18 September 2013
I woke up around 9am yesterday (17 September), and haven’t
slept since. After cramming my things into two small carry-ons, my roommate and
I checked out of the hotel room. I had volunteered to be a team leader, so I
had to make sure that everyone had checked out, took and collated their tip
money for the bellmen and the drivers, and made sure we were all there. Then,
we broke into two buses, and drove from Georgetown, DC, to Washington Dulles
Airport, where we waited in line to check in.
We flew Lufthansa, which I can say nothing bad about (more
about that later). German efficiency is true, as Lufthansa got all almost 50 of
us checked in, as well as other passengers who were in between members of the
big group in line, in record time. After checking in (both bags under the
weight limit – yay!) and getting my tickets, I went through security. I got
both the body scanner and the pat down. The TSA were fully polite and
professional. My mouthguard got caught on the security scanner, but I explained
what it was and was let through.
Next came waiting. It was close to 130pm in Dulles, and the flight to Frankfurt didn’t board until 530, which meant 4 hours of waiting. I got a large, late, lunch, not expecting to be fed on the flight. I called my parents. Eventually, the group boarded the plane. The flight was packed. Every seat was filled. We had in-flight entertainment. I watched Oblivion, which was better than I expected. Didn’t manage to sleep, though, as the flight was long and boring.
Next came waiting. It was close to 130pm in Dulles, and the flight to Frankfurt didn’t board until 530, which meant 4 hours of waiting. I got a large, late, lunch, not expecting to be fed on the flight. I called my parents. Eventually, the group boarded the plane. The flight was packed. Every seat was filled. We had in-flight entertainment. I watched Oblivion, which was better than I expected. Didn’t manage to sleep, though, as the flight was long and boring.
In economy class, there was a pillow, blanket, and bag with
headphones waiting in every seat. The flight attendants took the headphones
back, but we didn’t have to pay for them. My two-pronged adapted worked like a
charm, so I could use my good headphones.
Food. Lufthansa feeds their economy class. First, we got a
small package of beer crackers, and then an offered beverage. Of any sort. I
had a real German Pilsner, which I shared with the PCT next to me (the flight
attendant gave me the whole can). Next, a few hours later, came dinner. The
vegetarian option was all that was left: pasta with zucchini and red sauce,
Caesar salad, rosemary herb roll (with butter), a slice of cheddar, and a piece
of tiramisu. Coffee and tea were offered with dessert. Shortly before landing,
they brought around breakfast: a blueberry muffin, a oat and honey granola bar,
a fruit cup, and coffee. Side note: Almost lost one of my new hair scrunchies
on the flight, but found it just in time.
After we arrived in Frankfurt, we disembarked the plane, and
started to wait. We had 30 minutes of free wifi, through T-Mobile’s Mobile
Hotspots, but mine gave out with more than 13 minutes left. When I tried to log
on again, it told me to log on with my T-Mobile account. Was able to email my
parents, grandparents, and update my Facebook status before it died. No one
else had problems with the wifi.
The flight to Kyiv – 950am local, 350am home – was not as packed as the one to Frankfurt, but I couldn’t sleep, either. The flight felt like it took forever, instead of the few hours it really took. We arrived in Kyiv, disembarked the plane, and found our way to the passport and customs control. I was stamped in without any questions, and the stamp was placed so that it covered part of the visa.
The flight to Kyiv – 950am local, 350am home – was not as packed as the one to Frankfurt, but I couldn’t sleep, either. The flight felt like it took forever, instead of the few hours it really took. We arrived in Kyiv, disembarked the plane, and found our way to the passport and customs control. I was stamped in without any questions, and the stamp was placed so that it covered part of the visa.
As we waited for our luggage, we were met by various members
of PC Ukraine, who took our Peace Corps passports, loaded our checked baggage
onto a truck, and directed us to two buses. This was around 2pm local, or 7am
home. We then took a 2+ hour drive to Chernihiv. Along the way, we were told
that we would have to meet with medical, be told our language, assigned to a
cluster, and given a room number.
The next few hours were spent with some minor amounts of
free WiFi, so I was able to email the parents and grandparents, update my
Google Calendar, and check my email and Facebook. The WiFi cut out just before
dinner (at 7pm), which was downstairs in the hotel’s dining room. First, we
performed a traditional welcoming and hospitality ceremony, which was tearing
off a piece of traditional bread and dipping it in salt, both of which are
symbols of hospitality in Ukraine. Much like the Moravian teapot is in W-S.
Dinner was very good, but I wasn’t very hungry, and didn’t
eat much. It was some sort of cabbage salad (which smelled a bit like
coleslaw), some white or rye bread, and a chicken breast with cheese and rice.
It was all very good. A fellow Trainee and I spent some time talking after the
rest of the table finished (I was eating slowly).
One of the language and cross-cultural teachers gave us two
tips for picking up Ukrainian or Russian quickly. 1 – practice with a person,
and 2 – make vocabulary flashcards. He gave us some flashcards to start with.
Once back in the 7th floor room, my roommates and
I braved the shower (there wasn’t a mounted bracket for the shower head, you
turn it on in the sink, and have to hold the head while getting a shower). I
was the last one, and the first one to discover the secret of the hot water –
the taps were mislabled, and there wasn’t much water pressure, so you had to
duck and stoop to have any water pressure. Also, adding any cold water made the
shower a very cold (ambient water temperature) shower. But, a mostly hot shower
goes a long way…
No comments:
Post a Comment