According to my calculations, and I never was very good at math, it took us 35 hours door to door from Hanoi back home to Easton, Maryland.
Now that does include all the time we were in motion, whether flying or not. I'm so knackered I can hardly right but just want to let my faithful readers know that we made it home safe and sound.
I cannot recommend Thai Airways more highly. They are a fantastic airline and have picked up on service where the Americans left off decades ago. The 17-hour flight from Bangkok to JFK is nothing short of long but it was very comfortable as we were sitting in premium economy (a compromise b/w economy and business class) AND a baby bassinet which is a must for all travelers who are waiting to go to Vietnam.
First off, with the baby bassinet, the baby has a place to sleep (and sleep they do!) and you don't have to hold the baby for the entire flight. I mean there's bonding and then there's BONDING. Also, b/c the bassient has to attach to the wall, you get seats in the bulkhead which is always a wee bit spacier.
The kids were excellent for the traveling part. Max had a meltdown here or there but I had my own share of them as well so who could blame him? Both he and Mols fell asleep from Hanoi to Bangkok. Too bad for Max because when we arrived in Bangkok, there were huge airplanes all around us on the tarmac - a scene he would have loved but there was no waking that boy up. (Did I tell you that the Vietnamese always called Max "boy"? and then cup him affectionately on the face?)
Molly did wake up though and was ready to party during our 2 hour lay-over. Soon after boarding the flight bound for JFK, we all fell asleep (it was 12:40 a.m.) except for Max who watched "Meet the Robinsons" on his own private screen. I think he stayed up til 4. But then he slept.
Lots of food being served and lots of cheap cat naps. The air hostesses kept the cabins dark except for during meals which was kind of weird. And once again I was thrilled we were flying through the Arctic Circle. Over China, Siberia, the North Pole and then Canada. I loved lookng at the polar ice caps from 36,000 feet above.
Our flight arrived on time and had a wonderful touch down. I was psyched because for the first time in years I didn't take any medicine to fly. No fear, no panic attacks, not even anxiety. I think it is b/c I'm so focused on the kids I don't have time to indulge in my emotional stuff.
We breezed through immigration and customs which kind of surprised me because we were importing an "alien" as our government likes to term our adopted babies. Do your think they could come up with a kinder word?
Then we had a 3 hour wait to Dulles. We were tempted to rent a car and just drive home. It would have taken the same amount of time but as it turned out, it would have been quicker.
After boarding the oversold flight, we were told the plane couldn't not take off for another hour b/c there were 35 planes in front of us on the runway. Here we were so close to home and time seemed to slow slower than a snail's pace. Both kids were crying on the plane during the wait and I was half expecting to be evicted at some point but we never were.
Alas, the plane got going and we flew the 40 minute flight to Dulles quite uneventfully. We were met by Tom's Mom and step father who drove all the way over from Easton to pick up. It was so wonderful to be met at the airport by someone we loved and wanted to see. Remember in the old days when people used to meet you at the airport?: Those days are so gone.
Anyway, the closer we got to home the longer it seeemd to take to get there. We did finally make it, after Tom's 85 year old step-father gave Molly a tour of the most important monuments in Washington, D.C. A big deal for a little girl on her first day in America! Rather approrpriate though.
My brain wants to keep writing but my eyes keep closing so I've got to sign off now. More later. And it's so darned nice to be home. I didn't realize how much I missed it til we got home.
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Friday, July 27, 2007
Leaving on a Jet Plane
Good news!
Two enormous pieces of the puzzle to return home came together this afternoon. Molly got a thumbs up to fly around 2 p.m. from our favorite doctor. Her lungs are still crackling a wee bit but sound so much better than yesterday. We've got an inhaler/puffer for her during the flight and Actifed to keep her comfortable.
And then after days of being on the wait list, we got three seats confirmed this afternoon to fly out tonight. We're not all sitting together, at the moment, but I'm hoping someone will take pity on us and let our happy family fly together. We're grateful to be flying out tonight because it doesn't like we'd get seats again til Tuesday. I am glad we can all rise to the occasion to be spontaneous. You've never seen two people organize the troops and pack so quickly.
So a very quick farewell to Hanoi. I need to hop in the shower before we embark on our 30 hour journey home. I'm just hoping that someone will be on the other end to pick us up when we get to Washington.
