Nov
27
Hannah has no shoes!
November 27, 2007 | 7 Comments
We were supposed to arrive in Shimmerlya (via train) at around 5:22AM. The plan was that the conductor was supposed to wake us at 5AM so we could get ready to exit the train. The scheduled stop in Shummerlya was only for 2 minutes (that’s right, 2 minutes). So it was critical that we have all our luggage ready when the time comes. However, during the night there were some other delays that the other stops which meant that we would be delayed in arriving at Shummerlya. Of course, it would have been nice for the conductor to let us know this. Instead, however, we awoke on our own at 5 (actually I had been up since about 2:30 – I love international travel) and began preparing our bags as Marina went to the conductor’s cabin and woke him up. Yeah, that’s right, he wasn’t even awake. This is when he informed us that we would be arriving in Shummerlya in approximately 2+ hours. So, we took off our coats and shoes, got comfortable and relaxed.
It was about 15 minutes later that the conductor began shouting down the cooridor , “Quickly! Quickly! This is your stop! you must leave the train now!!! (of course this was all in Russian which adds an extra ingredient of urgency). He was completely beside himself. So we all immediately jumped up and began searching for our shoes, backpacks and any other important items that couldn’t be left behind. All the while the conductor was shouting “Boistra! Boistra!” (quickly! quickly!). Well, we managed to get everything and get off the train just as it started to move again, or so we thought. As we stood in the cold snow on the platform I looked down and saw that Hannah (my 11 year old daughter) was in her socks! The conductor was so adament about getting us off the train that he had not even given us time to find her boots. I’ve never been agrier in my life! Well, much to the dismay of the imcompetent conductor Marina and I boarded the train again in search of Hannah’s shoes. We found them along with a couple of other bags that we had missed during our initial search. We quickly retrieved them and dashed back down the cooridor and off the train. Shortly aftwards we boarded the van for a short ride to the orphanage. More about that in my next post.
Comments
7 Comments so far
Randy –
Sounds like a real adventure to this point! Shoes in Russia in winter? Ah, who needs ‘em? Your train / baggage travails remind of the European trip I took with my wife, kids, my Ma (79 at the time) and her “little” sister, ya know, the one with the bum knee, bad hip and 7 suitcases? Anyway, my son and I were pretty much a NASCAR pit crew by the end of the trip. We could essentially unload an idling train in 25 seconds (thanks to a half hour of door-side preparation leading up the station and knowledge acquired in the Paris fiasco – don’t ask). So, I can emphathize. The train must go on! Hope all is well. I’m enjoying this vicarious trip, comrade!
Y’all hang in there,
JJ
Randy –
Sounds like it’s quite an adventure already! Ah, boots in Russia in winter, who needs them? Your train / baggage travails remind me of a trip to Europe with my wife, the kids, my Ma (79 at the time) and her “little” sister, ya know, the one with the bad knee, fixed hip and 7 suitcases? Anyway, my son and I were a virtual NASCAR pit crew by the end of it, pretty much able to unload an idling, gotta-go train in 25 seconds (thanks to a half hour of prearrival preparation at the door and the acquired knowledge from the Paris fiasco – don’t ask). So, hey, I can empathize. Hope all is going as well as can be. Really enjoying the vicarious Russian trip, comrade!
Hang in there, y’all,
JJ
P.S. Sorry if you received a version of this message before, but it blew up in Explorer and I tried to recreate it using Firefox.
Hey! I know there is more to this story! And I know the conclusion!
Can’t wait for you to get internet and finish for all of us 
Hey I know there is more to this story! And I know how it ends!
Can’t wait for you to get online and update for all of us 
Ugh i hated that it was not fair. It was funny how Marina kept saying i will kill him ( but not literally)
Oh my goodness… Nothing like good old-school soviet-era competence to speed things along.
[...] RU. If you’ve frequently this site for long you’ve probably already read of some of the other events of that day. But even with all of the adventure and drama that fills our memories of that day we have to look [...]