There were quite a few kids missing at school, so we were able to combine the three classes into two. This made it so one teacher had a break each rotation, it was a nice little birthday present. After school we waited much longer than usual for Tanya. When she finally arrived, she explained the traffic was terrible because all the metro stations had been closed. This was when we first learned of the issues that had begun. What normally takes us about 30 min. to get home increased to about an hour. Cars were packed on the streets and many people were walking along the side of the street. When we finally got home, we ate a delicious dinner and cake. Thanks to Kristina, my host family, other teachers, and the students I had a wonderful birthday!
This has been one eventful week! There have been so many unexpected things happening and I definitely have a lot to share. Monday was a normal day at school, and Tuesday was a wonderful day celebrating my birthday. Little did I know that Tuesday night there would be a significant increase in the violence between protesters and police. The metro station was closed in order to prevent people from travelling to the main square, and several people were killed that night. Due to lack of transportation and safety concerns, we were told to remain at home with our host families the rest of the night, and that we would not be teaching the next day. The metro continued to stay closed Wednesday and that night we received a call from our head teacher informing us that we would not be going to school Thursday either. Luckily the metro re-opened Thursday afternoon, however the clashes continued. Up to 70 people had been killed and many more were injured. It was terrible staying inside wishing I could do something, but I knew that there was nothing I could do even if I wanted to; being at home was the safest place for me. We were informed Thursday night to also stay home from school on Friday. Unlike many of the other teachers, I have a roommate and a family that speaks English. Kristina and I were able to entertain each other; we kept ourselves busy and enjoyed the relaxation time. We were informed on Saturday that all teachers must also stay home from church on Sunday. I was disappointed, especially because Kristina and I live so close the church building and it would have been nice to dress up and get out for awhile, but I understand that our safety is first. Saturday night we also discovered that the President of Ukraine has stepped down and new elections will be held in May. We are still waiting to hear if we will be teaching this coming week, but hopefully now that things have died down we will be able to get back to our regular routine. I would like to remind everyone that I am far from the center of Kiev and very safe. I'm fortunate to have a wonderful host family, coordinators, ILP directors, and church leaders all watching over me. Thank you all for your love and concern! There are a lot of pictures from this week so I hope you enjoy. I can hardly believe i'm 19 years old! Who would have thought this is where I would be in my life? It's amazing looking back at the past year and seeing everything that has happened. So much has changed; I have grown in ways I could have never imagined. On Tuesday February 18th, we woke up at 6:15. As we rolled out of bed Kristina mumbled "Happy Birthday Kate". I had nearly forgotten, and had also forgotten what had urged us to wake up so early. Since setting our goal to exercise every day, we have had the ambition to keep the consecutive streak going. Mostly because if we reach 20 days in a row we are rewarding ourselves by going to the spa in Hungary, but also to prevent ourselves from getting too fat while we are here. Lucky for me my birthday landed on a Tuesday which happens to be the day neither Kristina or I have to teach Pre-K. Because we didn't have to be to the school until 1:00, we made plans. What do two girls do with a free morning off? Shopping of course! After Tanya dropped us off at the metro station, we headed to our favorite shopping center, Ocean Plaza. It was the perfect temperature and the sun was shining. I learned to NEVER wear rain boots if you plan on walking a lot, they start to rub on your feet and get very warm. There were quite a few kids missing at school, so we were able to combine the three classes into two. This made it so one teacher had a break each rotation, it was a nice little birthday present. After school we waited much longer than usual for Tanya. When she finally arrived, she explained the traffic was terrible because all the metro stations had been closed. This was when we first learned of the issues that had begun. What normally takes us about 30 min. to get home increased to about an hour. Cars were packed on the streets and many people were walking along the side of the street. When we finally got home, we ate a delicious dinner and cake. Thanks to Kristina, my host family, other teachers, and the students I had a wonderful birthday! Wednesday and Thursday equaled a lot of relaxation and time on our own. We didn't mind having an unexpected break. It was nice to take it slow and get caught up on things. Friday and Saturday were very similar to the two previous days. Just a lot of sitting around and relaxation time. Obviously this week has been very unexpected and since Wednesday has seemed like the never-ending weekend. It's unfortunate having to remain inside, but like I said hopefully things will transition back into regular routine soon. I forgot to mention that I received some pretty exciting news on Friday. I asked my dad if he had heard anything on the status of my mission call. After talking to my bishop he said that my assignment has been made! My call should be in the mail this coming week! I can hardly wait to see where the Lord will send me; the anxiety is about to drive me crazy. I will keep everyone updated. Thank you again for love, support, and prayers. Have a wonderful week!
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Author“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” Archives
December 2015
Categories |