Terrified- But In A Very Good Way

So this is a little late, but I have made it t an internet cafe, and will transcribe this from my journal entry. When I can find a USB port, pictures will follow :)

I have finally made it to Kiev! It took a very long time- but I am here. My flight left NOLA at 12:36 pm (I was lucky- some teachers left their houses at 3 am!) I ran into Ryan once I got into DC, and then found the rest of the group taking up most of the gate's seating area. I think there are about 25 of us (mostly girls) though there are 4 guys as well. The long flight from DC to Vienna wasn't so bad, Bear was sitting next to someone he didn't know, just like I was.. so he asked the guy if he would switch seats. He was nice enough to oblige. After they brought us dinner (everything I've ever heard about airline food is TRUE!) we tried to get some sleep. I think I probably ended up dozing for maybe an hour or two (definitely not consecutively) I enjoyed watching our plane go across the map on the screen, getting across the Atlantic and eventually over France & Switzerland as the sun rose :) I was excited to see my first Alp from the air! We managed to get everyone through passport control and to the gate. By this time, we were all pretty much ecstatic that it was our last flight.

Right before we landed, the cloud cover was too thick to see through. My first glimpse of Ukraine was as we descended- and it looked just like I thought it would. The sky was gray, there were big open fields with scrubby looking trees. Some of the fields were blackened with smoke, I assume from a controlled burn or something, as I saw several. Getting from the plane to the terminal took awhile, but we made it and went to collect our luggage. I was so happy when I saw both of my bags on the carousel :) So we all trailed out t the main area of the airport and walking through the door was a little unnerving. It looked almost like a mob was waiting to eat us. They were all silent, and staring at the door. Some of them held signs with names of people or businesses, but we didn't see anyone with an ILP sign. Someone from the group found them though, and we all crowded around to hear what was being said.

There was a tall blonde lay, very pretty and wearing a long fur coat, that pulled out a list of names (one of which was mine!) and so we follwed her outside. Seeing Ukraine from the ground was quite different from the aerial view. The first thing I noticed was how many people were walking around (but then again, this was the airport "parking lot", or dirt patch, whichever you prefer) Second was how brown everything is. We (Me, Chanell, Ryan, Bear, Michelle, Jayme, Lia & Alison, ie 'Kiev 1') followed three men to the dirtiest van I have seen in my life. The men that loaded our luggage spoke Russian, and I neer realized how angry that language sounds. So I was a little scared at first, with them throwing our bags around, and the lady barking at them the whole time. Finally we were all in. All of us- which totaled 13 with the men, the woman and another lady that hopped in. The van did not have 13 seats (or even any seat belts, for that matter.)

Once we began to drive, the woman introduced herself, standing at the front. Her name is Oksana, and she's the principal of Nyvky school (where I am teaching) The other woman, Alla, is the principal of Central school. Oksana informed us that the boys didn't have host families yet and would be living at the school for a week or two. Then she said that except for a couple of the girls, the rest of us would recieve 125 griven a week to buy food, because our familes have 'problems' and couldn't feed us.

So that was a little surprising, I hadn't expected to have to deal with that. But so far it has turned out alright. We then proceeded to be dropped off with our families, one by one. I was third, and while we were waiting for someone else's lugagge to be unloaded, we all just sort of sat there in the van. Then we concluded that we were all terrified- but in a very good way. It was the oddest thing- we were practically delerious with sleep deprivation, in a completely strange and slightly scary place, being thrown headfirst into our new life here, and we couldn't have been happier. I was left at an apartment bulding, of which our flat is on the very top floor (5th) and no elevator. Oksana walked me in, introduced me to Ola, and said she'd see me the next day at 10:30. So that was slightly alarming.

Ola asked me a few questions, like where I was from, and if I wanted and coffee or tea or something. I politely declined, and asked if I could have some water. From the way she looked at me and said "water?" I thought she didn't understand the word, I tried to think of the Russian word for water, but didn't know it. So I just kind of stood there, and then she brought me a mug of water. (Which I deducted later on was actually tap water, that made me very sick the next day) With that out of the way, she asked me if I smoke. I told her I didn't and she said maybe that is a good thing, because she and Natasha (my host 'mother') smoke and maybe they should stop. Then she said I should buy her a cigarette (I didn't quite understand) and then told me to relax. She went into her room to watch Vanilla Sky dubbed in Russian. I started writing my entry in here, and then after awhile Natasha came home/ I was surprised- because Ola was so young, I had figured that Natasha was her mother or at least aunt or something. But it turns out that she is only a year older than Ola (who is 22.) So I have ended up with a pair of Ukrainian flatmates. I was still feeling a little bit worried, but then Ola told me that Natasha speaks only Russian. So we wil practice with each other! They showed me where to put my clothes, ao I started unpacking. I feel kind of bad because my suitcases are so BIG and the flat is so small that they take up alot od room. I will work on getting my things tidied up to take the least amount of space possible. So once I had started that, then Ola (being our translator) asked if I would join them for wine. I told them that I don't drink, and then she suggested that we had to do something on my first night here.

So I asked if they could show me a place to buy food. This is the point where I really started to feel better about being here. I had heard that Ukrainian women dress to kill- they absolutely do. They both dressed up in their shiny black boots and fur-lined coats and led me to the nearest store. On the way there, I learned that Natasha is 'in the nail business' and wants me to be her client. This was a quite amusing conversation with Ola translating and adding her own little comments. At the store, we picked up eggs, bread, cheese, juice, yougurt and some sausages. They also insisted on getting a tub of fish chunks that apparently is something Ukrainians love to eat. So upon arrival back home, I was handed a fork and the tub of fish. I ate two pieces (skin and all) and then had quite a bit of juice (so much better than American juice.) I managed to stay up until around 9, and then thought it safe to turn in. My first afternoon in Kiev has been crazy and overwhelming, and I can't wait for tomorrow :)

p.s. The water is clean and hot, so that is a plus. The toilet and bathtub are in seperate 'closets' as I like to call them- my knees touch the door when it's shut ;) haha. More entires soon, I promise!

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