Wrapping it up

Well, my last week or so in Kiev was eventful, to say the least. Yes, I'm already back at home in Minnesota (Thank goodness, because my flights were a MESS) and trying to be in the Christmas spirit (impossible without snow, really) but until now, I haven't had much time to update the blog. My final days in Ukraine were emotionally draining, but nevertheless happy and memorable!


As you can see, I DID manage to make it to that soccer game with my friends. A great first half, followed by some ridiculous red cards in the second half that lead to our demise (but also a very exciting game --- incredulous yelling, chanting, and fights on the field). The game, however, began the cycle of goodbyes for me as well. Time to say farewell to all my friends in Kiev, one at a time.


First of all, I had each of my students to say goodbye to. We had our final classes, and at the end of each one there were lots of hugs and "I'll miss you's" and promises to return. My favorite student, an AWESOME 12-year old, was my last goodbye on Friday evening. Every week we met and talked about everything, from the difficulty of his Math courses to Japanese martial arts practice. I couldn't help but cry when we said goodbye, and his parents gave me a framed ruble note from the USSR as a Christmas/Going away present. I gave them all about a million hugs, and it still wasn't enough...


Although I'm not very fond of goodbyes, I invited my friends and coworkers to spend some time with me on my last day, just relaxing and talking in my kitchen, keeping me company while I finished packing for my long journey beginning at 5am the next morning. We had tea, coffee, and food of all sorts (because people brought snacks, and because I had SO much food in my fridge to use up). It was nice to have that final good-bye at my own place.


It was a great three months, there's no denying it! I'm so glad I clicked on that stupid facebook link that started the whole thing. I'm so happy I such a wonderful chance to teach, to practice my Russian, and to travel! I'll miss Kiev, especially all the amazing people I've met there, but I know that I'll be back someday soon. Goodbye, and goodnight!

Love always,
Sarah

Just some things:

I like lists. Here's one.

1. I leave Kiev in 5 days...

2. My last Italian roommate just left for Italy this morning, so I am lone in my apartment.

3. There is A LOT of food in my apartment right now.

4. I have less than 200 grivna left in my wallet ($25)

5. I cannot stop sneezing, coughing, or being late to Russian class at noon every day (so early!)

6. I stopped taking so many pictures because I'm getting lazy, sorry!

7. Today I am (hopefully) going to the last soccer game of the year today (which I thought was against Great Britain, but is actually against Tel-Aviv. Why did I think Maccabi was british? Don't ask.)

8. I found bacon in my fridge! And it's not old!

9. I made Draniki for Barbara the other day, and they were delicious even though I added too much salt.

10. There is no money left on my phone but I hate to add more when I'm just going to leave in 5 days...

11. There is still no snow in Kiev

12. I have exactly one class left with each of my students. I love them all.

13. I may try to go on a tour of a chocolate factory before I leave... We'll see.

14. Didn't want to end with a list of 13. I'll give a more substantial update later!

Sarah

The Kiev apart(y)ment

I know, you've all been reading my blog and thinking "Goodness gracious, Sarah is such a bump on a log. All she ever does is teach, travel, and cook --- she needs to get a life over there in Kiev." Well, I'm here to tell you that I DO have a life, and although I am by no means a partier, the party always finds you when you live in Kiev ...Especially if you have an apartment, and you live with two Italians.


Weekends are practically an open invitation for anyone and everyone we know to come to our apartment and enjoy good company, our fancy living room, and free food (The Italians make pizza, bruschetta, and whatever else they can think of. I usually provide chips and pickles...)


We usually end up playing a silly game or two, once everyone arrives and we decide what kind of party we're going to have. Here we're playing personalities, and I was Cheburashka (a famous androgynous soviet cartoon character).


Aaaaand things usually get silly, we have lots of laughs, and take waaaay too many pictures. Because of the hodge-podge group we have, we're constantly speaking a mixture of Russian, Ukrainian, English, and Italian --- This is one of my favorite aspects of our get-togethers. The language barrier is never an issue for anyone, everyone tries on every other language for size and we have a great time. I personally love adopting Italian for a few minutes, whereupon I exhaust my entire Italian vocabulary and simply repeat the word "Perfetto!" because that's what we are.


At the end of the night, we slowly make our way to respective taxis, bedrooms, or the pull-out couch bed if you're lucky enough to call dibs. In the morning, I make coffee and tea for anyone who's still around, and we spend the rest of the weekend relaxing and soaking up the few hours of daylight we have left on Winter Kiev days. On this day, there was no food or water left anywhere in my apartment, so we had juice for breakfast. Good morning!


So, this is my first time having my own place that isn't a dorm room, and although at first I was disappointed not to be in a host family, I don't feel like I've missed out on the cultural immersion. Living with other people my age, I have the opportunity to learn from so many different people, from so many different cultures and backgrounds. It's definitely a change from living with my Russian host mother in Novgorod, but it's another great learning experience. Constantly learning more about myself, and other people in general. I dig it.

One weekend left in Kiev, and then it's back home for Christmas! I think I'm making Pel'meni with my favorite Ukrainian family today... I'll keep you posted :)

Loooooooove,
Sarah

T-Gives!

Here's a post about Thanksgiving, before I forget about all of it! Unfortunately, I was REALLY sick last weekend, but something magical happened and I was able to pull myself together for our Multi-cultural Thanksgiving dinner on Saturday afternoon. I got up early, met my cooking partner/co-worker, and started cooking. We may have bought rotisserie chickens from the store to save time, but everything else was made from scratch! Look at this beautiful spread...

Mashed potatoes, stuffing, green-bean casserole, corn, chicken, berry sauce (not cranberries, because I couldn't find any) and mushroom gravy. We also had some beautiful pies, apple and pumpkin. Although there were some troubles with the pumpkin pie, i.e. a baking time of about three hours, it still tasted de-li-cious!

It was really nice to just sit down with all of of my friends, Americans, Italians, and Ukrainians, and share a thanksgiving dinner. We all said what we were thankful for, and most of us were just thankful for having each other for support in this crazy country and with this insane language. Good people. Good times. Good Foooooood :) I'm also thankful that by Tuesday of this week, I was finally feeling well enough to leave my apartment.

Thanks to everyone who reads my blog, to my awesome students who make my work so worthwhile, to my great friends here in Kiev, and to my family back home. Stay tuned for more adventures, and another blog coming in February 2012: "Sarah Chao does Georgia (the country)" Wooooo!

Love,

Sarah