Lviv, Ukraine - cold and sick and wonderful

Ukraine is cold.

And Lviv was great. It was quite the adventure getting here; that story will come later. The buildings are a lot more colorful than I would have ever imagined. But the buildings, streets, and sights of this city were not what left an impact on me, it was truly just everything I've experienced the past few days put together, bottled up, and me not knowing what to do with it.. Let me explain.

I would say that this is the first place I truly feel on my own, and really feeling like I'm a solo traveller now. I don't mind it, it is an adjustment though.  I'm learning soo much about the world (well Poland & Ukraine for now) ,the difference in cultures, language and way of living in general.

There was a lady in Poland, she spoke very little english, and she helped me for literally 2-3 hours, maybe more, to get to the border. She translated for me, as best as she could, ran me around the station showing me where to go, then deciding to just take me where I needed to go, she bought me tea, and when her husband showed up, he bought me beetroot soup, making sure I was safe and sound before leaving me.. she spent her time to help me, she even had her husband come because he spoke better english.. What amazes me is that they didn't have to do any of that.. and they did...

I am soo humbled and moved by all these people that have no obligation whatsoever to help me.. but they choose to; they take time away from themselves, and their lives to do so.  I feel so honored to have met such amazing people, who have not only helped me soo much, but who have taught me much more.

I feel like soo many times we are caught up in our own lives and selves that we become selfish without realizing.. we forget that we are not the only ones living on this planet, struggling, succeeding, or simply just needing help sometimes. I honestly am not sure what I would do without some of the people I have come across. I owe so much to them, and what kills me is that I can never really repay them... The only thing I can do is to do the same for others.

On the trams here, younger people get up to let older people or children sit down. Even teenagers, middle aged people, in their 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s or 60s.. if someone is older or a child, you get out of your seat, and respectfully let them take it.. it's wonderful. I wish we had respect like that at home.. I think more times than not.. people forget they're not the only ones living.

What else?
Ah yes, my wonderful host. 
What can I say about Maxim? 
..soo many things.. he was wonderful. I got in really late when I first arrived in Lviv, and I was soo worried I wasn't going to be able to get ahold of him (because I don't have a phone, I had to wait until I got internet somewhere to even contact him), and I quickly ran into the train station, found an internet cafe, emailed him, and waited. Within minutes he had gotten back to me; I was soo shocked and soo happy.. I was suppose to have met him at 9 and it was midnight by this time. He said he lived 1.5 hrs walking distance away from the station, so he should be there by 1:30.. I was shocked, I offered to pay for a cab, but he walked. When he got there, I could do nothing but to just hug him.. and then I hugged him again lol.
We walked back to his place through the city center, it was beautiful. It was cold, but I could not feel it, I wasn't alone in a foreign land anymore, and I was ecstatic.

Max ended up being pretty amazing. Sure there was a bit of a language barrier there, but after awhile I could hardly notice anymore, just some extra explanation every now and then. 

The way he eats is more different than anything I've ever heard of, because Max only eats raw food.. how it's found naturally.  The food processor/blender is his best friend.. we had a lot of nuts, wheat, sprouts, vegetables, and fruits, all blended in different ways with spices, herbs, and seasonings. It was really cool because I've never eaten like that before.. I really want to go home and try it for a month or something, and see how I like it. He has been eating this way since about July, and doesn't plan on going back. Imagine being that healthy, and truly living off the earth! 

I started feeling a bit sick while I was there:( I think it started in Krakow though.. I only planned to stay in Lviv for 2 nights, and ended up staying 4 nights, 5 days, and I could've stayed more.. Max said I should get better before I move on.. what a sweet guy.  That meant a lot to me.  One day he went into work and I was able to just be human, and not travel for the day, it was great. I got to catch up on emails, look up flights to Bangkok, blow my nose a lot, rest, look at train times for eastern Europe, try to figure out where it is that I'll be going in the next week and a half, and just get better. I also did some landscape grooming (a saying that Liz introduced to me), which means I got to be a girl and fix myself up a bit, whether it be fixing makeup, eye brows, showering.. all that. It felt great.

Max also helped me figure out what train ticket I needed.. that was quite the affair, because Miranda could not decide where she wanted to go!  Just yesterday I decided I would be going to Kiev tonight instead of Romania... I figured I needed another Ukrainian city, then I'll head to Romania.. and I'm even contemplating Moldova next!

After taking me to the train station tonight and getting me all set up on the night train, and carrying my bag the entire way as well.. it was hard to say goodbye to Max.  I wasn't expecting it, but all of a sudden I was just overwhelmed with emotion. It wasn't a bad thing, more of a touching moment.. I just thought about everything I had gone through the past few days and all that he had done for me; he helped me out, gave me a safe place to stay, fed me, was really good company, and let me stay longer. I ended up crying when we said goodbye.. it was the first time that has happened since being away.

I am just soo touched by all the generosity I have been given on this trip.. it is seriously amazing.

Some humans seriously leave me in Awe. People are good, and it is soo beautiful.

<3

Also, hazelnuts are wonderful too.. thanks Max.. I swear, it was the birds who ate them all...