For the Love of Tea: The Road Home

This blog entry is long overdue. I've been home for one week and I am just now getting around to writing about our final days in Ukraine. The last two weeks were really hectic in Novomoskovsk. Packing up the apartment and preparing for the journey home was quite a chore. Who knew a person could accumulate so much stuff in just 2 years? Needless to say it was a bit crazy and a lot of work.

After all was said and done the time came to pack up my most precious bundle...Miss Mouse...and head downstairs for the final goodbye to my neighbors. Waiting for me downstairs was Luba, Galena, and of course, Natasha....who had been helping me get all my bags down the stairs. One of the members of my English club had also arrived to say goodbye, which was such a pleasant surprise. I never expected to see Marina and was really happy she made the effort. It was 6 am and the sun was shining, which I considered to be a good omen since every other time I traveled out of my town it was pouring rain, freezing cold, or blistering hot! When I got downstairs Veronica and her brother were just pulling up when Natasha announced that she would be coming with us to the train station...which was simply the best surprise. It was so sad to say goodbye to everyone. Everyone was crying and I was such an emotional wreck...I had been crying for close to two weeks at this point and was just exhausted.

We got to the train and the time for saying goodbye to Natasha had arrived and it was just awful. She and I had become the best of friends...in fact, she was the first person I met when I came to my new community. I love her dearly but you know what? My Russian is terrible and she doesn't speak English, so it is really true that friendship knows no barriers. I now know that friendship without language can be as strong as with a common one.

Me and Natasha with her granddaughter Masha 2012

After a few days in Kiev with Veronica, running back and forth to the office to sign papers and then ringing the final bell, it was time to say goodbye. My emotions were just reeling...I was excited to return home, afraid for Miss Mouse traveling in the plane's cargo hold, and dreading leaving my Ukrainian daughter, Veronica. When the moment came to say goodbye at the airport I was sad and happy at the same time. So, needless to say, the time for leaving was bittersweet and to write about how I felt in that moment when we said goodbye is impossible to describe.

So I left my adopted country with a heavy heart but also with a pride I have never known before. I am proud of all I accomplished and know I will never forget any of my experiences or any of the people who have touched my life so deeply. Thank you Peace Corps...and thank you Ukraine!