We're sad to leave our new friends here who haven't heard from the embassy yet. Meeting them has been an unanticipated bonus of this whole experience. We've vowed to stay in touch so that our babies can be in contact over the years, having shared similar stories and possibly even the same crib. These little infants are as close to family as they've ever known.
To all of you who prayed for Molly, thanks! She's definitely on the mend and we can't wait for you to meet her.
The oddest thing I saw today: Some dude on a motorbike carry five globes in big boxes tied together with twine. He has the whole world in his hands.
My favorite absurd observation of the day: The stratospheres of wealth in Vietnam are enormous and go from the tippy top to the bottom. There's something for everyone and the Vietnamese are very industrious people. Take, for example, the guy on the street corner who fixes flat tires. One could easily walk by him and think "oh, he's just napping on the sidewalk." But really, if someone on a bicycle needs to get a flat tire fixed or a few bursts of air inflated in their tire for good measure, this is the man to see. You will recognize him because he has an old-fashioned bicycle pump and a dirty plastic dish of water (to find out where the leaks are.) I wonder if AAA covers his services.
Tom's yelling at me from the other room to get moving. Max needs to get dressed and we have to wake Molly up.
May our travels be blessed with safety and ease.
More later.
Two enormous pieces of the puzzle to return home came together this afternoon. Molly got a thumbs up to fly around 2 p.m. from our favorite doctor. Her lungs are still crackling a wee bit but sound so much better than yesterday. We've got an inhaler/puffer for her during the flight and Actifed to keep her comfortable.
And then after days of being on the wait list, we got three seats confirmed this afternoon to fly out tonight. We're not all sitting together, at the moment, but I'm hoping someone will take pity on us and let our happy family fly together. We're grateful to be flying out tonight because it doesn't like we'd get seats again til Tuesday. I am glad we can all rise to the occasion to be spontaneous. You've never seen two people organize the troops and pack so quickly.
So a very quick farewell to Hanoi. I need to hop in the shower before we embark on our 30 hour journey home. I'm just hoping that someone will be on the other end to pick us up when we get to Washington.
We're sad to leave our new friends here who haven't heard from the embassy yet. Meeting them has been an unanticipated bonus of this whole experience. We've vowed to stay in touch so that our babies can be in contact over the years, having shared similar stories and possibly even the same crib. These little infants are as close to family as they've ever known.
To all of you who prayed for Molly, thanks! She's definitely on the mend and we can't wait for you to meet her.
The oddest thing I saw today: Some dude on a motorbike carry five globes in big boxes tied together with twine. He has the whole world in his hands.
My favorite absurd observation of the day: The stratospheres of wealth in Vietnam are enormous and go from the tippy top to the bottom. There's something for everyone and the Vietnamese are very industrious people. Take, for example, the guy on the street corner who fixes flat tires. One could easily walk by him and think "oh, he's just napping on the sidewalk." But really, if someone on a bicycle needs to get a flat tire fixed or a few bursts of air inflated in their tire for good measure, this is the man to see. You will recognize him because he has an old-fashioned bicycle pump and a dirty plastic dish of water (to find out where the leaks are.) I wonder if AAA covers his services.
Tom's yelling at me from the other room to get moving. Max needs to get dressed and we have to wake Molly up.
May our travels be blessed with safety and ease.
More later.
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Waiting in limbo again
Checking in to say that it looks like our departure is on hold yet again. This time it's not the embassy or any other paperwork chasing but something completely unanticipated.
Our precious Molly has just been diagnosed with broncheolitis which is certainly something we don't want to fly with. When I took her to the SOS clinic yesterday afternoon (our fourth visit in two weeks) her breathing was so raspy, shallow and wheezy. I was afraid at first that perhaps I was over-reacting and didn't really need to go to the clinic but with the impending flight, I really wanted someone to listen to her lungs.
I'm glad I listened to my intuition.
So from an ear infection, she's also had bronchitis and now broncheolitis. Some of the other kids have been diagnosed with the same and it's so sad. It's like they already haven't been through enough in their short lives. Let's throw on a few respiratory illnesses to make things worse.
