We left Charlotte Thursday afternoon. Gaga drove us to the airport with all three boys in tow, as well. I wanted to see them for as long as possible before we left. It was a teary goodbye. I tried so hard to hold it together so that they wouldn't see me upset and then turn around and freak out themselves. I can't help it, though. As much as I understand that this time away will be a little tiny blip in their lives, and that we are leaving in order to be obedient for a greater purpose, it is still exceptionally hard to leave. I think about Ian, because he understands that we are leaving for an extended amount of time, and then I think about Chase and Guy because they have no idea that we aren't just going out for the evening, soon to come back.
*sigh*
We attempted to check our one bag (full of clothing for the orphanage from Mirta) on the flight, and carry on our 2 smaller suitcases as well as our small carry-ons. However, the lady at the counter said that one of our small suitcases wasn't small enough to be considered a carry-on. No, I didn't stuff it full...I had been careful NOT to...I don't know if they are slowly reducing the space available for overhead storage or what, but we had to repack all of our bags to be able to have 1/2 of my clothes and 1/2 of Bryan's in the one suitacse that we could carry on just in case our checked bags didn't make it overseas the same time that we did.
So, after everyone in the airport saw my unmentionables, we made it through security (speaking of unmentionables, this was our first time going through those crazy body scanners- that is an interesting experience).
After we were settled on the plane, it started to set in that we were really on our way to bring Danil home. We've both been crazy busy packing, getting things settled for work, trying to savor moments with the kids before we leave, that sitting down and letting the enormity of this final leg of our adventure to complete our family was something that we just haven't been able to focus on.
I feel badly saying that, but then I thought about it like the differences in my pregnancies with the boys. With Ian, I could sit in his baby room in my rocker, read to him, sing to him, while he was still just a basketball belly. I could daydream about what he would look like and who he would grow up to be. With Chase, I could do this when Ian was napping or maybe before I went to bed. And with Gavin, well, sometimes I'd have a few quiet moments in the bathroom before Ian or Chase started knocking on the door wondering when I was going to come out. But just because you don't have time or energy to daydream about what is to be, doens't mean that you anticipate your newest child's arrival any less.
But OH! We are going to Danil's country to bring him HOME!
Detroit was uneventful, but then we flew to Amsterdam. Delta, by the way, treats you really well on international flights! We had dinner and breakfast, on demand movies and music, and the legroom was not to crampy. Really, our 8 hour flight wasn't bad at all. We both snoozed maybe 2 hours of it.
So, we arrive in Amsterdam with the realization that we are truly in Holland. Talk about full circle. I remember reading Welcome to Holland a few days after Chase was born...and then to actually see windmills and tulips in real life, on this journey...well, that was a little bit of God speaking to us, I think. Welcome to Holland, indeed.
Amsterdam to K*** was next, and though the plane lacked the on demand movies and 3 course meals, it did have an orchestra on board and thai curry wraps. No kidding, though. There was a group of about 25 musicians traveling to K to perform (on Monday, our SDA appointment date!) and they were a pretty rowdy bunch. Two of them got out an accordian and a violin and played music for the entire plane. Seriously, there was clapping and singing, and I'm SURE I heard a rendition of "If I were a rich man" from Fiddler on the Roof (lyrics were in Russian, though!). SO, you know, that made that flight interesting, as was the smell from the red curry wraps...!
We get through customs, which consisted of us flashing our passport to a lady in a glass box, and found all our luggage (PRAISE!) and then we looked for the driver that was supposed to be there with our name on a sign.
And he wasn't there.
There were a lot of other drivers with a lot of other signs (someone named Jack Spencer must have missed his flight or something, because his driver was waiting for him for.ever.) but no one for us. THat's when I came to the conclusion that aside from emails, I really have no way to contact anyone over here. That may have been something I should have thought about as I was preparing to leave. After a flurry of emails to various Reece's Rainbow contacts, a man finally showed up. Apparently traffic was really really bad, and that was why he was late. It's okay. I'm just happy not to be stranded.
So we go for Mr. Toad's Wild Ride to the city. Seatbelts are there, but no one uses them. Same goes for lines on the road and speed limits. At one point, he pulled over and told Bryan to take a picture of this statue, so Bryan leans out the window to do it, but then he tells Bryan to get out of the car to take it. Bryan told me later he went as fast as he could, all the time pleading to God in his head not to let the guy drive off with me! It is kind of scary, we are putting all of our trust and well being into the hands of people that we have never met before, and giving up that control is totally disconcerting.
We drove past a ton of construction- everyone is getting ready to host the 2012 Eurogames, so I guess that they are trying to renovate or finish projects before that happens. There are a LOT of apartment buildings, and people mostly own the apartments, so they are in varying states of disrepair...not uniformly maintained on the outside like they would be in the US.
We made it to our apartment building, where we met Eugene, who is basically our guide/translator while we are here in the city. We paid our driver $30 for the ride out here, and paid him in US dollars since we haven't had a chance to change any money yet. Eugene took us inside where he and the land-lady started arguing in Russian. I'm pretty sure that we almost didn't have a room, but everything is ok, since we went up to our apartment next. The elevators are teeny, and we are on the 15th floor. We had to take separate elevators because of our luggage.
Our apartment is small, but clean and cozy. We have a living room with a tv and three armchairs, and a queen sized bed tucked into a corner. The kitchen is off the living room, with a small table with 4 chairs, a fridge, a small microwave, and a clothes washer and drying rack. There are towels and linens here, as well as a few plates and mugs. We also have our own bathroom, with a full tub and shower. The hallway outside our apartment smells a little like cat food, though...but hey, it's home :)
After settling in a little, we braved the city and walked down to TGI Fridays for a little taste of home. It's about a 15-20 minute walk from our apartment down a hill to get there. It was nice to have a menu that we could understand, since we were both weary from traveling and feeling the effects of only a few hours of sleep in the
last 36 hours.
We totally crashed after dinner, sleeping I think at least 8 full hours.
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