Saturday, December 29, 2012
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Friday, June 5, 2009
Saturday, June 16, 2007
WE ARE HOME! - June 3, 2007
(posted Monday, June 4 at 10 pm)
The shirts are the Ukraine soccer team uniform. It is a popular souvenir.
Friday, June 15, 2007
Heading Home!
Saturday, June 2, 2007
We are packed up and very ready to go! Here we are watching our last Ukranian TV early in the morning while waiting for our driver. We had an 11:00 am flight out of Kyiv.
God blessed us with very helpful Delta people at the airport. They showed our family of six right where to go and the process went very smooth. While waiting for our flight some young adults were practicing their English with a little help from us. It is fun to help others when so many people in Ukraine had been helpful to us .
Nine and 1/2 hours from Kiev to New York.
We got to New York at 1:30 pm EST. It was a 9 1/2 hour flight. We got through customs and Tanya and Lienna officially became US citizens. During our layover, I went to try to get some plane tickets from Cinncinati to Sioux Falls for Tanya and Lienna. After a long wait, they were no help. We boarded at 4:00 and sat on the runway again in New York for 2 hours.
We are packed up and very ready to go! Here we are watching our last Ukranian TV early in the morning while waiting for our driver. We had an 11:00 am flight out of Kyiv.
God blessed us with very helpful Delta people at the airport. They showed our family of six right where to go and the process went very smooth. While waiting for our flight some young adults were practicing their English with a little help from us. It is fun to help others when so many people in Ukraine had been helpful to us .
Nine and 1/2 hours from Kiev to New York.
We got to New York at 1:30 pm EST. It was a 9 1/2 hour flight. We got through customs and Tanya and Lienna officially became US citizens. During our layover, I went to try to get some plane tickets from Cinncinati to Sioux Falls for Tanya and Lienna. After a long wait, they were no help. We boarded at 4:00 and sat on the runway again in New York for 2 hours. We got in to Cinncinati and I started my search for the Delta ticket counter while Jon went for luggage. Again God provided for us weary travelers since it was now 3:00 am Kiev time and we had gotten no sleep. As I was trying to find my way around, a couple helped me find the ticket counter. The ladies there were also very nice and helpful and did get us some tickets to Sioux Falls - not cheap though. There were only four seats left on the flight so we were thankful to get them. I was so tired and ready to get home that I offered to sit in the bathroom if we could just get on the flight. If we would not have gotten the tickets, Jon or I would have had to get a later flight with Tanya and Lienna or rent a car and drive 20 hours home. Again, God provided.
We got a shuttle to our hotel and were surprised to find out our driver spoke Russian and very little English. I got a chuckle out of it. It was ironic because we were just looking forward to being in the US where we could speak easily. That is nothing against Ukraine of course, but after traveling for a month and being weary and in a foreign country we just wanted to know we could find food and water for our larger family. I have learned that it takes alot of energy and work to communicate. Of course, that is something we will all continue to experience over the next few months but at least we will have food and shelter in our home. We got in to our hotel at 10 pm (now 5 am Kiev time and time to wake up). The desk clerk also had a strong Russian accent. They were helpful in finding us find a bigger room for our larger family. The clerk smiled in surprise when I said "spezeeba" (thank you in Russian) out of habit. He was also probably glad to hear his native language.
We slept very little that night due to the time change and had to leave early to make our flight. We had a packed flight and we were seated all over the plane. (literally, Tanya in the front corner and Amber in the opposite back corner). We told the attendent that two of our daughters didn't speak English so he could come and get us if he needed something. Before we took off, he had all six of us sitting together! He was so nice and we had a great visit with him.
We landed in Sioux Falls at 10:45 am on Sunday morning! We were thrilled to see family and friends waiting for us!
Last day in Kiev
Friday, June 1, 2007
This was our last day in Kyiv and our mission was to get passports, find shoes, and souveniers. I did not even take the camera along for once-an indication that I was ready to go home I think. In the morning we found a mall about a mile away. It was modern, had a couple levels, and stores and prices like the US. After some searching, we found shoes in a sporting goods store for Tanya and Lienna! The walk home from there was much better for them. We headed back to McDonalds to have lunch and meet Dima who get our passports. This McDonalds will not be forgotten by Jon. It was a bad sign when he thought his McChicken tasted like the Filet O Fish. Before finishing his ice cream cone, he got sick. To top it off, the handle broke on the bathroom stall so he got locked in for a bit. Not a good feeling.
