Kiev

Stroll around Podil. Start at St Michael's Cathedral in the Upper Town. Catch the funicular behind it down to Poshtova Ploscha, and wander around the grid-like streets of Podil. The area was the merchant's quarter, and was completely rebuilt in the 19th century after fires destroyed the area. It was mainly untouched during WWII and is emerging as a hip restaurant district and is rapidly being gentrified. Finish your stroll by walking up Andriyivsky Uzviz, which will get you back to St Michael's Cathedral.

If you're in Kiev on the weekend, go and people watch on Kreshchatyk. Start at Lva Tolstoho Square and head underground. Walk through the Metrograd shopping center, always sticking to your left. Head above-ground at Taras Shevchenko Boulevard бульвар Тараса Шевченка, from where the council shuts down Kreshchatyk on the weekends. Walking up the street to Maidan, you will be treated to the sight of numerous street performers and animal handlers, or you can simply enjoy seeing families out and about for a weekend stroll.

Go to a service at an Orthodox Church. The best one to visit is St Volodomyr's on Taras Shevchenko Boulevard. Services are long and there are no seats in Orthodox churches, however it's perfectly acceptable to come and go as you please. Women must cover their heads before entering the church. Metro: Universytet

Visit different eco-cultural, ecological, ethinic, rock and other festivals both inside the city and near its suburbs. This year there will be the V International Eco-Cultural Festival "Trypilske kolo 2012. Parade of Elements!" (http://www.tkfest.com) that is an official Euro 2012 Cultural event. It will take place from 28th of June till 1st of July in Rzhyshchiv.

There are a number of private schools where you can learn Ukrainian or Russian, either part-time or full time (http://russian.com.ua/). There are also experienced teachers in the city - check out resources such as Kyiv In Your Pocket, The Kyiv Post (http://kyivpost.com/), and What's On Weekly for details of schools and teachers.

Foreigners can sometimes find work teaching their native language. Pay is usually decent enough to live on in Kiev if you get enough pupils and live by local standards.

As is the nature in a global economy, professionals with skills in demand, e.g. accountants and IT professionals, can be employed with global firms in Kiev, without knowledge of Russian or Ukrainian languages.

Getting a work permit visa is a necessity for foreigners if they are going to be employed by any legal entity exceptions apply only for international institutions and representative offices of foreign companies. The work permit is more of a hiring permit. The potential employer has to apply with the labour administration for hiring an non-resident employee. With the application a complete cv, as well as documents showing an accredited education, have to be submitted.