some days are good

and some days you just can't help but cry.

Today was one of those days. One of the days where you have to walk out of the classroom after five minutes in tears, all because of one child who you really don't like. I know that it is awful to not like someone, especially a child, but this particular little girl is so difficult to teach. In that five minutes, I honestly had one of the worst teaching days of my life. I can handle a lot. Remember when I first started teaching? How I was pinched, hit, and things were constantly being thrown across the room? Well, she is worse. And maybe it is just because we only have 2 and a half weeks of teaching left, and we already have our classroom management down, and our children listen to us. Well, she doesn't listen. No matter what you do, she won't stay in her seat. She gets up and runs around the classroom. She makes sure to get into all of the supplies. She doesn't understand one bit of English, and as a result, our constant efforts to get her to sit down, stay in her seat, pay attention, and listen, are all a big waste of time and energy. Not to mention our other students are learning diddly squat because we spend the whole lesson dealing with her. Really, it is just too much to handle.

When Miss Rachel and I were doing opening, and we saw her walk in, our souls died a little bit inside. The thought of teaching her was too much, because when we taught her for the first time a week before, it did not go well. Because we hadn't seen her again, we had hope that she wasn't  ever coming back... but then she did. One of our classes only had one student, so we combined. Miss Rachel taught, while I took a break (which I'm sure didn't help any because all I could think about was how much I dreaded the thought of teaching her). The whole break I was sick to my stomach. It was awful. When I went go switch classes with Miss Rachel, she told me that it wasn't actually that bad, and that made me feel a little bit better. We got into class, and I decided to just have a positive attitude. Besides I can handle anything for twenty minutes.

Or so I thought. In the first five minutes of class she managed to get up, grab everything, run in and out of the class, refuse to stay in her seat, tap her feet incessantly, and not listen to a word I said. I lasted five minutes. Five. I didn't even make it through the rules before I had to run out of the class in tears because it was just too much and I couldn't handle it. I told our coordinator that I couldn't teach her, and she couldn't be in my class. And then, once she was out, I had to go back in and teach. So I took a few deep breaths, put on my happy face, and remembered how much I love each of my sweet kids that were waiting on me.

So, today was rough, and I still had to teach her again for another twenty minutes, but it went better, and I knew that there was no expectation for her to stay in my class. If she misbehaved, out she went. At one point I had to bring her out because she was crying (I wouldn't let her have something, and she kept saying the same thing over and over in Russian). She returned and then I continued to teach. And I only had to tell her to not throw, stay in her seat, and only speak English about a billion times, but I survived. And hopefully she will not be coming back. And if she does, I will just remember that I can do hard things, and that I one problem child shouldn't ruin my whole day.

On another note, well still a teaching note, but a happier one, yesterday was really good. We had a good morning, and then our second group of kids didn't come. Except for one (who was almost twenty minutes late). Liza, one of my favorites. We read books, listened to Christmas music, colored pictures, played dress up, and danced to our hearts content. 

It was a good day. :) And it made me realize just how much I am going to miss teaching my sweet kids. As Miss Rachel put it "I can't imagine leaving these kids that squirmed their way into my heart while dumping glitter and throwing cotton balls everywhere."  And that is exactly how I feel about them. We only have two and a half more weeks. That's it. And of those two and a half weeks, we are only teaching lessons the whole day twice. Tomorrow, and Thursday. After that, it is all about Christmas, and prepping for our Christmas Program on the last day of school.

Everything is happening so quickly, and I don't even know what to feel anymore. I am SO happy about going home where I will get to see my family, and spend time with them. I am excited about finishing my mission papers, and finding out where I will be called to serve. I am excited about American food, and home cooked meals. I am excited about having a car, and not having to take public transportation all the time. But in the midst of all of that joy is a whole lot of sadness. I can't believe how much I have come to love Ukraine. I love all of the wonderful people that I have met her, and I love my students. I love all of the cool places that I have gotten to go, and the cool things that I have seen. I love all of the memories that I have of this place, and I'm not ready to leave it yet. Believe it or not, Ukraine is starting to feel like home.

And because I haven't written something everyday, here is a day by day update of the last week.

November 18: Teaching

November 19: Teaching, and dinner at Limonade with the Relief Society sisters.

:) It was so yummy!

November 20: Teaching and Russian Lessons

Missing one class throws you off so badly! Luckily, my teacher is awesome, and helped explain some of the things that I missed (and weren't easy to pick up on by myself)

November 21: Teaching and Open Doors

Last open doors of the semester. :) And it went well. It's nice to have that little hurdle out of the way.

