"I bundle myself up like a little Ukrainian lady"

Seriously, it is getting colder and colder here! The past two days I have nearly frozen while walking to the school, to the store, and back. And also, that about sums up the places I can find on my own. haha the apartment buildings here, which are everywhere, are all nearly identical which makes it quite difficult to navigate myself. I am however getting better as of today.
Yesterday we all came together for a little training and to plan our lessons for the week. We finally had the chance to meet the other teachers! They all seem fantastic. It will be fun to get to know them better on our vacations and all. Oh and side note, speaking about vacations. We booked our first flight for a vacay to...GREECE!! Ah I cannot wait. It will be over valentines day, so what a great day to be all us gals in a beautiful country. ;) The hostels are also booked and look amazing! So that is something to look forward to!
Let's talk a little about the freezing temps here! I decided today that I cannot leave the house with only one pair of pants on, after freezing my butt off yesterday! I walked to the other teachers apartment after training and so ended up walking home around 9. I had my coat, gloves, scarf, and hat all on (but only 1 pair of pants). I also wrapped my infinity scarf around 3 times so that it acts as a sort of face mask as well. About half way back to my house, my eyes were watering, my face that wasn't covered by my scarf was freezing, and my hands and legs were hurting because of the cold! Luckily it didn't take too long to defrost when I got inside.
Today was my first real day of teaching an actual ILP lesson. It wasn't that bad. The first group of kids comes from 9-11 and the second from 11-1. 9:15 rolls around and one little girl, Sophia, shows up. She was super shy for quite awhile. Olia was talking to her and trying to reason with her for about 15 or so minuets. She came around eventually and teacher Haley took her for her first lesson. I would then have her after that. It was really strange with just one student being there. I had prepared to play musical chairs... So as you can imagine, that couldn't really work out well with just one student. I figured it out though and made it work. I'm glad that it wasn't my first experience teacher here though, or I might have panicked.

Haha oh my, one of the funniest moments I have had here! I was teaching a lesson, having the kids do a letter "A" worksheet, and this girl, Alisa, just starts singing this song! I started laughing and then filming. These kids know the most random songs...

Our second group of kids came and luckily there was more than just one student for each class. The kids were obviously adorable! The younger kids were a bit of a handful actually, which I wasn't really expecting. They know a little less English than I had imagined and so getting them to do what I needed was harder. They would rather just run around the room and pull on each others clothes. But I would say it was a pretty good first day of teaching at Pozniaky! Tomorrow will be at a new school. Mon, Wed, Fri I have morning schedule at Pozinaky and Tues, Thurs I go to Central school which requires taking the metro. We will see how that goes tomorrow!
After teaching today, I went and got my nails done, thanks to Olia for setting me up! haha It's only about $7 for gel nails! What a steel... Walking home I nearly froze again. It was super windy all day today, so that makes it 10x worse! And I still had not remembered to put on 2 pairs of pants! Stupid move on my part. In Ukraine, they don't really clear the walk ways or the streets, so the ice can be super think and is very slippery when its -15 and all. I literally skate rather than walk. I have yet to fall though, so it's working. But then I see Ukrainian women walk fast in their heel boots and wonder "how on earth!?"

I got back home and was freezing for a long time! My wonderful host mom made me some herbal tea and I had a muffin with it. Oh and if anyone is wondering, I am definitely  NOT starving here! I get fed at least 2 dinners a night, often more. Today I had lunch at school, then got home and had that tea and muffin, then before I left again, my mom fed me a couple crapes (or called pancakes here), I went to the other apartment and was fed a potato dinner there, and when I got home at like 10, my mom insisted that I have borscht and chicken! I was so full... Good thing I am doing a lot of walking. Anyway, I had a little time to relax and try to warm up. Then it was back to bundling up and heading back outside to go hang with the other girls. This time, I remembered to put thick leggins under my pants. Let's just say, best decision yet. Also, I was brave and decided to try a new way to get to their house, which if was right, would be a lot faster. The first 5 minutes I was afraid I was wrong, but then I realized where I was and was so proud! haha. All those times I walked all the way around... Now I know the short way, so less freezing. On my way back home, I just kept hearing little Vanellope Von Schweetz voice in my head, saying "...and I bundle myself up like a little homeless lady." Survival tip for Ukraine, bundle up like a little Ukrainian babushka or you will die. No matter how ridiculous you might look, just do it.

On my walk back home

Arriving home, riding in the creepy elevator