It's been a while, dear readers, because I have not been anywhere near my laptop - or, in fact, a decent connection to the Internet - in over three weeks. I was in Ukraine, a country that I used to adore.
Now? Not so much.
You know, I always had a strange fascination with Europe, and one of my greatest dreams was to do a backpacking trip across it, starting unoriginally in London, continuing by train equally unorignally to Paris, then Amsterdam, then Berlin, then somewhere else...the whole shebang. Well, after my stint in Ukraine, and the brief trip to Amsterdam on my layover during the flight back home, I doubt that I will ever spend more than a week anywhere in Europe unless I am guaranteed the following three things:
- a normal shower (i.e. one that has water that can actually be warm, instead of freezing or scalding)
- normal food (i.e. food that doesn't automatically make me sick)
- central air conditioning (because I refuse to get sick again from being too hot, and then getting cold air blown in my face)
I have an entirely new appreciation for North America, its service industry, its food, its shelters, its service industry, its air, its water systems, its service industry, its transportation systems, and, most importantly, its service industry.
Ukraine does not have a service industry.
Seriously. It's as though people don't want to make money. You walk into a store, and you can tell right away whether or not the staff likes you. Who cares that you're a customer? They will be rude to you. They will yell at you if they feel like it. They will show you their displeasure and try to make you feel about an inch tall. You walk into a store and you can immediately tell when a person is unhappy and couldn't give less of a shit about the fact that you may potentially buy something. In North America, you're taught that it doesn't matter what the hell kind of problems you've got at home or in your personal life, or if you're displeased with something, or if you have a problem with someone; when you are at work, you smile, nod, agree, be at your best behaviour, and help the customer to your best ability. The time to bitch and moan is at home to your boyfriend/husband/friends/parents/pillow.
Anyway, I'm not going to go on for too long, because I have neither the energy nor time. In less than forty-eight hours, I will be sitting on one of two planes - it's friggin' impossible to find non-stop flights these days - on my way to university. I still have to pack all the things that I'm taking with me, all the things that I'll need in my dorm. I've barely started, which means I am extremely behind. Which is very bad news indeed, since I still have to buy things.
Oops.
The other thing I have to say is that there will be a significant change now that my free time is going from limited to nonexistent: chances are that this blog will go very long periods of time without an entry. I will try my best to keep writing - especially since, now that I'm entering an entirely new environment, there will probably be much to observe, criticize, and rant about - but make no other promises.
...
Okay, truthfully, I'm out of things to say for the time being, and have so much to do that I'm itching to get to work. Hopefully I write something before the new year.
Hectically yours,
Aya
