Hello,

Well, everybody who entered an organization to go abroad knows and fears them: Trainings. I was one of them. Never even thinking about them being enjoyable. But I was proven wrong. Oh, so very wrong.

At the beginning of November, Wojtek, Kamil, Bartek, Monika and I were summoned to the other side of Ukraine for our On Arrival Training. We gathered in the small town of Slavsko with other volunteers from all over Ukraine and Moldova. Being in the midst of the Carpathian Mountains, we had a nice break from working stress in Donetsk and, well, quite a change of scenery. It was nice to breathe fresh air again and enjoy each others company in a relaxed setting.

We first went to Kyiv to be typical tourists (Yes a fanny pack was part of our little group, and yes I made merciless fun of the carrier). After a horrible train ride (the heat was simply unbearable), we arrived in Kyiv. Well, what can I say? That day and the following one were filled with sightseeing, maps and photo-sessions. After two exhausting days, we entered yet another train, heading towards Lvov. This train was to my surprise nicely cooled, and we spent a nice night with games (Yup, take your guesses!!).

After way too little of sleep, an exhausted group of Donetsk volunteers arrived in Lvov. Maybe it was my lack of sleep or the overall exhaustion, but I felt like home. The buildings were nice, actually nice. I was in heaven.  We only stayed for a few hours until we had to find a bus or a train to get to Slavsko. Well, that turned out to be quite a challenge. The people at the information desk told us to ask the bus drivers, and the bus drivers told us to ask the information desk. Several very unpleasant errands later, we finally sat in a Mashrutka (Mini-Bus) heading towards our final destination. And yes, that trip turned out to be very interesting and dangerous indeed, since the roads consist of more potholes than asphalt. Crammed into a tiny bus with a legion of Babushkas (Grandmothers), all we wanted was to finally arrive and take a shower.

And well, against all odds we did. After a delicious meal we got our long awaited shower and a bed. After a short nap, we were good to go and started with the official part of the training. As soon as that was over, the not so official part started. And I think everybody can imagine that: 24 young adults in a hotel. I don’t think I have to say any more.

This pattern continued for the full 5 days of the training. When it was time to say goodbye, we had found dear friends, comrades and we certainly had fun. A lot of it. All of us were sad to say our farewells.

A not so exciting 23 hour train ride later we arrived in Donetsk, happy, tired, and a lot wiser.