Fraucha, I like you. And you make some good points. And some blah blah blah too. Okay, here it is.
With this point below, I think you hit the nail on the head. It does probably depend what city you are in. I'm not surprised that in smaller towns or villages they don't know the word 'expat' or 'sexpat.' That makes sense.
Some have expressed concern that it sounds too much like sexpat...I guess it would if you come from a city of whores who prey on the idiot guys who come to prey on the girls.
However, I'm sure in bigger cities like Odessa, where dating-tours of drunken men are sitting around with whores on their laps, people will know that word. I don't know much about Odessa, but since that is a common and established business, and a part of their local economy, I'm sure some people care about the 'expats' and some people don't. A bit like Amsterdam. And then you have all the other cities in-between.
So you are an expat who lives in fear?
Three points:
1. I write under my real name here; I have my real email address posted on my page here (not open to a select few, but to the general public); and a search will show my picture is up here too. It would be easy for me to say to others "so you are an expat that lives in fear" -- but I don't, because people protect their privacy online, because let's face it, there are creepy people that come here from time. I could play the role of Captain America too, and imply others are pussies for not putting up their real information, but I don't because it's wrong.
2. The problem with the word 'Expat', in
some cities and contexts, is that for some Ukrainians it basically means
"Traveling-Foreign-Pedophile." That's the subjective connotation (what the word invokes for some Ukrainians in addition to its literal or primary meaning). I wouldn't wear a T-shirt in New York that says "I'm not a pedophile." It's not really about "fear," but taste.
3. When traveling; sometimes it's prudent to try to identify as little as possible as a foreigner. For some it's just a matter of being clever to avoid hassles that go along with it.
why do you stay here???
Why should staying in Ukraine be dependent on being willing to wear this particular T-shirt? Come on; isn't that going a bit overboard? That's just a dumb comment on so many levels. People could say the same to you: "Why do you stay here when you don't write under your real name?" But nobody does, because it's silly.
