Well, I dont have much time to type this! Plus my younger host sister is bouncing a balloon on my head and showing me her barbies. She also wants to watch all the youtube videos that I like...lol..
Riding the metro is crazy! I get most of it thanks to my time in Chicago, but obviously its much harder to find out which way to travel, and when to get off!! All the signs are in Ukrainian, no English! So I end up just counting and/or remembering what the stations look like. For example my train stop is Palatz, or at least thats what it sounds like in English, and its 'the one with the red tiles.' One of the others I get off at a lot is 'the one after the one with the green tile columns.' Not a great system, but it works!
Ukraine has this distinct smell. I mean...its not bad really, only when its highly concentrated. On the metro sometimes someone will come and stand/sit next to you and i will have to hold my breath or just turn my head b/c they will reek of it. Im getting used to it though, and I probably smell like it too. But I LOVE whenever I smell something familiar. Like today...haha...(its weird, i know), but I smelled something similar to rubber and it was so familiar...I just wanted to stand there for an hour and smell it!!
Im still getting used to the food here. My stomach is on the fritz. My favorite meal I've had so far is plain pasta, they dont put sauces on anything really so I put on ketchup (their ketchup is more spicy and delicious though) and then a little cheese (not sure what kind) added on top, with (frenchish) bread on the side. Pasta with ketchup...yea...my favorite lol.
Tomorrow we're (us teachers) are going to go to downtown Kyiv where there are tons of things to do and see, like go to Independence Square and check out things on Khreshchatyk Street, which is famous in Ukraine. We also might try to find a Mcdonalds because we are missing American food SO FREAKING BAD!!!
Everything is so cheap here! I need to get a watch soon and a good one costs about $2-3!! And the food here is cheap too, most things cost about 40-70 cents in American money. Though gum is kind of new here so its always more expensive than everything else (maybe a dollar).
Just thought Id mention that when it rains here...it pours!! I need to get an umbrella too!
Im really starting to bond with my host family. Im already keeping secrets for my sister. I wont say what it is though in case they read this lol... But really, Ive already talked politics with my father. Tonight we watched the Ukrainian version of So You Think You Can dance, they really like it. And I can understand it pretty well even though its in Ukrainian. Its funny though, all the Ukrainian dancers on that show pick American songs to dance to, so my family is always asking me if I like the song.
Well I better get to bed...until next time! Das ViDaniya!
Friday, September 3, 2010
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Getting settled in??
Ill post pictures soon, im just having a bit of trouble b/c everything on this computer is in Ukrainian/Russian and my 'sister' who would be able to help me is at school.
A group of 5 of us girls flew to Kiev together, which was nice or else it would have been 2 times more boring as it already was. The longest flight (from Chicago to Germany) was killer...i couldnt sleep b/c it just wasnt comfortable. I do like Lufthansa though, the food they served was good. And i stole their complimentary blanket, well not really STOLE b/c they never actually said we couldnt take it...
We separated into two groups after we got to Kiev. We had to wait for a girl that was on a later flight so to pass the time Miranda and i took pictures of our green van taxi, threw green spikey fruit from a tree at each other, and tried to guess what our driver was yelling in Russian over his phone. I think it was something like this, "these foreign girls! they make me wait for hours, take pictures of my car, and yell in botched russian at each other! i cant wait to get rid of them! and their luggage! why so heavy?!"
For some reason i have this urge to imitate what everyone is saying in Russian! I really have to consciously stop myself from pretending to repeat what i hear being said lol...
My host family consists of Larisa (the mother), the dad (who's name i havent quite figured out yet), Vlada (15 yr old sister), and Sasha (6 yr old younger sister). Theyre all really nice! This is their first time hosting so the pressures on! Vlada speaks pretty good English, Sasha is going to the school where ill be teaching at so she learning some, and the father and mother speak a little English. But they all are determined to learn it so they want me to speak it as much as possible.
Communication can be difficult, sometimes im either looking through my dictionary trying to figure out how to explain something in Russian or their looking up the English word on their iphone or computers lol. They live right out of downtown in a tallish apt building three stories up. And its five minutes away from the school ill be teaching at.
