My friend made it to our farm after a long journey from West Ukraine through Romania, Italy, France and all the way across Spain to the south. I picked them up on Friday night. Before that sleeping in a hotel and eating nice food out, having a drink to celebrate our wedding felt wrong. Cognitive dissonance. There’s also this constant mental exhaustion going on together with a constant upset stomach.
My wedding was on Friday afternoon, we left soon after the ceremony and made it home only at 2am after pickup up my friend at the Granada bus station. That was a long and exhausting day.
The in laws from outside of Kyiv and my parents from Malta attended the wedding on the phone. We had 3 friends there too. If we could have made it some other way I would have cancelled the whole thing and delayed in until they could make it in person. It was a no fuss wedding. Anton was beaming and despite my state of mind I too cracked a smile now and then.
I spent yesterday showing my friend around, dealing with the plumber who hasn’t finished the work yet so we are still without a functioning bathroom and kitchen.
Only now Sunday night I have managed to somehow have enough mental space to start getting up to speed with this upcoming week’s work. I am very behind. On everything.
In the meantime I am in contact with 22 Ukrainians fleeing from Mariupol, 1 of whom is a wheelchair user who want to get out of there but as a whole family unit. Organising the transport for such a big group across Europe to Spain is a huge endeavor — a private bus from Wroclaw to Lanjaron has been quoted to me at 5,000€ but they cannot afford it so we try instead through flixbus. I am sure there will be more of this story in the coming days.
In the meantime I will also help my friend here to make sure they are registered corrected to get the right to live and work here and free state healthcare.
Another family messages me now as I write this wanting to know how to get here. I am in contact with the mayor and the local group who will be helping refugees settle into life here. I have to call them tomorrow to follow up.
All in all I feel like I am one step above the despair I had been feeling in the last days, I am relieved my friend made it here safely and is in good spirits despite the lack of facilities here.
I am tired and in need of a good soul watering cry.
