BACK IN THE USA

I ended my last blog entry stating we had tickets to travel to the U.S., although I still feared something could go wrong. Fortunately, all went well and we were able to make it here as scheduled on Thursday, April 18. In that last blog I wrote of the difficulty in getting tickets since the U.S. would not accept any flight originating in Russia. I had to schedule a trip from St. Petersburg to Istanbul and then one from Istanbul to the U.S. This blog will be about our trip to give you some idea of how international travel is these days. It is, of course, completely personal stuff. So if you are interested more in the nature of international events you probably want to skip this one. 

Marina and I got up about 4:30 a.m. on Wednesday, April 17. Oksana’s mom had scheduled a taxi to take us to the airport. The plane was not scheduled to leave until 10:00, but they wanted us there two hours beforehand to check in our luggage. Luggage was a big concern for me. I weighed our 4 suitcases on our bathroom scales, and two of them came close to the 23 kg limit. Roman, Gabriel and Oksana’s parents all came over to see us off at 6:00 a.m. sharp. As we all hugged, it felt quite strange knowing we were leaving with no intention of returning any time soon. 

We arrived at Pulkovo airport in plenty of time. Marina was worried about having to translate for me. We had such a negative experience at Domodedova in Moscow with personnel who made communication difficult. I told her it was different at Pulkovo in St. Petersburg. It turns out I was correct. We communicated quite easily.  As I placed the biggest suitcase on the scales, I could see the lady knew I was worried. It came to exactly 23.0 kg. She gave me a big smile. She also spoke warmly to Marina.

She informed us, however, that we had too many suitcases. On the trip from Istanbul to the U.S. it stated we were allowed two suitcases each. I did not see on our tickets to Istanbul we were allowed only one suitcase each. My heart sank. Then she said we could take the smaller suitcase on board the aircraft with us–even though it obviously exceeded the weight limit. I asked if I could pay extra and get the other one loaded. Initially she said yes, but then she spoke to Marina in Russian (and I understood her), “Tell your daddy that I am going to go ahead and load this suitcase on the plane without charge. It is my gift to him.” I was pleasantly surprised at her kindness. 

We boarded the plane and took off on schedule. The flight was 6 hours. I did a little reading, but Marina and I talked a lot about what life would be like in America. They served meals as well, so that trip did not seem too long. It was my first time in Istanbul. I have never been anywhere in Turkey, in fact. As we approached the landing the scenery looked very beautiful.  We landed with no problems. 

The international airport there is huge. I first wanted to find out if they had a hotel in the airport, because our flight was scheduled to leave on Thursday at 6:10 a.m. It surprised me that we remained in the same time zone as Moscow. Everyone we stopped to ask questions spoke English. They did not speak English well, but everyone from airline personnel to the people at the food court spoke English well enough to help us.  

We finally found the hotel after a long walk. The room was nice, but not elaborate. It cost $220 per night. I thought that was a lot for the small room. I paid in dollars, but the lady did not have change. So I ended up paying $200 in cash, and I put $20 on my Venture One credit card. They accepted American credit cards and payment in dollars. 

After reserving the room and putting our suitcases there we went to the food court and ate at Burger King. I thought the prices there were also quite high. I got a large burger, fries and a soft drink, and Marina got chicken nuggets, fries and a small drink. Our cost was $25.00. The good news is I had been able to go to my Russian bank  (Sberbank) in Luga and get American dollars for my rubles. Therefore, I was able to pay for everything. 

The next morning we got up at 4:00 a.m. again. We went on down and checked our baggage. I had transferred some things from the big suitcase to Marina’s suitcase because it was much lighter. All the suitcases were received with no problems. The lady at the desk spoke freely with us and especially with Marina. Marina had colored her hair slightly with a dark red coloring. The lady at the counter had done exactly the same thing. I told her that they even looked alike, and she said she thought so as well! She checked all our luggage to Washington, D.C. She told me she could not check it to Charlotte because the U.S. requires that all baggage go through Custom inspections at D.C. 

We then proceeded to the proper gate to await boarding for our plane to Frankfurt. While we were sitting there an announcement came over the loudspeaker: “Marina Freeman, please report to the front desk.” My heart sank. What went wrong? We got to the front desk and there was the lady who checked us in. She told me that after we left she did not feel good about where she seated us for our flight from Frankfurt to the U.S. It is a 9 hour flight and she had put us in the center section, which has 4 seats across. She did not want Marina seated there. So she moved us to the window area where there are only two seats. We would be able to sit together more comfortably.

