I'm so far behind in posting, but that should tell you that I'm having so much fun that I only have enough spare time to sleep!
Tuesday
At lunch, Zoya and Ann prepared a going away lunch for me. It was just as big of a meal as the welcome dinner. I couldn't believe that my time had already come and passed. They asked questions about my stay in Ukraine and my impressions of their home city. One question was, what were my three favorite things while there.
1. The dacha. I loved the atmosphere of being out in the country and all of the fresh fruit and vegetables. It felt like we could have been hundreds of years back in time.
2. The night we dressed up for the soccer game. Ann mentioned how out of the ordinary it was for her to not only be watching tv, but to have her face painted and to be dancing around cheering for their team. It was so much fun to be silly and not care how crazy we were acting.
3. The food. I was nervous about not having food I like while I was there, so I packed a couple dozen protein bars... They never left my suitcase.
Of course sentimental toasts were made at the table. They are all so sweet and have such kind hearts, and this is shown through the words Ann would translate of their toasts. After Ann poured the last bit of wine into her glass, Igor insisted that she make a wish. Whoever gets the last amount of wine out of the bottle makes a wish by talking into the bottle and putting the cork back in.
Ann, Nadya, Zlata and myself spent a nice evening at Oak Tree Park, which was ironic because to find an oak tree in the large park was a task. It was very relaxing walking along the lake telling funny stories, of which Nadya translated from English to Russian for Zlata. We were all very impressed with her! We walked by the small carnival that stays there year round and has been there since before Ann was born. We spent 8 hrivnyas a piece (right at $1) and rode on the ferris wheel. It was a beautiful view where we could see the river, the park, and all the way to our flat. Nadya wasn't able to enjoy it until we started on our way down.
Ann explained how when her father was a child, most people had their own animals for food while living in the city. His family had a pig, and they would make a trip to the park to gather pounds and pounds of acorns (which weren't edible for people) and carry them back to their house as feed for the pigs.
On the bridges there were hundreds of locks. The tradition is to go take your wedding pictures around the city at famous landmarks directly following the ceremony at the church. (When we were in St. Petersburg a couple of years ago, we saw at least ten couples partaking in this tradition.) One stop they always make is at a bridge where they lock a padlock onto the railing of a bridge and throw the key into to water to symbolize their commitment to each other. One had a combo lock and I joked that it was in case of divorce.
We spent about three hours there and had a lot of laughs. It was a perfect last night in Ukraine. Simple but very enjoyable.
Wednesday
Because the next few days would be spent traveling, I knew I should get as much sleep as possible so I slept in and didn't rush to get ready. It took me about an hour and a half to pack everything and it was a miracle it all fit. With two countries worth of souvenirs to go, I'll have to send some things back with people on my mission trip if I'm going to buy anything in Romania or Italy.
I spent the rest of the time at the flat reading and playing chess with Nadya. I wish that I had known sooner that she liked to play because it doesn't require speaking, but it is still enjoyable to do together. My dad is a master chess player and he used to challenge my brothers and I to games all the time. I remember one time when I was around twelve that I was only one move away from beating him, but made a mistake and he took me out. One day it will happen!
Once the bags were loaded down, we headed to the train station where Ann, Zlata and I would leave for Kiev. The entire family came to say goodbye which meant so much. It is always hard for Igor to get out and about so for him to make a trip to the flat AND the train station was just priceless. It is a small example to show how caring and considerate they all are.
Once we got settled into our compartment, we pulled out a deck of cards. The ace, jack and queen were all different letters and there were only 36 cards because they start at 6 which threw me off a bit. They were amazed at how I could shuffle and do the bridge, so I tried to teach them how. Key word: tried. It was unsuccessful but it was a good laugh watching them struggle with the deck. They taught me a game where all the cards were dealt out to the players after one queen is taken out (besides the queen of spades). You take turns drawing blindly from the deck of the person on your left. After putting down pairs, you don't want to be the last one with the queen of spades. When I said "nothing," as in "I have no pairs to lay down", Zlata misunderstood so on her next turn after not drawing a matching card she replied "muffin!" It was the joke that carried over the rest of our time together.
Thursday
We arrived in Kiev around six in the morning. The earliest check in the hotel would allow was noon so we had a lot of spare time to kill. We checked our bags into the hotel so we wouldn't have to drag that around with us. The hotel was a beautiful boat hotel that overlooked the river. The hotel had moved locations a few weeks before so it would be more convenient for all of the Euro Cup fans.
We went to the center of the city where the hotel we stayed in a week or so before had been tripled in price. Zlata had recently been hired as a lawyer for a campaign so she had meetings to attend and would meet up with us later. The fan zone had been completed, but it was blocked off until later in the afternoon. We found somewhere open for breakfast and ran some errands. Ann's boss was working on traveling to Italy with her daughter in a couple of weeks, but the place that issued visas wouldn't answer the phone or return calls so she asked Ann to go ask questions for her while we were there in person. It is extremely difficult for Ukrainians to get visas, especially to Italy and America. Once it was about noon we headed to the hotel to take a long nap. When we got there they said that they had already given out the rooms and there wouldn't be any clean until two, so, discouraged, we waited for a while longer in the lobby. We were pretty unhappy customers, but while we were sitting there we saw that some Germans had come to check into the rooms they had reserved and paid for previously and were told that no rooms were available and they would have to find another hotel. It was shocking to see them just send them on their way, no help at finding a place to stay in the midst of the Euro Cup.
