I really should have posted this on the 8th, but as you saw, I was having a pet peeve day so I'm a little behind (sure wish I had one).
(Sorry the map's too tiny, but if you can see the red circle on the right hand side of Ukraine, that's Stakhanov where we stayed. It's 40 miles from the Russian border. Top middle is Kiev where we flew into. North of Kiev is Chernobyl where they had the nuclear disaster in 1986.)
So, October 8, 2007, came. Rose loaned me this HUGE duffle bag because my suitcases just wouldn't do according to her. She had so much to pack that she needed me to cram a bunch of her crap in my bag. Ya know, we only had a 50 lb. limit per bag & OMG (gosh), I'm REALLY glad the duffle bag had wheels! You wouldn't believe the stuff she packed! (I later came to appreciate those things, but at the time, she was teased unmercifully & not just by me--her whole family thought she was a nerd.) Seriously, who takes duct tape on a trip? She also took Febreeze to keep our clothes fresh, and a VERY LARGE can of Lysol. The Lysol joke goes back several years when both of our families went camping together, she took her little girls out in the forest to go potty, & took the Lysol with her. What was she going to spray? The spot where they would be squatting? Seriously..So, she had told me this would be a two week trip at the most, her husband told me to count on "possibly" (I think that's a misleading word) 3. I brought medicine for 4, just to be safe. We got to the airport in way plenty of time, like 3 hours, so we had a really good, long dinner at Chili's and then went to the airport drug store because she finally convinced me that I need air sickness/dizzy pills. I have NEVER been air sick in any of my travels, even the other time I had flown to London. Oh well, it's her trip so I agree to take the pills. I'm glad I did because by the time we got to London, I was pretty dizzy when we got off the plane. Speaking of the plane, I had never flown on a 747 & was excited because I wanted to see all the "special" stuff, like the upstairs bar/lounge thingie. But, did you know that they don't let you up there unless you pay massive amounts of $$$ for first class? That's not nice--I just wanted to see, you'd think they would make a special exception for someone like me who's never been on a 747 
before. Hmmm...What a bummer! Oh well...we sat in the very front (bulkhead) of whatever our class is called--coach?? At first I was a little disappointed because I wanted to be by the window, but they ended up being great seats because we had lots of leg room. Only problem was that the people behind us kept getting up (either they had taken water pills & had to "p" every 5 minutes or they just liked getting up & walking around) & instead of climbing over the guy on the end of their row, there was enough room for them to come all the way around & in front of us to get out & kept stepping on our feet while we were sleeping. Oh well, the hazards of flying, AND I was still so excited about the trip, I was nice enough to forgive them. We used those little eye covers so it would be a little darker & help us sleep. So when I woke up after, Rose started laughing because my eyelashes were all smooshed together & I had black under my eyes. I still think the pilot must have been speeding or something 'cuz we got to London faster than I remember it took the first time I went. Do they give speeding tickets for fast flyers?
When we got to London, we took one of the funny looking cabs to the Heathrow Sheraton where we stayed over night. According to the cabbie, petrol (gas) in London is approximately $8 American, so I guess we DO have it a bit better here. Nothing much exciting happened in London. We didn't have time to explore, so we stayed at the hotel, had dinner, & e-mailed people to let them know we got there safely--like they were worried or something. We DID hear "activity" from the room next to us & I really mean "activity." This should have been a clue of things to come.
The next morning we got ready, I used the wrong electrical converter & burned up my hair blower & fire even came out (cool!)--so yay! now what? (bought a new one in Ukraine)--then after breakfast, off to the airport we went. The flight to Ukraine was only about 2 1/2 hours, we took a "regular" plane, flew over countries like Netherlands, Germany, Czech Republic, & Poland, so can I say I've been to those countries, or do I have to put my foot on the ground? I think I know the answer to that. (I have been to Netherlands & Germany but not the other 2.) Once we got to Kiev, we of course went through Customs. Here's a picture of the Passport Control sign in Russian & English (one of the VERY few signs that had English in ALL of Ukraine).
And here's a picture of the little Kiev airport:
One of the adoption coordinators named Yura picked us up & carried all of our luggage. He was a nice guy. He took us to the train station. On the way, we "experienced" the wonderful driving skills of people who don't seem to care if they die today or tomorrow. OMG (gosh)! Even for a crazy driver like me, I really had to take a deep breath. They normally don't have seat belts in their cars & if they do, you'd better not wear one or they'll think you're crazy & treat you like it too. So, when in Rome (er, when in Ukraine), do what they do. We had a while to kill so he took us to a market to get some food for the train trip & convert some money to Hrivna (pronounced "grievna"). Approximately 5 Hrivna=$1. They also use Russian money, like Kopecks (I know what you're thinking--shame!) which aren't worth anything. Anyway, so at the market, we bought a bunch of stuff that looked similar to American food (not ready for the "real" stuff yet), including Coke & Coke Lite (Diet Coke), and this awesome cheese that tasted like Smoked Gouda. Here's it's pretty expensive. There, we paid 7.91 hrivna (or about $1.50) for a pound!
Once we got all that done, Yura took us to the train station:
Of course, after our plane ride, we REALLY needed to use the potty:
We paid about 75 cents to squat over a hole in the floor! You pay this old lady in a booth as you go in, AND definitely don't forget to tear off a little bit (that's all you get is a little bit) of toilet paper at the entrance that is basically a roll of crepe paper, then go in your little stall & squat away! Hope it all goes where you want it to & heaven forbid if you have to go #2! (We had taken these really nice pens from the Sheraton in London & Rose had one in this thing hanging from her neck, along with her passport. Well, the pen plopped down in the hole. Then, she she had the nerve to think I should give her mine! Oh no...uh uh.)
Next installment of this lovely trip, I'll tell ya about the train ride & some more fun toilets. Aren't you excited??
