Today I am going to give you brief descriptions of 3 professions I see in Odessa. They are interesting because they are so different than the USA...
Bus Drivers: Odessa has an excellent public transportation system. It uses buses, taxis, trams and trolleys, but the vast bulk of passenger traffic is carried by mini-buses called 'marshrutkas'. These vehicles are designed to carry about 20 passengers, but they will cram on up to 50 in rush hour. The drivers are remarkable multi-taskers. They drive through very congested traffic while taking a nip of vodka, talking on the phone to their girlfriend and giving change to the passengers!
Bank tellers: Going in to a bank here is a maudlin experience. The first person you see is a security guard with a scowl engraved on his face. Talking to a bank teller is like talking to a zombie...no expression, no conversation and no smile. My mother worked as a teller in a bank for 20 years in a small town, and every person she waited on was cheerfully and politely pumped for all the information they had about themselves and their family. My mother could have been a good CIA operative. She knew everything about everybody. Not so here.
Street beggars: You will always see the crippled, the handicapped and the old grannies on the street trying to earn enough to buy bread. On a good day, they may get a few kopeks. But last spring I saw a guy with a wife, a baby and a scrawny, mangy dog. He wasn't having much luck holding his hand out for his family, but he must have had a spark of entrepreneurship strike him. One day I saw him put out his flea-bitten dog next to a sign that said, “Please help my buy food for my dog”. He started raking in cash like he never dreamed of!!! Now, you will see several 'wannabes' with a scrawny dog on every corner playing on the Odessans' love of animals.
In the month of November, I spent only $915.42. And of that amount, $450 was for buying a guitar, a Russian tutor 4 days a week and a 'passport gratuity'. You can't beat the cost of living here!
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