My first meal was....interesting. There was some kind of meat patty which tasted like chicken and stuffing, potatoes which tasted really different than normal..maybe a bit more sour, but i was able to eat them, and finally their was bread topped with butter and caviar. Lets just say that the caviar is just not for me...like, at all. Oh and then they wanted me to try this drink which is like the official drink of Ukraine. It didnt have alcohol in it, they know I dont drink that. They said maybe I like it, maybe I dont. And..haha...i didnt. It honestly tasted like throw up, kind of biley, if that makes sense. All in all the meal went good :)
Today Im going to the school (Central) to get the low down on all things Kiev and then a bit of training for school. Im not sure what the rest of the day will consist of but someone will probably be showing us around Kiev.
Ill post again soon! And ill get the pictures on too :)
This is all very strange and exciting. :)
A group of 5 of us girls flew to Kiev together, which was nice or else it would have been 2 times more boring as it already was. The longest flight (from Chicago to Germany) was killer...i couldnt sleep b/c it just wasnt comfortable. I do like Lufthansa though, the food they served was good. And i stole their complimentary blanket, well not really STOLE b/c they never actually said we couldnt take it...
We separated into two groups after we got to Kiev. We had to wait for a girl that was on a later flight so to pass the time Miranda and i took pictures of our green van taxi, threw green spikey fruit from a tree at each other, and tried to guess what our driver was yelling in Russian over his phone. I think it was something like this, "these foreign girls! they make me wait for hours, take pictures of my car, and yell in botched russian at each other! i cant wait to get rid of them! and their luggage! why so heavy?!"
For some reason i have this urge to imitate what everyone is saying in Russian! I really have to consciously stop myself from pretending to repeat what i hear being said lol...
My host family consists of Larisa (the mother), the dad (who's name i havent quite figured out yet), Vlada (15 yr old sister), and Sasha (6 yr old younger sister). Theyre all really nice! This is their first time hosting so the pressures on! Vlada speaks pretty good English, Sasha is going to the school where ill be teaching at so she learning some, and the father and mother speak a little English. But they all are determined to learn it so they want me to speak it as much as possible.
Communication can be difficult, sometimes im either looking through my dictionary trying to figure out how to explain something in Russian or their looking up the English word on their iphone or computers lol. They live right out of downtown in a tallish apt building three stories up. And its five minutes away from the school ill be teaching at.
My first meal was....interesting. There was some kind of meat patty which tasted like chicken and stuffing, potatoes which tasted really different than normal..maybe a bit more sour, but i was able to eat them, and finally their was bread topped with butter and caviar. Lets just say that the caviar is just not for me...like, at all. Oh and then they wanted me to try this drink which is like the official drink of Ukraine. It didnt have alcohol in it, they know I dont drink that. They said maybe I like it, maybe I dont. And..haha...i didnt. It honestly tasted like throw up, kind of biley, if that makes sense. All in all the meal went good :)
Today Im going to the school (Central) to get the low down on all things Kiev and then a bit of training for school. Im not sure what the rest of the day will consist of but someone will probably be showing us around Kiev.
Ill post again soon! And ill get the pictures on too :)
This is all very strange and exciting. :)
Monday, August 30, 2010
Beginning a Dream
Alright everyone! Im going to leave for Kiev, Ukraine tomorrow! I depart from Salt Lake Airport at 10:43am, fly to Chicago O'Hare, then to Dusseldorf, Germany, and finally to Kiev, Ukraine. Its something like a 18-20 hour flight...but Im honestly not sure on the hours since I dont have the flight times with me at this moment.
Im not feeling excited or nervous or anything yet just b/c I cant believe that Im actually going! It really hasnt hit me yet...
I cant wait to see and experience new things! I will try EVERYTHING at least once.
Ive got a feeling Im going to miss a lot more about the good old U.S.A. than I realize right now...haha.
Ill update with my contact information as soon as possible.
~Laugh at yourself, but don't ever aim your doubt at yourself. Be bold. When you embark for strange places, don't leave any of yourself safely on shore. Have the nerve to go into unexplored territory.~
Im not feeling excited or nervous or anything yet just b/c I cant believe that Im actually going! It really hasnt hit me yet...
I cant wait to see and experience new things! I will try EVERYTHING at least once.
Ive got a feeling Im going to miss a lot more about the good old U.S.A. than I realize right now...haha.
Ill update with my contact information as soon as possible.
~Laugh at yourself, but don't ever aim your doubt at yourself. Be bold. When you embark for strange places, don't leave any of yourself safely on shore. Have the nerve to go into unexplored territory.~
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