Michael McCann's Secret Public Blog

This is Ukraine's equivilant to Rodeo Drive -- Khreshchatyk Street. I only spent one day hanging out a guy I will refer to as Bob.  Bob was a brazillian attache, he worked at one of Brazil’s embassies in Europe and had come to Ukraine for a weekend vacation.  He was a pretty nice guy, but he viewed America very differently than all the other travelers I encountered. I was suprised to f...

Parking in front of the University Staying at a hostel, you tend to meet a lot of interesting people. One of the most interesting people I met on my trip was a Slovenian mechanical engineer named Elvis. He was a really interesting character and confirmed something I’ve always believed — mechanical engineers are all the same. It doesn’t matter what country, culture, or backgrou...

Hey, someone’s put all the FSI material for various languages online at http://fsi-language-courses.org/Content.php.  Not only are their the books, but also mp3s of the audio as well.  This is a great, free alternative to purchasing an expensive text book.

Normal apartment blocks in Kiev “If you’re really lucky, you’ll be invited over to someone’s house.” That’s what my travel guide said and it spoke the truth.  I made an effort to talk to the local folks everyday.  It led to a lot of interesting conversations and I ended up in several places I never would have known about if I hadn’t talked to them. One a...

The Love Bridge in Kiev. It isn't in the guidebooks, but its worth a look. No stories about Ukraine here — just things I thought were worth mentioning.  Being the nerd that I am, I made a couple of notes about little things I noticed that were just different than back in Nashville. In Kiev, they don’t jaywalk in the city center.  I think it has a lot to do with the fact that dri...

Kiosks in Ukraine sell everything from flowers to candy, beer, pastries, and smokes. The single most entertaining encounter with the Ukrainian militia happened after spending about a week in Kiev. I had gotten back to the hostel in the early afternoon to catch a nap before heading out for a long night. I was preparing to bed down when the militia raided the hostel. It wasn’t a guns blazi...

Ukrainian Militia (police) in uniform (Kiev) Everyone I talk to about Ukraine wants to know about the police. They’ve acquired an almost legendary status thanks to decades of stories about the Soviet police. When you’re in central Kiev, the police are omni-present. Saying that there’s an officer on every street corner isn’t much of an exaggeration. While they are omni-pre...

Welcome to Ukraine I have never traveled outside the United States before. That needed to change. For a first trip, I suppose most people would have either picked a traditional tourist destination somewhere in Western Europe or joined a group doing some kind of volunteer work if they wanted a little adventure in their life. I’m not most people though — I picked a country in politic...