For example, down a dark alley and in the basement of a run-down building lies an Internet Cafe, where my fellow Peace Corps volunteers escape for news from the outside world. Then, you attempt a seemingly simple task, such as taking a bath, and find it is impossible. Water is rationed. It may be there. It may not.
Most families fill the bathtub when it is running just in case.
Towns and cities centrally control the heat, turning it on and off according to finances, not the weather. Some homes are freezing, others sweltering. Still, I am charmed by the accordion players in the streets and the way store clerks give packs of gum if they don't have change. The stray dogs are so hungry you can't walk down the street with an apple in your hand or you risk being attacked. Only one thing is certain in Ukraine.