After we got to our room I crashed for a few hours. We headed to the fan zone about an hour before Italy and Croatia played. It was incredible how many people were there watching the big screens and enjoying the night. There were TVs set up everywhere and every ten feet was a beer stand (no exaggeration). They had people dressed up representing the different countries in the tournament, but I only got a picture with the Irish. I cheered for Italy because we will be there for the semi finals and final game. Italy ended up tying with Croatia which put them 3rd in their bracket. Instead of taking the Metro we got a cab back to the hotel to be safe and to get back quickly. We got to bed around 10:30 or so, but set our alarms for 2:40.
Friday
The sound of the alarms came way too early. I didn't have to get much together because I prepared everything the night before. Within about twenty minutes we were on our way to the airport. On the way I noticed how bright it was for so early in the morning and Ann said that the sun usually rises from 3:30 to 4:00 in the morning.
It was pretty crowded at the Lufthansa check in for being so early in the morning. I noticed the electronic check in kiosk with no line in front of it. I checked in within two minutes and just had to wait in a short line to check my bag. I noticed after I checked in so quickly that other people caught on and followed my lead. The three of us found some seats and visited a little while longer while anticipating saying goodbye. Ann helped me finish up my blog post with the recipes and it was time for me to head through security so Zlata started with the goodbyes. Although I spent so little time with her, I grew very fond of her and her laid back personality. As she was saying goodbye she started tearing up which of course got Ann and I going. The way they put their words together is so sincere and kind. I couldn't express to Ann how grateful I was for her to open her home to me and to make my time in Ukraine the best that it could be. I told her she made this portion of my trip so great that it will be hard to beat by the next two stops. It will be a time that I will cherish for the rest of my life.
Once I went through security I had a couple of hours until the flight left and because it was 4 in the morning (and 8:00 at night in Texas) I was able to Skype with my mom and then one of my best friends, Alyssa. It was so nice getting to see them while I was in an airport where I knew no one.
Once you start boarding for your flight in these smaller airports I've been through, you have to go down several levels of stairs to get to ground level and then board the plane by climbing stairs. This wouldn't be an issue except for the fact that my carry on suitcase is as heavy as my checked bag. Luckily a guy saw me struggling and carried it for me the whole way. He was a younger guy and had been in Ukraine for a few days to watch the Euro Cup, just as most people in the airport. My first flight was to Munich where I had been a couple of weeks earlier. I had a short layover so I grabbed a snack and then boarded the plane to Bucharest. I could've booked a later flight that was direct from Kiev to Bucharest, but it was just an hour before the group arrived and I didn't want to risk being late so I ended up at the airport five hours before them. By that time I was worn out from waking up so early, but I couldn't sleep being by myself and having all of my luggage. I passed the time with some reading, but the time came that I needed to go to the bathroom. There wasn't one on the level where I was, so I went downstairs and followed the restroom signs and once I got there the cleaning lady wouldn't let me in. She then directed me to the one other restroom which was up a flight of stairs and down another and with two suitcases and two other bags it wasn't possible to get there. I went back upstairs to a cafe with a couple of hours before my group would arrive.
While I was sitting there I heard people speaking English so I asked where they were from. It was a friendly couple from Canada and we were each waiting for the same flight for groups we would be meeting up with. I told them about my trip and how we would be working with the orphans and invited them to read my blog. Normally it isn't something I would do, but I know the Lord wanted me to start this blog for reasons I can't see so I figured I should share with whoever! Luckily, the husband was able to watch our bags as the wife and I went through the maze to get to the bathroom. So thankful I had them because otherwise I would've just had to wait! As it was time to start looking for our groups, I gave them a carved box made out of birch tree bark that I got in Ukraine as a small thank you and way to remember our meeting.
Because I had never met anyone on our mission team I was a little worried about being able to find them. One of the women who has been coming to Romania fifteen or more times has an adopted son who now lives in Bucharest and was meeting us at the airport. She told him I would be looking for everyone and that I would have "American" stamped on my forehead. Sure enough while I was looking for the group as people were arriving I hear "Are you Addison?" in a Romanian accent. Sure enough he found me! Costica (not sure on the spelling, but it is pronounced coast-ee-kah) and I waited for about twenty minutes before the group finally came through. He was so nice and easy to talk to, I wish we had been able to meet up sooner! He was telling me how he is working on getting a visa to come to the U.S. for Christmas this year, but how he had little hope because he has already been denied so many times.
After the group was together and with our bags, we got on a 20 passenger van for our five hour drive to Tulcea. By this time I had been awake for something like 18 or 19 hours so I slept most of the way. We arrived late to our home for the next week, a house boat! There were 12 rooms, and because there were 12 of us, we each got our own room.
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