Well, we finally made it to Novokuznetsk. Only after an 13 hour flight from Omaha to Atlanta then to Moscow, an 11 hour layover in an airport with no air conditioning, then a 4 hour flight from Moscow to Kemerovo, and finally a 3 hour car ride to our hotel here tonight. Needless to say we are both exhausted.
Let's start with the flights from Omaha to Moscow. It actually wasn't that bad, time seemed to go quickly. There were inflight movies, but we both only watched the 2nd one which was Invictus. The other two were boring. So we read a lot and slept a little. Rich slept, Jenny did not!
So we get into Moscow and tip 1, which we wish we would have known... The driver from our agency picked us up, not the girls that they had originally told us. So we were kind of scared at first if we were going with the right person. He seemed nice but it was scary going with a stranger and opposite our directions. We asked him questions that only he should know before getting in the car with him. He answered correctly, so we went.
Our next stop was to exchange our money. Keep in mind we are still carrying A LOT of cash, all in $100 bills. He took us to a place somewhere in Moscow that looked like a junk yard. Rich thought we were dead. There was a small building out front with a cashier type window. We met our coordinator there, and they took us up to the building. All seemed fine after some reassurance, and from what they said the best exchange rates in town. (I guess that ask a local thing works!) We exchanges some money (about 30 rubles per $1) and our coordinator double checked it for us. Luckily it was all correct. We told her goodbye and thank you for the help, and then our driver took us to the next airport. Little did we know we were in for the most interesting/uncomfortable/sweaty day of our lives!
Tip 2: If you have the chance to get a hotel room for the day, do it. We regreted not doing that. While a normal layover in a US aiport might be uncomfortable for a while, you have to remember we aren't in the US anymore. Oh, and nevermind that Moscow is experiencing a heat wave, with temps in the upper 90s. The aiport had no air conditioning, and boy was it hot. I will give the people of Russia a lot of credit, it seemed like the only ones that were outwardly uncomfortable was us! They acted like it was just another part of their day. The seating is limited, and what are available are wire mesh benches with very ridged backs. We have learned that we might be a little spoiled in the US. This seemed very normal to all the Russians.
After about an hour and a half of the unbearable heat, Rich decided to go explore the rest of the terminal. Good thing too, he discovered that the international side had air conditioning, and a nice cafe. We spent hours there, drinking our pop very slowly and wishing we were sleeping somewhere! Rich fell asleep at the table a few times even!
Tip 3: Prepare yourselves for the bathrooms! Jenny went into the bathrooms in the domestic side terminal. She walks in the door and there is no toilet seat, just a hole in the ground surrounded by porcelein. At first she didn't go but then sucked it up and went in. Actually it wasn't that terrible, just had to get used to it. Had to kind of squat and stand over it and go... Afterwards it does flush like a normal toilet would.. Very interesting. We found later that on the international side they have seats, so Jenny did try once and then from then on went on the international side. It was an experience for her, and glad she did try! Jenny prefers seats though... :)
We finally left Moscow at midnight, and arrived in Kemerovo Wednesday morning at 9 am (time change again). We met the other family and our coordinator, and went to breakfast at the Travelers Cafe. Jenny has heard about it and we liked it a lot. Rich had tea that was VERY good, nothing like what we have in the states. On to the Department of Education from there, and met with them for literally two minutes. Got minimal information on our boy and his birth mother/father/sibling. In the end we got the ok from them to proceed to Novokuznetsk. Interesting side note, the government district is loaded with history. There was a HUGE Lenin statue in the middle of the square, and buildings all around that looked very 70s. We didn't have time, but if we did we would have walked around a bit. Maybe next time when we are back for court.
Tip 4: The car ride isn't anything like driving in the states. Sergie (our driver this time) was a very experienced driver. However, we thought we were going to die more than once. The steering wheel was on the opposite side of the car, but we were in the correct lane (correct for us in the states). He'd weave in and out of traffic on this very busy 2 lane highway, speeding the whole time. We seemed to avoid every single police officer on the way though, and there were a ton of them! Multiple times Jenny grabbed the arm rest until her fingers started to tingle. Rich slept a little bit, proving once again that he can sleep anywhere at any time.
We arrived at the hotel safe and sound and went right to bed. We got up after a few hours, had some dinner at a very nice place in the hotel, and now it's midnight here and we need to go to bed.
Final tip: I love being an American, but we are spoiled. There are so many things that we take for granted that others would see as a luxury. If you ever come here, check your American ways at the door and open yourself to new and different things. You'll be glad you did!
We get up early tomorrow to meet him for the first time! More to come...
Rich and Jenny
