Peculiar

12^th to 31^st of October, 2021.          

              I remain in the road, standing there for almost 5 hours. What a hell? What is wrong with this people? There is a lot of traffic, so why nobody is stopping? Plus I am freezing! When it became so cold?
              Well, after those almost 5 hours, a guy stops and he tells me he has passed three times by me already, since early morning, so he decided to do something. Tim is a very kind person and he decides to drive me to a gas station, which is in another road, with more traffic to Krivyi Rih and not only people leaving Kyiv. At the gas station, he offers to pay me a coffee and a croissant. Tim has a design company, Fashion Room.
              People star to behave nicer just after Tim leaves. In a few minutes a couple stop their car and kindly tells me they are not going to Krivyi Rih but they would like to buy me a cup of coffee. How nice. Since I have just had one, I kindly refuse. Soon after that, a guy who is going into the shop, tells me he is sorry but he is not going here either. A few minutes later though, he comes out of the shop with two coffees: one for him and the other is for me. How cute!
              It is raining a little bit. It hasn’t pass much time, maybe 15 minutes? But there are not many people stopping in the gas station. So after two of the workers here tell me I should go to the highway, where there are some locals hitchhiking already, I finally decide to go, even though I am still reluctant. After all it is the highways and plus, there are about 4 locals there already.
              As soon as I put my backpacks down and hold my sign up, a car stops. Andrey and Petro are going to Kryvyi Rih and they make not to look like a big deal that they are taking me there. I am so excited! And I know instantly that I can trust on them so it does not matter that we will travel through the night and arrive quite late, I am OK with that. It takes much more time than we expect because the roads are shitty! Again, because they are trying to “fix it”. But it is OK because Andrey and Petro are such wonderful people, that I don’t even see the time passing. I have a great time with them and we laugh a lot! We stop in a gas station to have a break and eat something. I make a cheese sandwich (because I have skipped lunch) and we also eat some of the delicious apple pie which Andrey baked. They buy me a coffee =)

              When we arrive, my host Yuliia is waiting for me. We go by taxi to her apartment. She lives in one of the many “Sleeping Districts” of Krivyi Rih. These are simply the blocks of apartments from the Communism time.
              Me and Yuliia get along since the beginning. She is a very determined person. She is polite and very focus in what she wants for her life. She is an English teacher and she loves to travel. Her daughter, Milana, is 12 years old and I like her too. She is smart and, like her mother, she has a very strong personality and she stands for what she likes and wants, even though if it is not what everybody else likes and wants. I love that!
              For the first week I am staying with them and going to the private English classes Yuliia gives in the school of the sleeping district. Because we have different kids of different ages, in each class we do something different. But I basically introduce myself and talk about my travels, while interacting with the students to help them to practice their English. With the teens, we play some some cool culture games and I tell them about Brazil and we compare my culture with theirs. I am very surprise in how most of the students are very intrigued with my presence and make lots of questions. Many times we run out of time when they still have some questions. I love it!
              Yuliia and Milana take me to the city centre one day. We take a long walk around some nice parks and we also go to this amazing chocolate coffee shop, Lviv Handmade Chocolate. We try some delicious chocolates and have some coffee. Yuliia is always preparing some nice food and she almost doesn’t let me help or cook. She really treats me like I am a special guest. We always have some sweets with coffee in the morning (after our healthy muesli breakfast, of course) and one day she even buys red caviar! Milana loves it! I was a little bit reluctant to try it but I had to. I really didn’t like it and I had to tell them.
              On the beginning of the next week, for two days, I go to another school, to participate in other English classes from another teacher. She is extremely polite, like Yuliia, and she dresses with the same elegance. It seems to me that both of them take teaching as a very… humm… serious is not the word, but like… as it was in the older times when the teachers had a very strict conduct. They reflect that attitude to me mainly in the way the dress to go to the school. At the end of my second day, she gives me this huge bag full of goodies, like chocolate, cookies and even a bottle of wine! Why? I have no clue. She was just trying to be grateful. I am so overwhelmed that I don’t even know what to say or how to reacted. Everything it seems way too much for a very simple person like me. I mean, I am basically used to have nothing, hehe.

