I haven’t posted in a while but I wanted to fill in the gaps of what has happened. So that I remember.
___On September 28 we traveled to India. Our appointment with Dr. Patel in Anand was scheduled for October 5. September 28 was the only date to get us to get us to India on a direct flight to Mumbai. We really wanted the direct flight. So we spent a few days in Mumbai, before traveling to Anand. Well the first two things about arriving in India are the 1)heat and 2) the aroma.
___First, lets talk about the heat. When we arrived in Mumbai at 10 pm on September 29, the temperature was 86/30C. That is a bit warm. Then add in the humidity. We had prearranged with our hotel for an airport pickup, as we waited with our hotel usher, for our driver (about 5 mins), the air became hotter and thicker and stickier. Then, the air picked up a distinct aroma.
___How do I describe this? A conspicuous stench of every foul odor I have ever inhaled. Standing at the outdoor waiting area of the international airport, this odor is assaulting and strange. The international pickup area is VERY clean and neat, even by western standards.* But the smell is there and no obvious cause of it. As soon as, our driver arrives and we head off to our hotel, we understand that the odor is the city. Even with the limited visibility of a five minute, nighttime car ride we begin to understand the smell, and we see the throngs of very, very, poor people everywhere. We start to see that the odor is from all of the people, cows, cars, rickshaws, and every other animal and machine known to man that crowd the streets of Mumbai. It is not just the internal combustion engine and cows that contribute to this smell, with about 200,000 people living without housing, their life is outside, that means street side fires for cooking and no public restrooms in Mumbai.
___45 minutes after we step outside the international terminal, we are in our hotel room. Exhaustion from the 16 hour flight, and the sudden culture shock that is a first arrival in India, take its toll and we quickly call it a night and drop into a jet lagged, semi-comatose sleep.
*This is intentional. Indians take great pride in making sure the first impression of foreigners is a positive one. The international airport pickup area was the last truly neat and clean public area we would see for a very long time.
10/8/09
9/18/09
Whirlwind
Okay, so the checklist was coming along very nicely.
-Visited my local doc for pre-travel visit.
-Booked our flights. It took forever to get the seats we wanted.
-Booked our hotels.
-Based on hormone levels (mine and the egg donor's,) we had a firm date to be at the clinic
- we added 3 days on each side of the travel date, just in case.
-Headed to Mumbai on Oct 7 Arrive in Mumbai Oct 8.
-Sent a wire transfer for the initial payment for services.
-Ordered a small amount of Rupees, so we will have a some local cash on hand when we landed.
-Bought Amex travelers checks to pay the clinic.
And then our world changed. No more in sync cycling. After an unbelievable 19 hours of fast and furious e-mails to our clinic, we now have a new egg donor and new dates to be in India.
EARLIER DATES!!! How the hell do we do earlier?? Earlier!?! are you kidding me?
But earlier it is. So then there was a mad dash to change flights to be there a week earlier, and leave a week later. But true to form no seats available a week earlier. No seats on the one week later return flight. Finally found seats on a flight leaving 9 days earlier than originally planned. Found seats on a return flight 4 days earlier than planned. So we have now an extra five days on our trip.
First on the new and improved to-do list is deciding (and quickly) how and where we want to spend the extra 5 days.
The emotional-
Stay calm. Stay calm. Every little bump is a cause for panic. The journey to Drucilla has been so long and still so many unknowns and uncertainties. At different points, both TechnoGeek and I have fallen completely apart in the last 24 hours. Luckily our meltdowns were at different times. Back on track and moving forward!
-Visited my local doc for pre-travel visit.
-Booked our flights. It took forever to get the seats we wanted.
-Booked our hotels.
-Based on hormone levels (mine and the egg donor's,) we had a firm date to be at the clinic
- we added 3 days on each side of the travel date, just in case.
-Headed to Mumbai on Oct 7 Arrive in Mumbai Oct 8.
-Sent a wire transfer for the initial payment for services.
-Ordered a small amount of Rupees, so we will have a some local cash on hand when we landed.
-Bought Amex travelers checks to pay the clinic.
And then our world changed. No more in sync cycling. After an unbelievable 19 hours of fast and furious e-mails to our clinic, we now have a new egg donor and new dates to be in India.
EARLIER DATES!!! How the hell do we do earlier?? Earlier!?! are you kidding me?
