We made it!!!

We have arrived. The trip over was nothing if not eventful. Delta could not keep up there end of the bargain and get us out of Atlanta on time (we sat on the tarmac for 1.5 hours)…and we missed our connector in Paris. We did get a flight within a few hours…but getting that done was a test of strength within itself. We opted for the earliest flight out on “Ukraine Airways”…something that raised both of our eyebrows…but we both slept the entire length of the flight…leaving all concerns behind. Our arrival in Kiev was a bit confusing…as we were not really sure of anything but the fact that someone would meet us…at some time…and take us…somewhere. After a few hours of people watching…a young man named Sergei arrived…and drove us about 40 minutes into the city center…and to our apartment. Dede was surprised to see a Shell station on the way in. I was not surprised to see three McDonald’s. We did pass the Hyatt-Regency (Diane)…which seemed to perk Dede up quite a bit.

We are in an older residential neighborhood. Well…of course…everything here is “older”…for the most part. There is a market on the corner…and several restaurants nearby…however…we cannot read word one on the menu…so dinner consisted of Power Bars that we hauled from home. Once we meet our translator…we will start a journal of food related words…so that we can learn how to navigate the menus better. I’m certain at the American based hotel chains…Hyatt…Radisson…they will have English on the menus as well. We will learn more in time. Then…there’s always that old stand-by…Mickey Ds.

The sun doesn’t drop around here until around 10pm…and greets us again by 4:30am…which Dede knows all too well this morning. There is no A/C…so we slept with windows wide open allowing for plenty of sunshine…very early. I am wide awake and writing this to you at 5:30am…and am heading out with my camera soon to capture the city at sunrise. Dede did not sleep very well…as her meeting is at 10am this morning…and the butterflies are settling in. Dima will pick us up around 9:30 this morning…and we are off to meeting number one where Dede will be given pictures of several children and will decide from these pictures which one/ones she would like to meet.



Great news. During my early morning outing…I found that the Radisson is just a few blocks away. They have free wi-fi throughout…so I will be able to post daily. I will post information on the meeting Wednesday afternoon. Stay tuned…

Dozustrchi…

The Nomad
…& Dede