First Day!

After nearly 3 full days of travel; from 13 hours of plane rides, to 18 hour layovers, to 12 hour train rides, taxi's, and vans... we have finally arrived in Ukraine, and what a trek it has been.

First of all, I would like to say that British airlines are AMAZING. I loved their food, and the plane was HUGE. They gave us full-on meals with English tea, and I watched quite a few movies on the way over. We didn't get to explore London, but did end up sleeping there in the airport during our 18 hour layover - it actually wasn't that bad, I didn't mind. Once we got to Kiev, Alexandra was able to barter for a taxi to bring us all to the train station (therefore bypassing the bus stage). From the moment I walked on board the train and into our box compartment, I automatically thought of Harry Potter and pretended I was on the Hogwarts Express :P At night, we turned the padded benches into beds (there were two fold down beds above the lower benches)I took pictures and I hope to post them soon, although at the moment I am having a few computer issues (Andrea, now I know how you feel!)

Colleen (our host/organizer) was waiting for us when we got off the train (in Donetsk) and drove us the rest of the way to Donetsk Christian University. We drove past many beautiful buildings and sites on the way there, including Russian Orthodox churches with gold-plated domed tops, beautiful long stretches of parks, and even mafia headquarters here (although we couldn't see past the huge wall surrounding his extensive territory :P) It was pretty awesome nonetheless.

I've already fallen in love with the campus here, and it feels like I've been here forever. It feels strange to be on the other side of things, and I don't feel like I'm as far away from home as I am. In fact, quite a few things remind me of the states, even if there are differences.

Right now we are preparing ourselves for the work to come, as we start teaching classes on Monday. We've been learning different teaching tips, lesson planning, 'Survival Russian' (for our trips into town), and just any information on Ukrainian culture that we will need to know when interacting with students. I'm looking forward to starting, but feel inadequate at the same time. I know it will be difficult, and almost feel overwhelmed when I think about all the things we will be doing, and all the full days ahead. I'm glad I'm an assistant, I can't imagine being in charge of so much - and I realize now just how lucky we are to have the Russian speaking individuals that we do.

I wish I knew more Russian... :P

Leaving So Soon!?!

My mission's trip is fast approaching, and I can hardly believe it's nearly here. In less than 24 hours, I will be boarding a plane for the longest voyage of my (young) life. The immensity of what I'm doing still hasn't hit home - and probably won't until after I return. So many 'firsts', that it's hard to count them all. The first time I've gone on a missions trip. The first time I've been oversees (or out of the country for that matter...) The first time I'll get to experience another culture firsthand. The first time I feel like I have the chance to give back to God all He's given to me, and the first time I've been well enough to do so. And I'm sure many more firsts shall follow...

The past few months have been all a whirl. Learning about Ukraine, what we should do, how to act, what we should bring, scrambling to learn the language (or at least some of it...), gathering supplies, and still having some down time to relax and read a good book (or anime - both work just fine). Oh! And I also got my first official jury summons today too... I found it humorous that it arrived just before my departure...

But yeah, everything is going smoothly and (almost) according to plan... other than the fact that me and my team accidentally ended up going to a meeting meant only for our team leaders (due to a mis-communication.) It actually turned out to be a blessing in disguise though, as we were able to get all the last minute details we needed to know before departure, and I was able to make the final payment for my remaining balance before leaving (Thanks Grandma!)

Here is the plan for tomorrow...

4:00p - Meet at OWM (Office of World Mission's)
5:15p - Leave APU for Airport
9:15p - LAX to London (about 10 hours)
3:30p - layover in London (Jun25)
9:45a - London to Kiev - (3 hours 15 min.) (Jun26)

In case that's confusing, remember there are time changes! (I know I didn't for a while, and couldn't figure out why my arrival and departure times didn't match the flight duration...)

For those of you who want to send any mail to me while I'm in the Ukraine, remember that it takes 10 days to 3 weeks to send mail that far, so please plan accordingly.

Chelsea Smith
106A prospect Illicha
Donetsk, Ukraine 80359

Other than that, e-mail is always a good way to go, since we WILL be staying in a dorm with Internet access. (crohnskitty@gmail.com or just regular ol' facebook)

You choose...