First Impressions & First Days

48-hours and a hefty load of jet-lag into this post-Soviet adventure, and I've already settled into my apartment (tour to come), found the most happenin' spot in my neighborhood (the first and newly built McDonald's), purchased a phone and a phone card at the street market (way easier than getting one in Japan, by the way), went grocery shopping, had my first day at school, and eaten my first bowl of delicious borscht at the university canteen:

My co-workers are all quite friendly and kept me fueled with tea, chocolates, and conversation during my first day at work. Those amicable surroundings had me totally unprepared for the stiletto-clad and absolutely glamorous students who fill the hallways (runways?) and my classrooms. It's as if all of them have taken a bit of a school break from a day on the catwalk. That, or there's a pretty bitchin' club somewhere on campus that I don't know about! Although I'm still trying to brian-storm a way to photograph the whole shiny show without looking like a creep, I'm forever grateful that I packed along a few pairs of heels myself (sorry, beloved flats)!

Last night was my first night out with a colleague and a funny German guy visiting Luhansk for a week. We ended up at a nautical-themed restaurant specializing in Ukrainian cuisine, German beers, American jazz, and Western European music videos (ahh, globalization)! We even had a bottle of Champagne sent to our table by a mysterious, anonymous stranger...I'm sure he was drawn in by the table of English gracing the place.

Yup, I think I'm gonna like this place.

In other Ukrainian observations, I would have to say that these things so far top the list: sunflower fields, soviet block housing, those fabulous gorgeous women, muscle shirts and white trainers, uneven surfaces and ankle-death traps, un-mowed lawns and grass patches, Euro-techno music, street markets, and gossiping groups of babushkas galore. It's also nice to be in a place where I don't stand out as a foreigner until I open my mouth...makes me feel incognito!

Now off to make this crazy, foreign world into my home for the next few months...