Five initial cultural differences I’ve noticed between Ukraine and the United States

One of the things I’m asked the most from friends back home is this:

What’s been the biggest culture shock in moving from the United States to Ukraine?

Honestly, the culture shock wasn’t TOO bad. Peace Corps does a really great job at preparing all of us for allll the cultural differences. Because we were really eased into our service through Pre-Service Training, none of us were really thrown into the thick of things without knowing what was coming.

But, anyway. What was the biggest culture shock?

Obviously, there are some pretty major differences in terms of things like architecture, money, language, etc. We speak Ukrainian (or Russian. Or Surzhyk.) here. We use the metric system. There’s a whole lot more public transit use. Supermarkets aren’t really too big here, and most of our food is bought fresh from street-side vendors or bazaars — if it isn’t grown right in our backyards.

But culturally, there are a few key differences. These are just a handful of things that stand out to me as cultural differences between the States and Ukraine.

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Time. In America, people often use the phrase “if you’re on time, you’re late.” In Ukraine? Not so much. Time is fluid here… meaning it doesn’t really matter. It’s not uncommon to arrive at a store during normal business hours, only to find it closed. Buses and trolleys rarely make stops at their scheduled times, meetings are often canceled (or arranged) on very short notice and people are late to everything. (One time, my host mom drove me to a manicure appointment. We were late, naturally, and I was freaking out about it. I didn’t want to come off as rude! However, my manicurist was even more late than I was. This is totally normal here.)

Early on during training, I would make plans with friends well in advance. Then, 20 minutes before I was supposed to meet up with those friends, my host family would tell me that they were taking me out for the day. This was — and still is — one of the hardest things for me to adjust to. I like planning and scheduling, and I live by my Google Calendars, so living in a flexible time society is my literal Type A nightmare.

Personal relationships. Ukraine has a collectivist society, which means that people really, really help each other out. You know how in America, we all like to be as independent as possible, claw our way to the top and claim our victories as our own? Totally not the case here. That’s why it was so easy to find more than 100 families in the Zhytomyr oblast ready and willing to help out all the Peace Corps Trainees who needed housing during training! People share everything they have here. Dinners are ordered communally at restaurants. If people stop to buy food, they buy enough to share. If someone stops by unannounced, they are ALWAYS welcomed in for tea and dinner. If you call a Ukrainian, he or she will drop everything to answer. (They also always keep their ringers at full volume. Every Ukrainian’s phone rings about 10-12 times an hour, no joke.) Ukrainians are beyond hospitable, and they share everything with everyone.

During one of my first few weeks here, I was home alone when a man I had literally never met before unlocked the front door, walked into my host family’s home, pulled out Google Translate, and used it asked me when my host family would be back. I was literally terrified, but that’s just how things are here!

Personal space. Americans are super used to their personal bubbles. In Ukraine? No. You don’t get that. People cram in body-to-body on marshrutkas. (No joke — I literally had a man straddling me over a seat once with his junk ALL UP IN MY FACE.) If you’re not toe-to-heel with the person in front of you in a line, a Ukrainian will wedge right into that two-foot gap without a word. Ukrainians will sit next directly next to you on park benches without asking, bump into you on sidewalks without apologizing and push past you in supermarket aisles without a second thought. It’s not considered rude here, it’s just part of the culture.

However, as much as Ukrainians will physically encroach on your personal space? When it comes to talking, they’re very unobtrusive. They won’t smile at you, ask how you’re doing, start casual conversation or talk loudly. As someone who was born and raised to be Midwest nice, this was a big change!

Food. Ukrainians LOVE food. They love cooking it, eating it and sharing it. They especially love their traditional foods and are SO proud of them. If you’re not really up-to-date on Ukrainian history, here’s a quick note. In the early half of the 1900s, Communist leader Joseph Stalin forced Ukraine into a massive famine, known as the Holodomor. Millions died, and the forced genocide had a lasting impact on Ukrainian behavior toward food. Ukrainians will feed you seconds and thirds without asking. You will be expected to finish everything on your plate. Food will never be thrown away — it will be frozen and saved, fed to pets, given to neighbors, etc. Ukrainians eat breakfast, lunch, first dinner and second dinner, and Ukrainians will ALWAYS check in to make sure you aren’t голодний (hungry).

Appearances. America’s basically thriving on the athleisure movement right now. No-makeup makeup is all the rage. Natural beauty is taking over. Self-love is having its moment. But, over here in Ukraine? Appearances are EVERYTHING. Women will apply a full face of makeup and do their hair just for a five-minute run to the bazaar. Ukrainians typically own small wardrobes, but they take great care of their clothes. Everything is always clean, pressed and fitted. Women wear very tall heels EVERYWHERE, all the time, and always have their nails done.

A lot of younger Ukrainians are starting to adapt a more American approach to toward casual dress — and sneakers/ jogging pants are starting to hit their stride — but for the most part, Ukrainians still take great pride in their appearances, and always do the absolute most for EVERYTHING.

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OK, so, there you have it. Fiiiiive differences between Ukraine and the United States.

Now, excuse me. It’s a little past 8 p.m. here and I’m off to eat my third dinner. 😂

This post was originally published October 26, 2019. Its timestamp has been updated to better reflect the timeline of my Peace Corps service.