruzgariyla
tokatini atar gider. Nasil davranmalari gerektigini biliyorlar. Zarafet hat safhada. Bazilari utangac bazilari sohbet etmekten cekinmiyor. Erkekleri cok yakisikli degil ama %10-15 kisim citanin baya uzerinde. Sicaklar ama samimi olduklarini henuz soyleyemem, bunun icin erken. Sosyallesmek cok kolay. Bir gun Divan jazz bardayken menude birayi bulamadim, yanimda bir kadin vardi ona sordum. Yardimci olmaya calisti ama o da bulamadi. 2-3 dakikadir konusuyorduk. Sonra bir adam geldi. Anladim ki kocasi ya da sevgilisi. Gelisi `o benim karim lan` gibiydi. Sictik dedim. Lakin hakikaten sadece menude bira ariyorduk. Cunku menu Ingilizce degildi. Sonuc; tum gece birlikte eglendik. Cok keyifli bir ciftti. Adam sualti arkeologu kadin ic mimarmis. Sohbet muhabbet. Oradan baska bir mekana gittik vs.

Petro: Simdilik en yakin arkadasim. Kiev`e hakim. Is cikisi dolasiyoruz bazen. Gectigimiz haftasonu beni bir partiye davet etti. Gittik. Eski ve genis bir mekandi.
Insanlar cilginlar gibi dans ediyordu. Muzik guzeldi vs. Neyse biseyler icmek istedim, ickiyi nereden aliyoruz Petro dedim. Cevabi icki yok sadece su ve cay var oldu.
Saka sandim. Ya da anlamadi dedim ve tekrar sordum. Cok ciddiydi. Cok sasirdim. Su bedavaydi cayi sevmedigim ve normalde de icmedigim icin merak edip sormadim.
Neyse bana sehrin gizli yerlerini gosterdigin ve surekli yardima hazir oldugun icin sagol Petro... `burasi kiev bebek` Petro

Olga:  Gecen hafta tanismistik. 1 hafta sonra goruselim dedik. Ne yapmak istiyorsun dedi. Arabayla sehir turu dedim. Tamam dedi. Kirmizi arabasiyla bana sehri gezdirdi. Havanin soguk ve kiyafetinin soguga uygun olmamasina ragmen arabadan inip orayi burayi gosterdi. Cok keyif aldim. Tesekkurler kirmizi arabali kadin...

Svetlana:  Genelde birlikte calistigim art direktor. Onunla calismak cok zor. Bazen TR`ye donmek istiyorum. Saka bir yana simdiye kadar is anlaminda sagladigi faydalar icin tesekkur ederim. Guzel geri donusler aliyorum.

Misha (metin yazari): Mama kendi tasarimi olan kartpostal birakmis. Uzerinde `i wish you to leave your fucking job to find another fucking job` yaziyor. Cok sevdim. Tesekkurler Misha...

Misha (beer man): Sanat ve bira yonetmeni. Ofise bira akisini sagliyor. Sirt cantasindan 1000 bira kapasiteli. Biralar ve sohbet icin tesekkurler Misha. SEREFE!
`en iyi musteri olu musteri` Michka

Ilona: Sevimli sapkali kadin. Ayni ajanstayiz ama hangi pozisyonda calistigini bilmiyorum. Bana cok yardimci olmaya calisti, henuz basaramadi. Girisimleri icin cok tesekkur edeiyorum.

Ve tabi ki Anna:  TR deyken benimle iletisime gecen kisi Anna`ydi. Cok yardimsever sahane bir insan. Zorlu Ukrayna yolculugum suresince hep yanimdaydi, hala da oyle. Bazen benimle ilgili guzel seyler olunca benden cok o seviniyor.  Umarim yolculugum suresince Anna gibi insanlarla karsilasmaya devam ederim.

Ve ayrica tesekkurler: ismini hatirlamadigim, bir yerlerde tanistigim (expect Irina, Vera, Alex) ajanstaki is arkadaslarim ve holding calisanlari  (Svitlana, Vlad, Elena, Sasha, Maria, Vova, Marina, Alexy, Elena, Pasa, Ivanna, Ann, Olga ve ismini hatirlamadiklarim, uzgunum)
ve hostelden (Alexy, Furkan, Anna (Valeri), Mashka, Joffrey, Romana, Ira, Helen) ve paylasimimi buraya kadar okudugun icin sana...

Enterance of metro

Simdilik paylasmak istediklerim bunlar. Ekte anlattigim seylerle ilgili fotograflari bulabilirsiniz.

Another church

A church

Gorusmek uzere...

One secret place

Metal love

Designed by Misha. Thanks again...

Misha - Copywriter and postcar designer :)

Svetlana - Hard director

Aaand Anna (white) - Olga (red) lunch time

Irina - Miss Mistake

And Misha - Art and Beer director.

Looooooooooooooooong

Golden gate - next to the hostel

Little river

Lunch time - in the little river

Kitchen

Roommate

Maybe same maybe another church.

My bed

Picture shop

Ira - Helen - Vika

Roommate

DJ Alex - Hostel

Reception

Olga with red car

Reception - Mashka

Smoking area - Hostel

Common room

Ira - She says `Vodka connecting people`

Reception - Anna

Kan & Joffrey

Smoking time

And King Petro...