anchor.diff: ----
  -title: "Ukraine: Nov 2017"
  -url: "/ukraine_nov_2017"
  -aliases: []
  -description: "Looking through the new eyes"
  -date: 2017-12-29
  -draft: false
  -acknowledgement: 
  -categories: ["Writings"]
  -tags: ["Ukraine", "travelling", "technology"]
  -people: []
  -places: ["Kyiv", "Ukraine", "Kharkiv"]
  -locations: ["San Francisco"]
  ----
  -
  -= Ukraine: Nov 2017
  -Anton Podviaznikov <anton@podviaznikov.com>
  -:revdate: 2018-01-09
  -:docdate: 2018-01-09
  -:nofooter:
  -:document_type: writing
  -:tags: "Ukraine, travelling, technology"
  -
  +---
  +title: "Ukraine: Nov 2017"
  +url: "/ukraine_nov_2017"
  +aliases: []
  +description: "Looking through the new eyes"
  +date: 2017-12-29
  +draft: false
  +acknowledgement: 
  +categories: ["Writings"]
  +tags: ["Ukraine", "travelling", "technology"]
  +people: []
  +places: ["Kyiv", "Ukraine", "Kharkiv"]
  +locations: ["San Francisco"]
  +---
  +
  += Ukraine: Nov 2017
  +Anton Podviaznikov <anton@podviaznikov.com>
  +:revdate: 2018-01-09
  +:docdate: 2018-01-09
  +:nofooter:
  +:document_type: writing
  +:tags: "Ukraine, travelling, technology"
  +
   In July 2015 I wrote a https://podviaznikov.com/ukraine/[post about Ukraine] that defined two things 
   that made me optimistic about Ukrainian future.
   
  
positive.code: They were filled with people (both locals and foreigners).
  Those places were modern in all senses:
   
   - beautiful design - interior and brand - with attention to details
   - young, good-looking, English-speaking, _polite_ and _helpful_ personal. 
   This is a significant point, it wasn’t like that before at all. 
   Only 30 years ago our service industry was full of angry, bitter ladies working for state-owned enterprises
   - modern menu. Ok, when I saw browny,  merengue, marshmallows on the menu in Kharkiv - 
   I was both impressed but also started thinking about the speed of globalization. 
   That menu was no different from the one I see in San Francisco
   - tourist-ready. As I said, personnel could speak English, all the menus had English translations.
  
  
negative.code: In 2015 I wrote, "we started to value intellectuals, it’s becoming fashionable again to be smart and kind."
  This thing happened! I’m so excited about it. When I left Ukraine in 2010, it was still cool to be “cool” (in the sense of “bad boys”).
  While in Kyiv I saw a tremendous amount of small new libraries or coffee shops/libraries. 
  Young people started to reading good modern books. 
  I've met two software engineers, and how surprised I was when we realized that 3 of us read the same books 
  (e.g., Peter Thiel’s “Zero to One”). And I’ve got many good book recommendations.
  
  