Day Two.

While I told my host family last night that I did not eat meat, their gasp of disapproval caused me to backtrack a few steps and say, "well, I don't mind fish. I could eat that". Little did I know what a mistake that would be. Breakfast. My breakfasts usually consist of fruit, cereal, soymilk, pancakes, oatmeal... you get the picture. Not so here. This morning was fried, bony fish. Not to mention mashed potatoes, pickels and tomato slices. Luckily we did have a delicious drink with smashed strawberries in it (they think I'm crazy for wanting to drink plain water all the time). It was quite the wake up call, literally.


This is the view from my balcony. I absolutely love it. There are just thousands of apartments, all looking the same. Surprisingly, it's quite pretty. I'm living in the south-eastern corner of Kiev in an area called Kharkivske Shose. You have to cross the Dnieper river north-west to get to the central area with all of the stores, cafes, etc.

This is downtown Kiev. Notice how all the cars are parked on the sidewalk? It's bizzare.

This is one of the apartment buildings above all the shops. Seeing these made me feel like I was finally in Europe.
They don't waste time here immersing us into the culture. Once we were done downtown, our coordinator Tania said, "well, you all know how to get home, right?" We all hesitantly agreed. Sensing our discomfort at the prospect of wandering around Kiev alone, she said to me, "you get on this the green Metro here, go eight stops, then get off at Kharkivs'ka. From there, walk home". Easier said than done. But, somehow Jessica and I traversed the underground and outdoor markets, park and streets and made it back to my apartment. The church pictured above is our landmark to get us home.

Mom, don't freak out. We have cell phones and public transportation cards that they all gave us. I'm actually using the old cellphone, becuase Tania gave me a SIM card to put in it. (You can call me on it, actually, and it's free for me. You'll have to pay though, so I Skype is still a better option).