I'm Alive!

Good news!! I MADE IT TO UKRAINE!!!!! :) :) :)

I could spend a whole lot of time writing about how my flights were and yada yada yada, but I'm going to skip all that nonsense and hit on interesting things.

1. The Chicago airport is one of the most interesting airports I've ever been to. There was an option to walk instead of take the train to the farthest terminal, and it is worth the twenty extra minutes. There is a walkway underground where the walls are covered in LED screens which light up with different variations of color and the ceiling has electric looking lights running the entire length of the corridor. It is pretty neat.

2. I have never been out of the country, so this is the longest flight I have ever been on. It also happens to be the largest plane I have ever been on as well. First class looks overrated - I mean, especially after you see the price. I watched Monsters University, The Bling Ring (big flop), and Iron Man 3. I made friends with a Chinese woman and her German husband. And I attempted to sleep.

3. Once in Frankfurt we had to take a bus through the landing pads of the airport to get to our plane. Then we boarded from the ground (see picture, oh and don't mind the worker. I'm sure you can tell he's happy to be working in the pouring rain.)

4. Ukrainians tend not to shower as often as Americans, so that should tell you a little bit about being stuck in a small, confined space with them.

5. We landed in Kyiv and just as we were getting to customs, a boy in our group discovered that he had left his passport on the plane. The only problem was a flight attendant had taken his passport to some office in the airport and nobody knew where it went. Airport security kicked us out, and made us leave our friend behind. They eventually sorted it out but it was about an hour before they let him into the country.

That's pretty much all sums up two days of flying. If you still want to see more you can watch the short clip of all the excitement below. There's a lot of time zones in that 15 seconds.

Okay, now onto the fun stuff! :) What it is like in this beautiful city!

It's gorgeous here. It's illegal to destroy any of the buildings from the era when Ukraine was still controlled by the Soviet Union, so it still has a huge influence here. Fun fact: Ukraine gained it's freedom from Russia in 1991. 

The view from my bedroom window overlooking the city.
It really is such a colorful place ( in personality as well), although gray is the dominant building color 

I know everyone wants to here more about the family I am staying with and all the things about everyday living, but I will be posting about all of that tomorrow!

It's midnight for me, so with that I say Спокойной ночи (goodnight!).