We Are Home

Well it took a while but we finally made it home safe and sound. The journey took 30 hours to complete, and if I figure it out correctly, we went about 47 hours without "sleep". I mean sure we dosed a little on airplanes and in airports, but I am talking about laying down and sleeping in a bed sleep.

It all started Monday evening in Romania. We had a early Tuesday morning flight at 7:15, so we rode down to Bucharest in Dorothy's van and left at 11:00 PM. It is a five hour car trip to the airport, which I helped drive, and arrived at about at about 4 AM. We waited a little while and checked our 9 suitcase plastic tubs. Our only scary moment was when we went through Romanian passport control, and the guard asked for our residence visas. Karen had hers stolen with her wallet about a month ago, and there really was not enough time to have it replaced. I gave him mine and he processed me and they boys with no problem, but then he said wait here and he took Karen's passport into a small room. Uh-oh! I am standing there thinking are they really not going to let us leave the country? He brought a higher ranking immigration officer and he asked us a few questions and let us go.

Our first flight was two hours from Bucharest to Munich, Germany. We than about an hour layover until we caught our long flight. We then boarded the plane for a 9 hour flight to Washington DC. This went very well because they had movies at each individual seat in the seat back in front of you. The boys loved this and they watched movies and slept alot. We arrived in Washington and this was the part I dreaded the most. You have to go through passport control, customs, un-check and recheck your baggage, and then go through security all over again. I was not really sure how we could drag two tired boys, four carry-on bags, and nine huge plastic tubs through all these stops. It turns out that it went great! We loaded three push carts with three tubs each and the smaller bags on top. I pushed one, Karen pushed one, and Nolan was able to push one. What a big guy and helper he was. We were first in line at all these stops and breezed through very easily!

Next we had about a four hour layover in Washington until our flight to Rochester. As I first entered the airport in Washington, I was overwhelmed with being thrust right back into American culture. It was hard for me after being immersed in Romanian culture for a year. It is difficult for me to even explain. It feels like you are standing still and everyone else is running circles around you. It is very much like sensory overload. As we walked through the terminal, I saw a Wendy's. I stopped and stared. Oh how I missed a Wendy's burger and fries. We found our gate and set up camp for the next four hours. The boys wanted to look in every store and wanted to buy ever cool thing they saw. I guess this was how they were trying to deal with there reverse culture shock being thrust into this situation.

Then we boarded our final flight, ah the last leg at last! There were going to be a group of family and friends who were going to meet us at the airport in Rochester at 6:44 PM. We boarded the plane quickly and then the pilot announced that all flights were delayed due to thunderstorms. So there we were, stuck on a fairly small plane, unable to take off or get off the plane. The pilot was great. He came back a talked to all the passengers and was very friendly. He then offered Nolan and Liam to come see the cockpit. He let them push buttons and sit in the captain seat! Nolan said the plane talked back to him when he pushed buttons. I was just hoping he was not dumping fuel or something bad. To make a very long story short, we sat in the plane for about four hours before we were cleared for take-off! Thankfully the boys were exhausted and slept the whole time. We were about to land in Rochester and we could barely wake them. Liam said "We are here already". Needless to say, most of our welcoming committee could not stand around the airport for four hours, but there were a few people. That was OK though- the boys were shy and we were all tired. Nolan and Liam were so excited to see their cousins. They helped us to load our luggage and gave us a ride home. We ended up walking into our house at about 11 PM Tuesday night. The only thing Liam has wanted for months was to come home and get his Buzz Light Year and Woody toys. When we got here the key for our room with all out stuff in it wasn't anywhere to be found. Liam was so upset. We got a hold of someone though and they brought the key right over regardless of the time. Liam was so happy. The boys spent all day yesterday rediscovering old toys and playing in their yard.

It was such a strange feeling walking into our home. In one sense, it felt like I had just left it a short time ago, but also it felt like so much had happened since I left. I am sure that we all had different and similar feelings, if that makes sense to anyone. It was like I pushed pause on my American life, while a year of my Romanian life happened. I also realize that this is not true, things here in America have changed and time has moved on. This is what will take time time to adjust to, nothing is the same as it was. We are different by what we have experienced, and things have changed here also. Now we just need time to process both of these things. Maurice

Miss You Liana, Emil, Mama, Tata, Lian, Andrei, Tanti, Lori, Sendi, and the whole Ludu family- Love Karen