A Word About The Mail
I've been experimenting with the mail here. I asked Betsy to mail me an envelope or postcard from NY about three or four weeks ago, and it still hasn't arrived. Laura has sent me several postcards, some in English, and others using cyrillic letters, from Scotland, I think, and they haven't gotten here yet either. Last week I mailed myself an envelope from the post office around the corner and used cyrillic letters - it got here two days later. It was thrilling to see an envelope in our mailbox, even though I knew it was from me and that there was nothing in it!!! Today I mailed an envelope addressed to me in English from the same post office. I wonder if this one will ever get here!
I also opened a bank account here today at Aval Bank (which was recently bought by Raiffeisenbank Group, an Austrian bank headquartered in Vienna). Raiffeisen used to have branches in Ukraine, but Raiffeisenbank Ukraine was sold and Raiffeisen bought Aval - it seemed to me it would be best to have use international banking institution. It took me many phone calls to find a branch where they have someone who speaks English who can help me, but I did it - and the branch office is only a few blocks away. I went over with my passport and my visa (which is in my passport), and it was easy - after all the horror stories I've heard about the PD Office having such difficulty opening up a bank account I was prepared for the worst. But it was simple (but this is an individual account, not a business account, so it's probably much less complicated). It cost $10 to open the account and then $4 more to get debit cards for me and Ed to use at the bankomats. I tried to deposit $100 right away. I knew that foreigners had to have evidence that the funds were legally brought into the country, and I had the receipt from the bankomat showing that I had just withdrawn that amount earlier in the day, but no dice - foreigners depositing foreign or local currency must have a customs declaration in order to make the deposit!!! God I hate these stupid rules - how could I possibly have a customs declaration for money I withdrew that morning, when I arrived in the country 3 months ago and haven't been back to the U.S. since? Oh well, it was easily solved - I'm going to arrange to have the funds wire transferred from our U.S. bank (which doesn't charge us to send the money out) today. I'm going to start with $1000 just to make sure that I understand all the fees and costs involved. I believe I was told that there is no charge for funds coming in (other banks charge as much as 1.5% for U.S. dollar wire transfers into the account). I also believe that I can open a 12 month deposit account and withdraw the money after 30 days with no penalty, and continue to receive interest of 6.5% per month on whatever is in the deposit account. I think I can walk into any branch anywhere in the Ukraine and withdraw my money in U.S. Dollars at a cost of 1% and, finally, we can use the debit cards at any bankomat, but only in Ukraine, and only to withdraw HVAs. There is a charge of 1%, but not less than 5 HVA, to use the bankomat (plus whatever cut the bank takes in converting the dollars to Hryvnas). But in a pinch I can always take out 500 HVA from a bankomat (about $100) and pay a $1 fee. Otherwise I'll just get what I need for rent and such things from the bank in person, and then change the dollars at an exchange booth for a much better exchange rate. When I contacted our U.S. bank to find out what information they needed to make the transfers, I found that Aval Bank had given me everything necessary - account number, account name, bank name, SWIFT Code and a list of U.S. correspondent banks with their account numbers and SWIFT codes. So by tomorrow I should have the money in Ukraine and be able to withdraw it. In two weeks we should have our debit cards. Again, this is Ukraine, not Los Angeles, so I'm not counting my chickens (or my U.S. dollars) yet.
While I was at the bank Ed called and we arranged to meet outside the bank and have lunch together. We went to a restaurant around the corner from our apartment that we've been planning to go to for a long time. There's a big courtyard with a pretty garden, and little private alcoves off the courtyard with tables tucked inside. We chose to eat outside - and got English menus. It was fantastic - it's my favorite restaurant so far (with the possible exception of the one Oksana took us to in the woods). I had the most delicious blini and red caviar I have yet had in Ukraine (for $6.50) and then an order of potato pancakes with sour cream that was perfect (this cost $1.50 for 4 pancakes). Ed had a fantastic salad of chicken, mushrooms, prunes and walnuts in a sour cream sauce. It was really a great meal - and the menu is very varied and interesting and reasonable. I can't wait to go back. When the check came we found that even though it was incredibly cheap (78 HVAs, including tip and two drinks and bread and butter - they charge separately for bread and butter here), we didn't have enough money with us!! But fortunately this is Kharkiv, and there is a bankomat or money exchange booth every which way you turn - so I just went across the street and changed some U.S. dollars that I had brought with me to deposit in the new bank account (but which I couldn't deposit because I didn't have the required customs declaration). I was back in the restaurant in two minutes.
