MY CULTURAL SHOCK IN US as a Ukrainian 

Regarding things like organ meat, most supermarkets have liver but to get other kinds you would have to go to a butcher shop. Things like this are usually "ethnic" foods and will be found in abundance in neighborhoods where a lot of immigrants reside. For example, Chinese Food in most of America is nothing like real Chinese food but if you go to the "Chinatown" areas of some major cities, you can have food is just as it is in China. There are even "Little Ukraine" neighborhoods that have shops that cater to Ukrainian tastes. You see, while America has always had an abundance of immigrants but after a generation or two, they are pretty much just American and have American sensibilities. My maternal grandparents were Polish immigrants so I enjoyed many Polish foods that most of my friends never heard of.

Hey how’s going everything? See you after long time

Hii i am big fan your and my from India

I just saw you on Netflix "Hitman"

I'm confused. We're you saying you couldn't pay your bills through your bank? Because in the USA you can play your bills with your bank app. Not sure why no one told you that.

Am so glad you are here Taya and am praying for your family at home. Much love from Yelena! ❤❤

As far as disabled people are concerned, you seem to be suffering from the remains of the Soviet way of doing things. Now that the war is happening the number of disabled people, such as those missing limbs, is going to be much larger than you have ever seen before and both society and infrastructure will have to adapt to new realities.

We have monopolies in the US. You will see what looks like different brands, but many are owned by the same company. Liver used to be sold in stores. I don't see it much anymore. In southern states, like south Georgia, southern Arkansas, pig's feet are still sold. I have not seen brain or cow tongue for sale in a grocery store in over 25 years.

America is fucked up in so many ways! I like Ukraine, it is much more simple and the food is much better and healthier.. I am a American, and my country is going to hell in a handbasket. I Pray for my country. So much homelessness because people cannot afford the rents and food, and they just give up. It is sad my country has ended up this way.

You don't have to have a credit card, but most people do. You can just use cash or have a debit card which is effectively what you have in Ukraine based on my conversations with some folks there. The biggest differences I noticed when i was in ukraine were (in no order) : (1) terrible sidewalks that were dangerous to walk on (2) you absolutely cannot drink the water from the faucet (3) Grocery stores had a big liquor section - and cheap too - and a small soda section (4) nobody smiles on the street and if you do smile people think you are crazy or drunk 😂 My translator told me every day "stop smiling at people!"

I was in Ukraine last September (2023). Firstly I want to say you have a lovely country, and I pray for peace there daily. I promised some friends of mine I would cook them "American Cheeseburgers", I had to go to 3 different markets in Kharkov to find beef, finally found some at a Silpo. Spices, spices or peppers are nearly impossible to find, the pizza's are rather bland compared to American pizza, and if you're in the mood for a taco, you're out if luck in Ukraine. You do make a good point about the sweets. My friends gave me different chocolate every day! But since you had a President who owned a chocolate company, I guess that makes sense. 🤣 Finally, I must say... Kyiv Cake!!! OMG! I'd had some pre-packaged torts before going to Ukraine, but I had real Kyiv cake in every city I went to, (except Lviv, but that's a different story all together) and I'm totally addicted to Kyiv cakes. I walked about 35 km a week while I was there, and still gained about 5kg 🤣! I'm going to have to learn to make Kyiv cake, because I've never had anything like it in America.

I was watching the movie Hit Man on Netflix. Am I the only one that didn’t know your RU-vid video was in the movie as the main character was scrolling through videos. I recognized you immediately and couldn’t believe my eyes. I had to back it up and look again❤

This is a comment to support Taya's videos and RU-vid channel.

"What idiot invented half and half?" You know, that's a good question. I honestly don't remember that as a child of the 1960's (we had cream and milk, and if you needed to, you mixed it) My thought is that "h/h" came about as a simplification of coffee service, where people responsible for preparing coffee (like at an office), bought it pre mixed (since heavy cream is hardly ever used in American coffee, and milk may be too "thin"). That might explain it---since once the alternative of h/h hit the shelves, it became popular, even at home. About faucet water in the US: I grew up in NY City, now I still live in NY State, and tap water is good in NY. (The best tap water I know is in Italy--soft, perfect for cooking and like spring water) About liquor: each state is different, so in NY one has to go to a liquor store for wine or hard liquor, but beer is sold in grocery stores.

