English, French, Swiss and all the rest, who is about to come to the great city Kyiv to watch EURO 2012 football championship, shall be aware of some things that should and should not be done in the capital city of Ukraine. One of the difficulties that football fans might come across is – communication, as only 35-40% of people in Ukraine speak English. Though the situation in Kyiv is a little bit better. To feel more free in communication and avoid language barrier will help a simple phrase-book or at least the following useful phrases that will give you more confidence and will help you to impress people around:
Privet - Hi
Spasibo – Thank you
Pozhaluista - You are welcome/not at all/it's my pleasure
Kak proiti k stadionu? – How can I get to the stadium?
Skolko stoit pivo? – How much is the beer?
Ti krasivaia- You are beautiful
Kak dela? – How are you?/How do you do?
Hochy tusit’ – I want to party
A lion’s share of Russian and Ukrainian language is occupied by swearing words that you are sure to learn quickly during your stay in the city when attending the EURO 2012 football championship. The Russian language is said to be one of the richest languages, so swearing can extend to the size of a couple vocabularies.
The second difficulty for fans in Kyiv can become – police. It's not a big surprise that fans don’t like police but Ukrainian one is like no other in the world. Without knowing simple rules, the fans are easy preys for the police, as the latter try to get as much of the foreigners as possible. If you don’t know the language, the rules and the laws at all but you have friends or you are accompanied by a guide who knows what is right and what is wrong - that's the best option. In case you don’t know anybody from Kyiv, remember some basic rules that will help you to enjoy your stay and football games during the EURO championship:
- Always carry either your passport or any other ID with you.
- Even though Ukrainian police is very corruptive, be careful, while offering money to them. Let them be the first to give a hint about money.
- If you see that there are too many of them – run!
- Always have the tellephone number of your embassy to call and ask for help. When you feel that the police want to accuse you in something but you know you have done nothing wrong, you simply ask them for the number of the embassy. On paper, they should know such information but in fact, most of them - don't. Seeing that you are well-informed and educated, they may leave you alone. Such questions frighten them, as they don't want to deal with aware people.
All-loved beverage - beer can become a big problem during the EURO 2012 football championship. Kyiv people like to drink and when it comes to such a grand event as 2012 EURO football championship, it will be very difficult to stop them. As you may know, in most cases "the parties" where people drink more than they should, finish bad. Ukrainian guys are pretty big and strong, so in order not to enter into any conflict or not to use your fists – either avoid such groups of people or you can use the power that units everybody and it is of course – alcohol. There are numerous football watching spots where you can buy beer, vodka or any other drinks while watching EURO cup 2012. One of the rules that must be mentioned is that drinking outside is strictly prohibited, though most of people still do it. Supermarkets and shops can be a budget option to buy beer, still avoid drinking it outside.
The last most important thing not to be skipped - Ukrainian women. Apart from being very beautiful, most of them are independent, smart and confident. One should differentiate typical party-girls (who can behave as if they have never seen men) from those who enjoy their after-work evening. In total, they should be respected and treated nicely as all other ladies in the world.
Last thing is to socialize. Ukrainians are friendly and nice people who like foreigners and who can always help you if you ask them to.
Anyway, if you behave well and respect the people and the laws of the country you came to, you'll have only positive emotions and high spirit during 2012 european championship. Moreover, if you keep informed and proactive, you'll have no problem to stay safe anywhere.
