In Transition

Tomorrow night I'll be headed off to L'viv to begin full-time work at a language camp. It's been 2 days since I arrived in Kyiv. I was originally told that I'd be headed off to my camp 2 days after I arrived, but some re-arrangements made it so that I ended up living in this intern apartment for over 3 weeks before I left. In that time I got to do some internship-related work, helping out a global village, an Outgoing Preparation Seminar, two days at a youth camp, and 'volunteering' at a cultural festival. Over the last few days I've been really looking forward to leaving. Its about time I got started on what I came here to do...

...and yet...

I really don't want to leave.

I'm going to miss the shitty little bathroom, the sticky floor, the elevator that smells like piss, the old woman who yells at me in Ukrainian every once in a while...

I'll miss AIESEC Kyiv, and having them throw us surprise parties, or have us start doing vodka shots at 4 in the afternoon....random conversations about differences in AIESEC...and not being able to understand half of what they say because of their accents.

I'll miss my fellow interns, and all the conversations about life in our countries, all the cooking (especially the Malaysian food), languages, and different accents. I'll miss the overcrowded apartment, and cringing every time I hear a new intern is coming. Every time a new one comes I tell myself that they could never replace the friend who I had just taken to the train station a few days before, and then I get to know them and it's one more great friend I've met during my stay here.

The internet connection (or lack thereof)...I won't miss that.

But I will miss wasting time by listening to music while sitting on my windowsill...a straight drop 11 floors down and no railing and no edge. The view may be that of a bunch of a shitty, falling apart Soviet-era apartment buildings, but it's my favourite view in the city.

I'll miss playing vampire at 3 in the morning, or poker, or sociables, or whatever game we think of to kill time. I'll miss all my walks through the city, either alone or with others. Getting lost was almost always on the menu, and finding my way back was the most fun I've had.

When I found out how much time I would have in Kyiv, there was a lot that I wanted to do. A lot of I have done, some I have yet to do, and some will never happen. I've accomplished a lot, but my favourite memories will be the times where I was wasting time and not accomplishing anything at all.

I've said goodbye to many interns so far, and tomorrow I'll be saying goodbye to almost everyone I've met here. This city has been great but it's the people I'll miss most.

Tomorrow starts Part Two of my journey, and I'll be headed off to met even more people, to have more new experiences, to sit by the mountains, and grow further as an individual. I very much look forward to it (and the clean bathroom that hopefully awaits me)...but in the meantime I'll be thinking about the past...and about how I can get a cheap tattoo in this city.

Cheers,

Papa Carson