             On the second week, I go to spend 2 nights in another teacher’s house, Ludmila. She is lovely and try so hard to make sure I am comfortable and that I have everything I need. Just like Yuliia. Actually, they both treat me way too nicer than they need. But anyway, Mila is very nice and I also like her a lot. I also have a very nice experience with her students in this third school. The difference now is that I was not only spending some time in her classes but also in other teacher’s classes. It is curious to me how some of the teachers feel ashamed to talk to me. And I am not even a native speaker! I don’t know why…
              At some point I finally meet Marina. She is the owner of the English Method which all these teachers I have been with it, and some of the schools where they work. So she is kind of the glue which connects all of them.
              Together with her husband Misha, the three of us have a really good time. We are always laughing and making fun. I spend also two night with her and apart of cooking some delicious dishes, they also took me to a nice restaurant. They also take me to a small tour around the mines and tell me about some Ukraine History. By the way, Krivyi Rih is famous for be the longest city in Europe and for its huge number of Iron mines. For me, it was like the whole town lies under this reddish brown color, because of the mines.
              The last school I visit is Marina’s headquarters. She has some classrooms in this huge building in the centre of Krivyi Rih. It is also the busiest time I have. I am always moving from one class to another, and in all of them, and in between, I really feel like I am some kind of celebrity. Which I am totally aware I am not! Don’t get me wrong! But the way that kids and teachers treat me, and with all the rushing from here to there, that is how I feel. And it is not good. I cannot understand why somebody would want that for their lives, like the real celebrities. It is insane!
              And here is all I have got about Ukrainian food: Borshch (soup made out beetroots, potatoes, meat and dill) you can eat with bread and spread lard; Varenyky – Pyrogie (potato dumplings, filled with potatoes, or cottage cheese, or cabbage and mushrooms); Cabbage rolls (cabbage leaves, filled with rice and meat, in a tomato sauce with onions and carrots); Plóv (fried rice with spices, carrots and meat); Apple pie; Banosh (yellow grain made of corn, similar to polenta, but more tasty, you have it with butter and cheese); Compot (juice made out of berries and plum).
              One the weekend before I leave, in this school on the centre, we have a small meeting with a group of adults who are also learning English. We just sit, eat some pizza and sweets, and we talk. Well, mostly I did, but they also had a lot of questions and I was trying, as much as possible, to make them practice their English and talk. The teacher if us was this young and kind one, and she brought loads of stuff plus coffee and tea plus some awesome chocolates. And she made me take all of what was left home.
              I spend my last weekend at Yuliia’s place again, which is great so we can say goodbye and spend some more time properly. It is Halloween so Yuliia decides we should go out to this nice restaurant which is having a special Halloween night so we must be also in the spirit. We all dress in black and in style. Yuliia makes me wear a tight and sexy black dress, with a huge slit in the tight and backless, plus high heels. I think it is fun so I am in the mood! I do some Halloween make up in the three of us and we are out.
              The restaurant is super cool! All the people working in there are dress in costumes and the whole place is decorated. It is awesome! After eating and drinking, Yuliia wants to dance. At the beginning I am not sure but them I realize it is a great idea. There is live music (but they are not so good) and there is also a DJ (same thing). But the important thing is we have our fun and I loved to have a very unusual night.

              On my last night we watch Cruella and eat pop corn! Uhul!!
              In the morning of my departure, I plan to take a bus and go out of town to hitchhike. Yuliia comes with me and after two buses passing without stopping because they are full, she decides to call a taxi to drive me to the main stop, from where the buses leave, so I could have a chance. Well, at least that is what she tells me, because when the taxi arrives she confess that she actually paid the taxi to drive me to the hitchhike spot, out of town. She keeps saying is not that much difference but I know it is. Well, at least it is for me! I am so surprised! Happy, of course, and extremely grateful, but I wish she hadn’t done that. I feel guilty for her spending her money with me. I know she is only trying to be kind, but I cannot avoid to feel bad. Anyway, the driver is very nice and she drops me exactly where I have planned. Odessa, here I come!