I was really hoping to come back to Odessa when the passport is ready, pick up Raya, go to Kiev, get the visa and fly home, all in less than one week. What a wishful thinking! Apparently, it's not going to happen :( I didn't think we'll have a problem getting a birth certificate - I haven't read one adoption blog yet with the birth certificate problem! But I guess our Ukrainian heritage is doing us a disservice again: the bureaucrats are having a hard time dealing with former Ukrainians, but now "rich" Americans :) Who's rich here? Definitely not us. But in their eyes we are rich - living in our own house (they don’t understand we have 23 years more to pay the mortgage), driving 2 cars (again, no understanding about the car loans), etc. So I'm coming back to start the second part of the process: getting a birth certificate, new ID code, applying for the passport, etc.
This time I've decided to buy a one-way ticket. Since I don't know when I'll be coming back, I don't want the hassle of changing tickets. One-way ticket costs about the same as a half of round-trip ticket plus about $150-200 changing fee, so I feel it makes sense to buy one-way ticket. I used the same online travel engine www.airfarenow.com, it specializes in the tickets to Europe. When I booked our tickets for the first trip to Ukraine, I was very surprised to find out that it was cheaper to buy Aerosvit tickets on this site compare to Aerosvit.com. And not only Aerosvit! After flying by a 2-star airline, I wanted to try something different. Especially because this time I don’t have to go to Kiev first, so I can fly from JFK to Odessa with just one connection. I heard a lot of good things about Austrian Airlines, which is supposedly a 4-star airline, so I booked Austrian Airlines tickets flying from JFK on January 14th, connecting in Vienna and arriving to Odessa on January 15th. And this time I’m flying with one half-empty suitcase :) I would fly with carry-on only, but Raya has some stuff she’d like to take with her, so we’ll share my suitcase!
Just for fun I tried to price the same tickets on Austrian Airlines web page. One-way ticket was almost 4 times more expensive, and a half of round-trip ticket was about 50% more expensive! Buying one-way ticket will also give me more flexibility on the way home, because I’ll have more choices buying tickets for both of us.
Raisa is doing good, though she’s very disappointed she won’t celebrate New Year’s holiday with us. New Year’s is a main holiday in Ukraine with all attributes of Christmas: decorated tree, gifts, Grandfather Frost (Ukrainian version of Santa Claus), etc. School break starts on December 29th and continues until about January 14th. During the break there are many activities for kids that involve Grandfather Frost and his granddaughter “Snegurochka”, so Raya is looking forward to all these activities! Even though we won’t celebrate the holidays together this year, we’ll see each other very soon. Just 3 more weeks…
P.S. MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
This time I've decided to buy a one-way ticket. Since I don't know when I'll be coming back, I don't want the hassle of changing tickets. One-way ticket costs about the same as a half of round-trip ticket plus about $150-200 changing fee, so I feel it makes sense to buy one-way ticket. I used the same online travel engine www.airfarenow.com, it specializes in the tickets to Europe. When I booked our tickets for the first trip to Ukraine, I was very surprised to find out that it was cheaper to buy Aerosvit tickets on this site compare to Aerosvit.com. And not only Aerosvit! After flying by a 2-star airline, I wanted to try something different. Especially because this time I don’t have to go to Kiev first, so I can fly from JFK to Odessa with just one connection. I heard a lot of good things about Austrian Airlines, which is supposedly a 4-star airline, so I booked Austrian Airlines tickets flying from JFK on January 14th, connecting in Vienna and arriving to Odessa on January 15th. And this time I’m flying with one half-empty suitcase :) I would fly with carry-on only, but Raya has some stuff she’d like to take with her, so we’ll share my suitcase!
Just for fun I tried to price the same tickets on Austrian Airlines web page. One-way ticket was almost 4 times more expensive, and a half of round-trip ticket was about 50% more expensive! Buying one-way ticket will also give me more flexibility on the way home, because I’ll have more choices buying tickets for both of us.
Raisa is doing good, though she’s very disappointed she won’t celebrate New Year’s holiday with us. New Year’s is a main holiday in Ukraine with all attributes of Christmas: decorated tree, gifts, Grandfather Frost (Ukrainian version of Santa Claus), etc. School break starts on December 29th and continues until about January 14th. During the break there are many activities for kids that involve Grandfather Frost and his granddaughter “Snegurochka”, so Raya is looking forward to all these activities! Even though we won’t celebrate the holidays together this year, we’ll see each other very soon. Just 3 more weeks…
P.S. MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
9 comments:
It's good that you've done so much research on airline ticket fares as it's sure saving you a great deal of money.
Bummer about the hassle that you are experiencing since you are now a "wealthly" American (not).
I'm impressed that you are able to travel so lightly. I've never managed to do that so give you a round of applause.
Have a Merry Christmas with your family. Next year will be even better with Raya here.
Merry Christmas!! It won't be long now and you'll have her back in your arms. Good thinking on the tickets. I'm book marking this post so when we're ready to buy tickets we can check it out.
N-
We had the same problem with the birth certificate. Our facilitator was supposed to be able to apply for the bc and have it in hand so when we got there we could apply for the tax ID and then the passport. THey wouldn't let her get the bc, I had already booked my flight in, and that put us behind about 3 days by the time we could start the process. While adopting in Odessa has its advantages, namely location, it has very poignant disadvantages, namely a difficult system. I'm sorry that you're experiencing the same speed bump as I did. Hopefully the remainder of the process will fly by. Good call flying one way and going with Austrian. Aerosvit was great on price, but terrible otherwise. I'm so glad I flew another airline on the second trip! I hope you enjoy this day with your family. Blessings!
Merry Christmas!
So sorry that you are having problems with a birth certificate. It shouldn't be this hard but for some reason they have to make it this way. It will all be over soon and all this will be ancient history. Easier said, I know...
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
We hope that the birth certificate problem gets worked out. We will still be in Odessa when you get back, hopefully waiting on the passports by that time. God bless and have a safe trip.
Thank you for you comment.
And Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you too.
God bless you and your trip back Ukraine. Good luck.
Hello Nataliya,
I am so excited about your impending journey back! Rachel (Raisia) looks just beautiful in all of your pictures; I can't wait to read about her progress as she joins your family!
PS... The book we are reading is "When Love is Not Enough" by Nancy Thomas
Not all of the ideas work for Marie but it is full of really useful and imaginative discipline and parenting ideas.
Best of luck!
Happy New Year" I know it's a very important holiday in your homeland.
What's new as your blog is from last week? Look forward to your update.
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