Ed was exhausted after trying hard to get things done at the office, and getting nowhere. He quite rightly feels that they will lose the momentum on the agreements with the police unless they move quickly to get them in writing, signed, sealed and delivered. But he's having a really hard time getting anyone here (anyone involved in the Kharkiv PD project, that is) to arrange the necessary meetings. There's always some problem - this one is on vacation, that one isn't answering his phone, the other one wants to speak to so and so before the meeting can be arranged, etc., etc. It's so frustrating. Ed feels that he's on the verge of getting everything in place, and that in the U.S., even assuming he had to deal with the most reluctant and laziest of bureaucrats, he would be able to get it all tied up by the end of next week. But he's beginning to despair of seeing anything really accomplished here. They still haven't transferred the funds from Kyiv to the Kharkiv office, and who knows when we will ever see the $1000 Ed advanced to the office. Today a new paralegal showed up (the last on quit), and now she (who has been working there about 4 hours), rather than Gennadiy, will be interviewing candidates for the position of Director's Assistant. Ed's given up having someone who is fluent in English fill that position - he told Gennadiy to just go ahead and find someone who can take care of the administrative details of the office. I think that's a big mistake - it's really impossible for him to convey to Gennadiy what he thinks should be done (motions, etc.) - it would be like someone from France telling me, in French, what legal motions to file. I can manage okay in French, I can get around and all that, but I certainly can't understand the nuances of the legal vocabulary in French, and I don't think that the lawyers in the PD Office can understand those nuances in English. To make matters worse on the "let's get things done" front, tomorrow Gennadiy has to go to Kyiv to get a visa (so that he can go to Wales from September 13 through 17 to look at the Public Defender's office in Swansea) and, even before that, on September 8, 9 and 10, all the other lawyers from the office will be in Sebastapol at the CEELI cross examination seminar. As I often comment to my scrabble partners "AAAAAARGH!!!"
I told Ed to go home and rest - I was going to run some errands. Ed had popped the screw that keeps the fastener on his left sandal in place, and he really needs the sandals now because the toe problem has resurfaced. So I was planning on having that fixed today. I also wanted to look at a bookstore that Vicky had told me about - it's called BOOK - and she said they have books in English on the second floor - mostly classics - just what Ed wants. He's reading up a storm, and has been on a Russian authors kick (he just finished Dr. Zhivago), but in desperation he turned to my all time favorite, Pride and Prejudice (which we've both heard read by Glenda Jackson a couple of years ago) and he is loving it. Well, who wouldn't???
Vicky had told me about a shoe repair place and I went there right after lunch. They couldn't help me, but told me to go next door, where it was fixed in about 5 minutes. During that time I managed to have a "political" conversation with one of the guys there - he asked where I was from, and I told him I was from America. He said he likes America, and I said I do too, but I don't like George W. Bush. He asked what I thought of Putin, and I said I really couldn't say - I just don't know enough about him and his policies. Then he asked what I thought of Yushenko, and I told him I liked Yushenko two years ago but now I think he has betrayed the Ukrainian people. Now, I have no idea how we managed to communicate all this to each other - he spoke no English and I spoke no Russian, and there was a girl there who spoke a tiny bit of English. But I think we got through to each other, but I can't be absolutely sure. Anyway, he gave me his business card and I gave him mine (he wanted to know what I was doing in Kharkiv - so the card I have from the International Senior Lawyers Project, with my name and email, and their phone number and address, might give him some idea of what we're up to here).
Before going to the bookstore, I stopped at the printer that is doing my cards and the business cards for the PDs office. Good thing I went there. My phone number was incorrect, plus they left off the country code from my 310 area code Skype-in phone number and my 206 area code fax number. They also left off the "A" at the end of SUSAN in cyrillic (Ukrainian female names have to end in A or YA). I also looked at the PD Office business cards, and I added Ed's mobile phone number and his personal email address to his card. It looks like he'll be gone from Kharkiv shortly after he gets these cards, so I thought it might be useful if they contain some information that can be used when he's living in Kyiv! They also spelled his name incorrectly in English (EDVARD), and they spelled his last name incorrectly in cyrillic (RAKKER instead of ROOKER - long u sound). I told the printer that he has to get the other office cards approved by Gennadiy - that I have nothing to do with them. I think there are some other problems with them (e.g., there is one number for both fax and phone - BIG mistake - and they don't include the country code for that number - that's probably okay because all their activities will be local, but still, it's not quite right). Anyway, that's all their business, not mine.
Next I went off to the bookstore, but the choices were limited (some Henry James, some Edith Wharton, some Jane Austen) - no Russian authors translated into English. I'm going to let Ed go and pick out his own selections. I almost bought him The Wings of the Dove, my favorite Henry James', but I'm afraid it's not the best James book to start out with - I think a reader new to Henry James should start with Washington Square (which Ed has read), followed by Portrait of a Lady, and then the reader is ready - The Golden Bowl, Wings of the Dove, The Ambassadors - they are all great. So I left without buying anything.
