Odessa Mama

I made it safe and sound, y’all!  In Munich, I found out my carry on roller bag was too big so they checked it for me, but luckily it actually made its way all the way to Ukraine.  Turns out those last two flights were super short.  Frankfurt to Munich was 30 minutes and Munich to Odessa was only 2 hours.  I even managed to sleep! 

It looks like Odessa has seen a lot of rain lately, because the shuttle bus we took from the plane to the airport almost flooded when it drove into a mini river.  I wasn’t really counting on rain, but it is really hot here!  They told me it has been about 86 F, but Texas still wins.

They told me not to take photos

I am got to my apartment with some cab negotiating – they wanted to charge me 20 Euros, which is close to 26 US dollars, but I managed to get a ride for 150 Ukrainian Hryvnia which is about $18.  I still that that is too expensive, but I had a lot of luggage and I didn’t really want to have to venture into the street to find a black cab.  My cab driver was a nice young man who spoke to me in Russian, which I appreciated.  I was so proud of the conversation we had!  I know it has been three years, but for the most part, I was able to keep up.

Street Kitties!

When I arrived to my hostel, I was happy to see some cute street kitties that will fend off the homesickness.  I was supposed to be staying in a room with 3 other people, but when I got here, it turns out I am in a room all to myself!  Any best of all, they said my dad is getting his own room too!  This is huge, because single rooms are always more expensive.  I will be here for 28 nights, so I am glad to have a place to call my own.  Last time I stayed in a room with 12 beds, and the lack of privacy gets annoying.

My new home

Apartment

I have already made a friend here, a young Bulgarian guy who lives in the hostel.  It is nice to have someone I can ask questions about where to find supplies in the city.  Tomorrow I am walking to the center where I will hopefully still be meeting someone from the NGO.  I wrote to him on Facebook, so wish me luck!

I suppose I should venture into the city in search of water and basic food supplies.  I only ate one real meal today – breakfast on my overnight flight.  I am starting to feel the hunger pains, but maybe I should just stick it out until tomorrow.  Get a jump start on this wedding diet that I keep slacking on.