Makin it work!

Softball weekend is a legendary event for PCVs in Ukraine. It actually happens in the fall and again in the spring, and is always a red-lettered day for us. We gather together in Kirovograd, play softball, sleep in rented apartments, visit an orphanage that always puts on a sweet show for us, and generally have a wonderful time. I went in the spring and was headed out for it last weekend when I hit a snag. No train to K-grad. They were repairing the line, you see, and the only day I needed the train was the only day it was being worked on.

Knowing I couldn't take the train, I went into Odessa anyway to try and figure out how to make it happen. I left my site a little after 1 pm, arriving in Odessa around 4. After some criss-crossing of the city to make SURE there was no train, I took a bus to a big-ish city on the route toward K-grad, Mykolaiv. I arrived there only to discover that I had literally JUST missed a bus that was going to K-grad. It was a little after 8, and I found out that there was another bus to go at 9. I bought a ticket and sat to wait. 9:15 rolled around, and then 9:30. No bus! The lady had mentioned there being a 10:00 bus, so I thought I might be able to catch that one. But then 10:10 rolled around, and then 10:15, and then 10:30. The bus station attendant was checking on me from time-to-time, and she finally came up and said that neither the 9 nor the 10 were happening that night. Biiiiig surprise. But there was a 3 am. Did I want that? Well, I sure didn't have a lot of choice, now did I?

The lady took me to a large, empty waiting room full of long benches without armrests. I pulled out the sleeping bag I had packed and decided to make the most of my opportunity to rest. But a guard came around and told me I couldn't "do that." "Do what?" I asked. But he just walked away. He returned a few minutes later with the manager of the bus station who informed me that I couldn't lay down. "Can I sit here?" Yes. "Can I sleep?" Yes. "Can I have my sleeping bag?" Yes. "But I can't lay down." Yes. I looked around. "Seriously?" Yes. He didn't seem to be known for his humor anyway.

So I propped myself up on my backpack, wrapped in my sleeping bag, and eeked out a few hours' sleep. I got on my 3 am bus which had two drunk men who kept fighting. The bus driver continued to pull over to yell at them, but mom's "Don't make me pull this car over!" tactic failed. Nevertheless, I arrived in K-grad at 6:30, made it to the apartment and had one of the best showers EVER. It was a wonderful weekend, and I was really proud of myself for being able to make it on my own without having any freak-outs of loneliness and uncertainty. Woo hoo! A year in and I'm really starting to make it work!

Best to you as you do the same!