The Flying Saga continued

After being told we could not fly out on Thursday as we'd so hoped and prayed, we were told that if we were going to need a hotel for the night, then we were to stand there and someone would come talk to us about it.  Five hours and fifty-six minutes after that final comment, a Delta rep. came out to tell a huge group that they had found hotel rooms and would start shuttling people to the various hotels shortly.  They took one group, then I gather someone complained because the next trip they decided to take people with children and the elderly first.  Once we got to the hotel, they decided they would also feed us supper but to spend no more than one hundred hryvna, but it turned out that the restaurant wasn't prepared for so many people, so they ended up just feeding us one of two dishes and so the cost wasn't a problem.  As usual, the food didn't agree with me, but John and Maxim enjoyed it.

The next day we were shuttled to the airport in plenty of time to get in the lines for baggage and customs checks.  I tried to get in the line for a voucher they were giving for a discount on future flights for our inconvenience, but just as I was about to the front of the line, the other line moved too much, so I had to give up on the vouchers in order to be sure we could get through all those checkpoints in time for the plane.  It's a good thing we allowed a tad extra time because John's passport not having a stamp again became an issue, much longer delay caused by it this time to the point John was saying Maxim and I should go ahead and get on the plane and he'd find another flight, but it eventually all worked out and we made it onto the plane that had been repaired from the day before.  We had been concerned that Maxim's adoption papers, visa, or some such thing would cause a holdup on our exit from Ukraine; who would have guessed it would be John?

No one could ever been happier to land in the U.S.A. than John and I were.  JFK aiport may be a pain to maneuver, but it was a welcome hassle for sure.  The guy who checked us in at customs was the nicest fellow.  It was such a relief to be able to understand every word he said!  Soon thereafter we were able to text or call family members and say we were back in America!

I tell you that until you live in a foreign country, especially one lacking in some of our conveniences, you probably just cannot have the appreciation for our country that we now have, and we've always been very patriotic.  Having said that, I will also say that we will sorely miss some of the folks we met in Kiev.  Sadly, probably the only one we'll keep in contact with is Alla, our bossy translator.  Bossy is a good thing most of the time when you have no idea what you're really doing.  She has been very kind to check on us both airport days as well as to e-mail us to make sure we made it all the way home safely.  I will try to send her some pictures of Maxim in his new home before too long.

Speaking of pictures, when we get some more uploaded from our camera, then we will put a few  more on here as well as on kodak gallery.

Today, Maxim and I met went to his new school and met with the principal and his teacher.  They gave him a short tour of school and introduced him to his classmates.  Maxim was all smiles as all this occurred.  I had been concerned that it would be too much for him since he had been in a cocoon like environment since his schooling has been in the orphanage, but no, he seems very happy still.  We are so pleased with how well Maxim has accepted us and adapted to the U.S. and the new environment.  He also started soccer practice this evening; the new coach was very kind to Maxim.  Maxim was very tired afterward but again mostly smiles.  He loves "football" so maybe he'll be a natural--that would make Kelly very happy.

For those of you still coming over:  it is all worthwhile, but you have to be prepared for the unexpected every step of the way and for delay after delay.  You have to learn to go with the flow and not expect what you thought you could expect.

Charlene