Welcome to Eastern Europe...

now try not to die! HA! We arrived safely a few hours ago, got through the airport, met Nadya, our translator, and now we are in our apartment right in the middle of the city. Frank is trying to find something he understands on TV. :)

Some first observations:

They have a lot of the same cars we have... BMWs EVERYWHERE... I've seen Toyotas and Nissans and Mazdas and Kias and a bunch of other familiar names... and then of course a few I've never heard of... and people drive CRAZY. I will never complain about Frank's driving again. At least for a little while.

The Golden Arches of McDonald's need no translation.

It's fun to try to figure out what the billboards are saying, and make up silly things you THINK they could be selling instead. :)

The apartment buildings here are HUGE, and they are everywhere! I can't imagine how many thousands of people live in this city.

OK more observations later...


When Nadya picked us up from the airport she informed us that there is a really serious epidemic going on here right now... some type of pneumonia type virus is spreading and has killed almost 200 people in the last 2 days. Schools and businesses are closing down and people everywhere are wearing flu masks... and there are no more flu masks to buy anywhere! Please be praying that we stay WELL. We are going to be very smart. We have lots of sanitizing wipes with us. Also, please pray that Kellsey is ok!! Nadya didn't know if this has affected Kellsey's baby home or not... or if it will shut down to visitors because of it. She said that we should still be able to get IN but she doesn't know how often we'll get to go. They need to protect the kids there.

So, what's next? It is just after 4:00 PM here right now. We are going to try to stay awake until tonight. Exchange some money, grab some dinner, and crash early. Tomorrow we are on our own to lay low, rest up, and explore the city (but not let anyone breathe on us! haha). Monday morning at 11:00 is our SDA appointment where they will give us Kellsey's referral. We will confirm she is the one we want and then we need to wait for a paper saying we can go visit her. Hopefully we can get this by Monday afternoon, otherwise we'll have to wait until Tuesday morning to see her. I feel like we're in the Army right now: Hurry up and wait! :)

I talked to my mom and the kids are all doing well. HI GUYS!!!! WE MISS YOU!!!! They have an exciting week coming up so I know that time is going to fly for them, too! :)

Frank looks somewhat amused by what he found on TV... I don't think it's English though... hmmmm... LOL. More babble from me later!