Adventures in Ukraine

After an uneventful flight to Dneper, we landed and got thru passport control and on to pick up our luggage.  And then on to pick up our luggage…we stood by that silly conveyor belt for an extra 10 minutes refusing to believe that there were NO more bags coming around for us to choose from. Like little boys standing at the fridge, just sure that dessert would appear in there if they only waited long enough.

We went to the young man nearest us, and I asked him about more luggage. He said “oh no”, and hurriedly walked away to inquire for us. Very shortly we were told to take our carry on bags thru the security and then go around to a different place to make some paper work.

I said, “Well, at least we know that when those doors open, there will be a whole lot of Ukrainian faces happy to see us…”

Did I say it couldn’t get any worse? I shouldn’t have. When the doors opened, there were a few faces, but they were not happy to see us. In fact, no one on the other side was familiar at all. It was surreal. I only think there has been one time when I wasn’t met at the airport by the party that was supposed to be there. It was dreadful then, and it was worse now. With no interpreter, and no one to help us get a taxi…it didn’t look promising. The only phone number that we had was ‘not taking calls at this time”.

I would have taken a van to the city, but they wanted a taxi. Now, where to ask them to go. After struggling for awhile with what to do, I said “just tell them Daffi, everyone knows where that is”, so finally they did. And of course they knew where that was. After grabbing something to eat at Daffi, now what to do. Again, we grabbed a taxi. I told them I knew where Larissa and Dima lived, but they told him to turn too soon, that was okay, but when we got closer to their house, they again told them to turn too soon ( I knew to turn at the light, and to turn on the second street….) but don’t ask me, I’ve only been coming here since 1997! I also could have gotten them to Janes house, but they said she might not be home (she was!!) The whole situation was a little…okay very…frustrating to me.

In the long run, it didn’t really matter. We got to Larissa’s and Dima’s house, and boy were they surprised. They were sitting there drinking tea in their underwear (after just finishing showers, etc) and the look on their faces was priceless!

They were expecting us on Saturday and had a big shibang planned for our arrival! What a difference a day makes.

And…who needs a stinking interpreter…we made it to town on our own! (btw, that last part was a joke!) We DO need interpreters and are glad to have them!

till later…

When we finally found the correct door to leave out of, they put us on a shuttle and sent us on a 15 -20 minute journey to “the other side” of the airport. We got off of the shuttle, entered where there was another desk, and that lady gave us boarding passes. Then we had to go thru some screening. Greg went first and set off all of the bells and whistles. He stepped back and started taking off stuff. After about two things from pockets, etc. they sent me thru…nothing…Steve thru…nothing…Kathy thru…nothing…Greg again…alarms and lights…he stepped back and began to take off any and everything that he possibly could…bells and whistles again.

Steve agreed to stay behind with him, and Kathy and I went thru security and on into the terminal. We immediately looked for a place to get something to eat and drink. It’s funny, but they don’t want to take American money in that terminal. Another funny thing, they will take credit cards (which I was not going to give them for more than one reason) (assuming that I had a credit card with me!) so they sent us to the machine that exchanges money…the ONLY kind of machine that exchanges money…and it did not take cash…you guessed it…it takes credit cards!

Needless to say, I didn’t give up on the idea of finding some place that WOULD take cash. I finally found a young lady that spoke enought English and she took me to several places and interpreted until I found a place that we could buy some water. Cold water never tasted better than that bottle!

The problem with Greg…he had a nuclear stress test a day or so before he left home. They injected him with radio active dye…his whole body lit up to their scan. I was afraid that they weren’t going to let him in. He did finally get enough scanning gizmos that they figured he couldn’t be that dangerous, and they let him thru….

What a day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it…

till later

We were a little behind schedule, but not much, when we arrived in Moscow. I don’t know what I was expecting, but it was not this little terminal that we landed at. After deboarding, we looked for any signs that would indicate where to go. There was this big red sign that said “International Transit” and then the equivelent in Russian. So. being the “rules” kinda girl I am, I asked some one nearby if this was the right place. I was assurd that it was so we waited in line. Welllll…when it was our turn, we were told to go downstairs and go thru passport controll and get our luggage. I kinda thought that was weird…but…

Downstairs is the typical passport control area. I went thru first and they freaked out when they saw my visa. The lady, of course, looked disgusted at me and then showed me the “error of my ways” when the date didn’t match for the visa and the entry date. Of course…I was “transit” coming in and “stopping” going out, so the dates actually matched.

Any way…I was told abruptly to move aside and let the others thru. They were in the wrong place and were sent up stairs again. I was then told to sit on a bench outside of an office and they would get to me. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the other three in my group left me there, by myself, and went back upstairs with words of comfort “I hope you don’t have to sleep in the airport for the next three weeks!”  I was not amused.

In fact, I was a little scared. My passport was pulled, I didn’t have a boarding pass (I could only get it inside the air terminal), I didn’t speak the language, I didn’t have an interpreter, I didn’t have any friends by my side…BUT…I did have the Lord, God Almighty, holding my hand thru it all. I began to pray for a “no fear” attitude, and a quick resolution to my problem. He was there, and He never let me go. I wish I could say my fear immediately left me, it didn’t. My panicked feeling left me, and the fear subsided as I continued to pray.

Eventually, after much walking back and forth and shaking of their heads, they found a woman who spoke Russian. When I explained it all to her, she asked me, “did you tell them your story?”. (like it was that easy) I told her that I had tried…regardless…she helped me and I was able to meet up with the other three (who were being sent downstairs again, so they had not been able to completely leave me after all).

God is good.

till later