6,000 Miles, 70+ New Friends, and a Lot of Borshch

Hello! It's been a few weeks, but I'm home with a headcold and it has finally slowed me down enough to sit down and tend to my blog.

First things first: I am required to say, "The content of this website is mine alone and does not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Government, the Peace Corps, or the Ukrainian Government.”

And on we go:

Here's just a quick run-down of my journey from West Sacramento, California, USA to Chernihiv, Chernihivs'ka Oblast, Ukraine. 

• Saturday, March 11th: Hauled many, many bags and caught a red-eye flight to Washington, D.C. First success - bags were all under the weight limit! First failure - I forgot to keep my luggage receipts for reimbursement. 
• Pro-tip: Have a good backpack! I used my backpacking pack as one of my checked luggages, and it made my life much easier than if I were trying to roll everything.

• Sunday, March 12th: Landed in DC, locked my bags in the hostel, grabbed Mexican food with a local buddy, and then walked over to the Capital Mall to meet some of my new Peace Corps compadres. It was so great to meet in person with the people I'd been connected with for months via social media. Love you guys!!!! 
• Pro-tip: Fly in to your staging city a touch early so you can explore! Your extra day or two of lodging won't be covered, but your flight will be. Also, make sure you have arrangements for storing your luggage while you are out and about. 

•  Monday, March 13th: We checked in to our hotel in Georgetown for staging. We did some icebreakers, and tried to soak in lots of information that I am pretty sure none of us remember. Also, we got cupcakes. Or that might have been Tuesday. I don't know, but I do know I got the peanut-butteriest peanut butter cupcake that I have ever had in my life. No regrets there. My sole regret is not packing a giant tub of peanut butter for my life in Ukraine. 
• Pro-tip: If you have even the slightest inclination to pack peanut butter with you, PACK THE PEANUT BUTTER. 

• Tuesday,  March 14th: Departure day! And also, Stormageddon! Winter Storm Stella really sounded like she was going to delay our flight, but luckily that wasn't the case. We got some pretty pictures of snow, and still made it out on time. 

• However - we did have to entirely re-pack the luggage compartment of the bus because we failed to fit everything in the first time. I like to think of it as our first hands-on training exercise. 
• Pro-tip: Plan how your bags will go into the bus in an organized way (big, hard-shell suitcases can go in first, with smaller or softer ones on top. Carryons will quite possibly end up on your lap. Don't just throw everything into the bus and hope for the best. Especially if it's snowing and gross outside. 

Look at all these beautiful people. They each have over 100 lbs of luggage. 

• Wednesday, March 15th???? It was that vague sort of time that happens when you are journeying across time zones. Anyway, we transferred through Frankfurt and had to take some little bus around the tarmac for a ridiculous amount of time, and then spend a ridiculous amount of time waiting on the stairwell up to the plane. But it wasn't real time, right? It was, like, surreal travel time. 
• Pro-tip: Lufthansa Airlines serves free wine. It's a long flight - enjoy. But also drink some actual water, because you will hit the ground running upon arrival.  

• Wednesday, March 15th - I am pretty sure this was, in fact, Wednesday, March 15th. We got to Kyiv, hopped a bus to Chernihiv, and had some info crammed into our heads that we were too sleep-deprived to remember. We got to a hotel in Chernihiv, and then had a lovely traditional Ukrainian welcome ceremony with salt and bread. This hotel was to be our home for the next three days, until meeting our host families. 
• Pro-tip: Have some business casual clothes in your carry-on, along with your toiletries and anything else you will need for the first few days. We didn't get to unpack until meeting our host families, so I had to live out of my carry-on bag. 

And now, just writing all this has made me really tired!!! Long story short - we made it!