Welcome to capitalism 🦅 Wait till you understand how tax system 🤡

In the US the credit card is usually associated with debt and ability to pay off a loan, though a fair number of people just use it as a convenient source of money and never run up any debt. It is simply an indicator for landlords that you are the kind of person who avoids debt or pays it off on time. As for tenants competing for apartments, that is most likely to occur in cities like New York. In smaller towns you may find landlords competing for tenants. The situation is complicated by large property companies buying up apartments and ending up with a local quasi-monopoly allowing them to be fussier about tenants and to raise rents.

Taya you've been handed a bunch of BS you can rent anywhere in the US for the first month's rent and the deposit, except for Cal. and nobody I know want's live there.

5:15 lol!... ''marriage'' is just an excuse Taya... a contract!... an agreement!... in Australia you can get citizenship being in a ''de facto relationship'' [boyfriend-girlfriend] for 2 years!...!...! talking about a country preserving a citizens ''right to hapines''...

Good to see you back, Taya! Credit cards are the safest way to pay. If you pay it off completely every month, you have no debt and pay no interest. I use mine for practically every purchase. Putting all your information into an app on your phone sounds like a good way to have your identity stolen. I want my phone to know as little about me as possible. Hope your are enjoying your stay in the US and getting used to things here. Слава Україні!

Half and Half is for coffee

Try not to confuse credit cards with debit cards. Most people use debit cards to pay for their stuff, but let's say your rent is due and your checking account won't have the full amount until next week. Not a problem, pay your rent with your credit card, then pay off the credit card next week, when you have the money. This is how you manage an unforseen expense, like a vehicle breaking down, or an airplane ticket to attend a funeral far away.

I still wouæd take Eastern Europa over Merika any day of the week. I know you do not want to talk bad about the country you are staying in, yet Україна is by far 1.000 of times better!

In USA think of states like individual countries united by a federal government.

OMG! Taya, you looks so young without make-up! Such a beauty! ♥

I'm glad to see another video. I hope your family is safe and well. The Ukrainian candy culture piques my interest! We passed a law in 1990 called the "Americans with Disabilities Act." It made it illegal for any business or entity open to the public to not be accessible to people with physical or medical disabilities. It was the last of our ambitious push for universal civil rights, not the end but so far, the last. I'm sure that after your victory Ukraine will honor your own heroes with similar public accommodations and understanding.

Hey a long time I'm following you. Whenever I i see you, I feel happy

Hi Taya as an American I don't know how credit cards work my dad has always told me not to mess with credit cards because it's a trap that people struggle to get out of.

Offal can usually be purchased in butcher shops, but it's not popular enough to be stocked in regular grocery stores.

kFC, in the United States, never eat there, it is trash food 😂😂, my dog even does want to eat the food from KFC.😅

I can only imagine how diverse US is from Ukrainian, it is extremely difficult here in the US for the commonfolk to survive nowadays, i wish you all the best here, dont let life here discourage you,

CREDIT RATING IS BOSS, ESPECIALLY IN A MARRIAGE!!!😃😃

Good to see you again Taya! Missed your videos!

I lived in States more than thirty years, and use my bank apps for long time, I paid my all bills, send money to anyone I want. So what I try to say, I came to America to stay here forever, so I was willing to adopt without paying attention for difference. If you wanna stay for long time enjoy life stop comparing👌👌🇺🇸🇺🇸

And if you have all your documents in the app on your phone and then you lose your phone, what happens? Sometimes good old paper is safer!

Oh hello Taya , I wish things went better for you here in USA .

Hey Taya, u need the full experience, go to Appleby’s and then the gun range. Don’t forget to buy some camo. MUrica! Lol

Each agency has their own security and thus their own apps. This prevents your ID from getting stolen. To have everything on one app is a security risk that most Americans aren't willing to take and we value our privacy a great deal.

Welcome to the USA, Taya! Things I think are better about US- opportunities, individuality, open friendliness and also open unfriendliness, fast and easy dealing with government, so much is streamline. Food is not so bad, and if you don't care about healthiness there's definitely variety! If you want livers, kidney, hearts, necks, bones they have those at the butcher or specialty stores, though they're available at most grocery stores. Less polution and littering. In Ukraine I like that anything you need is in walking distance or a bus trip away, even in a village or tiny city. I like that people are pretty self sufficient and great hustlers. I love the folk culture and songs. I love how practically every building has deep set windows you can sit in or at least put some flower pots in the window. Once you get to know the people and make friends you have a real loyal friend for life. Borscht (which I have here in the US too, but still 😊). I love how you can just walk your goat or cow into a field and let them eat grass, come back to get her and she's fine and nobody minds it. I LOVE village life in Ukraine, besides the drinking. The festivals and holidays are not a commercialized sad affair in Ukraine but wonderful and fun celebrations. The summers are mild and perfect.

