My last morning in Nepal consisted of waking up and finishing packing at 4am in complete darkness due to a power shortage. We left our ministry site for the airport at 4:30am, arriving there just after 5am–even though our flights weren’t until the afternoon–to avoid the riots and transportation strikes going on throughout the city due to some political situations.
But it was all worth it when my flight from Kathmandu to Delhi came with a spectacular view of the snowcapped Himalayan Mountains out my window…it was beautiful! and for the sake of my mind, I am going to claim one of them to be Mt Everest, haha ;]
We landed in Delhi, India a little before 5pm. By the time we reached the International Transfer area, we were told we were going to have to wait until 10 or 11 that night to be issued our boarding passes since the airline office closed at 5pm. What?!..we just missed it by 10 minutes! So the four of us (me, Amy H, Ashley, & Jenny) set up camp and waited for the last Q-squad flight to arrive, only to share the happy news with them too. But praise the Lord, Ryan worked his usual magic & was able to pass us some pizza through the security checkpoint so we could have some dinner!
After a fun game of cards, reading, journaling, and sleeping, we were finally issued our boarding passes a little after midnight and were able to join the rest of our squad at the gate.
Our flight left Delhi at 4am to fly to Moscow, Russia and I attempted to sleep through it all. When we landed in Russia, most of us trudged to go blow our money at the TGI Friday’s a few terminals over. Nikki and I shared a cheeseburger and fries.. It was totally worth it !
We left Moscow and arrived at our final destination in Kiev, Ukraine around 4 in the afternoon. Culture shock at its finest…cars that drove within the lines, trash cans, and tons of white people all around who weren’t tourists but actually citizens of the land. It was hard to realize [yet amazing at the same time] that we weren’t going to be stared at anymore. ..Unless of course it is because of our revolting World Race attire that doesn’t even compete with the European dress here. 😛
We soon arrived at our hostel, which just so happens to be in the middle of the beautiful historical center of the city, only to be greeted by the sweetest family ever who have taken very good care of us. We were offered hot showers, a hair dryerrr, a western toilet, and the most comfortable bed & pillow that I have used all Race. I feel so spoiled!!!
Especially our trip to McDonald’s for dinner. It is Kiev Day (the city turns 1,500 this year) this weekend and so a lot is happening all around us. McDonald’s was super packed with people all dressed up and even on dates…it was such an overwhelming experience. I felt I had just landed on a different planet. I never realized how much “out of civilization” I have really been in for the last 9 months of my life.
I am just so happy to be here in Europe now though. :] I am already in love! Not just because I am back in the “western world” surrounded by people much more like me. Well…that could be part of it, but it just feels so good to be here! I love the hustle and bustle of the city life here in Kiev, the people, the fashion (even though nothing in my WR wardrobe compares to this Vogue city), and especially the accents. ;] I personally think this is the perfect way to spend the last 2 months of the World Race. I’m pretty sure it will help so much to “slowly” accustom us back into civilization and culture of the US of A. Because personally, I am very much ready to throw away all of my clothes and buy a complete new wardrobe. ;]
We are leaving tonight on an overnight train for Odessa, Ukraine. It is on the coast of the Black Sea. I’m not really sure of what our ministry will look like this month, but whatever we do, I’m sure I’m gonna love it! :]
I took a walk through the park today to experience the festivities for Kiev Day
