Okay.. I'm honestly surprised by my almost 24 hours in Ukraine so far.
Blankly... I'm miserable. Not including being separated from the man I want to spend the rest of my life with, but this trip has been Hell since I landed.. actually before I landed. From the rudest and worst airports, to arrogant ill-mannered men and stuck up women... and for the first time, I want to run away from something.
I'm not a quitter, but I've never had such problems in ANY cuontry I've been to, not even in the USA which I have never really liked and I'm a citizen, like the problems I've had here in about 24 hours.
My trip started off with a 2 hour delay, which caused me to miss my connecting flight. Had to wait until the morning as they don't fly out after 11pm in Kiev. -_- From every little thing that could go wrong and did... to feeling like I'm in a country that is just awful. I hope it doesn't stay this way... but have you had those feelings when you've been some place and it just didn't feel right.. just wrong on so many levels? That's Ukraine for me.
I'm supposed to meet with my director tomorrow to take pictures for the website and see the school and some of the city. And so bad I want to tell her that I just want to buy a ticket out of Ukraine and back to Serbia.
I did not expect all this. I figured I'd be a little sad from missing my boyfriend, but I didn't think I'd hate it this much. I've sorted it out that my dislike for this place has little to do with my boyfriend being in another country. I just truly am not liking it here.
Suggestions as to what I should do? I haven't signed any papers yet. No visas. I have 90 days here. Do I tell my director? DO I keep my mouth shut and just stick it out? Give it longer? Ask my director to work with me on time and after 90 days be gone, and I'll help her find a replacement? I'd love to hear your opinions and suggestions...
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crickey - that sounds really hard - but definately try to pull all your inner strength together and stick it out for a while if you can - even if you cant see any light at the moment, it might be like a rough diamond - a little rubbing and it will start to gleam. You will never know unless you give it a chance. Goodluckski man :)
ps i know what you mean about that warm hospitality - i found istanbul like that, so many people willling to go the extra mile to help - so much so you start to feel suspicious about it - then later only to feel guilty for feeling like that - solution? Trust people - usually they dont let you down ;)
See.. I'm used to Serbia. Serbia has that warm hospitality. I did not expect Ukraine to be like Serbia, but I did not expect it to be soulless like American.
Kosovo will be fixed up once Kosovo Albanians aren't in it. Kosovo is the heart of Serbia... and always will be. I miss home aka Serbia.
Sorry you don't like the Ukraine so much; im sure it is a quite a shock for most Americans who go to Eastern Europe expecting this great warm hospitality, but to tell you the truth, its not always that way, it took me awhile in Germany to make friends as they are very conservative people; i also did some time down in Bosnia, in a small village called Bircko - i learned a little bit of the language and did find them to be very decent people; i still wish they fix up Kosovo though...lol. Hvalla!!
Thanks ladies.. means a lot to me. All I have right now are my friends via internet. Hardly anyone speaks English.. people here in Ukranie are very curt. Unlike Serbia where everyone says hi and bye and helps you if you look like your struggling and will help a stranger in a second, and if you're a foreigner and don't know Serbian they will track down someone who can speak to you. It's awesome.. not so awesome here. :(
Gah, how frustrating - I'll be keeping my fingers firmly crossed that things start looking up for you!
P.S - managed to initially post this comment as i-to-i rather than me - don't be alarmed if you have two message alerts!
Gah, how frustrating - I'll be keeping my fingers firmly crossed that things start looking up for you!
P.S - managed to initially post this comment as i-to-i rather than me - don't be alarmed if you have two message alerts!
hey babes keep smiling. it must be so hard for you. But any time you want to chat or have a moan. You know where i am :-) I've sent you over my email address. Keep strong babes thinking of you xx
@Faerylight - He has to stay in Serbia. He's in his last year in college. :( I'll go back from Christmas and Easter hopefully. I get the school schedule tomorrow.
@Honor - Well I can't say it's any better, but it's not too much worse either. My director is pissing me off. She has no idea what punctual is. Saturday she said we'd meet at 5-530pm. 6-30pm she calls me host (since they haven't gotten me an apartment yet) and tells me that she can't meet tonight and will come and get me at 10am (Sunday). Ok.. whatever. I was up at 6am (trouble sleeping as I want to run away from here and I'm used to having my man in the bed with me) and so I was definitely ready by 10am. 1245 rolls around and she shows up. No apology, no explanation. Nothing. She shows me a few things, grocery store, bus stops I need to get to school.. blah blah. She tells me to be at the school at noon today (Monday). I'm there at like 1150am. She isn't there.. so I wait a few. I call around 1205. She tells me she'll be there in 10-15 minutes. 1245ish she shows up. Not happy. The way she explained the basics today makes no sense really. Seems like a lot of bullshit. Just insane. I hope that something happens ASAP... either gets better REALLY quick or I find something in Serbia even faster.
Oh no! That totally sucks. I suppose since you're not able to head back to Belgrade the decision's been taken out of your hands (which is never a nice feeling), but once you get to know a few people and start teaching, it WILL feel better and more like home. Just give it a few weeks, chat to your director about how you're feeling (she'll hopefully be able to introduce you to some people and help you feel more settled) and get out there and see a bit of wherever you're living.
How are you finding it now you've been there a few days?
Oh no! That's awful :( I'm really sorry. I hope stuff works out- is your boyfriend coming to join you or is he staying in Serbia?
Unfortunately.. it's a bit more than just fears and cultlure shock.
I had a primal instinct to run last night laying in bed. Like my life was in danger. I had flights booked to head back to Belgrade. But when I talked to my boyfriend I found out that if I come back I could get deported to the US, jail his mom, and have her pay fines because of some law changes that no one knew about pertaining to foreigners. So yeah.. not leaving Ukraine though every bit of my gut tells me to.
I know how hard it can feel going somewhere different. My advice would be to stick it out for a couple of weeks and then see how you feel. Being somewhere different is always going to be emotionally difficult, disorientating and a confusing experience and of course the first thing you want to do when you move out of your comfort zone is escape right back. But what if you backed out right now and you missed out on an amazing experience? Just because its started bad doesn't mean it has to end that way.
*hugs* Good luck! I hope things get better.
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