I was quite impressed and very thankful that this lady thought through what would be best for Marina. She went through reprocessing our tickets and then walked all the way to the gate to explain it to us. I thanked her profusely! She then turned to the gentleman who would be opening the gate for boarding and instructed him to allow Marina and me to board first. While things were expensive there, I obviously came away with a very positive impression of the people of Turkey. 

The flight from Istanbul to Frankfurt was about 3 hours and was uneventful. After arriving, we had to wait over 4 hours before boarding for the flight to D.C. This allowed us to eat and rest. They also accepted dollars so we never had to exchange currency. We went to the place where our gate was and were able to find enough empty seats to lie down. We both ended up taking a nap. 

We boarded the plane and did get our seats as promised. The only downside was that the group of German senior citizens around us was very loud! It was a long flight across the ocean, but I was prepared. I had brought some reading materials. I brought an old Greek New Testament I had purchased about 20 years prior.  I also had volume 1 of C.S. Lewis’ Narnia chronicles. I had read all of those except for the first one, “The Magician’s Nephew.” I had started with “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.” So I would read about 3 chapters of the Greek NT, then C.S. Lewis. There was also a screen on the seatback in front of us which showed movies. They brought around ear phones for everyone. I kept them in all the time to cover up the loud voices of the German group. I found a movie I had wanted to watch but never had–”Casino Royale.” I love James Bond movies, but somehow missed this one. So I would watch the movie for a while, then read Greek, then C.S. Lewis. They also frequently brought around snacks, coffee and meals. So the flight went pretty well for me. Marina was also able to occupy herself with reading, playing games on her phone, and watching children’s shows on the screen. 

The biggest problem we faced on our trip home occurred when we got to Dulles Airport in Washington, D.C. Upon arrival we wanted to hurry out because our flight to Charlotte, N.C. was leaving an hour and a half from our landing in D.C. Nevertheless, they made all of us with connecting flights board a bus to get to our luggage at Customs. Even after everyone was on board and the doors were closed we waited another 15 minutes. We all sat looking at our watches because we had flights to get to. I was quite tense. My little girl kept telling me to smile. She assured me that she was praying, and we would make it. The bus finally left for the location of our luggage, but then stopped again for no apparent reason. By the time we got to our luggage and had customs pass it, we were under time pressure for sure. 

We finally figured out the right direction to get to the proper gate, but it was a long way there. My little girl and I ran as fast as we could. I was really nervous. Marina kept saying, “Daddy, quit worrying. We will make it. I am praying.” She was right. After a long run, we did get to the gate just before it closed. After we boarded the plane Marina looked out and saw someone get turned away for being too late. The workers in all the airports we had been in were very concerned with helping passengers except for the one in the U.S. 

The flight to Charlotte went by very quickly. When we got to the baggage claim near the exit, we saw my brother waiting. We got our baggage, and his wife drove the car to pick us up. We finally were truly on our way home. After a two hour drive we arrived at his home. Marina slept all the way from the airport. 

We rested well on Friday, and my oldest son and two of his children came up to see us on Saturday. His youngest was not feeling well, so his wife stayed home with her. She was better the next day so we went down and spent Sunday afternoon with them. Marina was so happy to be with her American family, as was I. They had bought her a large bag of presents. I realized just how much we both had missed them. It was a delight. 

Monday I went to the bank to order checks. My account was still open, but I had no checks. I also ordered a debit card. Then I went to Verizon, and got new phones for Marina and me. As soon as they looked at my Russian phone they said there was no way they could use it. I explained my situation both to the customer service lady at the bank and the guys at the phone company. They all were very helpful, although I am having trouble getting our phones fully serviceable. It is more complicated here than in Russia. My next step is to buy a car and then find a place to live. We want to live near the school where my son is Chief Academic Officer. It is a Classical Christian school. Fortunately we are under no time pressure since my brother has plenty of room for us.  

I have not kept up closely with the news, of course. I was just relieved that no international crisis prevented us from getting to the U.S. I can already tell things are quite different here, especially with the economy. Right now I am focused on the family. We will go down to Charleston, S.C. tomorrow and visit with my son who lives there. He is going through a divorce so he lives alone. We will be near the beach, and we are looking forward to being on that sandy beach of South Carolina. I have not seen my family in six years, so this is a great joy. Marina Grace is loving it as well. It has been a long time since I have seen her so happy. Politics is important, but it is time to put such concerns aside for now. I miss the stability of Russia already, but I believe I am where we should be.