06-07 September, 2015
I left Madison, WI midday on Sept 6th and flew to Kiev via Atlanta and Amsterdam. I was to meet up with two other Peace Corps Response volunteers in Amsterdam and journey together the last leg of the trip. The travel itself was fine, except that there were delays on every flight, which culminated in a rather hilarious sprint through Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam laden with overstuffed hand luggage which were slung around me in various bundles. I had exactly 10 minutes to get to the opposite end of this very large international hub and I felt rather like a character in a video game, dodging all manner of people and objects in my efforts to reach my intended gate. Breathless, I arrived in the nick of time (as did another Peace Corp volunteer, late from a completely different flight). As I took my seat the gentleman next to me said in a loud southern drawl “What the f*ck is taking so long? I need a margarita”. Grimacing inwardly, I realized that I had come all this way only to be seated next to a parody of the ugly American. He was on his way to meet a Ukrainian girl he hooked up with in Dallas earlier that year…. I believe he referred to it as a very expensive “booty call”. Nice. He insisted on talking and I patiently explained the difference between the Peace Corps and Greenpeace three times. He works on an oil rig for Halliburton and has no love of “dolphin huggers”. There was a woman in full burka sitting behind us and the guy kept squirming because all the ‘commies’ made him uncomfortable. Sigh. So many misconceptions I wouldn’t know where to begin. I knew that I would have to learn tolerance for differences while on this mission; I just didn’t expected it from another American. Lessons come in the most 
unexpected ways, don’t they?
We arrived in Kiev around 1pm and zipped through immigration without a problem. I guess that Peace Corps sticker on my passport really did help! We waited for ages at the baggage carousel for our luggage….long after it was obvious that our bags were not there. The two of us who had tight connections had arrived while our worldly possessions were still somewhere in Amsterdam. And we were not alone…there were perhaps 20 people in the same situation. It took nearly an hour for us to work our way to the front of the line at customer service to file a claim. At last we made it out to the arrivals lounge, where we were met with squeals and hugs from Peace Corps staff, as well as cameras and reporters from Voice of America. Apparently, it is good news that American volunteers are coming back to Ukraine again. What a warm welcome!
We were given time to unpack but alas without luggage that was unnecessary. After a bit of administrative paperwork, we were met by the Country Director (the top person in Ukrainian Peace Corps) and taken to dinner at a Crimean Tartar restaurant. And there I learned my first new Ukrainian word.
Smachnyy. Delicious.
Afterwards, there was time to walk around the city with the other two volunteers and we bonded 
while getting lost and finding our way around the unfamiliar territory. I tell you, nothing develops the solidarity of women like when they are looking for a clean public bathroom with toilet paper. And along the way we saw some really beautiful churches and monuments.
Tomorrow the real work begins.