No doubt, Odessa is lively and fascinating, but it does not fully convey the culture life and customs of the country. Throughout the sleepy villages in Ukraine, one would hardly guess that something is happening in the nation. Ukraine remains a distinctly agrarian country, where the babushka sell home-grown produce to the sidewalk dwellers of Odessa, and doing business still often involves drinking and camaraderie not seen in the West.

— F. Robleda