August 19th: The Flight Home
John and I had stayed up to 11:00 packing to go home. We needed to have enough change of clothes and food for the children in our carry on luggage. We also needed to comply with the new security standards.
I got up at 5:30 to get that much-needed shower in. I woke the kids up at 6:00 am to give them a bath and get them ready to go. Galina loves the bath and I think it hypes her up a bit. We got dressed in the clothes that we would be wearing for the next 15 hours or so, and went down to breakfast. We saw Ann and Ned and Konstantin there.
After breakfast it was back to the room to get our things together to go. The baby was stinking like crazy. I call her my little stinkpot now because when she goes pooh, she smells quite rotten. I change her and discover she has leaked out all over her nice little outfit that I picked out for her to travel in. Okay, lets change the clothes and wash out the dirty ones. The bellhop took our luggage downstairs and I got my little stinkpot ready to go.
At the airport we got through security just fine. They allowed me to walk through with the baby in the carrier and they let Galina stay in her stroller. We had been in line for half an hour by then. Now we all had to go through baggage check and get our boarding passes. We were in line crowded together for over 2 hours. Galina was in the stroller and wanted out. Valya also wanted out of her carrier. Mama was doing everything in her power to entertain the two of them, while Papa took care of all our luggage. Ann and Ned were in the same boat as us with Konstantin. I left the crowd for a wider spot to stroll Galina around in. That worked for a while. We finally got up to where they look at our passports. That went fairly quickly, but then we had to stand in another line to check our bags and get our boarding passes. I quickly got in line with the kids and waited a bit. I turned around to say something to John and he was not there. I see him way in the back, they must have pulled him out to do a luggage check and there was this woman going through our big blue beast (That's what we call out largest suitcase) unwrapping everything and opening every little thing. I was so upset. I knew Galina needed to use the toilet and now we were delayed even longer. It must have been only half an hour, but it seemed longer, when John finally got back in line with me. We make it up to the ticket counter and there we are standing for another 20 minutes because the girl could not get our seats straight. She had sat Galina 16 rows behind us. Well, that just was not going to work. It took her six tries before she got it right, seating her next to us. I asked for a bassinet and she assured me we had one.
We finally get through there and have to go through another check point where they check your passports one more time before leaving Russia. By this time I know Galina has wet herself and needs to be changed. We make it through there and get to the bathroom. Galina is soaked through and Valya is in need of a new diaper. She stinks to high heaven. Ann come in to check on me and gives me a change of pants for Galina. At that moment Konstantin was with her, the next moment he was gone. Ann panicked and I felt helpless to help her as I had my own two to keep track of. As Ann checked the stalls one lady said she saw him leave the rest room. Ann bolted outside and found Konstantin around the corner and down the hall. Who knows where he was heading, but he was going without his Mama. What a scare for all of us!
All kids in tow, we headed for our gait where they do one more security check of our carry on luggage. They took my hand sanitizer bottles and the baby's cold medicine. I gave her one more dose before we boarded. She has had a runny nose for as long as I have known her. They had already started boarding so away we went. Galina was great through all this. We get on the plane and our seats are by the bulk head like I had asked only there isn't a bassinet. I asked the stewardess for a bassinet and she told me that it was already being used. She was not nice at all about it and rather grumpy all together. Luckily another steward and stewardess noticed our dilemma of a crying baby and her mother crying too. The stress had taken it's toll. They asked what they could do to help and I said we needed a bassinet to put the baby to sleep. They brought me a box and I burst into tears again at the thought of my new baby sleeping in a box!
The box actually worked out very well. Valya slept in it just fine, and when Valya was not sleeping in it, Galina was playing in it. Now I would ask for the box again. The flight went well over all. Valya was extraordinarily fussy at one point and I had to walk her up and down the ails quite a few times. At one point the stewardess told me the seat belt sign was on, and I thought sure, but Valya can't read. Nor would she care. When that child wants down, she wants down! She has a very strong will.
