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