Hi! jolie Taya! In France it is now quite the same than in America: hard to rent an appartment! very expensive! Ukraine has some kind of rurality i would for sure appreciate, cause i'm a country site boy! Things are easier in rural areas. People are true.May be dating is easier too, but i do not dream. Nevertheless i'm too old for that! But it's not paradize, the inconvenient of rurality is boredom, nothing to do, if you do not have some good books, internet and sometimes there are people with bad intentions too in villages. That's may be why i allways lived "in between" town, cities and villages.

You need a different supermarket. Many stores do carry beef liver, cow stomach (aka tripe), etc..

I was wondering if vegetarianism or veganism is a thing in Ukraine? A lot of Canadians and Americans follow vegetarian or vegan diets and I was wondering if vegetarianism is a thing in Ukraine or not?

If you’re living in the U.S. now you are experiencing a learning curve. I’m sure it’s different and difficult but you’ll get through it.

If you want to see the real America, Taya, you need to come to the Midwest or the South. Much different than New York or California.

“What idiot invented half and half?” 😂😂 I am still laughing….

Why are you in the USA? Have you left Ukraine?

good to see you back Taya

New York is not America. It appears to me that most of your experiences are based on new York or some other over crowded city's. Go south, or mid west. America is very diverse. I grew up in the southeast. My first visit to California I thought I was in another country.

American system is capitalism. You work towards a goal .

Taya, the credit card is required for renting many things because the bank will insure the money.

*sigh* another RU-vidr reacting to Cali/Texas. Exhausting watching the same places get "discovered" over and over... it's like In your country only Kyiv exists. Glad you're here though! Welcome hope you enjoy your time

in usa 'cream' is called 'heavy whipping cream' and its usually sold next to half and half

Ukraine seems like such a gentle country with fewer strict rules compared to the United States. The cost of living, especially house rent, is overwhelming there. If you're in New York, I can imagine how expensive it must be, with so many people becoming homeless due to rising rents. While I admire the American style, it's undeniably costly. Have you considered scrap selling? It's an interesting and easy way to make money without the insecurity of a traditional job. I feel like I wouldn't experience much culture shock if I visited the US because I've become familiar with American culture through RU-vid and other social media. If you ever find yourself in difficult times, remember that we are all unique individuals with our paths. Instead of worrying, come to India! Here, I can enjoy three meals with a Coca-Cola for just $10, and the freedom is immense.

hi taya just out of curiosity, you do know that you ended up in a hollywood movie called "hitman" from 2023, if you look at minute 20 and 45 seconds you can see yourself ;) a hug and keep it up! a big fan of yours :)

For those who find that she critisizes things too much i would like to tell that recently i've read some articles comparing cultures on different aspect and one funny article was Dutch vs Ukrainians, which basically said that those cultures are basically almost entirely opposite except one aspect and it was that both cultures look at things through a prism of critique. Meaning they can find many things that are beautiful but the find useful to mention only bad things as it emphasizes what should be done in order to make things even better. So if you find her being negative about US, it's not necessary means she doesn't like it there. P.s. I also saw much more disabled people in Europe but it's only logical. It's not even about culture, Ukraine simply doesn't have infrastructure that allow them to be outside. There is nothing, no lifts for disabled, no traces for blind, no clicking sound on cross-lights, nothing. Other countries have done tremendous work to make it so disabled people can do things by themselves and be able to do almost all things other people do. That was probably the saddest thing that i saw when i compared Ukraine and developed world

You see the US a one entity, California is nothing like Nebraska. Think more like EU, Ukraine is nothing like Portugal. In the US as a free enterprise based country it's all about supply and demand factors. There is a larger supply of people who want housing then there are houses or apartments by design so they're profitable so people have to compete to get them, by who has more money ,better credit history, better job, etc. And as far as food & snacks go, the US will produce whatever people will buy; if you can't find something it means there aren't enough people who what to buy it or you can count on the fact they would make it here, it's all about the sales. The US isn't a socialist country so we don't believe in higher taxes for more public services. We believe that everyone gets to keep more of their paycheck to spend on the stuff they feel is more important by person, like Family Health care, Personal Transportation, Personal Education; instead of you paying for someone else that didn't work to get what they have like you did possible.