November 22: Teaching and I locked myself out of my room
And, I even made a whole blog post about it. :) Here is something I did while I was wasting time at the school.

I drew a picture of Rudolph. :) Don't worry, I had to look at a picture to draw it.

Here is the message Zach wrote. :)

November 23: Pie and Center of Kyiv

Oh my goodness! Such a fun day. Rachel and I went to a Relief Society pie crust making party at one of the counselor's house. :) And let me tell you, it was SO MUCH FUN! I loved hanging out and learning different tips and tricks for making pie. :) Rachel and I made a sour cream and butter based pie crust with peaches and cream filling. So yummy!

Outside of my apartment, waiting for Rachel.

That building in the back with the green stripe? That's my home. 

Rachel with our pie crust. :)

With our pie! :) Ready to go in the oven. 

This is a cherry pie that some of the other Sisters made. 

After making pie, we went home to our apartments and took naps. The only thing keeping me from staying in bed, was PIE! Rachel and I met up, and made our trek to the church building for a brach pie party. :) I may or may not have eaten twelve pieces of pie, and that is not an exaggeration.

I love that the church is right next to the temple. :)

The first of four plates. 

After eating our fair share of pie, and then some, we headed to St. Michael's Cathedral where there was a memorial of some sort going on. Outside of the church there were lots of candles that had been lit in memory of a genocide that happened sometime in 1932-1933.

This is the little memorial.

And this is where one of the protests where held the next day.

November 24: Slept in Late, and Soccer Game

I accidentally slept in late, so to make up for missing church, I finished watching General Conference. It was SO good! That night, we went to a Kiev Dynamos Soccer game, which was pretty cool. Oh! And went I got home, my host family fed me. :) I even got some yummy cake!

Outside of the Stadium. It was SUPER foggy!

The other side of the stadium was cheering, and jumping up and down. :)

After the game, while walking to the metro. :)

November 25: Teaching

November 26: Today.

Funny story...

Once upon a time, in a land far far away lived a girl named Miss Amanda (or as one of her students so affectionately called her, Miss Amanga). She was teaching English in Ukraine, and living with a host family. One who spoke no English. One morning she arose later than planned, and didn't have time to get ready. In order to not starve during her long hours of teaching, she decided that sustenance was more important than a shower. She hurriedly got ready for the day, and then made some food. That food was oh so yummy, and by the time she was finished she had little time left. She bundled up, put on her backpack, and headed out the door. 

This is where the story gets funny... Well, more-so now than it was at the time. 

As Miss Amanda proceeded to shut the door behind her, it wouldn't shut. Now I know you all are thinking, well if it wasn't shutting then obviously there was a problem, but it never shuts tight, and you have to pull it tight, and often you can still push it right open. Well, she continued to pull on that door handle until it made a clicking sound... One that she had not heard before. And then it hit her. The door was LOCKED. Miss Amanda had just locked herself out of her room. How she had managed to do that, she had no idea, but she was running late and had no time to figure out a solution. The locked door would have to wait.

As Miss Amanda swiftly walked to school, all she could think about was being locked out of her room. In Ukraine. In a host family that spoke no English. Once she arrived at the school and began teaching, she quickly forgot, until four hours later when teaching was over and it was time to go home. 

Instead of going home and facing the task at hand, she instead decided to hang out at the school with the other teachers, and draw pictures for "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" (a song that would be taught to the students during the last few weeks of school). After she finished with the pictures, she continued to stick around, dreading going home, in the rain, to the house where she had somehow managed to lock herself out. 

After lots of complaining, one of the teachers (who spoke Russian) kindly wrote a note saying that Miss Amanda had locked herself out. Or at least that is what she assumed the note said, since it was all in Russian, and it honestly could have said how she was a Stupid American who should be laughed at, and not helped. I guess we will never know. Miss Amanda then proceeded to wait for a break in the rain, and bolted out of the school in an effort to beat the rain home. The rain held off for 5 minutes, just enough time for Miss Amanda to make it a third of the way home. Luckily though, it was only drizzling, and didn't start pouring until she had reached her apartment building. 

As she entered the building, she thought of her plan of action. Just how was she going to tell her host family she locked herself out. And what if they didn't have a key??? As she walked into her apartment, and headed to her bedroom door, she decided to give it a try to see if it would open. It didn't budge. However, Miss Amanda looked at the keyhole, and realized that she had been worried that whole time for nothing. All Miss Amanda needed was one little копійок to save the day. I just needed a coin. Seriously??? Well, the worrying had all been for naught, and Miss Amanda was able to unlock her door with no problem at all. She didn't even need the note. Thanks though Zach! I really appreciate it! 

