Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Please Excuse Our Big Ugly Green Van. 1/14

I know, I know I have not wrote since I got here but I only get internet at the school right now so I don't really have much time to be on, so Ill post when I can but they might be a bit delayed. I will write most of them on my ipod and post later. 


ANYWAY.. I wrote this blog Friday the 14th (the day I arrived). 


Well, after a much needed all nighter of watching bones in Salt Lake with my best friend, I'm finally done with my what seemed like a week of travel. 24 hours ago Derek left me at the SLC airport to start my adventure. I never thought saying goodbye to my family and friends would be so hard. On the way to Germany, I had to ask myself multiple times why in the world was I doing this....Well as we landed in Kiev my nerves disappeared... sorta. I actually slept most of the way on every flight. Landing in Kiev was so wonderful. In the dead of winter, for the most part, everything is so green and beautiful. After gathering our luggage, me and the other three girls headed out to the bus van thing with our driver.. Who does not speak English but it was nothing we could not handle. 
So in training they told us that Ukrainians are not so pedestrian friendly.. But who thought I'd experience this first hand, within my first 16 minutes of being in the country...of course, right!


 As we were hurrying out to this lovely green beast of a green van, which is where I'm writing this...  a car decided that Anna and I were moving too slowly. I heard it speed up and suddenly there were five inches between us and the car... There was no where else to go because we were walking through a barricaded corridor... so we just ran. My luck of course. I hit a rut in the road and there flew three bags and a stuffed penguin into the road! But don't worry, our luggage was not damaged, we made it out of the airport safely and Perry is a bit dirty, but alive.
Anyway, I am sitting here, waiting for the rest of the girls with the radio on in our big green nasty van thing. Oh boy, the radio.. is just great. They play a mix of Ukrainian pop stars and old school American Christmas tunes. It makes for an interesting drive. 


We are about to leave to take everyone to their host families so I probably should stop writing. Wish me luck! 
Ill try to update as soon as I can.