Day 20: London to Mariupol

Dearest Alex,

Tomorrow is court day! We are really excited. I can’t believe after all this work and time and effort, it all comes down to one man’s decision (the judge). I feel like our whole future lies in his hands. All I can do is to cross my fingers and hope that things go well.

Today we left London, and guess what? It was raining again! We had to take a cab to the train station as I am incapacitated. I had a difficult time walking the distance but was able to hop along with the crutches they gave me. Now, a word about the crutches. They are not regular crutches - they are the 1950’s polio patient kind of arm crutches! I look like I am permanently disabled. But they are actually more comfortable than the kind you put under your arms.

Anyway, we managed to get on the train to Gatwick ok and made it into the terminal without incident. I was starting to hurt more, so we asked for and received the nicest assistance. There was a special security line and a little tram to take me to the gate. What service - I should consider injury more often :) 

The flight to Kiev was uneventful, but the flight to Donetsk was a nightmare. There was some issue with baggage that prevented us from taking off on time but they had already loaded the plane. So we sat there for almost an hour in a small, confined space without any airflow. It was sweltering. And I will just leave the smell to your imagination - remember not everyone shares American abhorrence of body odor.

We finally got to Donetsk and realized that we had missed lunch and dinner. Remember how I said that I would never go to another McDonalds? Well, never say never - we ended up in the drivethru for McDonalds because there was nothing else open at that time of night. So, we had a very healthy dinner of fries and a strawberry shake. Yum, Yum (not).

Anyway, we finally checked into the hotel in Mariupol. We were not in the apartment because no one knows the outcome of tomorrow. We are trying to ask that the 10 day waiting period be waived but we don’t know if it can be. We will find out tomorrow. Also, we don’t know if G3 will have to fly out to Paris or if I will feel well enough to go with him.

That’s all for now - I am tired and need to sleep before court tomorrow!

Looking forward to seeing you,

Bethany, G3, G4, & Amanda