After the little nightmare in Frankfurt, the USAir flight over the ocean was relatively without event except for having to pay $5 for earphones in order to watch the in flight movies. Otherwise, I can only recommend USAir.
We landed in Charlotte and fortunately we beat several other flights so we were near the beginning of the immigration line. After a bit of finger scanning and passport sliding, we were told to pick up our luggage and go to an immigration holding pin. Since our luggage was probably still enjoying pretzels in Germany, we waited till there was no more luggage and then went to immigration. The clock was ticking. One hour and twenty minutes to make it through immigration. We approached a counter where our file was, some more meandering and piddling, then we were told to wait in the pin. Our hearts sank when we saw the room was packed. Fortunately, though, we waited not too long, were called back, Lena was fingerprinted again, and we were off to the gate in the very lovely Charlotte airport. Frankfurt, take a hint from Charlotte. Signs that made sense. A pleasant bathroom. Etc.
The 30-minute flight to Knoxville did not have a beverage service. A big minus for people too cheap to pay $2.30 for an airport Coke. My parents were waiting for us but our luggage did not make it. A claim was filed and we were on our way to buy a toothbrush, some underwear, shirts, and shampoo since we were heading straight for Gatlinburg. I drove. Ugh.
It was a bit startling to be in Gatlinburg without luggage and with all the family. But it was mostly restful. The midnight Fourth of July parade was a little much but the mountain air was great. We also went to a black bear habitat and enjoyed that. Did some more shopping since our luggage was still being tracked.
The oddest thing was going to McDonalds for breakfast with my dad. The person who took our order was named Anastasia. The accent gave it away and she was not a little surprised to hear us break into Russian. She was on Work and Travel like so many of our friends in Kyiv. Later, as we were leaving the mountains, we ate at Wendys and there the entire crew except the managers were Russian-speakers. That was particularly odd.
For Independence Day, we went to church, ate some watermelon, and enjoyed the Athens fireworks. And some cotton candy there. Exhausted we were and still hoping our luggage would show up.
Finally, two bags appeared Thursday night. The other two showed up Saturday evening.
We are still getting over jet lag. I always have these horrible allergic reactions and have switched over to some prescription strength stuff to make sure I continue to breathe.
Lena is working on her last MBA class. I am working on some legal and financial matters. Lena is also getting in some driving practice. I'm not the best teacher, but mostly I think she is ready for the driving part of the test. She just needs to get in some more practice. This Monday we sort of go back to work. We are packing up stuff in boxes and have taken it to my brother's house for storage and sorting. We are going to be in Nashville this weekend for our visit with Acklen Avenue church. We are also selling some of our stuff on Amazon. If you are interested in some high quality business textbooks, let us know. We can make a great deal for you.
Please pray for us as we go through these changes in life. At times, it's incredibly overwhelming. We are still concerned about our friends and family in Ukraine. We don't yet know who our friends will be in Abilene (except Judy, Joe, and Keylin--thanks for calling Saturday!). I was in the grocery store a little today and just had to leave because when I glanced over at the butter section as I pondered making an apple pie for the family, I was taken back by all the choices. It's going to take some dexterity to buy butter. Every label has to be looked at and read. We aren't exactly sure where things are. And we cringe at the prices. We walked out of a cell/mobile phone store in disgust. Clothes are incredibly cheap in America (if bought on the 70% clearance section) though but some food seems incredibly expensive. $2 for a loaf of mediocre bread? Guess I am going to have to make my own. I did retrieve my cookbook from the luggage. Back to the kitchen soon. I am still looking for my koine Greek cards.
So things have slowed down a bit.
We landed in Charlotte and fortunately we beat several other flights so we were near the beginning of the immigration line. After a bit of finger scanning and passport sliding, we were told to pick up our luggage and go to an immigration holding pin. Since our luggage was probably still enjoying pretzels in Germany, we waited till there was no more luggage and then went to immigration. The clock was ticking. One hour and twenty minutes to make it through immigration. We approached a counter where our file was, some more meandering and piddling, then we were told to wait in the pin. Our hearts sank when we saw the room was packed. Fortunately, though, we waited not too long, were called back, Lena was fingerprinted again, and we were off to the gate in the very lovely Charlotte airport. Frankfurt, take a hint from Charlotte. Signs that made sense. A pleasant bathroom. Etc.
The 30-minute flight to Knoxville did not have a beverage service. A big minus for people too cheap to pay $2.30 for an airport Coke. My parents were waiting for us but our luggage did not make it. A claim was filed and we were on our way to buy a toothbrush, some underwear, shirts, and shampoo since we were heading straight for Gatlinburg. I drove. Ugh.
It was a bit startling to be in Gatlinburg without luggage and with all the family. But it was mostly restful. The midnight Fourth of July parade was a little much but the mountain air was great. We also went to a black bear habitat and enjoyed that. Did some more shopping since our luggage was still being tracked.
The oddest thing was going to McDonalds for breakfast with my dad. The person who took our order was named Anastasia. The accent gave it away and she was not a little surprised to hear us break into Russian. She was on Work and Travel like so many of our friends in Kyiv. Later, as we were leaving the mountains, we ate at Wendys and there the entire crew except the managers were Russian-speakers. That was particularly odd.
For Independence Day, we went to church, ate some watermelon, and enjoyed the Athens fireworks. And some cotton candy there. Exhausted we were and still hoping our luggage would show up.
Finally, two bags appeared Thursday night. The other two showed up Saturday evening.
We are still getting over jet lag. I always have these horrible allergic reactions and have switched over to some prescription strength stuff to make sure I continue to breathe.
Lena is working on her last MBA class. I am working on some legal and financial matters. Lena is also getting in some driving practice. I'm not the best teacher, but mostly I think she is ready for the driving part of the test. She just needs to get in some more practice. This Monday we sort of go back to work. We are packing up stuff in boxes and have taken it to my brother's house for storage and sorting. We are going to be in Nashville this weekend for our visit with Acklen Avenue church. We are also selling some of our stuff on Amazon. If you are interested in some high quality business textbooks, let us know. We can make a great deal for you.
Please pray for us as we go through these changes in life. At times, it's incredibly overwhelming. We are still concerned about our friends and family in Ukraine. We don't yet know who our friends will be in Abilene (except Judy, Joe, and Keylin--thanks for calling Saturday!). I was in the grocery store a little today and just had to leave because when I glanced over at the butter section as I pondered making an apple pie for the family, I was taken back by all the choices. It's going to take some dexterity to buy butter. Every label has to be looked at and read. We aren't exactly sure where things are. And we cringe at the prices. We walked out of a cell/mobile phone store in disgust. Clothes are incredibly cheap in America (if bought on the 70% clearance section) though but some food seems incredibly expensive. $2 for a loaf of mediocre bread? Guess I am going to have to make my own. I did retrieve my cookbook from the luggage. Back to the kitchen soon. I am still looking for my koine Greek cards.
So things have slowed down a bit.
posted by Kyivmission at 8:28 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home