We still had our souvenier shirts and some Russian kids books we wanted to find. We knew where they were downtown but we had no idea how to get there. Our apartment was in a different part of the city than before. When Dima came with our passports, it turned out he was taking the subway downtown and would show us how to get there. This worked good since it would have been hard to get a taxi for a family of six. This was also a new experience for all of us. The subways only cost 50 grivnas per person - that is 10 cents. This subway started with a very long escalator ride going very deep down. We were told that Kyiv has some of the deepest in the world. Then like most subways I suppose, it was very crowded and a challenge to keep our group together. We came out at Independance Square which was good because it was familiar to us. We found the soccer shirts we were looking for and also gave the girls all some money to buy some souveniers.
While the girls were shopping, Jon was getting sick. He sat down and felt very weak and feverish. We got our shirts and decided to head home. This was not quick and it meant the subway again. On the standing room only subway, Jon was hanging on the bar and I thought he was going to pass out. Evidentally the lady below him on the seat thought so also and offered him her seat. It was nice of her but actually she could see the risk of sitting below him and could see his white face. God really protected us and gave Jon the strength to walk the last quarter mile to the apartment. He was having chills and wrapped up in the blanket in our hot apartment. That was the first time I saw him use a blanket in three weeks! Fortunately by evening he felt good enough to pack us up for the trip home in the morning.
Here are some pictures from our 8th floor apartment. There are rows of apartments like this in Odessa and Kiev. There is a little playground right below our window. Our apartment was remodeled inside with a newer bathroom and kitchen. The drawback was the old stairwells, tiny old elevator, and four deadbolt doors we went through to get in.
This was our last day in Kyiv and our mission was to get passports, find shoes, and souveniers. I did not even take the camera along for once-an indication that I was ready to go home I think. In the morning we found a mall about a mile away. It was modern, had a couple levels, and stores and prices like the US. After some searching, we found shoes in a sporting goods store for Tanya and Lienna! The walk home from there was much better for them. We headed back to McDonalds to have lunch and meet Dima who get our passports. This McDonalds will not be forgotten by Jon. It was a bad sign when he thought his McChicken tasted like the Filet O Fish. Before finishing his ice cream cone, he got sick. To top it off, the handle broke on the bathroom stall so he got locked in for a bit. Not a good feeling.
We still had our souvenier shirts and some Russian kids books we wanted to find. We knew where they were downtown but we had no idea how to get there. Our apartment was in a different part of the city than before. When Dima came with our passports, it turned out he was taking the subway downtown and would show us how to get there. This worked good since it would have been hard to get a taxi for a family of six. This was also a new experience for all of us. The subways only cost 50 grivnas per person - that is 10 cents. This subway started with a very long escalator ride going very deep down. We were told that Kyiv has some of the deepest in the world. Then like most subways I suppose, it was very crowded and a challenge to keep our group together. We came out at Independance Square which was good because it was familiar to us. We found the soccer shirts we were looking for and also gave the girls all some money to buy some souveniers.
While the girls were shopping, Jon was getting sick. He sat down and felt very weak and feverish. We got our shirts and decided to head home. This was not quick and it meant the subway again. On the standing room only subway, Jon was hanging on the bar and I thought he was going to pass out. Evidentally the lady below him on the seat thought so also and offered him her seat. It was nice of her but actually she could see the risk of sitting below him and could see his white face. God really protected us and gave Jon the strength to walk the last quarter mile to the apartment. He was having chills and wrapped up in the blanket in our hot apartment. That was the first time I saw him use a blanket in three weeks! Fortunately by evening he felt good enough to pack us up for the trip home in the morning.
Here are some pictures from our 8th floor apartment. There are rows of apartments like this in Odessa and Kiev. There is a little playground right below our window. Our apartment was remodeled inside with a newer bathroom and kitchen. The drawback was the old stairwells, tiny old elevator, and four deadbolt doors we went through to get in.
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