So there you have it. The sad, yet funny story of how I managed to lock myself out of my room. Good news? I know how to get into it if that ever happens again.

Southern Belle in Europe. 

I am making a commitment.

From here on out (the next 29 days) I am going to post updates more often. I mean, I only have 29 days left, and I have only posted like 3 times the whole time that I have been here! I apologize for that. The life of a teacher can be pretty stressful, but lets be real. I spend the majority of my afternoons watching movies and taking a break. Granted I like to think I have a pretty good excuse (I am still trying to get better from this stupid cold that I have had since our last vacation). Anyways, the point is that I have plenty of time that I can spare, and if I set aside at least one hour a day to blog, and to post pictures of my adventures, then imagine just how much you will hear from me. Although the likelihood of me posting everyday is pretty slim, I'm thinking at least once a week might be a good goal to aim towards. So here's to blogging!

But first, a major catchup blog... If I can remember what all I have done...

October 23-24: Teaching
I don't think that anything extra special happened during these two days... Just more days with barely any kids to teach.
October 25: HALLOWEEN PARTY!!!
Oh my goodness! I had SO much fun at the halloween party. Probably more fun than my students, but who's counting. I dressed up as Rapunzel, and loved every second of it.

Our kids and there parents brought us lots of treats! :) SOOO good!

Miss Rachel and I with our kids. :)

Oh my goodness. :) I can't even begin to tell you how much I love these boys. 

These girls might just be my favorite. :) 

Halloween was a blast! I love parties, and conga lines with kids!

Miss Rachel, and Miss Amanda

October 26: Trip to Bulgaria
The majority of this day was spent sitting in an airport... We may or may not have had our flight delayed for six hours, but it's okay. We made it to Bulgaria eventually. Once we got to our hostel we wandered around the city and found us a McDonalds where we ate dinner, and I had the best McFlurry! It was twix, and OH SO YUMMY! That night I started to really get sick. All of my efforts to keep from catching the dreaded cold going around my students failed, and I probably kept everyone up all night with my coughing... Sorry about that.

I left a note for my host family. :)

Waiting at the airport.

The best part of the delayed flight was watching the sunset. :)

October 27: Sofia, and overnight bus to Burgas
We woke up and had a yummy free breakfast at our Hostel (Hostels are honestly the bees knees). Anyways, after eating yummy eggs, waffles, kiwi, and all sorts of other goodness, we were on our way. Our first stop for the day was a free tour of the city, and let me tell you: BEST DECISION EVER! We saw so many things and learned so much about the city, and our tour guide was awesome. Oh, and did I mention it was in English? Well it was, which just made it 100xs better. :) For lunch we had Subway, and I began eating more than my fair share of gelato. Go ahead. Judge me. IT WAS SO GOOD! For dinner we ate at the Hostel again, and it was so yummy. After that we pretty much just hung out until our midnight bus to Burgas (a city along the coast).

This is at our hostel. :) Pretty awesome, right?

I even learned how to play chess. :) Although I lost. 

October 28: Burgas, and Sunny Beach
Well, after a long 5 1/2 hour bus ride, we arrived in Burgas. In the dark. Taxi drivers were determined to give us a ride, but we declined since our Hostel was within walking distance. After a little bit of time spent figuring out just where we were and where we needed to go, we started walking... And walking... And asking for directions... And walking some more. We probably walked back and forth for at least an hour before it got bright outside, and then we finally found our Hostel, which was less than pristine. We found the door, and pushed it open (it was supposed to be locked). Then we went upstairs where were heard snoring and couldn't find the office. So we went back downstairs and waited outside some more. Than we decided to just ring the bell and see what happened. Well, this man comes down the stairs (he was the one who had been snoring) and we tell him that we have a reservation. Well, there were still people in our room (since it was only about 7 in the morning, and checkout wasn't until 11). He had an open room though, and told us we could sleep in there until our room was ready. So we go upstairs to a room with 5 bunkbeds, and a guy fast asleep in one of them. He handed us some sheets and then we laid down and took naps (for about 3 hours). When we woke up we decided there was no way were going to stay there. The doors didn't have locks, the bathroom didn't have toilet paper, we didn't have towels, and we were freezing. We went downstairs with all our stuff and talked to the man in charge. He understood, and we left. Luckily in our efforts to find our hostel, we had passed by another one just up the road. So off we went. There was a room for us, and it was perfect. We got ready for the day and headed off to the bus stop. Then we were off to Sunny Beach, the popular tourist spot... Or the once popular tourist spot. Turns out if you go during the off season, it is COMPLETELY abandoned. We are talking buildings boarded up ghost town abandoned. It was weird. Well, at least we got the beach to ourselves. We took pictures, walked down the beach, and climbed on the dunes. It was pretty fun. We were getting hungry though (since we hadn't eaten anything since dinner the night before) so we left, and stopped at a convenience store on our way to the bus stop. We took the bus back to Burgas, and walked around. We found a pier, and there were thousands of Jelly fish! It was crazy. After that we wandered around the little strip in town, and then when it got dark and things were closing, we headed back home for the night. Oh! And then we watched Hocus Pocus! :)

