One of the program directors today pulled a couple of us out of class Soviet-style, saying “Grab your things and come with me.” It turns out that the Russian consulate here is unable to process our visas in less than ten business days. This means that we will be stuck in Kiev until September 4 at “4 or 5 pm.” That’s about a week longer than the group was meant to stay and in fact most kids are leaving Kiev next Friday and going to Moscow. The unvisa-ed rest of us are getting an apartment for a week. What does this mean in practical terms? We will have plenty of time for sight-seeing, and yet I still won’t get to Odessa because I can’t leave Kiev. But, as a friendly Russian told us, “Odessa is nice but it’s full of Jews.”
The Fulbright administrators are being extremely helpful -- they’re not gonna just abandon us -- but it’s still a sticky situation. So if anybody knows any hot spots in Kiev that are off the beaten path, please let me know, because I suddenly have another week here.
3 comments:
gee, these blogs are fun, "cus tramps like us baby we were born to run"
WTF!!! these people can't get their shit together...you'd think they would know how to pull this off without a hitch.
i guess have fun with your extra time in Kiev, and watch out for Team USA playing for the gold in basketball on Sundee!!! Have fun Abbbbbiegaill
Just wanted to let you know that you have a fan/reader from Arizona named Ethan Oblonsky. It's been a long time but it seems like you're having an amazing adventure, I hope all is well.
-Ethan O.
ethano2003@msn.com
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