I stopped at the post office - mailed myself the empty envelope - and made my way home (stopping at the market of course). I didn't get back until after 5, but we're both still full from lunch, so no dinner tonight. Just blogging, emails, scrabble and then War and Peace.
I also opened a bank account here today at Aval Bank (which was recently bought by Raiffeisenbank Group, an Austrian bank headquartered in Vienna). Raiffeisen used to have branches in Ukraine, but Raiffeisenbank Ukraine was sold and Raiffeisen bought Aval - it seemed to me it would be best to have use international banking institution. It took me many phone calls to find a branch where they have someone who speaks English who can help me, but I did it - and the branch office is only a few blocks away. I went over with my passport and my visa (which is in my passport), and it was easy - after all the horror stories I've heard about the PD Office having such difficulty opening up a bank account I was prepared for the worst. But it was simple (but this is an individual account, not a business account, so it's probably much less complicated). It cost $10 to open the account and then $4 more to get debit cards for me and Ed to use at the bankomats. I tried to deposit $100 right away. I knew that foreigners had to have evidence that the funds were legally brought into the country, and I had the receipt from the bankomat showing that I had just withdrawn that amount earlier in the day, but no dice - foreigners depositing foreign or local currency must have a customs declaration in order to make the deposit!!! God I hate these stupid rules - how could I possibly have a customs declaration for money I withdrew that morning, when I arrived in the country 3 months ago and haven't been back to the U.S. since? Oh well, it was easily solved - I'm going to arrange to have the funds wire transferred from our U.S. bank (which doesn't charge us to send the money out) today. I'm going to start with $1000 just to make sure that I understand all the fees and costs involved. I believe I was told that there is no charge for funds coming in (other banks charge as much as 1.5% for U.S. dollar wire transfers into the account). I also believe that I can open a 12 month deposit account and withdraw the money after 30 days with no penalty, and continue to receive interest of 6.5% per month on whatever is in the deposit account. I think I can walk into any branch anywhere in the Ukraine and withdraw my money in U.S. Dollars at a cost of 1% and, finally, we can use the debit cards at any bankomat, but only in Ukraine, and only to withdraw HVAs. There is a charge of 1%, but not less than 5 HVA, to use the bankomat (plus whatever cut the bank takes in converting the dollars to Hryvnas). But in a pinch I can always take out 500 HVA from a bankomat (about $100) and pay a $1 fee. Otherwise I'll just get what I need for rent and such things from the bank in person, and then change the dollars at an exchange booth for a much better exchange rate. When I contacted our U.S. bank to find out what information they needed to make the transfers, I found that Aval Bank had given me everything necessary - account number, account name, bank name, SWIFT Code and a list of U.S. correspondent banks with their account numbers and SWIFT codes. So by tomorrow I should have the money in Ukraine and be able to withdraw it. In two weeks we should have our debit cards. Again, this is Ukraine, not Los Angeles, so I'm not counting my chickens (or my U.S. dollars) yet.
While I was at the bank Ed called and we arranged to meet outside the bank and have lunch together. We went to a restaurant around the corner from our apartment that we've been planning to go to for a long time. There's a big courtyard with a pretty garden, and little private alcoves off the courtyard with tables tucked inside. We chose to eat outside - and got English menus. It was fantastic - it's my favorite restaurant so far (with the possible exception of the one Oksana took us to in the woods). I had the most delicious blini and red caviar I have yet had in Ukraine (for $6.50) and then an order of potato pancakes with sour cream that was perfect (this cost $1.50 for 4 pancakes). Ed had a fantastic salad of chicken, mushrooms, prunes and walnuts in a sour cream sauce. It was really a great meal - and the menu is very varied and interesting and reasonable. I can't wait to go back. When the check came we found that even though it was incredibly cheap (78 HVAs, including tip and two drinks and bread and butter - they charge separately for bread and butter here), we didn't have enough money with us!! But fortunately this is Kharkiv, and there is a bankomat or money exchange booth every which way you turn - so I just went across the street and changed some U.S. dollars that I had brought with me to deposit in the new bank account (but which I couldn't deposit because I didn't have the required customs declaration). I was back in the restaurant in two minutes.
