Twin beds and a Nokia

It's already felt like a year, but it's only been 48 hours. 

We arrived in Kiev safe and sound, after having all met in Paris for the final leg into Ukraine. There at Charles de Gaulle airport, we slowly trickled into gate L24. I recognized one of the volunteers, Vicky, from our Facebook interactions over the past few months. We immediately hugged.

When the rest of the group arrived, we formed a large circle at the terminal and started sharing our stories. They're all brilliant: three of them have Ph.Ds, three have served in the Peace Corps before--in Ghana, Thailand and Kyrgyzstan--and another has worked for USAID.

After a smooth flight into Kiev and some lost luggage (not mine), we exited the airport to a warm welcome from Peace Corps Ukraine staff. And after a 30 minute ride into Kiev, we arrived to the hotel we'll be staying in for the next two weeks. Here's the deal for the next two weeks of training: shared rooms, twin beds, bathrooms in the hallway, tepid water (but good pressure), flickering lights, and no elevator. As one volunteer put it, "it has the Peace Corps feel."

After spending a few hours fighting jet lag, which consisted of a stroll in the nearby botanical gardens and a quick bite, I returned to the hotel and passed out by 10 p.m.  I was worried about bed bugs.

At breakfast the next morning, we didn't know what we were eating. Then Vicky said, "Like Jim Kirk said, eat when you can." 

"Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan," I replied. 

She was impressed. We may get together once a month to watch Star Trek. 

The next 10 hours are a blur. Security briefings where we were warned about possibly violent protests leading up to the 2019 national election; presentations on the Peace Corps' work in community building; a trip to a hot and stuffy cell phone store to purchase a circa 1999 Nokia; and a roundtable on the work we'll be doing with HIV NGOs. 

"Push your way through," one of the coordinators said. "They're looking to you for advice and leadership."

Then I found out where I'm being sent. On August 11, we all ship out to our cities and towns, meet our host families, and start the real work of pushing our way through.