Only Six Weeks To Go! (Minus One Special Friend)

It's been three weeks since I got back from vacation! A lot has happened and changed, but I'm rolling with it and life is good!

The first Tuesday back in Kiev our branch Relief Society met to try out a new restaurant. It was a Crimean restaurant called Krym, and it was super good! Everything was priced pretty low because the serving sizes were small. That meant Kate and I ordered lots of things to share! We tried Lagman soup, Tatar salad (definitely our favorite), Chiburekki (which is basically a fried quesadilla), Plov, and of course, baklava. We were incredibly full, but it was fun night out.



This guy is totes realistic looking



I think it's safe to say I'm playing with the big boys now

That Saturday we went to one of the teacher's surprise birthday parties, and afterwards went to one of the Relief Society's member's house to watch the Women's Broadcast from the previous week. She provided the most amazing taco bar ever. I'm not sure you understand the significance of REAL salsa and REAL guacamole and REAL MEXICAN FOOD! We were all in heaven, and to top it off, there were delicious cinnamon cupcakes that were the softest things we've had since being in Ukraine. It was a wonderful reminder of home and the yummy food that we miss from time to time. The broadcast was great as well, but it did make me miss my mom and sisters back home.



Tanya really wanted to make sure the blossoms were in the picture



Alysha being a goon



Sigh....the sweet joy Mexican food brings

The Tuesday after this, our wonderful host mom Tanya took us to see the ballet Sleeping Beauty! It was so beautiful, and although I'll admit that ballets aren't my favorite thing in the world, it was a fun evening filled with lovely music and dancing.



Take a look at that fancy opera house

That Friday was a little sad for me. It was supposed to be my day off from teaching since I had turned in all my lesson plans on time the month prior. However, that morning Kate texted me and told me that unfortunately Alysha (who was supposed to teach for me) was really sick. I actually wasn't as disappointed as I thought I would be. I still got to take my time getting ready, and I was really looking forward to seeing the kids, even if they can be a handful sometimes. And what really sweetened the day was the bake sale that the students had! We got a lot of tasty treats for around $1!



Getting hyped on sugar before the kids come

That weekend was our General Conference Weekend. Because Ukraine is so far ahead of Utah time-wise, we watched Conference the following weekend. One of the other teachers, Solana, spent the night at our house on Friday and we watched the Saturday morning session that morning (obviously.) We had the brilliant idea to go to the temple to do baptisms so that we could have a super spiritually charged day. We raced to the temple (after being assured by temple workers in our branch that it would be open) and as we pulled on the doors, we discovered that it was, in fact, closed. We were pretty bummed out since it was cold and rainy and we had just crazily speed walked there, but at least we got to see the temple. Things here are blooming and becoming green, and it's really beautiful to be outside and enjoying the long-awaited sun.

We made our way back to the house and then packed up to go to Solana's house. We watched the Saturday afternoon session there while baking chocolate chip cookies and eating quail. Yeah, I ate quail. And it was awesome.

For the Sunday morning session we went to the church meeting house. Solana's host dad drove us there in his super sporty Audi and got pulled over by the police because he was going awesomely fast. He told them that he had three Americans that he had to get to the airport, so he only had to pay around $10. Very sneaky.

Kate and I headed back home after the morning session and watched the final afternoon session by ourselves in the evening. The whole conference was very good and Kate and I were very proud of ourselves for responsibly watching it all by ourselves. If you haven't watched it yet, I would highly recommend taking the time to watch even one session or one talk. I have a goal to read one talk each Sunday until the next General Conference because these are the kind of messages that you need to constantly remind yourself of or they get forgotten, no matter how good your notes are the first time around.

Then began the crazy week. Monday through Wednesday was when two of the three ILP directors came for their mid-semester checkups. I was a little nervous, but on Monday the teachers from Kiev 1 met with them for dinner at Krym. Steve and Jared are the nicest people ever. Meeting them and getting to know them on a more personal level makes me want to continue to be involved with ILP even more. They really do love and care about the teachers they work with, and they want us all to succeed. As we were all trying to decide what to order, Steve came around and told us that he would be paying. As we started to protest, he said, "Hey, when Dad comes, you let Dad pay." He really is like the ILP Dad. He is so warm and welcoming, and makes you feel comfortable. Jared is also extremely nice. He's ridiculously tall and is very funny. It a fun night, even though we got back really late.