October 29: The Galleria, and the Strip
We woke up and got some breakfast by the bus stop, then we jumped on the "free" shuttle to the Galleria... Well the bus wasn't free... but it was cheap, so it's okay. Once we were riding for quite sometime, we decided we were lost, and asked a Bulgarian boy for some help. He was way nice, and told us where to get off, and how to get to the mall. He was awesome. We walked to the mall, and then found the food court where I ate Burger King. (I was missing my American food...) Then we wandered around the mall for a few hours. We ate gelato, and got some snacks. After a couple of hours at the mall we went back to the bus stop, where we realized we had no idea how to get back to the Hostel... Whoops. We tried to ask some teenagers, but they were being dumb, and pretended not to speak English, by speaking English... Cool. Whatever, we found a bus, hoped on, and luckily it took us right where we wanted. We wandered around the city, and went back to the strip where we wandered around some more. I ate some chocolate covered doughnuts and a gyro. And it was SO good. :) Then we headed back to the Hostel.

I touched a jellyfish. :) Don't worry. It wasn't the tentacles.

I really missed the beach. Even if the sand wasn't quite the same. 

And a picture of me. :) You're welcome.

October 30: Bus to Plovdiv and City Tour
We woke up early, and caught a bus to Plovdiv, a city about 3 hours away. Once there we walked around, and eventually gave up, found internet, and called our hostel to call us a taxi. Taxis in Bulgaria are SO cheap! I loved it, we took them more in one week than I have in my whole life. Once we got to our Hostel and got settled, we headed out to another free tour of the city. :) Yay for free tours! I love Plovdiv. Underneath the city is the ruins of an ancient Roman civilization. SO COOL! We walked all over the city. We also ate more gelato, and had way too much fun.

This little boy became my best friend on our tour. :)

The view out our window.

Run to the store, equals lots of cheap snacks. 

October 31: Wonderful Bridges and Aspens Fortress
We woke up, got ready, ate French Toast, and had a wonderful tour guide drive us around to cool sights just out of the city. :) We learned some Bulgarian words, and laughed SO much. Who knew Bulgarians were so cool? We were in the car and talking about things we were learning in Russian, when I said my favorite word. ложка (loshka) or spoon. I love the way it sounds. So we were talking about our favorite words. Rachelle said her favorite word was собака (sobaka) or dog, and then we learned the bulgarian word for it. Well... This is where things started to get interesting. куче (kuche), and for a puppy кученце (kuchentse). Katie accidentally said джудже (dzhudzhe - jujche) and our tour guide told us that does mean something but he couldn't remember what... About 30 minutes later he yells out midget! Well, then we spent the rest of the day laughing about the bulgarian word for midget. That night we had some yummy free food at our hostel, and hung out for the rest of the night.

November 1: Bus to Sofia
Well let me just tell you about this little adventure that we had. We got all ready to go, but then breakfast wasn't ready yet... So we had to wait until it was cooked, and then eat really fast so we could catch our bus. We had directions to the bus station, and we asked the girl at the hostel just to make sure we were going the right way. Well we are walking, and we get to this one point, and we aren't sure which way to go. We ended up going to the train station instead, and couldn't figure out where the bus station was. We had these sweet little Bulgarian ladies trying to help us. All the while time is ticking away. Eventually we had all of 5 minutes to catch our bus, and there was no time to waste. So there we are, 3 American girls, running down the roads of Plovdiv, with our luggage in tow, hoping and praying that we will somehow manage to catch our bus. Well, we figured out where the bus station was (basically right across the street!) and ran as fast as we could. Looking at our tickets we tried to figure out which number our bus should be at. Well, we saw it, right as it was backing up. Lucky for us, I knocked on the window pointed at my ticket, pointed at the bus, and pointed at the three of us. Eventually he got the hint, opened up the door and made sure we were in fact supposed to be on that bus. He kindly opened up the baggage area under the bus, and ever so kindly helped us on to the bus. There were even a sweet Senior Missionary couple that thought they were supposed to catch that bus, and were so grateful that we were able to stop it. Turns out they were scheduled for the next bus that left an hour after ours, but it was nice to meet them. :) I always love seeing missionaries!
After we got to Sofia, we went to our hostel and checked in. We got to stay in the same room that we had earlier in the week. :) It was awesome! We wandered around the city looking for Souvenirs, and ate even more gelato. SOOOO GOOOD! I miss that yummy gelato! That night we ate dinner at our hostel, and played Scrabble with a guy from the Middle East. I lost, not that we were keeping score.