Ed was exhausted after trying hard to get things done at the office, and getting nowhere. He quite rightly feels that they will lose the momentum on the agreements with the police unless they move quickly to get them in writing, signed, sealed and delivered. But he's having a really hard time getting anyone here (anyone involved in the Kharkiv PD project, that is) to arrange the necessary meetings. There's always some problem - this one is on vacation, that one isn't answering his phone, the other one wants to speak to so and so before the meeting can be arranged, etc., etc. It's so frustrating. Ed feels that he's on the verge of getting everything in place, and that in the U.S., even assuming he had to deal with the most reluctant and laziest of bureaucrats, he would be able to get it all tied up by the end of next week. But he's beginning to despair of seeing anything really accomplished here. They still haven't transferred the funds from Kyiv to the Kharkiv office, and who knows when we will ever see the $1000 Ed advanced to the office. Today a new paralegal showed up (the last on quit), and now she (who has been working there about 4 hours), rather than Gennadiy, will be interviewing candidates for the position of Director's Assistant. Ed's given up having someone who is fluent in English fill that position - he told Gennadiy to just go ahead and find someone who can take care of the administrative details of the office. I think that's a big mistake - it's really impossible for him to convey to Gennadiy what he thinks should be done (motions, etc.) - it would be like someone from France telling me, in French, what legal motions to file. I can manage okay in French, I can get around and all that, but I certainly can't understand the nuances of the legal vocabulary in French, and I don't think that the lawyers in the PD Office can understand those nuances in English. To make matters worse on the "let's get things done" front, tomorrow Gennadiy has to go to Kyiv to get a visa (so that he can go to Wales from September 13 through 17 to look at the Public Defender's office in Swansea) and, even before that, on September 8, 9 and 10, all the other lawyers from the office will be in Sebastapol at the CEELI cross examination seminar. As I often comment to my scrabble partners "AAAAAARGH!!!"
I told Ed to go home and rest - I was going to run some errands. Ed had popped the screw that keeps the fastener on his left sandal in place, and he really needs the sandals now because the toe problem has resurfaced. So I was planning on having that fixed today. I also wanted to look at a bookstore that Vicky had told me about - it's called BOOK - and she said they have books in English on the second floor - mostly classics - just what Ed wants. He's reading up a storm, and has been on a Russian authors kick (he just finished Dr. Zhivago), but in desperation he turned to my all time favorite, Pride and Prejudice (which we've both heard read by Glenda Jackson a couple of years ago) and he is loving it. Well, who wouldn't???
Vicky had told me about a shoe repair place and I went there right after lunch. They couldn't help me, but told me to go next door, where it was fixed in about 5 minutes. During that time I managed to have a "political" conversation with one of the guys there - he asked where I was from, and I told him I was from America. He said he likes America, and I said I do too, but I don't like George W. Bush. He asked what I thought of Putin, and I said I really couldn't say - I just don't know enough about him and his policies. Then he asked what I thought of Yushenko, and I told him I liked Yushenko two years ago but now I think he has betrayed the Ukrainian people. Now, I have no idea how we managed to communicate all this to each other - he spoke no English and I spoke no Russian, and there was a girl there who spoke a tiny bit of English. But I think we got through to each other, but I can't be absolutely sure. Anyway, he gave me his business card and I gave him mine (he wanted to know what I was doing in Kharkiv - so the card I have from the International Senior Lawyers Project, with my name and email, and their phone number and address, might give him some idea of what we're up to here).
Before going to the bookstore, I stopped at the printer that is doing my cards and the business cards for the PDs office. Good thing I went there. My phone number was incorrect, plus they left off the country code from my 310 area code Skype-in phone number and my 206 area code fax number. They also left off the "A" at the end of SUSAN in cyrillic (Ukrainian female names have to end in A or YA). I also looked at the PD Office business cards, and I added Ed's mobile phone number and his personal email address to his card. It looks like he'll be gone from Kharkiv shortly after he gets these cards, so I thought it might be useful if they contain some information that can be used when he's living in Kyiv! They also spelled his name incorrectly in English (EDVARD), and they spelled his last name incorrectly in cyrillic (RAKKER instead of ROOKER - long u sound). I told the printer that he has to get the other office cards approved by Gennadiy - that I have nothing to do with them. I think there are some other problems with them (e.g., there is one number for both fax and phone - BIG mistake - and they don't include the country code for that number - that's probably okay because all their activities will be local, but still, it's not quite right). Anyway, that's all their business, not mine.
Next I went off to the bookstore, but the choices were limited (some Henry James, some Edith Wharton, some Jane Austen) - no Russian authors translated into English. I'm going to let Ed go and pick out his own selections. I almost bought him The Wings of the Dove, my favorite Henry James', but I'm afraid it's not the best James book to start out with - I think a reader new to Henry James should start with Washington Square (which Ed has read), followed by Portrait of a Lady, and then the reader is ready - The Golden Bowl, Wings of the Dove, The Ambassadors - they are all great. So I left without buying anything.
I stopped at the post office - mailed myself the empty envelope - and made my way home (stopping at the market of course). I didn't get back until after 5, but we're both still full from lunch, so no dinner tonight. Just blogging, emails, scrabble and then War and Peace.
posted by Susan Spivak at 7:09 PM
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