Day 4 in Kiev

Opening the door. There is a top lock and a bottom lock, and to get the bottom key in, you have to lift a lever. There is a square key and a round key and they are very difficult to copy--that is good.

Front entrance. We now have a shoe rack. Go straight and you enter the kitchen. There is a toilet room and a shower/sink room on your left.

We are on the first floor. It's kind of like a split level house though, to go to the first floor, you walk up some stairs. This is where our mailbox is--you walk up to the in between first and second floors.

My apt. is where the open door is. On the right would be our neighbors. I have never seen them.

This is our kitchen. Complete with a microwave and a gas stove! I love looking out the window, there are always people sitting and conversing or playing at the playground!

This was the big day for me, I was moving into my apartment. I was really apprehensive and scared about moving into my own place. It’s one thing in America, where you know the language; it’s another in a foreign country, where everything is different. The toilets are not the same, the light switches are different, and the list goes on, but none the less, it works, and people have lived just fine for centuries.

I was worried about quite a few things, so I made a list. Mom taught me well. I then shared this list with Dai and Neva and we came up with an action plan and prayed about the things that were bothering me. Some of them we were able to take care of immediately. For example, I had no food. I had no towel. I had no cooking utensils. I still have no bed. And I hope to buy a scoff soon. The unknowns can be quite scary. In the USA everything seems easy, here, it feels quite arduous. I am not sure if it really is more difficult, in fact it might be easier, but for me, every little decision is huge.

Neva took me to Billa (kinda like a HEB) and Jyst (kinda like a Bed, Bath, and Beyond). I was able to purchase towels and food. Neva helped me with purchasing foods, things like I recommend this, Americans like this, we eat this, etc. You can buy this, you won’t find this, but this is sort of like it... Neva’s help was wonderful and put me much more at ease. It was good to look at beds and have a clue as to what I might want to purchase at a later date.

In the late afternoon, Dai took me to the apartment, and I met one of two roommates, Masha. Masha is a wonderful young woman! She is brilliant and a very good teacher, soon to be my Russian teacher! She speaks Ukranian, Russian, English, and a little French and Italian. Masha is 28, and people keep saying that we look similar. Hahah!

Masha loaned me her mattress for a few days, until our third roommate, Vala came. Masha slept on Vala’s bed for a few days. Meeting Masha was exciting and overwhelming! Thankfully, her English is quite good! We quickly found similarities—love tomatoes, scared of dogs, love sunflower seeds, love Jesus (okay, we already knew that!)

That first evening Masha and I went to the Supermarket across the street to purchase a few things. She helped me purchase face wash. The first night was nerve wracking and exciting. I’m certainly NOT used to loud apartments with weird noises. I woke up every couple hours, “Is it morning yet?” “Darn!”