Покупки (Shopping)

This afternoon, I made another trek downtown to the bank (банк), so I can pay my rent next week.  While I was downtown, I thought I would walk around a bit.  On the side of a shiny glass and steel building was a sign in English that read “Sam’s Steakhouse.”  I was intrigued.  I wasn’t interested in eating at Sam’s, as I had just had lunch in the student dining room, but I was curious to see what was in this sleek, new mall.  Once inside, I was surprised by what I saw.  I could have been in any upscale shopping center in the U.S.  It was very clean, chic and trendy.  There were multiple levels of very expensive stores that could have been located in New York, Chicago, or Kansas City.  American, Italian and French designer labels were well represented.  It is total rejection of everything Soviet, but located in place which in many ways is still trying to overcome its Soviet legacy.  One of the most notable features of the mall was the paucity of shoppers.  It was almost empty.  In a country where the average university trained school teacher makes only 100 to 200 dollars a month or a college professor 800 dollars a month, few can afford to pay for a $190.00 Nike ski jacket.  In fact, the prices in this mall were comparable to those at stores in the upscale Country Club Plaza in Kansas City.  I am not willing to pay these prices, myself.  How can the average Ukrainian worker support these stores?  How will these stores stay open?

And Sam’s Steakhouse?  I found it.  It was on the fourth floor.  It was just as sleek and upscale as the other retailers, and it was just as empty.  Incidentally, a meal at Sam’s can cost 40 dollars here or 320 hryvnia.

Oh, I did buy something that wasn’t outrageously priced.  I wandered inadvertently into a really neat (and big) toy store.  Anyone who knows me well will probably guess what I bought.  Once I realized I was in a cool toy store, I searched for and found the section where toy and model cars are displayed.  I bought a cool model of a Russian Volga automobile, and it only cost 38 hryvnia or $4.50.  I’ll post a picture of it tomorrow.