FREE WATER!!!!! :) Straight from the wall. It was hot too. 

Hot Chocolate. :)

November 2: Sofia, and flight back to Kyiv
We woke up, packed, ate breakfast at the hostel, and then hung out until we took a taxi to the airport. At the airport we arrived just in time to start checking in. :) It was quite perfect. Once we checked in we went through security, and then hung out at the airport. We waited and waited and waited for our plane, because once again, it was delayed. Stupid WhizAir! Eventually we got back to Kyiv. Then we took a Marshutka (bus) to the metro. Then we took a metro, and then we transferred metros. Then I got off at my stop. And then I walked home. It was so nice to be home after our trip. :) My host dad even smiled at me when he saw me, which was awesome, because Ukrainians don't smile.

While at the airport, I practiced my french fishtail skills on Rachelle's head. :)

November 3: CHURCH!!!
Sometimes I forget about just how much I love church. :) Being in Ukraine going to church is much more of a sacrifice than it was at home. I have to travel for about 2 hours just to get to church, and then church is 3 hours. After church is over I have to travel about 2 hours home. So I spend about 7-8 hours just to go to church on Sunday. It's crazy, but I love it. And I miss it when I am gone.

November 4-8: Teaching
Teaching was teaching. It was nice to see my kids again. :) I missed them, all of them.

November 9: Temple, and Christmas Lights!
I woke up and went to the Temple! :) it was wonderful. I love the temple and the spirit that you feel inside. It is SO wonderful. I am grateful for the opportunity that I have always had to have a temple so close to me. One where I can go whenever I want. :) What a tremendous blessing that is.
That night some of us went to the Center of Kyiv, where there was a big party. With a live band. And cotton candy bigger than my head! And CHRISTMAS LIGHTS!!! I miss the holidays so much, and I am so glad that I get to be home for the Holidays this year, because next year? I will be on a mission!

November 10: Stake Conference and Mission Papers
Can I just say how exciting this day was? I went to Stake Conference, which was great. Then I had dinner with my wonderful Home Teachers. :) After I went home I skyped my mama and my daddy, and talked to them about a mission. Well, long story short, by midnight I had started, and almost finished my papers! Needless to say, I am excited!

November 11-12: Teaching
Teaching was teaching. Again. Although, still trying to get over being sick was miserable.
November 13: Sick Day
So I took the day off. It was nice to sleep in, and be lazy all day. It also helped me to feel a lot better. :) Thanks Tessa for covering for me!
November 14-15: Teaching
Teaching, teaching, and teaching some more. I am impressed with just how much my kids know. They impress me more and more each day!
November 16: Stayed home
Well, as much as I love seeing the city, I decided to take one for the team (the team being my body) and stayed home so I could continue to recover. This stupid cold has kicked me in the butt!
November 17: Today!
Well, today was awesome. I went to church. Learned about Gratitude. Felt grateful for everything. Found out the Mission President knows my Great Uncle and Aunt (Uncle Jerry was sitting next to him when he met his wife). How cool is that?!? :) After church I went home and relaxed, and then I went to an awesome fireside with the Temple President and his wife. :) I love Ukraine, and I love getting to spend time with such great people! After the fireside I came home and skyped my family. :) And guess what?!? I get home on Monday, December 16. The very next day, December 17, I have a doctors appointment, dentist appointment, Bishop interview, and Stake President interview!!! :) Holy cow I am SO excited. :) If everything goes well, I could have my call before Christmas! :)

Well! Now you are once again updated on my life. :) For more updates (mission related) you can go on over to sisteramandarobertson.blogspot.com :) It's pretty awesome if I do say so myself. 

I'M GOING ON A MISSION!!! :) :) :) :) :) :) A MISSION!!! ME ON A MISSION!!! :) :) :) 

Southern Belle in Europe