Oh, do I have a story for you. It has all the qualities of a blockbuster. You will laugh, you will cry, you will sit on the edge of your seat; it’s fun for the whole family.
Today was my last day in Ukraine. Erin and I woke at the crack of dawn. Our itinerary included taking a taxi at 7:15 to the train station. The train leaves at 7:40 and from there it is a four-hour journey to Kiev. Next we taxi to the airport, followed by goodbyes. Doesn’t it sound so simple?
It is simple, especially with a pro like Erin. However, what do you do when your taxi does NOT show up in the morning? We had already scheduled the taxi so we waited. And waited. Erin got a crick in her neck from glancing between her watch and glaring down the road. At 7:30 we were forced to find another cab, which luckily, there was an extra one right across the road.
As we are riding across town we hit EVERY red light. Seriously. And the taxi driver was being way to cautious. We are in Ukraine, no one ever follows the speed limit…except today. How do you say, “You have got to be kidding me, I will give you anything I have if you will please just find the gas pedal” in Russian?
As we are getting closer Erin gets out the train tickets and money for the cab. She turns to me and informs me we are cutting it really close. She decides she will stay and pay the driver while I run to the train (which she also needs to be on). “Once you get there, stall,” she says.
So I am mentally preparing myself to throw the world’s biggest Americanized hissy fit. I am picturing yelling, crying, and begging. (By the way, we were praying this entire time-I know God can be way more effective than my hissy fit, but I was ready to go if necessary!)
I asked Erin how much time we had until we got to the station. “Two minutes,” she replied. Then I asked, “How far away are we right now?” “Two minutes,” she replied. Of course the train is the only thing that runs on time in Ukraine. Okay, time to get the tears ready, I put my best “I am a poor confused American” face on.
But we pull up to the train station and I can see the train is still there. Okay, so we are fine. Erin throws money at the driver and we walk/run through the terminal. Why are we still running Erin? We break onto the platform and my stomach drops.
There is not a human standing on the platform. The stairs are all raised. The train attendants are on board and about to give the all clear and I swear I heard the engine starting up.
We start screaming and running.
All I am thinking is NO! NO! NO! We are so close! If we have to rock climb while carrying my backpack we are getting on that train. Erin looks at our tickets and realized our cabin is several cars up. I don’t care. I run at the first attendant I see and start begging in English “Please, please, please”. There were no other words.
By God’s almighty grace, the attendant uncovered the stairs and rushed us on. We gave her the tickets. One attendant kept talking to me and I couldn’t remember anything in Russian. So I said thank you five times and then remembered, “Engliski” means “English” in Russian. So I told her “Engliski!” which I am pretty sure she had already figured out.
By then the train was moving. Praise Jesus. Literally 30 seconds more and we would not have made it. Of course, we were so hyped up on adrenaline that Erin and I couldn’t stop talking/laughing/shaking for the next hour. Oh Ukraine, what a farewell.
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