It started at about 5:00 Friday morning. I finished packing. Well, there really isn't a specific time that I can point to say "I'm done." I was packing, repacking, unpacking, prepacking, sorting, and arranging right up until my ride came to take me to the airport. And I still forgot to take toilet paper!
The airline said I should arrive at the airport three hours before the plane was scheduled to leave. So I did. I got to the airport, got in line for International Coach Check-In, waited all of 15 or 20 seconds, was called up to the counter, and checked in. One bag checked, and essentials in a carry-on in case the checked bag got lost. With the short line at check-in, I ended up killing time for almost three hours until they started boarding.
The flight to Detroit was pretty uneventful. Only took about an hour and a half, so there was really no chance to get any sleep. In Detroit, it turns out my connecting flight to Amsterdam was several concourses away! So I headed out and went to the courtesy shuttle. Waited there for a few minutes before someone mentioned that it would probably be another ten minutes, and it would be quicker to walk to the gate where the flight to Amsterdam was boarding. Since the monitors said that all passengers had to be on board by 6:50 (the flight leaves at 7:10) and it was already 6:35, several of us decided to hoof-it. So off we dashed.
We needn't have bothered. I got to the gate and the place was absolutely packed! Couldn't even fit another sardine in there. And it was hot! They started boarding at about 6:45. There was no way they would be able to get everyone onboard by 6:50. I didn't get to board until 7:15. It was a complete mad-house.
The flight finally took off. It went smoothly, and after they served dinner, I was able to catch about three hours of sleep. Even after taking off late, we got into Amsterdam on time. (Had a good tailwind that made up time.) So now I have a two hour layover, the longest I've ever had, I think, and the gate for my connection to Kiev was only a few gates down. Figures. The Amsterdam airport is almost smoke-free. But I found a section hidden behind one of the shops that had a smoking area. So I spent some time there, then went over to the gate and finished waiting there.
The flight to Kiev started boarding almost on time. But then it turns out we had to wait for a group of about 25 people. So we ended up starting a half-hour late. It was a two and a half hour flight. I managed to cat-nap a little, maybe getting another hour of sleep. We made up a little time enroute, but we were still late getting into Kiev. I wondered how long Iryna had been waiting for me.
The Borispol Airport in Kiev doesn't have jetways. We deplaned on the tarmac, and picked up a shuttle bus to the terminal. Once in the terminal, I spotted the place you go to buy insurance. Someone said it wasn't required anymore, but I figured it was still a good idea. Especially since 15 days of insurance coverage only cost $6.00. The building had a cement floor, and cement walls. And it was hot and crowded!
Then I got in one of the very long lines to the passport check-through booths. I slowly shuffled forward in the line for about 15 minutes. I finally got to the booth, and the guy asked me where I had come from. I told him Minneapolis. He looked up at me and said something like, "I don't know this place. Where you come from?" I finally got it through my fifteen-hours-enroute-exhausted brain that he wanted to know where this plane came from. Amsterdam! He asked a couple other perfunctory questions that I don't even recall. Then he stamped my passport and visa, and I was into the customs area.
There were a couple of tables with customs declaration forms. But they were all in Ukrainian! No forms in English anywhere. Another guy and I tried to fill it out anyway, but weren't doing very well. I flagged down one of the officials, and asked her if they had any forms in English. After a few minutes some guy came over with a stack of forms in English. So I filled it all out. I had to guess at several things because the instructions weren't entirely clear. What do you expect from a government form?
With the form filled out, I moved into the next room, where there were once again a bunch of long lines. I was about to get into a line when a uniformed lady rushed up and said something mostly unintelligible. I figured I had done something wrong and was already in trouble, but she was pointing at an X-ray machine, so I got the point. I went over and put my bags on the conveyor, picked them up at the output end, and then finally got in line.
When I was almost to the front of the line, I caught sight of Iryna as the doors opened to let someone out. She had a big smile on her face and was waving at me. We managed to wave a couple of times as the door opened and closed. What a welcome sight she was!