I was hoping that by now though she would be well on the mend, not getting worse. She's been on anti-biotics since we picked her up. I suppose if there is a silver lining, we're at least somewhat comforted knowing that she's getting the best possible medical care she can be getting in Vietnam rather than suffering listlessly in the orphanage which has proved to be nothing short of a breeding ground for infectious germs.
The doctor, a very handsome German with a ponytail and a gentle way with children, wants to see us again today to see where she is. As far as our flight home tomorrow, he said it's TBA. And of course we will honor whatever he says. He sent me home with a nebulizer and an assortment of medicines and steroids to put in the nebulizer.
I've never done a nebulizer before and I admit that some of the instructions conveyed by the Vietnamese male nurse got Lost in Translation. Like, does anyone know if it's okay to nebulize the kids when they're sleeping?
So, we're on hold again. One step forward, several steps back. We went to the embassy yesterday before the doctor's and applied for Molly's visa. Barring any unforeseen problems, we should have Molly's visa in hand this evening. And now we wait for the doctor's okay.
We're all going stir crazy. The suite gets smaller and smaller every day and despite that, I think we've all done a great job rallying under the circumstances. The great irony is that our family and one other family have been the only two approved to move forward in the visa application. The other five families haven't heard a peep from the embassy and they're getting really itchy and antsy. My heart goes out to them because the not knowing how long our sentence is, is perhaps the toughest part. And here we nearly have our get out of jail card and probably aren't going anywhere til Mols is on the mend.
Please, please include Molly in your prayers. Send her any healing, reiki energy that you can muster. Or as we Quakers say, please hold her in the light. We know she's going to pull through this and we just want to get her home on American turf as soon as possible. I miss our pediatrician and trying to read medicine instructions in Arabic or French is trying. Amen for the American standard of health. There's nothing like it anywhere else.
Our precious Molly has just been diagnosed with broncheolitis which is certainly something we don't want to fly with. When I took her to the SOS clinic yesterday afternoon (our fourth visit in two weeks) her breathing was so raspy, shallow and wheezy. I was afraid at first that perhaps I was over-reacting and didn't really need to go to the clinic but with the impending flight, I really wanted someone to listen to her lungs.
I'm glad I listened to my intuition.
So from an ear infection, she's also had bronchitis and now broncheolitis. Some of the other kids have been diagnosed with the same and it's so sad. It's like they already haven't been through enough in their short lives. Let's throw on a few respiratory illnesses to make things worse.
I was hoping that by now though she would be well on the mend, not getting worse. She's been on anti-biotics since we picked her up. I suppose if there is a silver lining, we're at least somewhat comforted knowing that she's getting the best possible medical care she can be getting in Vietnam rather than suffering listlessly in the orphanage which has proved to be nothing short of a breeding ground for infectious germs.
The doctor, a very handsome German with a ponytail and a gentle way with children, wants to see us again today to see where she is. As far as our flight home tomorrow, he said it's TBA. And of course we will honor whatever he says. He sent me home with a nebulizer and an assortment of medicines and steroids to put in the nebulizer.
I've never done a nebulizer before and I admit that some of the instructions conveyed by the Vietnamese male nurse got Lost in Translation. Like, does anyone know if it's okay to nebulize the kids when they're sleeping?
So, we're on hold again. One step forward, several steps back. We went to the embassy yesterday before the doctor's and applied for Molly's visa. Barring any unforeseen problems, we should have Molly's visa in hand this evening. And now we wait for the doctor's okay.
We're all going stir crazy. The suite gets smaller and smaller every day and despite that, I think we've all done a great job rallying under the circumstances. The great irony is that our family and one other family have been the only two approved to move forward in the visa application. The other five families haven't heard a peep from the embassy and they're getting really itchy and antsy. My heart goes out to them because the not knowing how long our sentence is, is perhaps the toughest part. And here we nearly have our get out of jail card and probably aren't going anywhere til Mols is on the mend.
Please, please include Molly in your prayers. Send her any healing, reiki energy that you can muster. Or as we Quakers say, please hold her in the light. We know she's going to pull through this and we just want to get her home on American turf as soon as possible. I miss our pediatrician and trying to read medicine instructions in Arabic or French is trying. Amen for the American standard of health. There's nothing like it anywhere else.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)