We're Here

Hello from Russia,
We made it in OK. We got the tour of the Korean airport because we got lost. Vladivostok Air was wonderful (of course it was great because we were in first class!). We definetely stood out as Americans at the airport (I think we were the only ones). We got a little nervous at the Vlad airport because Irina was not at the airport right away to meet us. We had this taxi driver that could not speak English but he would not leave us alone. He followed us all over the place (even outside). He kept asking us to go with him, he even tried to find someone who spoke English to ask us where we were going, so we were so glad to see Irina. The drive to the hotel was an eye opener. It is a very, very poor region. Eric said he saw alot of military stuff along the way (jets & tanks). We are on our own until Monday but Irina does not want us to leave the hotel grounds. On Monday we are going in the morning to the Ministry of Education then we will go back to the hotel. She will then come pick us up after lunch and we will go see the youngest boy. They have already moved the girl in with the oldest boy and we will not be able to see them until Tuesday. It is so crazy to be somewhere where very few people speak English. At least in Korea you could find quite a few people to speak English. We hope everything is going good at home and please email us updates. Becky & Eric