New Friends

Victoria told me that she and some friends would meet me in the Center (of town) at 6:30. I was so excited to have met someone, I agreed without hesitation. It wasn't until I realized that it was dark outside at 4:00 pm that I started to have misgivings about my ability to get to the Center by 6:30.

I left my apartment at 6:00, just to make sure I had plenty of time to get there. I didn't realize it at the time, but I could have left my apartment at 6:20 and would have had time to get there... It was a good thing that I had taken a little extra time, though: a) I wasn't entirely confident in my city-navigation skills and b) I realized when I got to the Center that I wasn't sure of how to cross the street. Crazy as that may sound, it really was confusing. The bus stop is on one side of the busy street and there isn't a convenient crosswalk near the bus stop; you actually have to go underground and cross in an underground mall area. I didn't know this, and it took quite a few minutes of watching other people before I actually figured out what it was I was supposed to do to get across the street.

Once I FINALLY watched enough people disappear into the underground maze and discovered that they were magically coming out on the other side of the street, I put on my big girl suit and followed them. Amazingly, I did, in fact, end up on the other side of the street, in the center of town. Perfect.

The next obstacle to overcome was locating the group of girls I was supposed to be meeting. Earlier in the day, it had seemed to simple. I was pretty sure I remembered what Victoria looked like, but I hadn't factored in the darkness and the large number of college-aged students who would be hanging out in the Center. Oi.

I began wandering, attempting to look nonchalant and confident, while actually starting to sweat about finding the girls. I made an entire loop around the Center without finding anyone and trying to look cooler and calmer than I was. Thankfully, I heard someone call my name. I'd like to think that I pulled off the oh-I-just-walked-up-it's-nice-to-see-you look rather than the I'm-so-relieved-that-you-found-me look.

There were more girls with Victoria than I had imagined- probably about ten. I was a little frazzled at the thought of being the center of attention for ten girls who thought of me as the novelty item. I continued to feel frazzled as they began bustling me- in the dark- toward another bus stop, everyone chattering at me and firing questions about my life. Somewhere between the Center and the bus stop, the group of girls pared down from ten to four...I'm not sure how that happened. Maybe my answers were too passe.

I very trustingly allowed them to shuffle me onto a bus whose destination I did not know. I chatted with them for what I thought was a reasonable length of time for a bus trip across town...but we kept going...and going...and I started wondering if maybe I'd stepped into a Russian spy movie wherein the unsuspecting American gets conned into a spy ring or something. In retrospect, I realize that 17-year-old girls probably wouldn't be the ones to con me. I could be wrong...but I wasn't, in this case.

FINALLY, we arrived at our destination which was an almost American-esque shopping mall. I was so excited! American though it may look, I was quickly reminded that I was not in America when I realized that the entrance to the mall was, in fact, at the back of the building. I would not be exaggerating to say that the bus stop is located 2 football field lengths from the entrance to the building.

Once we were inside, I was thrilled to feel like I was back in the States. Such a rarity! Plenty of light, well-organized stores, brightly colored posters, an ice skating rink! The girls led me to a cute little tea shop that was somewhat reminiscent of a Starbucks. They treated me to tea and cake and several hours of conversation. Many of my worries about how I would connect with girls who were from such a different culture and who spoke English as a second language were assuaged that night. I felt like I was living up to my potential.

I was abruptly shoved back into my Ukrainian reality after leaving the mall: we all crowded into a teeny tiny marshrutka (van-style taxi where you sit on top of everyone and usually end up standing and hunched over) and rode in silence back to the Center. Hours after I'd left my apartment, I returned with a happy heart and new friends.