We're Here!

First of all, I would like to apologize for not writing in so long! I know there are many people who are worried about us but it has been hard to find a reliable place for wi-fi. We are supposed to get wi-fi in our apartment soon, but so far that has not been happening. Hopefully we will be able to keep in contact on a regular basis soon!

So much has happened over the past five days. It was a long two day journey, with a ten hour layover in Chicago and a nine hour flight to Warsaw. I was fortunate enough to be able to sleep through most of it, but Alex couldn't fall asleep. :( Everything went smoothly, and our luggage got through and we went through customs without any problems. Actually, they didn't even ask us why we were here or ask to check out luggage . . . Anyway, we found Irene immediately outside. She was so excited to see us! She reminds me a little bit of myself, but more of who I hope to be. She told us to think of her as our mother in Ukraine, and she has cooked for us, done our laundry, and overall just been a great person to talk to. Today, she called us just to make sure that we were okay. I love living with her very much!

On our first day here, she took us around Kiev. Kiev is their capital with a total of 3 million people! My favorite part was this building created by an architect for his family, but has many beautiful sculptures including dragons and mermaids. It was incredible to see everything, but Ukraine is 7 hours ahead of us and Alex and I were both very tired so Irene took us to a relative of hers so we could take a nap. Afterwards, we went to the train station and took the overnight train to Odessa (11 p.m.-8 a.m.). On the train, we each had our own bed. We shared the cabin with one man from Kiev who was very nice and spoke a little English. He works in the petroleum industry. I was so tired, but couldn't fall asleep until around 2 a.m. After that, I slept all through the night. We arrived in Odessa and promptly went to our new apartment, which is brand new and only two blocks away from the orphanage. After eating breakfast, we went to The Way Home to get acquainted with everything that goes on there. It was a little difficult because they all speak limited English, but after about an hour we were saved . . . another student volunteer from Cambridge University (yea, I know, I was impressed to) is majoring in Russian and spent the last 6 months studying abroad in Russia and the last 2 volunteering at The Way Home. She was very happy to meet us and translate for us, and she has a very bubbly and friendly personality! It's so nice to have a new friend and also to learn all about England's culture. We returned home and Irene took me to the beach for the first time. It was absolutely beautiful--we saw the place where Ethan stayed last year, but also the rest of Odessa from where we were. The sand was so soft and the water was so warm and relaxing. Irene says that the salt water is good for your skin. We are going to try to go every day after we volunteer, and we've been doing well so far--I'm already getting a tan. :)

Well, we only have fifteen more minutes of internet left. I have so much to say, but I feel like I'm not doing this trip justice by hurrying. We are going to continue this at another time. Thanks for reading!

Love,

Chels :)