Today’s the day I got to hang out with Khrystyna and Marta in the morning while their kids were being babysat by respective grandparents. They’re both friends I know from when I came to visit them at SoftServe in 2008 while I was working for Bazaarvoice’s London office. Eight years later, they are both young mothers, Khrystyna of two boys and Marta of one daughter.

I slept poorly for five hours because of attacking mosquitos visiting from the park, so I had to cover myself from head to toe in a blanket. But it was so hot that I had to keep waking up and fanning myself to go back to sleep. I was determined to find a solution for my next night.

Early in the morning, I caught the sunrise from Alesia’s window. It was a nice farewell from Kiev. Larisa brought a bunch of fresh basil yesterday, but Alesia doesn’t like the flavor. I cooked scrambled eggs with it, and she enjoyed that. I hope she gets the opportunity to use the basil cooked instead of fresh!

Grade

C.

Would I fly with them again?

Yeah, for short trips.

Alesia and I went hunting for murals around Kiev, thanks to Kate since she sent me a link to a map that marks many of them. I also included public art that you can see outside of a museum or gallery. Which ones are your favorites?

Larisa, Alesia’s mom, came over to visit, and she brought over ingredients to make a beautiful meal. Larisa studied English in school, but without practice, it’s hard to keep a language in your head. She’s adorable, though! I’m happy I got to meet her.

Andrey and I took the marshrutka back to Kiev from Malyn at 09:00. (I had misunderstood our departure time the day before, so he had to wake me up at 07:30. But I’m a fast mover and was packed up and dressed in 15 minutes.) He also took me metro with me since we were going in the same direction, and he made sure I alighted at the right stop. Thanks, Andrey!

Andrey and I called a taxi to take us back to Malyn from V’yunyshche in the morning, and I said goodbye and thank you to Tanya and Sveta. As Andrey had predicted after a night of lots of samohon, we were lazy and took it easy. The river is only 100m from his house, so we got a brief walk in before the afternoon set in.

Once Andrey and I arrived at V’yunyshche, his mom Sveta and godmother Tanya were there to meet us, as were an older godmother Romania who lives nearby and Tanya’s mom. None of them spoke English, but Andrey acted as translator.

My first Couchurfing host Andrey invited me to visit his godmother’s village on my first day in Ukraine. But first, I had to take several forms of transportation to get there from Vilnius.