In Kiev Again!

Thanks to Michele's stealth (and brief) post, you know at the very least that we received our passports yesterday (Friday). Tanya called me at 3-ish and said that the passports were ready. So, we all headed over to the passport office with smiles on our faces as we anticipated a simple "pick-up". Well, you'll recall "it's Ukraine" so it was a little more involved than that.

When we arrived, Tanya went into the passport office and came back out moments later looking frustrated. Apparently, we were missing a stamp from the director and the director had stepped out. They did not know if or when he might come back. It was now about 4-ish so we just sat and waited outside. Finally, around 5PM we were ready to leave when he showed up!

Again, we thought, this will only take a few minutes....but, you got it, "it's Ukraine"! over an hour later they finally called us into the office where I double-checked and signed for the passports.

We had hoped that we could catch a night train back up to Kiev on Friday night. Unfortunately, Tanya had found out that, since the quarantine at the universities had been lifted and school was supposed to start again on Monday, there were no seats whatsoever to be purchased beforehand.

So, Tanya went to the train station around 8PM to be "first in line" to get any tickets that became available due to "no shows" or "special" availability. We waited at the Bible House for a call from Tanya. She called at 8:05 and said, "I have tickets for you and the taxi is on its way to pick you up." We met Tanya at the front of the train station and then made our way to the train car where our cabin was.

It turns out that our "special" tickets were for the cabin normally occupied by the ladies who "manage" this particular car...kind of like the train car "attendants". We didn't have "real" tickets, as these were obtained "under the table" and actually illegally. But hey, "it's Ukraine", so I was fine with it. Once we got on and took off, I sealed the transaction with the train attendant (i.e. I gave her the cash!) and we settled in for the night.

I don't think any of us slept too well, but we all knew that in a matter of 13 hours we'd be in Kiev on the next and final step of our journey.

Oleg met us at the train station and took us to our apartment. It is a very nice apartment, newly appointment with everything. It was a little more expensive than I had anticipated, but they dropped the price by $30 a night when I asked if they had anything cheaper. Sometimes, it pays to be a Dutchman! The apartment is about a 10 minute walk from the main Independence Square.

We just returned from a very much needed lunch at Cenentano's down by the square and Natasha and Pasha are watching TV while I check email and post to the blog.

We're hoping to go to church with Pasha's friend Julia tomorrow and then hope to meet up with Karen Springs in the afternoon. Monday we will go in the morning to complete medical exams and then to the US Consulate to get immigration Visas. If we're done with everything on Monday, I may just try to get us tickets home for Tuesday. We'll see how it goes.

Well, that's all for now. I'm going to head out and get some groceries. Thanks for everyone's thoughts and prayers. The last couple of days I've especially appreciated them.

More later,

Bruce