Yesterday was filled with firsts. I rode a city bus. I went to a market. I went to a small appliance store. I met my host mom and her brother in law. I met my host’s sister and host brother. I spent my first night in my new bedroom. Yup, yesterday was a day of many firsts and it was a great day.
The city bus was interesting and fun. Much like in the US with lots of people, but here you pay the driver. I am meeting up with my cluster today for our first day of cultural and language training, and on Monday I will be responsible for negotiating the bus on my own. That whole 100% immersion thing again.
Sara, Noelia and I (my clustermates) and I wanted to get a few things, so we asked our LCF (Language and Cultural Facilitator) to help us. Maria is wonderful and so patient with all of us. I picked up mousse and a hair dryer. Sara and Noelia both got hair straighteners and hair dryers. The pricing is about the same as the US, but many of the brands are different.
My host family is fabulous. Sasha and Tanya picked me up. Tanya, my host mom, has had several Peace Corps trainees before me and they set a fabulous precedence. Tanya got right on the phone with her last trainee, Michael, last night and then I had a chance to talk to him. It was great to laugh with someone who understood the 100% immersion into a language you don’t understand. Tanya, Kola (my host brother), Lina (Tanya’s sister) and Sasha (Tanya’s brother in law) have all been wonderful and equally frustrated with the language barrier, but we are all managing. And suddenly I cant wait to dive into more language classes.
The food is amazing. I am still not a big fan of beets, but the soups are great. I have been well fed and watched over. Tanya even made something called belen last night. It was much like a dessert crepe with homemade apricot jam.
Tanya, Kola and Lina are great with the photos so you guys in blog land can all meet them. Sasha was gone by the time the camera came out, but I will get him later. Lina spent some quality time watching me unpack and eat, which was adorable, and I think Tanya kept telling her to leave me alone. So fun!
My new room is pretty great. Luckily I have lived in many small places, so I am making it work without being in complete disarray. I believe I am living in what is usually the TV room, but my host family has been very accommodating. My room has a lock on it and when I want to be alone, I just close the door. It is wonderful!
Besides needing some hangers, which is on the list for today and a few more beauty products, I am pretty good to go. I was thrilled to finally unpack my bags and figure out exactly what I have. I am excited to get my shipped boxes in a few months, but for now I have everything I need.
1 comment:
Sounds like so much fun! I had a feeling of homesickness for Ukraine and the people there as I was reading this. I love the food! And boy do they ever like to feed you. Its cool that you have a host family.
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