But earlier it is. So then there was a mad dash to change flights to be there a week earlier, and leave a week later. But true to form no seats available a week earlier. No seats on the one week later return flight. Finally found seats on a flight leaving 9 days earlier than originally planned. Found seats on a return flight 4 days earlier than planned. So we have now an extra five days on our trip.
First on the new and improved to-do list is deciding (and quickly) how and where we want to spend the extra 5 days.
The emotional-
Stay calm. Stay calm. Every little bump is a cause for panic. The journey to Drucilla has been so long and still so many unknowns and uncertainties. At different points, both TechnoGeek and I have fallen completely apart in the last 24 hours. Luckily our meltdowns were at different times. Back on track and moving forward!
9/9/09
Labor Day week
So things are moving along very well, I guess. We were able to have a great annual family labor day vacation. Four generations camping along the shores of lake Thurmond for 4 nights and 5 days 14 people, between the ages of 6mos. and 73 yrs, had a great time.
Even with the vacation we were able to accomplish a great deal.
-Visa applications completed and visa pictures made
-Visa applications mailed and paid for, with return shipping (Travisa rocks!)
- Forgot to enclose copies of Photo ID other than passport. They sent us an e-mail and let us scan our DLs and e-mail them.
-Checked on flights, can't book anything until the visa's come back. Must have the visa number to book a flight into India
- Bought a couple of long skirts for India. Not really my style, but I don't want to offend anyone since we be in a smallish town and my knees would be scandalous.
- Got an e-mail saying they had been processed and were being returned to us today.
- The whole process from ship date to return date was one week one day. That is with a holiday and the forgotten ID copy. (WOW, that was fast)
- Bought a couple of long skirts for the trip. Not really my style, but I don't want to offend anyone. Because we will be in a smallish town, my knees would be scandalous.
- Checked on flights. Can't book anything until we have Visas in hand. I need the number.
-First payment to the clinic of $1000 USD is due on Sept 21. Got the e-mail on Sept 4
Still on the ever growing to do list:
- Get name corrected on frfly account
- Go to local doctor for check-up and prescription for estridol
- Make a packing list ( for ease of travel, one bag and one small carry aboard per person)
- Get transportation in India.
- and the list goes on and on.
I am not telling my family or work why we are going to India. Just don't think I can handle the questions. I have had to come up with some creative sentences to keep from lying to my boss without actually telling a lie.
Even with the vacation we were able to accomplish a great deal.
-Visa applications completed and visa pictures made
-Visa applications mailed and paid for, with return shipping (Travisa rocks!)
- Forgot to enclose copies of Photo ID other than passport. They sent us an e-mail and let us scan our DLs and e-mail them.
-Checked on flights, can't book anything until the visa's come back. Must have the visa number to book a flight into India
- Bought a couple of long skirts for India. Not really my style, but I don't want to offend anyone since we be in a smallish town and my knees would be scandalous.
- Got an e-mail saying they had been processed and were being returned to us today.
- The whole process from ship date to return date was one week one day. That is with a holiday and the forgotten ID copy. (WOW, that was fast)
- Bought a couple of long skirts for the trip. Not really my style, but I don't want to offend anyone. Because we will be in a smallish town, my knees would be scandalous.
- Checked on flights. Can't book anything until we have Visas in hand. I need the number.
-First payment to the clinic of $1000 USD is due on Sept 21. Got the e-mail on Sept 4
Still on the ever growing to do list:
- Get name corrected on frfly account
- Go to local doctor for check-up and prescription for estridol
- Make a packing list ( for ease of travel, one bag and one small carry aboard per person)
- Get transportation in India.
- and the list goes on and on.
I am not telling my family or work why we are going to India. Just don't think I can handle the questions. I have had to come up with some creative sentences to keep from lying to my boss without actually telling a lie.
8/26/09
Going to India
So we have a date to be in India for "embryo adoption, and implantation."
We have to be there on Oct 12.
A million and one things to do
-get visas
-get plane tickets
-get name corrected on frfly account
-get clothes
-get transportation in India
And the list goes on. The list is easier to concentrate on than the possibilities.
We have to be there on Oct 12.
A million and one things to do
-get visas
-get plane tickets
-get name corrected on frfly account
-get clothes
-get transportation in India
And the list goes on. The list is easier to concentrate on than the possibilities.
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