We got to JFK on time and got off. We expected to pick up our stroller at the door, but they said we would have to pick it up in baggage claim. Galina had her little backpack with wheels to pull, so she stayed occupied with that. We had to pass through customs, so more lines to stand in. It was great to have Ann and Ned and Konstantin with us the whole time as they were all friendly, familiar faces that Galina knew from back in Cherepanovo. I think it helped her to stay calm. A security person saw us with children and pulled us out to the front of the line. Finally someone takes pity on us and does the right thing. Women and children first is a good motto to follow. We get through the customs officer fairly quickly. He was a friendly face who sees adoptive families frequently. We then go to pick up our bags and get Galina in our stroller. There we ran into Ann, Ned, and Konstantin again. One more good-bye hug as they are one their way to Norfolk, Virginia.
After picking up our bags we had to wait in yet another line to check in our bags to Seattle. It was the most unorganized system you could possibly devise. No one knew what to do and the staff stood around yelling at people for not doing the right thing. How were we to know? There were no signs posted, no sense of direction. It was chaos. We made it through it and I did get to watch them put our luggage on the conveyer belt, so I figured we would get them in Seattle.
JFK airport is so unwelcoming, dirty, and lacks any sense of real organization. It needs an overhaul from the ground up. We had to go through another security check. They had only one x-ray machine open. Three people handling the security there for all these people coming in from international flights. It was pathetic. They wanted me to take Valya out of the baby carrier and I refused. They finally let me through with a mild body search. That was better than taking that baby out of the pack and trying to get her back in.
Once through there it was time to stop at the bathroom and then on to get something to eat. Valya was starving, but after two jars of baby food she was ready to run. We had to build a corral of chairs around us so that she could walk around, but was still contained. It actually worked very well as she did not think about crawling under the chairs.
The flight to Seattle was long and boring. Both children slept the whole way. Valya slept in mamma's lap while Galina had her own seat. Papa slept as well. I'm not sure if I slept at all.
Liz picked us up at baggage claim. I could of burst in tears just at the sight of her and the fact that we were home, but I couldn't. I had to hold it together for my girls. We spent a pleasant night at Liz's house. John slept with Galina on the air mattress and I slept with Valya in the bed. Sweet Dreams!
I got up at 5:30 to get that much-needed shower in. I woke the kids up at 6:00 am to give them a bath and get them ready to go. Galina loves the bath and I think it hypes her up a bit. We got dressed in the clothes that we would be wearing for the next 15 hours or so, and went down to breakfast. We saw Ann and Ned and Konstantin there.
After breakfast it was back to the room to get our things together to go. The baby was stinking like crazy. I call her my little stinkpot now because when she goes pooh, she smells quite rotten. I change her and discover she has leaked out all over her nice little outfit that I picked out for her to travel in. Okay, lets change the clothes and wash out the dirty ones. The bellhop took our luggage downstairs and I got my little stinkpot ready to go.
At the airport we got through security just fine. They allowed me to walk through with the baby in the carrier and they let Galina stay in her stroller. We had been in line for half an hour by then. Now we all had to go through baggage check and get our boarding passes. We were in line crowded together for over 2 hours. Galina was in the stroller and wanted out. Valya also wanted out of her carrier. Mama was doing everything in her power to entertain the two of them, while Papa took care of all our luggage. Ann and Ned were in the same boat as us with Konstantin. I left the crowd for a wider spot to stroll Galina around in. That worked for a while. We finally got up to where they look at our passports. That went fairly quickly, but then we had to stand in another line to check our bags and get our boarding passes. I quickly got in line with the kids and waited a bit. I turned around to say something to John and he was not there. I see him way in the back, they must have pulled him out to do a luggage check and there was this woman going through our big blue beast (That's what we call out largest suitcase) unwrapping everything and opening every little thing. I was so upset. I knew Galina needed to use the toilet and now we were delayed even longer. It must have been only half an hour, but it seemed longer, when John finally got back in line with me. We make it up to the ticket counter and there we are standing for another 20 minutes because the girl could not get our seats straight. She had sat Galina 16 rows behind us. Well, that just was not going to work. It took her six tries before she got it right, seating her next to us. I asked for a bassinet and she assured me we had one.
