Delivered-To: temirose@mail.utexas.edu

Date: Mon, 9 Jul 2001 10:21:57 -0700 (PDT)
From: Nataliya Yaroshenko

Subject: The beginning of my new life...

Well, as I promised there is the beginning of my book about my new life: :-)

I will begin with that train that slowly was leaving the platform of Lutsk where Olena was standing, seeing me off.

It was 3:46 am.

I don't know but it seemed for me that I wouldn't see her soon... First what I thought was: Oh, my! I don't have any more closer relatives than my Olenka and I am leaving her.... And soon she was far from me. I couldn't see her any more from the train.

Before it, at night, Olena and me hotly thought where to go for me. We knew for sure that I couldn't be in Lutsk on the 8th of March. Olena persuaded me to go to Poland. It was the only country where I could get to quickly without any visa.

Then, in the train, a lot of questions were in my head: What is waiting for me?

If Poland allows me to live in their country and to work. I thought to go to the Immigration Department to ask to live in Poland for several years or for ever. I didn't think that I would find myself out in the refugee department where I was sent.I thought that refugees are those who has a war in their country. No other people.

I was worrying for Olena that she had to stay in Lutsk and to wait visa.

First my head was full of different thoughts like those but a little later another thought came to my mind.

I understood that it would be very difficult for me to stand the coldness in the train. A little later I had a problem - how to warm myself. Some old people took out different blankets from their bags and wrapped themselves properly. But I wore light shoes and was so longing for my old but warm high boots... It seems for me that the frost was getting to every my muscles, every my bone. I didn't have anything to wrap myself in. My main problem was not to get frostbite in my feet. It was a real frost inside of the train, too, as several window glasses were broken out.

It was a suburban train, a very cheap one. And I had no choice because I was afraid I could be late for the train to Warsaw in Kovel. I didn't know the timetable of the train to Warsaw.

What I did then - I tried to move my toes as fast as I could. I was trembling with the cold and thought that the time had stopped.

Oh, Temi Rose, it seemed to me that an hour had passed but when I looked at the watch I saw that 12 or 15 minutes had passed only. After over 3 hours traveling the train came to Kovel. I couldn't find the place where to warm myself. It was early morning, it was frosty and windy. Inside of the railway station there were so many drafts but my feet and my bones became to feel better gradually.

A little later I went out of the station and hurried to the hairdresser's to have my hair cut. Oh, how it was warm there inside! I even felt when the frost was going out of my body. I was so sorry that I was the first client there and didn't had to wait my turn because I knew that after that I had to go out... Though it was a little sunny already it was still frosty and cold. It was the 7th of March.

Well, after that I went out and hurried to the station again. But I already felt better. Not much but better! A little later when the stores opened I went from one shop to another... It was warm inside of them. I was so tired because there was no place to sit and to rest. My hernias were in pain. But I had to wait for the train that was going to Poland from Kovel at about 4 pm.

Later I could rest in the station's waiting room. It was a little warmer there then.

I bought a warm little pie from a vendor in the street market place but it was not tasty. In Lutsk fried pies were better and cheaper.

And at last I found myself in the train that went from Kiev to Berlin (Germany) through Warsaw...

============== to be continued...chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

children's war pictures One girl brought me a picture where a soldier is seen from the tank and smiles. And in front of him is the house in the fire. I asked her why the soldier is smiling. She answered that when Russian soldiers killed their people and fired - they smiled or laughed. This girl is 8 years old. And one girl brought me a picture of a girl watering the flowers and above her flies the plane and throws the bombs. A lot of bombs but the girl doesn't see... The bombs are above her falling down. And the sun is shining, the flowers are so beautiful. One girl draws some dead people and little children among them.