A Typical Day for Me

I've been indulging in the joys of slow living in Ukraine and abroad, and I must say, it's been a breath of fresh air. For the first time in a long while, I feel like I can finally exhale and unwind. It's incredible to feel my batteries recharging as I rediscover the simple pleasures in life - from lacing up my running shoes to devouring great books, snoozing in my hammock, savoring delicious meals, and swimming under the sun. I also love the teaching opportunities that have filled my days with purpose. This summer has been nothing short of sublime

The past few weeks have been a serene adventure, and I've finally adjusted to the Ukrainian pace of life. No more Obolon for me – summer vacation has arrived, and the kids are out of school! I've transitioned to a new teaching gig at a day care, where I'm working with adorable 4-6 year olds for their daily English classes The kids are adorable and make me just so giddy. The only down fall is that they are extremely difficult to control. They are between the ages of 4-6 and have never been to an English class before. Because they are new and are already pretty fluent in Ukraine, communication between the kids and me is so hard. They don’t understand what I’m saying. I feel their pain because I don’t know what they are saying. I have about 10 kids in each class. They love running, jumping, playing tag, and screaming. It takes a solid 10 minutes every day to get them to be quiet and sit down. They don’t understand anything I am saying. Like, sit, shh, or repeat. It’s definitely different from my last teaching experience. 

I have a nickname for the kids because of their high energy and big hearts I call them the monsters. People think I'm kidding and chuckle when I say the monsters are here. But I definitely am not.

I teach them very basic things and have them repeat simple words instead of phrases. At first, I didn’t think the kids were even comprehending anything I was saying. But after 3 short weeks, I have noticed they can sing a lot of the songs in English and can even ask me a few questions! 

I mostly do art projects with them. Which is a blast but if you know me you know I’m not artsy or crafty in any way, shape, or form. I’m pretty sure everything I have made with the kids could easily go on a Pinterest fail page. Haha. I don’t mind though because my purpose as a teacher is to get them to speak not to make crafts. We just use crafts to help with conversation. 

I teach every day from 9-1. It’s perfect! I’m an earlier riser! So I get up at 5:30 am and run for about an hour. I Have breakfast at 7 and get on the bus by 7:30. I ride the bus for an hour after I prepare from 8:30-9 and teach at 9. After school, we always eat lunch with the kids. We sit at the tiniest tables ever! The tables are set with the most adorable fresh flowers white dishes and a placemat. I feel so spoiled. Ukrainians love SOUP. We always have hot soup with usually some form of mystery meat. Honestly, it smells like fish but looks like a chicken. Or it’s some sort of beef that has a weird jello thing around it. The kids are in the cafeteria as well and they can’t leave until they have eaten their vegetables. I usually hear them squirming in their seat and joking them down so they can get back to playtime. 

The summer heat has definitely hit Ukraine. The locals say their summers are never this hot. It’s been in the ’90s with at least 50% humidity. AC doesn’t exist here and neither does ice or anything cold. All the drinks at the store are warm. The water is warm, the food is warm, EVERYTHING. Even food that should be cold like dairy, vegetables, and fruit is warm. I’m shook. I’m dying without anything cold!

We are usually pretty boiling hot after school so we usually always run to the Dnipro River at Hydro Park and swim. It feels so amazing! 

The public transportation system in Ukraine can be a daunting challenge. Despite using our phone's GPS, we often find ourselves standing at the bus stop, surrounded by multiple buses whizzing by, yet none of them bear the number we're looking for. It's a daily ritual: we stand on the corner, scan the horizon for any glimpse of our elusive bus, and then approach passersby, armed with hand gestures and broken Ukrainian phrases, in a desperate bid to glean some information. Unfortunately, the language barrier proves to be a significant hurdle – it seems that not a single person on the street speaks English. While it can be frustrating, there's also a certain comedy to the situation. If you ever find yourself navigating Ukraine's bus system, I hope you have better luck than us – but don't say I didn't warn you

I had the pleasure of celebrating my 21st birthday in Ukraine, surrounded by the warmth and hospitality of my host family. They surprised me with a delicious chocolate strawberry cake, complete with a thoughtful touch - the number 22 on top! Despite their limited knowledge of English numbers, they went above and beyond to make me feel special. And in a heartwarming moment, they even learned the Happy Birthday song in English! To make it an unforgettable day, I spent it with my dear friends Roxi, Rachel, and Olivia, whom I've affectionately dubbed my 'besties'. We indulged in ice cream treats and capped off the evening by watching The Amazing Race together. It was truly a birthday to cherish!

My host dad Vova is probably the sweetest person ever. He spends 90% of his time cooking food. He is always in the kitchen whipping something up for us to eat. No matter the time of day. When we get home from school he gets super excited and puts dinner on the table. He always watches us and eat and asks us, "You like" while wearing the biggest smile. When he is not in the kitchen is out walking Nora their dog. His English is pretty broken and really the only thing he says is are you full? Bon appetite and "me Nora walk" when he leaves with his dog in the morning. 

There is just a little snippet of my everyday life here in Ukraine.