What we will miss

After two years, we sat down and thought of what we would miss in Ukraine. Here is a sample:

Borshch and lots of smetana (sour cream)
Instant Jacobs coffee in the morning (just because it is a great name!)
Lunches with Sophia and Baby Pytor
The strange feeling of living in the former Soviet Union
Speaking Russian daily
Blinchiki (pancakes stuffed with all sorts of goodness)
BBC World and DW English News
Svetlana the vegetable lady at Urozhai Bazaar
The brinza lady
Walking a mile to check the mail (and walking in general)
The summer fruit and vegetable harvest - both picking and eating
The many cookies available bulk in all stores
The Vosnuk family in Bar
The ability to buy and individual egg when we need one
Sleeping 8 hours every night
Taking time for tea (the process)
Our PC friends (Volunteers and staff)
Collegues at work (Anton, Svetlana, Sasha...)
Quality time with each other every evening
Vareneky
Short weekend getaways via overnight train (especially L'viv)
Cherry Juice

And many others. There are of course items we'll not miss, such as overcrowded public transports, vodka shots, Russian and Ukrainian pop music, undrinkable tap water, pig fat as a main course, laundry in the bathtub, occasional bucket baths, the dust and mud in the streets. But by far, the positives outweighed the negatives. This was the hardest time of our lives, but also the most memorable and rewarding. If we had the choice to do it all over again, knowing what we know today, we would not hesitate to say yes.