The next day (Tuesday) was the day Jared came to evaluate the school I teach at. He interviewed us all to see how we're doing and if we're enjoying the program. All the teachers sat in our foreign coordinator's office eating treats and drinking Sandora juice (literally the best juice in the world) and talking with Jared. It was really fun and his evaluations of how the kids are speaking went well.

That evening we met up with everyone from Kiev 1 and 2 to have a pizza party with the directors. We had a few repeat performances from the talent show, and Steve even participated in iPod Idol, which was hilarious. The directors spoke to us a little and then handed out ten Mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cups to each of us! That was amazing! Steve also told us that he believed we were meant to come to Kiev at this time in our lives. That really struck a chord with me. Through any circumstances I've faced here, whether it's frustration with teaching or homesickness or even just being cold, I've always felt like I was meant to be here. This is really significant for me because I have only felt this level of confirmation a few times in my life. It's wonderful to know that I am where I need to be, and that Heavenly Father knows where to lead me so I can grow and become the best person I can be.

Wednesday was another late night. Alysha called us during school to ask if we wanted to go to a soccer game that night at the huge Kiev Stadium. I wasn't really sure if I wanted to go because I was feeling very tired and worn out from being out so late over the last few days, but I decided to go. I am so glad that I did.



Pretty sweet stadium



We got those scarves for like $4 bucks each.
I know....we rock



Go Dynamo! Even though you lost...

It was a ton of fun! We got pretty cheap seats, but it didn't really matter. Everyone here wears scarves to support their team, so Kate and I bought some scarves for the Kiev team, Dynamo. On the way to the stadium we were coming through the metro and hundreds of people were making their way up the escalators. One person would yell something, and all of a sudden, everyone would join in the cheer. It was crazy and exhilarating to be in the middle of that. Unfortunately, Dynamo lost, but it was really fun to be back at a sports game; it reminded me of BYU football games! There was one section that was basically the student section on steroids. They were constantly jumping up and down, shouting different chants, and at one point, they lit flares! Flares inside a partially covered stadium that can hold 70,000 people and was almost completely full! That's insane in my opinion, but it was pretty awesome to see.



I spot a fire hazard



The smoke's my fault, guys.
I'm too smoking hot

After the game was over and as we made our way home, we discovered by text that our host family's car was once again broken. Instead of wait for the elusive 743 D marshrutka that would take us to the center of our village, we rode to Billa Market and then walked about 20-25 minutes to our house. It was pretty late at night and the streets weren't lit too well, but luckily there were two of us, and we made it safely home.

Thursday was Friday for me! Teaching was a little wild because out of the 15 kids that were there, 11 of them were boys and all of the "crazy" boys were in attendance. But I got through it and was rewarded with a beautiful Friday off. I spent the majority of the day relaxing on the couch with the door open to the cool spring breeze and the sound of chirping birds. Thank you Ukraine.



Wow they're insane

Saturday was a sad day. It was Kate's last day in Ukraine and with me. In March she decided that it was best for her to leave early to prepare for her mission in July. We spent Saturday exercising, curling hair, and decorating eggs for Easter. Our host family took us to St. Michael's Cathedral near the center of Kiev to have some food and eggs blessed by the priests there. The priest doing the blessing would come around with a huge container of holy water and dip a large paintbrush-type thing into the water. Then he flicked a LOT of water onto the food and us, so now I really know how blessed I am to be here! We got ice cream from Mickey D's and then watched Hairspray until the taxi came at 11pm to pick her up.



Some of the cute eggs we decorated!



A goodbye dinner



The (in)famous Kiev cake!



Going to get blessed



The fam bam



With our blessed food and faces



Just a random branch bench

Today (Sunday) was pretty rough for me. It's hard going from having someone around you 24/7 to suddenly being alone for the majority of the time. But I know that everything will turn out for the best. Kiev is really blossoming and my walk home from church today even made me smile through the tears. I'll be okay, especially because I know that Heavenly Father is always there for me. What better day to learn this than on Easter Sunday? I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter! I'll be home before you know it: only 44 more days left!