Simferopol

Today Eugene took me all over Simferopol. We went to his parents' apartment which was in a tall building on a hill. The rooftop offered a wonderful view of the city. I discovered that I was in a valley. Here are some of the rooftop pictures.



Simferopol is very different from Canadian cities, but I like it. I took the bus (called a muh-shoot-ka) (see below), which costs 2 hyrivnas ($.25). On the buses there is no machine to collect your money, instead you hand it directly to the driver. But, it is very important that you get on the bus right away because they are always in a rush to get to the next stop. You get on, sit down and then pass your bus fare to the person in front of you and it eventually it gets passed up to the bus driver. If you need change, you wait and it will be passed back to you. Below is a picture of May, the Australian intern, and I by the muh-shoot-kas.





This is Lenin in one of the many city squares. (above)



This is Crimea's Parliament (above), it's shaped like the Pentagon and no, you can't go inside.



Eugene pointed out this sweet tradition while he was showing me the river. All over the bridge were locks with peoples' names and dates inscribed. Instead of lovers etching their names directly into the metal, they have their names and length of their relationship engraved on a lock and then locked onto the bridge. Then I think they throw the key into the river.



Also by the river were several war monuments. This monument is for WWII veterans. (above) It is tradition that after a wedding ceremony and before the reception everyone goes to the monument and places flowers by the flame. (below)



Tomorrow I start what I came here to do - work, but only for four hours. I'll be working at the University to promote the event 'Skills Matter'. Skills Matter is a series of lecturers on proper business management and organization that I, and the other interns, will be delivering in a few weeks.