Less than 48 hours...

This will be a blog post with a LOT of pictures...and probably not as many (really long) paragraphs :) I say that now at the beginning of the post...but we'll see if it holds true. Also depends on how long my host sister is walking the dog, which translates to Lydia time on the computer. Without further ado...

So...where to begin. Yesterday (Friday) we went to Chernigov. We took the 8:50 am bus (the other option was 6:08 am...no thanks.) which got us to Chernigov around 10:30 am I think. We had our LCF (Russian teacher Zhenya) with us...who was going to ship a bag home to Crimea where she lives (google it...it's beautiful). The first stop was the ATM for all of us to get our allowances...but that was when things went downhill. Zhenya was the first to put her ATM card (and last I might add) because the machine wasn't working. They wouldn't give her her card back...and it turned into a huge ordeal where she had to go to a few other places around Chernigov. It ended up that our TCF (technical teacher Lyuda) who had stayed back in Oster to rest, had to go to Zhenya's apartment to get her passport (for identification purposes), take a bus to Chernigov, give Zhenya the passport, and then go back home to Oster. This is when you're glad you live in a smallish city because Lyuda could simply go to Zhenya's landlady and explain the situation at hand to get into her apartment. SO, long story short...After a few hours of getting bank stuff dealt with, Zhenya got her card back and money withdrawn. Phew. During that time, Jamie, Cassi, and I shopped in the megacenter (totally forgot to take a picture of this...). We were shopping for host family gifts, and I also stocked up on things that I know I will eventually need in the next month or two (a new toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo/conditioner, etc.). It is much cheaper to buy these things in a big city at stores than in a small magazihn (store) in Oster. And since I still don't know where I'll be living for 2 years (I find out in less than 48 hours! hence the title of the post...), I figured it'd be better to go ahead and get some staples like that. Moving on...time for pictures of Chernigov!

This is Red Square in the middle of Chernigov...modeled after Red Square in Russia! Not near as big...but still massive and open.

There is a movie theater in Chernigov (I asked my host sister where people go to the movies here...since Oster is smack in the middle of Chernigov and Kiev. She said they'll go to either one, but those are the closest...)

What movie is this!?! Robert DeNiro...and I can't tell who the girl is?

Here are Jamie, Cassi, and I at one of the monuments that every PCV has to take a picture on :) This is Т. Г. Шевченко (pronounced Shefjenko) who is the most famous Ukrainian poet.

Up on top of the hill are 12 cannons. The story goes that whenever a guy in Chernigov asks a girl out...and if she doesn't want to go...she tells him to meet her at the 13th cannon, which is nowhere to be found. About 10 years ago, they put a cannon in the downtown area because the story was so popular.



The view from the canons...the tall churches in the background are where the following pictures were taken.

After the cannons, we went to the church that has 1000 year old caves underneath it. There is also a bell tower (seen above) that you can climb up and see all of Chernigov...incredibly pretty!

The creepy stairs you have to climb up to get to the top (definitely kept wanting to quote National Treasure while I was in this building...).

This part isn't open to the public anymore (I'm basically looking straight up when I took this picture). Our teacher Zhenya is not a fan of heights...and I pointed out that at least they've updated from old rotted wood to metal stairs and such that we climbed up :)

The view of the church from the bell tower (yes, the bell towers are seperate in most of the churches here...)

View of the Desna river!

Chernigov :)

Couldn't resist this picture! Made me think of Mexico :)

Neat old bells!

еше (more in Russian) bells!

There was a steady stream of babushkas coming and going from the church the entire time...

After the church, we had to walk another half mile or so to get to the part where the caves are. This is carved on a wall on a building where the caves are. The caves were supposedly built to keep the monks away from civilization so that they could study.

A neat painting of the church...the covered tunnel thing is not there anymore, so I'm not quite sure what this picture actually depicts. The caves were actually closed for the day by the time we got there...no biggie. There are more caves in old churches in Kiev that I'm sure I'll get to see at some point in the next two years.

After all the churches, we had to take a mashrutka (city transportation) to the McDonalds (had some french fries and enjoyed the free wifi...) which is where we would catch a ride home. We ended up being in a Mercedes mashrutka (think kind of like a Sprinter van...). We'll see if Scott actually reads my blog because he's been wanting to buy some of those vans for youth trips. I will say that it was incredibly nice. I approve :) My mashrutka driver on the other hand reminded me of a typical Ukrainian driver. There were a few close calls when he would decide to pass somebody, but when that happens here, it just means that everybody kind of squeezes onto the shoulders and allows for it to happen. Unwritten rule.

Another interesting thing I've noticed while riding in vehicles here...if there is a cop ahead, EVERYBODY driving the opposite way madly flashes their lights at you as you pass. And it's not like a quick flash on and off...it's like they turn on their hazards but with their brights on too. Weird.

All in all, we walked over 7 miles yesterday. How do I know this? Because in the past few days I've been moving stuff around in my suitcases to re-pack (again) and I found my LONG LOST PEDOMETER that I thought I left at home. I was ecstatic. My feet were killing me after the long day of walking up and down narrow (not ADA) stairs...and I even wore tennis shoes yesterday! One of the things that we've come to realize upon living in Oster is that my feet will be eternally dirty for the rest of summer...and I just have to accept it. Since most of the roads are dirt, you simply can't not get your feet dirty if you wear sandals. So, yesterday, I splurged on a pedicure foot thing (to soften my skin) and some lovely shades of fingernail polish (didn't bring any with me...definitely should have). I gave myself a homemade pedicure last night that that made me feel quite girly and lovely to look down at my freshly painted tangerine colored toenails. It's the little things in life... :)

Today was our host family picnic. It went very well and it made it that much more real that we are leaving on Monday morning at 8:30 am. But, I can safely say that I know I will come back and visit and will always have a place to stay at my host family's house :) I can also safely say that I am ready for next Thursday to get here, when I will get on a bus or train with my counterpart and head off to my new home for the next two years. I am so, so excited. Enjoy your weekend! Hopefully will post pictures from the picnic tomorrow. Love love.