How many times have I heard the story about some poor sap who waited in line, only to get to the front just as the booth was closing? Too many to count. How many times did I believe it? A few. How many times did I figure that would happen to me? None. Well, it did. The guy in front of me finished with the customs guy and headed out. So did the customs guy.
So I switched lines and finally made it to the front again. The customs guy had a few questions about stuff I put on the form (government form plus bad instructions equals fill-out errors) but those were handled pretty quickly. Then he pointed past him, indicating I should "Go there." The guy in front of me had "gone there" and the customs guy had followed him and inspected his bags. So I figured I was in for the same treatment.
But the customs guy didn't follow. So I stood there for a while cooling my heels. I caught the eye of another customs official who was walking by and asked if I was done. The first guy turned around and saw I was still standing there. He gave me a "what, you actually want me to inspect your bags?" look, made shooing motions and said, "go, go!" Not one to tempt fate, I "went, went" out the door and into the waiting arms of Iryna. Nothing like a good hug from a pretty woman to take the edge off!
Iryna, the driver, Natasha the interpreter, and I then went out to the car. We loaded my bags in the trunk and got in. But the driver couldn't find his keys. We finally figured out that he must have locked them in the trunk while we put my bags in. So he went off to get some help, and Iryna, Natasha, and I hunkered down for a long wait.
About Iryna. She looked quite lovely! And there were sparks. Immediate and plentyful sparks! Of course with all those sparks flying around, they confused both Iryna and me, so we didn't get much said, even with the translator there. We managed a few coherent phrases, but mostly just grinned stupidly.
The driver and his new-found buddies finally broke the lock open on the trunk, so we were off! I found out that it would be a five hour trip to Vinnitsa! Oh goody, five hours of trying to think of things to say. This was going to be just great! There was some conversation going, and the driver put on some music, but it was starting to look pretty bleak.
Then I did something pretty uncharacteristic of me, and I only did it because I didn't let myself think about it and talk myself out of it. I reached for Iryna's hand. At first she didn't seem to understand, but after a couple seconds took a week to go by, she got the hint and gave me her hand. So I held it. And I kept holding it, even after we were both getting sweaty hands. I didn't want to let go because I figured I wouldn't get the nerve up to do it again.
I finally had to let go at some point for a reason I don't recall. But once my hands were free again, Iryna offered her hand to me before I even had a chance to chicken out! Another crisis averted! Later, since the hand-holding was going so well, I even got up the courage to put my arm around her. And that went pretty well, too!
We stopped at a road-side bar-b-que type place where they cooked meat over hot coals. We ordered some up and sat at a picnic table. The driver went and got some beers (pretty good, too. A local brew) and did the customary "To Meeting" toast. There was a little confusion when I failed to "bottoms-up", but I got it right on the next pass, so everything was ok. I was then going to try a toast myself, so said, "to adventure!" and prompty spilled my beer all over myself. Natasha said, "your prediction came true!" and we all had a good laugh. Earlier in the car I had offered Iryna the water bottle and spilled on her. So I said that Iryna was lucky that I only spilled water on her. That got more laughs.
We finally got to Vinnitsa, and to the building my apartment is in. I found myself in a poorly lighted hallway that looked more like an unfinished basement. The driver pushed the elevator call button, and a light periodically went on and off behind a bunch of numbers. Apparently, it was showing the floors the elevator was on, but since the whole panel lit up, there was no way to tell until the doors opened.
We piled into this tiny elevator and hit the button for the 14th floor. The elevator started making some seriously unhealthy noises, but the others didn't pay it any mind, so I tried not to. We arrived safely on the correct floor, and I said a quick prayer of thanks. The driver took out the apartment keys -- two of them -- and unlocked both locks by turning each key three full times. Each key controlled three separate deadbolts!
But the apartment itself was very nice. After everyone left, I sat around for a while drinking boiled and rechilled water, and reflected on the day. It really was a day for the books. Long flight (more than 13 hours in the air, plus layovers), new country, no air conditioning, strange customs, illegible government forms, shaky elevators, strange language, dangerous water, who knew what kind of food, hot, sticky, tired, and I couldn't have been happier than as was at that moment!