Day 12 (trip 2)

Wed., Dec 1.  Wow, Dec!  How did we get here??

We woke up on the train after a pretty good night.  Miss D slept all night and so did I!  Our train got in fairly early and we were met by our friend Niko’s wife.  The temp had dropped nearly 40 degrees and it was snowing!  We met with him and another family and quickly realized we would not all fit in his little 5 seater car.  Him and his wife, me, M and D, and Tom & Kari and their newly sprung kiddos – Victor and Sosie.  So M, D, and I were put into a cab and sent off to our apt for our stay in Kiev.  The driver was nice enough, but didn’t speak any english and couldn’t help us with the heat or let us know if there was internet.  Before Niko sent us off, he said he would pick us up later for our 1st embassy appt.  So we settled in, got D a little lunch and nap, and waited to be picked up.  Instead we got a phone call; Niko isn’t coming, look for a cab.  Great.  We stopped at some random looking building and the driver indicated we should go to it.

So it turns out the embassy is a back-alley looking not-at-all nice looking building where security takes your gummy bears and your cell phone.  Yes, they speak english but they’re still Ukrainian and typically not very cordial.  Our appt goes well and I (believe it or not) managed to bring the correct paperwork!  So the lady tells us what to bring from the clinic appt and what to fill out that night.  We’re done and we exit the building, where we find it’s still snowing and cold, and they don’t let you back in the little security building so I’m standing out on the street, with a baby, in the snow, trying to call for a ride and wondering how long I will have to wait to get one.  I was really upset about that and almost in tears.  It was cold.  Niko showed up pretty quickly but we had the other family to wait for so we sat in his cold car for over an hour.

We got dropped off at the apt and M was ready to go out for dinner!  So we called someone I was hoping was still in Kiev, and she called back and after a round of phone calls looking for a cab, we met them at an italian restaurant for dinner.  We had a great time!  Thanks Mike and Meredith!  Another cab ride back to the apt and we settled in for the night.