Day 1 Travel and Arrival

I wrote this last night but didn't get the chance to post it.

Our trip so far is going exactly as planned.  The flights were fine and we were able to make all connections without a problem.  I fly fairly often, but I always have my kids with me, so to be able to sit on a plane and sleep, read, and watch movies was a treat!  On our long flight to Germany, I chatted quite a bit with the lady seated next to me.  She asked me where we were going and why and I was telling her about Dasha and our adoption.  She (very seriously) told me that she had done something similar.  Once she drove 5 hours to Detroit to adopt a West Highland Terrier.  LOL  Even though she obviously didn’t quite get it, she was a sweet lady and kept me entertained for most of the flight.

Things went fine at the airport in Kiev.  Our driver Nico was there to pick us up and helped us exchange some money.  As we were leaving the airport, I asked him a question but he didn’t understand it.  He said he’s not so good at English and mostly speaks Spanish.  Norm speaks Spanish, so the two of them immediately began chatting away.  We noticed how much more helpful and friendly Nico was when we (well, one of us anyway) spoke the same language.  I sat in the back of the van and enjoyed the hour ride from the airport to our apartment.  The apartment is in a great location.  We are less than ½ mile (about a 5 minute walk) from Independence Square, which is the center of downtown Kiev.  The building is located literally right next door to St. Michael’s cathedral.  The inside is pretty much what we expected.  It’s very basic, but clean.  It does have air conditioning…yay!  The building has an elevator that I refuse to use.  I have visions of getting stuck and nobody finding us, so we’re walking the four flights of steps.  It’s good exercise.  J  After getting settled, we ventured out for something to eat.  We were headed to a café Nico told us about and had to cross the busy intersection via an underground walkway.  As we entered the walkway, we came across an entire underground mall!  We found the food court and since we were hungry and tired, we just decided to find something to eat there.  We ended up getting chicken, mashed potatoes and a crepe filled with shredded chicken.  We found it kind of tricky to order the food because we didn’t really know what most of the things were and you can’t figure out anything by looking at the Russian word.  We’re trying to stay away from McDonald’s and TGI Friday’s, but it’s so tempting when you see something familiar and in English! 

After dinner, we found a small grocery store.  So different than at home.  There were about 4 or 5 small connected rooms and each had something different.  One was dairy, one was meat, another was alcohol, and another was packaged things.  We just picked up some water, yogurt, and a sweet roll for breakfast.  We hope to find a bigger store with more variety.

We came back to our apartment and were able to Skype with our boys at home and my mom and grandparents.   Before we left, I taught Matthew and Sam how to log in to Skype and find me or send me a message.  When I logged on tonight, I found a message from Sam (he’s 5).  It said momihowpzatursafendurhapeyandiloveyoo.  Translated, that says, “Mom, I hope that you’re safe and you’re happy and I love you.”  How sweet is that?  I love my Sammy! 

Tomorrow morning is our SDA appointment.  I’m so glad we didn’t arrive a day early.  I don’t think I could stand the suspense!