Woke up at 4:20 this morning, was at the curb by 4:45 waiting for my taxi that I ordered yesterday. 5:00- still no taxi. Buzzed the hostel, new taxi didn’t arrive until 5:15. My flight was at 7:00.

Once at the airport things went very smoothly. Had about an hour to write until my flight departed for Kiev.

Was able to sleep a bit on the plane. Arrived in Kiev by 8:20 and had to go through customs and international security before my next flight departed at 9:25… Was at my gate by 8:45.

I was able to sleep more on the plane, arrived in Kiev by 10:30. Customs took longer than expected, and by the time I was at baggage claim the baggage from the Kiev flight was no longer circulating. I went to the information desk and found out that the baggage system was down across Eastern Europe, and that my bags were likely left in Kiev. I submitted a report, hopefully my bag will be delivered to my dormitory tomorrow.

I walked through arrivals to find my university mentor- Milda. Milda is a grade younger than me, she studies Scandanivistics. We waited for a few more students to arrive, Daniel and Kristiaan (brothers) from Holland, and then we made our way to the dormitory.

The dormitory was soviet-style, a fifteen minute walk outside of city center. I share my small room with two others. Communal kitchens and bathrooms. Surely not the best accommodations, but then again, I’m only paying about fifty dollars a month.

We took the brothers to their hotel and I grabbed lunch with Milda in the beautiful city center. She helped to activate my new sim card, taught me the bus routes and provided a wealth of other practical knowledge. I’m very lucky to have her as a mentor.

I took the bus back to my dormitory where I met my roommates- George from Georgia (the country) and Dimo from Germany (originally of Kazakstan). George is a doctoral student, 25 years old, and Dimo is a masters student, 27 years old.

We went to a market to grab some things for the room, I showered, and we watched the new Captain America. I was so exhausted, I fell asleep watching by 10:30.