Friday, February 8, 2008

Reflecting Back

The first part of this week, Jason and I began reflecting back over our first trip to Ukraine. There were a lot of tears, but there was a lot of laughter as well. Here are some of our adventures and/or stories:

  • Once we returned to Kiev after visiting the orphanage, we stayed in Kiev from Monday through Thursday before returning back to the USA. We ate our last 3 meals at TGI Friday’s, so the staff was very friendly and became very accustomed to us. They loved to hear us speak, and we enjoyed eating there because it was wonderful to hear people speak English! When we left the restaurant on the Wednesday evening before Thanksgiving, the hostess said, “See you tomorrow.” We just laughed and waved goodbye because it took us a moment to realize what she said. We died laughing when we got back to our apartment. We couldn’t wait to get back home to tell Jason’s mother about the comment because she thinks it’s awful that people eat at restaurants so frequently that the servers recognize their faces and know their names. For us, we were just thrilled to be treated kindly!

  • When we arrived in Kiev, we were expedited through Customs like a whirlwind. We could barely understand the people who were motioning for us to follow them. One man was in such a hurry to get us through the airport that he even climbed into the tunnel where the baggage was coming through in order to search for our suitcase. It was like watching an episode of the "3 Stooges" as the man kept playing charades with us in order to determine whether or not he had found the right bag. The two words that he could say were "little tip" and he repeated it constantly. We were prepared to tip him, however Yuri told us not to worry about it because he was being compensated for all his efforts because we had paid for the VIP service. (Next time, we will tip that man because we felt horrible for not doing so because he worked hard trying to find our luggage!) We were met at the exit door by a young man that we only assumed was Yuri. He too hurried us out the door and then into a Honda. As we were getting situated in the car, Jason turned to me and said, "Is this Yuri?" How the heck was I supposed to know? I just laughed (it was that or cry) and said, "I guess we'll find out in a minute." We literally had to run to keep up with the men in the airport, so there really wasn't time to ask for identification.

  • THE DRIVING: We knew we were in trouble when we trying to back out of the parking space at the airport and heard a thump. Calmly, Yuri said, "Accident?" (He meant a person, not necessarily a car!) Jason attempted to look out his snow covered window and said, "I don't see anyone on the ground on my side." YIKES! Yuri told us that he usually tells Americans to just close their eyes as he drives. People drive like maniacs and the horn is constantly being tooted. The craziest thing to see is how people just drive up on the sidewalks and park wherever there is spot (and sometimes where there really isn't a spot). After a while, you get used to having to dodge cars and constantly watching for someone to pull up over the curb and run over you. Insurance premiums must be out the roof over there!

  • Our second night in the region, we stayed in a hotel that was very nice on the outside but the rooms lacked some things that we spoiled Americans take for granted – clean sheets and pillows! We had experienced an awful day at the orphanage and were emotional wrecks. Jason was ready for bed as soon as we got in the room, so he walked over and claimed a bed – the room contained two single beds bolted to separate walls. We were laughing because we said that the room looked like it belonged in a “Leave it to Beaver” episode. As we laughed, Jason pulled back his covers and quite loudly stated, “Oh my gosh!” There were hairs all in his bed and on the pillow. He sniffed the pillow and declared that it smelled like a man. I was laughing so hard that tears were streaming down my face. Jason is a very serious person and is anal about cleanliness, so this discovery was a nightmare for him. He walked over to my bed and looked at my pillow. It seemed to make him feel better that my pillow also had hair on it. When we got ready to actually go to bed, I turned the light off then we just jumped into our respective beds and didn’t dare look under the covers. Even as I’m writing this, I am laughing because I can still see the look of terror on Jason’s face when he discovered the first hair!

  • When we arrived at our first apartment, we were exhausted. We had great intentions to get to bed early and get a good night’s sleep on our last night in America, however that just didn’t happen. We couldn’t sleep on the plane because there were some orphans returning to Ukraine from a hosting program and they didn’t sleep – they talked and ran up and down the plane’s aisles for 10 hours. When we got settled into our apartment, we fell-out on our bed and slept for hours. Suddenly, we heard a bird singing and both of us sat straight up. We didn’t have a clue where we were or what the noise was. Jason ran to the phone and said, “Hello.” When we realized it wasn’t the apartment phone, I called Yuri on the cell phone to see if he was trying to reach us, but it wasn’t him either. We ended-up finding out that it was the doorbell! We don’t have a clue who was ringing the bell, but by the time we thought about the door, he or she had left. There’s nothing like waking-up all wild-eyed and disoriented in Ukraine!

  • We couldn’t get over the dogs that run rampant. I was horrified to enter into the grocery store and say “excuse me” to the dog that was lounging in front of the grocery carts! The dogs in Kiev seemed harmless, however the dogs we saw while traveling in region seemed rather ferocious as they followed at people’s heels and tried to steal groceries from the elderly ladies. Hum, I guess that’s why the CDC website recommended a rabies shot!

  • When we were boarding the train back to Kiev at 4:00 a.m., we each had a suitcase and a carry-on. Jason boarded first so that he could help me with my suitcase. He lifted it up and gave me his carry-on to put in the train car. I was getting shoved and fussed at, so I was trying to move along quickly before a riot broke-out. For those of you who have ever ridden a train in Ukraine, you know how pushy people get when boarding. My Ukrainian is very, very limited, however I know beyond a doubt that there were some 4-letter words spoken to me as I tried to get our luggage into the cabin. In all my haste, I forget about poor Jason and the 2 rather sizeable suitcases. I looked around, and he said, “Well, aren’t you going to help me? I’m getting killed out here!” For Jason, the train rides were the absolute worst parts of our trip. He was literally green both times. Let’s just say that on that morning, once we got settled, I cracked-up laughing but Jason was blowing steam out of his ears. We were just about an hour outside of Kiev when he finally took my hand and said, “It’s almost over.” It was that moment that I realized the absolute toll that the last week and a half had taken on him and it was at that moment, that I realized what an awesome husband God has given me!

  • The most special thing that I remember and treasure from our trip was the time that Jason and I spent together. At home, we are so busy with work and family, that sometimes we don’t spend enough time together as a couple. This trip really helped us to reconnect. When adopting internationally, there are so many emotions that you experience, that unless you have traveled that path, you will never fully understand all that an adoptive family undergoes. Jason is not a person who freely talks about his feelings or shares his thoughts, so to go through the emotional roller coaster ride that we experienced brought out a lot of emotions and fears. I will never forget the taxi ride to the orphanage when we were so anxious to meet the girls or the look in his eyes when he told our facilitator that the little girls were adorable but that they were not our children. When he took my hand as we descended the steps leading from the orphanage, I will never forget the surge of love and of heartache that radiated from his body to mine. The prayers that were spoken, the tears that were shed, and the longing in our hearts for our new child cannot be explained. This adoption journey has brought our marital relationship to another level and certainly assisted in strengthening our relationship with Christ. If our road was bumpy for no other reason than this, then every heartache was worth it. Our family is closer than we ever thought possible and Christ is certainly in the center.

No comments: