I really do not know where to begin. I have been part of IAM for what seems like forever and am literally running out of things to pierce! I have been in Ukraine with the Peace Corps since October 03, 2004. I live and work in a small town called Pryluky at a University there. I have been lucky enough to have good friends and many good people cross my path, two of those being Dmitry and Yurah. They are both tattoo artists and piercers in the capital city (Kiev) of Ukraine.
At A Glance Author Erika Contact flukeshallmark@hotmail.com IAM hallmark When It just happened Artist Yurah Kalmikov Studio Tattoo Academia Location Kiev, Ukraine Yurah has been my piercer since I first came here. I feel totally comfortable with him and trust him with my life. Dima does my tattoos. I had gotten 4 inner labial piercings done here and shown up to Ukraine with a vertical and horizontal hood and a fourchette. They had all healed beautifully! About six weeks ago, Yurah and I were talking and he asked what we would do next. He had told me that he had just done a clitoral piercing on a client and that she loved it. I told him absolutely not! I had heard rumors about terrible things happening with that piercing and I was not willing to risk it. After all, I love my girl! He asked me again about a week later and was met with the same answer: no!
During this time, I threw in 7 mm tunnels in my lobes and was bitten by the bug yet again. I started to read and ask questions here on bme and iam. I also looked at clitoral piercing pictures here and read extensively about how the female anatomy is connected down there. After reading and studying for about two weeks, I was set. I had changed my mind. We would do it. I sent him a message and he said that we could do it but I would have to find anesthetic for mucous membranes and bring it with me. That was the interesting part.
I live in a village where tattoos and piercings are very unheard of. My host family, colleagues and friends in Pryluky are well aware that I have tattoos and piercings, but they do not know the extent. It is a well kept secret. For that reason, the language barrier and the fact that both boys were extremely busy at the time, It took me weeks to get a hold of 2 percent lidocaine (after finding out that lidocaine is a cognate here). Then the vial of lidocaine fell and shattered. During this time, Yurah was opening up a new shop on his own and had told me that it would be two weeks and then with all of the trouble of getting the anesthetic, well, I almost did not get it done. About a week ago, I happened to spend the day with Dima and he walked right into the pharmacy and found what I needed.
Finally, yesterday, we were in business. I went to the new shop and hung out for a while, while Yurah took care of some clients. He finally came out and took me into the back. We talked for a few minutes, then I took off my pants and underwear and then sat down in the dentist's chair. He grabbed the anesthetic and sprayed it on my crotch and we waited and waited a little more. He asked me how everything was and I asked him if I could do it. He handed me a paper towel and the anesthetic. I wiped myself down and then covered my bits in lidocaine (10 percent). Pretty soon, I was numb. He knelt down and we pulled back the labia and he marked the area. He clamped it and then shoved the needle through. It did not hurt a lot, but half of me jumped because my body was trying to figure out why it was not in serious pain with a needle sticking through it. I stared down at the needle in complete awe! It was amazing! Before I knew it, he had slipped the needle out and the ring in. Then he snapped the bead into place and I felt nothing as the jewelry went in. I was so worried for nothing. All though it did bleed a lot and I hung out with a sterile patch on my clitoris for a while, the pain was minimal and still is.
I put my clothes back on, thanked him and walked to the metro. It actually felt pretty good last night and then today was off the hook. There has been no blood today and I took a simple sea salt bath. It took me a very long time to get it done and a lot of research, but I love it and it was so worth it. If anyone is ever in Kiev, I would recommend getting pierced by Yurah at Tattoo Academia. I think that this will be my favorite piercing by far.