Day One – On The Ground in Kyiv

Well, we make it to Kyiv! We zoomed through passport control and customs as 'VIPs', led by an all-business, no-nonsense guide. We were greeted by Viktoria, an English teacher who will be our translator and continuous guide during our time in Ukraine. She is an energetic, motherly person and we feel like we are in good hands. We were pleasantly surprised to find our Kyiv apartment to be quite modernized on the inside – it's a Soviet-looking, run-down building from the outside. Galena, our Kyiv-based facilitator (bureaucracy negotiator), speaks less English than Viktoria, but certainly has our best interests at heart. She greeted us with a big, warm hug and made sure that all of the Kyiv preparations were complete.

Even on just a few hours of sleep, we were able to get our mobile phone on the grid with a Kyiv number faster than we were able to get a land line in Lausanne! We also got the internet connected in our apartment, but it's TV or internet (only one cable). But with 500 channels and only two in English, no TV isn't a big deal. We had a pizza dinner and strolled down the main boulevard (Kreschatyk) to Independence Square, the site of the Orange Revolution only 17 years ago.

We saved just enough energy to swing through the 24 hour produce/meat/fish market (no need to return there!) and then on to what must be Kyiv's fanciest supermarket. So, we're equipped and rested (sort of) and ready for our big day on Thursday.