You only need a credit card and good credit if you want to buy something that really expensive and you can't buy in cash like something over 1500$ it's also good to use if your not quite sure about something you buy if it turns out to be junk or dosnt work as advertised you can cancel payments. But credit card aren't good for some people specifically if they can't manage money it's easy to change more then you can afford. A debit card is the way to go it takes the money that you have in the bank account if you don't have it in the bank it mean you shouldn't buy it's also excepted 98 percent of any ware a credit card is but you don't build credit. Good credit helps buying a car and house and the only real reason it's good to have and use as long as your good management with your money and paying the credit card charges. Hope this helps you understand why a credit card is good but can be ba. 💯👍✌️😉

Sad to report your request for hearts and belly buttons to eat are likely to fall on deaf ears lol. Not too many Americans going to be excited to eat those.

The US has no culture, when you have so many religions and ethnicities in one country it's very hard to have a culture vs a homogenous country in Europe or elsewhere. I think people outside of the US have more interesting personalities.

Renting a house or apartment in many States of the US is made difficult for the landlord by way of laws protecting tenants rights. Tenants don't need to pay rent and have the right to remain in the rented space. Once the tenant lives in the space for a certain time,,,,, it's their right to stay. When "squatters" invade even a home where the owner is on extended vacation, the home owner can't easily reclaim their home.

one bank for everything... seems... iffy to me.

I love your accent. I am happy you mentioned disability. I have a disability and use a wheelchair. I would love to hear more about this. Would Russian/Ukrainian women date a man in a wheelchair? RJ

hello , friends. apu i am big friends. I am from bangladesh .🇧🇩

hello , friends. apu i am big friends. I am from bangladesh .🇧🇩

hello , friends. apu i am big friends. I am from bangladesh .🇧🇩

hello , friends. apu i am big friends. I am from bangladesh .🇧🇩

hello , friends. apu i am big friends. I am from bangladesh .🇧🇩

We have chocolate shops, like Rocky Mountain chocolate factory and See's Candy. We have bakeries and cafes all over. There is a massive variety of sweets. You probably were too new to figure out where these places exist.

Ukraine size is just over 600,000 KM . The province of Ontario is over ONE MILLION square kilometers

i hope they pay you for using your youtube channel in the movie Hit Man from 2023

I like Ukraine because more affordable and they are a lot of places where you can live

credit cards are so easy to get...they beg you to get one more... but they are ''honey traps''... you do know what a honey trap is Taya, don't you?... you do have ''honey traps'' in Ukraine too... the thing is that you can live without ''honey traps'' in both worlds!... as long as you have, or make money of your own... honey traps of every kind and form will just cost you money for minimum ''service''...

Credit card is tied to paying bill and on time .

I like your videos and Love from Assam(India)

Did you consider moving to the UK.?

As a American I would rather live in Ukraine 🇺🇦 or Australia 🇦🇺

Thanks for the great video :)

Have there are job opportunities in Ukraine?what jobs are available in Ukraine?

10:15 now you know where hotdogs come from ,)

Allot of food are processed, try getting quality chocolates, cheese . House componentes built down to a price. in some regards it feels like they stayed in 1990 🙂

Awww I want a cat I can cutomize on my money app😂

married online? seriously?

All of people who re zero turn it you are

Ukrainian women love black guys so no difference if it's the united states or Ukraine

Oh no, Taya. KFC is ass-chicken. America's GOAT chicken is Popeyes.

10:15 Before WW1, animal organs used to be reserved for the rich, because there is less of it, and muscle was for the poor. Growing up in the 1960s, we would have sweetbreads and heart as part of a breakfast fry up. Steak & kidney pie and liver & bacon stew were favourites too. At some point, offal came to be regarded as pet food. I don't understand why.

Don’t drink or wash your food in tap water.

Nice information

The main thing I will say is in general... we Americans have a huge distrust of central government/"big government" and central authority, it dates back to our history and founding being ruled by the king of England, so you will find we don't want or approve of things like a government "all in one" type ap (for instance driver license is controlled at the state level, not federal level) , and ya half and half never made much sense to me either 😂

Midwest and the south represent.the US.

👍🇨🇦🇺🇦♥️

Hello...Taya, nice to meet you, how are you...

What people do not allow in other countries, Ukraine introduces as a guinea pig, from personal data to genetically modified food. A Ukrainian wedding can now compete with a Las Vegas wedding. Just as the USA now has smuggled fetanyl for the national diet, so Ukrainian traditional food will be genetically modified in the Kiev way.

We love you Taya!

I love you!🇨🇦🇺🇦🙏

Hi Taya ji

Hadir

Love you

You're Taya! Of course I enjoyed it! 🤗

🎉c

Just saw you in a Netflix movie!