MAY 7 2005 - We're here!

We got in early this morning (1am Saturday morning) to Almaty after a 7 hour layover in Amsterdam. We have been blessed beyond anything we could imagine. Neither of us travel internationally much, so were in for a real surprise. I knew that flying Business Class would be bigger and roomier seats but I forgot all about the white cloth service, the champagne waiting for you at your seat, the full reclining seats and the hot cloths to freshen up. It made the long trip very very comfortable. That and the first 4 episodes of 24. We need to ration them to last the next 8 weeks! I knew all the thousands of dollars on my Delta Amex spent at Tuesday Morning and TJ Maxx would add up! Who says spending is a bad thing? I'm sure Dub and Jack will thank their benefactor for their upgrade. I was surprised that the plane was almost empty, though.

Also, Kevin has 3 words for anyone traveling on a long flight: noise cancelling headphones. You can get the Bose version ($300), or you can get the RadioShack version like we did for a 10th of the Bose cost. One of the main reasons you feel so beat up and weary after a long plane trip is because of the ever present and overwhelming noise of the engines. One AAA battery in these headphones takes care of that in a hurry. And the aforementioned episodes of "24" were much more enjoyable because we could hear every little nuance in the low-talking drama.

And for our 7 hour layover when we were so tired, we got into the KLM Crown Room to sit in leather seats and have a place to plug in our laptop (airline seats did NOT have power supply) and drink unlimited Coke Light and nap. Another great blessing. We never would have thought of this, but there were signs everywhere, so we just asked if we could use the lounge. Wow. Made the hardest part of this trip enjoyable.

The only glitch was when we arrived in Almaty. We were a bit nervous after being warned how Immigration was run by the military, and we went to the wrong document counter. The first round table, with signage of "Declarations", to the left when you enter the passport control area downstairs is the MIGRATION card. Even says so right on the form. We didn't see that and thought it was a customs form then we couldn't find the migration card. DIdn't know we already had it. Passport control was easy, baggage was very quick to come out. Then we got confused. We went the customs (a tiny little room) and they were just finished going through someone's bag. I told them I had american money to claim and told her how much. She just waived me away. I tried again and she said "What for? Adoption?" and I said yes and she waived me away again. Oh well. No form to claim our money and didn't have to count or anything. Scares me a little becuase if you leave with more USD than when you arrived, they can take it all but $1500. So we went through the glass walls separating the waiting area from the international gates (they need to match up your luggage tickets- haven't done that in USA in years) and it took us a second to figure out what they were asking for. We looked all around for our contact, Marina, who we told would be waiting with a sign for us. The exit was so crowded with people waiting for their loved ones, that it was like going through a spanking machine just to get out the door. We didn't see her so we figured maybe she was just a little late and moved to the side to wait. The very agressive taxi drivers would NOT leave us alone. Kept harassing us to drive us but we kept saying no, our ride will come. So we went and sat and waited for about an hour and she never showed up. I knew I had her cell number and went to find a phone. Then realized I had to change some dollars into Tenge, then realized the phone required a phone card- not cash. Thank God, one of the harassing taxi drivers came to help me buy a card and use the phone. I called Marina, though I was a bit flustered to call at 2am. What if her roomate or husband or mom answered I couldn't speak Russian? So she answered and I said Marina? and she said "no" and so I used whatlittle Russian I learned: "Do you understand English" came out and we were able to talk. There was just a mis-communication and she thought we were coming in on Saturday night (Sunday am at 1:00am). She was very apologetic and said she'd be there in 20 min and she was. We were taken to our hotel, the hotel Tien-Shan which is very nice, very roomy and a nice big hot shower.

The funny thing is that Thursday morning (we left at 5pm EDT Thursday) we got a call from our agency. They were asking if we had left yet, because our driver was about to go pick us up. We said, "no, we don't leave until tonite." The agency had been confused and told them we got in on Friday at 1am instead of Saturday at 1am. Then turns out that when they called her back to tell her not to go to the airport right then, that we got in Sunday at 1am. That turned out to be the miscommiunication.

No worries. We are here and somewhat rested and have a few free days. We leave by train tomorrow (Sunday) night for Taraz and then Monday is a holiday, Victory Day, the 60th anniversary of the Soviet victory over fascist Germany WWII. So as we suspected, Kevin is going to get a great birthday present- to meet our new sons. It is very nice to be able to be here and not be rushed. We get to enjoy a day in Almaty and a day in Taraz to explore.

Thank you all for your support and prayers. God has certainly cleared our path to adopt the boys He chose for us.

Blessings,
Angel and Kevin