Packing to go the Ukraine was pretty hectic. First, I had to pack up my apartment in Utah to come to Virginia, which is where my family is currently living, just to unpack and start figuring out which clothes I would be bringing to the Ukraine. Thankfully, I was able to come home twice over the summer each time leaving way more clothes then I would take back. In May, I left all my winter clothes and then at the end of July when I came home for my sisters graduation I brought home a ton of clothes and brought very little back to Utah. However, I somehow managed to still have two over weight bags when I left Utah for the last time. Needless to say, I have a lot of clothes and stuff!
Once I got "home" to Virginia, I unpacked my 2 big, heavy suitcases and started sorting through my clothes. A pile for clothes going back to Utah in January, a pile of clothes for the Ukraine, and a pile of stuff to go in the attic. The stuff that went in the attic was mostly some picture frames or books that I do not to use at this moment in time or in January when I get back out to school. After sorting through the suitcases I sorted through my closet and dressers and my pile of clothes for the Ukraine just kept getting bigger and bigger. I think the main reason it was so big is because I really do not know what I will be able to just buy in the Ukraine and I do/did not want to leave behind anything that I might need. After coming to the realization that I only should bring clothes that are absolutely necessary the narrowing down became easy. I packed all of my winter clothes, except my heavy jackets that take up a lot of space because, I am just going to buy a nice Ukraine coat when I get there that I will probably leave it with my Host Family. :) I also packed nice tops that I can teach in along with nice slacks and jeans that is also professional looking. Even though I will be teaching kids, I still need to look professional.
The main thing that made packing difficult is the fact that I also had to pack supplies for the school that I will be teaching in. That means even less space in my suitcases for my clothes and shoes. Thankfully, a lot of the supplies that I ended up buying where lightweight, the only exception being construction paper. After shopping for all the supplies and for some clothes that I need, mainly dressy jeans, some shoes, and nice cardigans, the daunting task came to fit everything into 2, 50 pound suitcases, and a carry on. Thankfully someone invented airtight bags. I used those and everything. I suspect that my suitcases are under 50 pounds but I will find out for sure tomorrow in the airport. (I left space in my carry on in case they are a little overweight).
I had a fun time this week shopping for my gifts to give my host family. I wanted the gifts to represent me in some way. My dad came up with the great idea to give them a nice throw blanket with an American Flag on it. I could not find any but when I was looking on the air force base I found some really cute Air Force bears that I bought for any siblings I may have in my Ukrainian family. For those of you who don't know my Dad is in the Air Force. :)
Now that I am officially packed up and ready to go! In which I owe a huge thank you to my mom for helping me this week. THANK YOU MOM!!! YOU'RE THE BEST, I LOVE YOU! I am super super super excited for this experience. I am not really nervous, but I am very anxious just to get there and experience all that the Ukraine and Eastern Europe has to offer. I cannot wait to meet my Host Family and the other girls that I will be working with.
Oh, I also promise that my posts when I am in the Ukraine will have plenty of stories and will not be so.. oh i packed today, blah blah blah boring. :)
This is what my schedule looked like this past week... and everyday ended up somehow busier.
This is the ADORABLE Air Force bear!