We finally get through there and have to go through another check point where they check your passports one more time before leaving Russia. By this time I know Galina has wet herself and needs to be changed. We make it through there and get to the bathroom. Galina is soaked through and Valya is in need of a new diaper. She stinks to high heaven. Ann come in to check on me and gives me a change of pants for Galina. At that moment Konstantin was with her, the next moment he was gone. Ann panicked and I felt helpless to help her as I had my own two to keep track of. As Ann checked the stalls one lady said she saw him leave the rest room. Ann bolted outside and found Konstantin around the corner and down the hall. Who knows where he was heading, but he was going without his Mama. What a scare for all of us!
All kids in tow, we headed for our gait where they do one more security check of our carry on luggage. They took my hand sanitizer bottles and the baby's cold medicine. I gave her one more dose before we boarded. She has had a runny nose for as long as I have known her. They had already started boarding so away we went. Galina was great through all this. We get on the plane and our seats are by the bulk head like I had asked only there isn't a bassinet. I asked the stewardess for a bassinet and she told me that it was already being used. She was not nice at all about it and rather grumpy all together. Luckily another steward and stewardess noticed our dilemma of a crying baby and her mother crying too. The stress had taken it's toll. They asked what they could do to help and I said we needed a bassinet to put the baby to sleep. They brought me a box and I burst into tears again at the thought of my new baby sleeping in a box!
The box actually worked out very well. Valya slept in it just fine, and when Valya was not sleeping in it, Galina was playing in it. Now I would ask for the box again. The flight went well over all. Valya was extraordinarily fussy at one point and I had to walk her up and down the ails quite a few times. At one point the stewardess told me the seat belt sign was on, and I thought sure, but Valya can't read. Nor would she care. When that child wants down, she wants down! She has a very strong will.
We got to JFK on time and got off. We expected to pick up our stroller at the door, but they said we would have to pick it up in baggage claim. Galina had her little backpack with wheels to pull, so she stayed occupied with that. We had to pass through customs, so more lines to stand in. It was great to have Ann and Ned and Konstantin with us the whole time as they were all friendly, familiar faces that Galina knew from back in Cherepanovo. I think it helped her to stay calm. A security person saw us with children and pulled us out to the front of the line. Finally someone takes pity on us and does the right thing. Women and children first is a good motto to follow. We get through the customs officer fairly quickly. He was a friendly face who sees adoptive families frequently. We then go to pick up our bags and get Galina in our stroller. There we ran into Ann, Ned, and Konstantin again. One more good-bye hug as they are one their way to Norfolk, Virginia.
After picking up our bags we had to wait in yet another line to check in our bags to Seattle. It was the most unorganized system you could possibly devise. No one knew what to do and the staff stood around yelling at people for not doing the right thing. How were we to know? There were no signs posted, no sense of direction. It was chaos. We made it through it and I did get to watch them put our luggage on the conveyer belt, so I figured we would get them in Seattle.
JFK airport is so unwelcoming, dirty, and lacks any sense of real organization. It needs an overhaul from the ground up. We had to go through another security check. They had only one x-ray machine open. Three people handling the security there for all these people coming in from international flights. It was pathetic. They wanted me to take Valya out of the baby carrier and I refused. They finally let me through with a mild body search. That was better than taking that baby out of the pack and trying to get her back in.
Once through there it was time to stop at the bathroom and then on to get something to eat. Valya was starving, but after two jars of baby food she was ready to run. We had to build a corral of chairs around us so that she could walk around, but was still contained. It actually worked very well as she did not think about crawling under the chairs.
The flight to Seattle was long and boring. Both children slept the whole way. Valya slept in mamma's lap while Galina had her own seat. Papa slept as well. I'm not sure if I slept at all.
Liz picked us up at baggage claim. I could of burst in tears just at the sight of her and the fact that we were home, but I couldn't. I had to hold it together for my girls. We spent a pleasant night at Liz's house. John slept with Galina on the air mattress and I slept with Valya in the bed. Sweet Dreams!
posted by Isabel Farquhar at
3:34 PM
1 Comments:
I knew all that travelling was going to be TOUGH!!! I can't imagine doing it with older children who speak English!!! Good job you guys for making it through it all. My hat is off to you!
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Anonymous, at 10:03 PM
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