Days Three through Five:
I’ve been a major slacker. Really, just been major stuff on my mind and really freaked out. So we finally arrived in Kiev after a long plane ride from the US to Frankfurt to Kiev. We walked off the plan and across the plane field.
Many PC staff members were there to greet us. Going through customs was not as big of a deal as I thought it would be. They just checked the passport and visa…not really the baggage. We loaded buses and headed for our Arrival Retreat. I was so very nervous on the way to the retreat.
The ‘oh crap what have I dones’ had already set in the minute I set foot on the plane to Kiev. They intensified when we landed, and were still going strong on the bus. I had the chance to speak to another fellow PCT on the way so I was able to feel a little bit better.
I think some people are not really thinking that we are here to stay for a while. Welp…I guess I’m one of the lucky ones because I’m definitely feeling it!
Once we arrived at the retreat, Soviet Resort, we unloaded the buses and truck, put our checked baggage into the storage area and then headed to our rooms. The rooms were two people, twin beads, showers, and toilets included. That was a nice thing! Also it was really nice that we had very hot water for our showers. The resort that we stayed at is popular in the area, a lot of citizens come there just to get away from work and everyday life for a while. I brought a brochure home, so those of you reading this that I will see, well I’ll have to show it to you so you have a better idea of the place.
That first night we had a special dinner. Some of the PC staff members put on a traditional welcome for us as well. We did not have any activities scheduled for that night so we just headed back to the rooms and hung out with some people for a while.
I didn’t sleep well at all that first night. I kept thinking that I had just made a terrible mistake. My heart was racing and it was hard to breathe let alone sleep.
The next day, day four, we started out with a town hall meeting followed by our first language lesson. I’m learning Russian by the way. Surprise!!!!!! Haha! We had several other meetings that day, including intro to Youth Development projects, etc. Oh, we also got our shots! Later on that night we had some fun activities, several of us went to the ‘disco’ that was held in the dining hall. Well, turns out the night before there were a lot of the local people there, but not that second night. So it was just a few of us PCTs cutting loose.
I slept much better the second night. No interruptions. We had a couple additional meetings the next day and then we left at 2pm for our training sites. We are staying in Lastiv, in the Kiev Oblast. It’s seems to be a nice little town. Well, not too little. We are going to take a tour tomorrow.
I met my host family of course, and I am half way to moving in all of my stuff. I am living with a mom, dad, and sister. The sister, Ana, is 16 and we are celebrating her birthday tomorrow. I helped to make her birthday cake after dinner.
Well, we were told that we would have internet access in this town. I don’t have internet here at this house, which sucks, so hopefully I will be able to go into town. I have to figure out some way to get in touch with my family and friends. It has been almost a week since I’ve talked to anyone! I was starting to feel better and more confident about my PC service, but if I have no way of contacting and staying in touch with my loved ones, I don’t know if it’s really worth it for me.
For now I am sticking it out. Tomorrow I will talk with my LCF about communication with people back home. Our Country Director gave us the best advise I have heard for PC. She said, “give it ten days in a row. If ten days in a row are bad, then you should reconsider.”
I miss everyone so much!
Love