Live: From Hungary

A great philosopher once said, “…home is where your rump rests.” – Pumbaa.
So here we are, our rumps resting in Nyíregyháza, Hungary. Technically, this whole thing started three days ago but we’re just now getting far enough through the jet lagged haze that we’re able to do things that require more concentration than making coffee. So, here we go. 

On Thursday we boarded a plane in Charleston and headed for Europe. Having done this a few times before, Amy and I both felt we were in familiar territory, we even had almost as much luggage as last time. Granted, we were moving there that time. In order to ease back into living abroad temporarily, we set things up in such a way that we stopped in Munich first. The last time we were on the old continent that city kind of became a vacation spot for us. We discovered that food is served in the “right” order, we knew our way around, and it was laid back (if one is allowed to say that about Germans).

In our experience, flying over the Atlantic in that direction is best done overnight, this way you can sleep on the trip over and arrive in the morning local time the following day. Having gone through that cycle you kind of kickstart your body into getting used to the new time zone. From our living in Italy I can definitely say that when a large company is buying you the ticket and setting you up to fly in style it works pretty well. Sitting in coach? Not so much. Neither Amy nor I got a lot of sleep, which made for a rough next day. It wasn’t all bad though. We stayed at the Hilton there at the airport (I can’t recommend this enough) and we were able to check in at 7:30 in the morning (yeah, I was as shocked as you are). We dropped off our bags, cleaned up a little, and headed for the S-Bahn (metro). Fortunately for us the guy who helped us with our luggage told us that the S-8 train was better to take because of some construction going on. This is where “easing in” starts. I’m pretty sure I restarted that train ticket menu like six times both accidentally and on purpose. We did eventually get it, and I’m giving myself some grace, I was a zombie.

We had two real goals for our day in Munich. First, staying awake. Second? See the movie “Avengers: Endgame” in English, of course. Avoiding spoilers until mid-June sounded difficult (granted, this is coming from people adopting three children, your mileage may vary) so we figured we’d hit it up if we could. To Marvel’s credit, I had no trouble staying awake through the entire movie. Given the haze though, I think I’ll have to watch it again when it hits a streaming service, you know, so I can understand it. On a side note we grabbed a quick bite at a little café next to the theater before the movie started. Any guesses as to what kind of food it was? Yeah…Italian. Irony transcends jet lag I assure you. We then made our way to a different part of town for some Bavarian food and eventually made our way to the hotel where we hung out in their pretty atrium lobby so we wouldn’t just lie down in the floor and go to sleep (shame transcends jet lag too, but only just barely).

Early Saturday morning, after sleeping like the dead, we threw our stuff together, piled our luggage on a cart and made our way to terminal two where we met a lovely young lady who checked it in for us. We’ve found that for speed’s sake it’s sometimes easier not to explain what we’re doing on this trip. Amy and I feel obligated to tell the truth and often perfect strangers aren’t ready for all that in this case. We just let people assume whatever and not contradict them, in this way we don’t spend the next ten to twenty minutes answering “easy” questions like, “Why adoption?”, “Why international adoption?” and my personal favorite, “Three, are you insane?” It’s a real time saver, and technically if we do it right we’re not lying. In this case she saw a ton of luggage and joked with Amy about it being all her shoes. Again, Amy did bring multiple pairs of shoes, they just weren’t all for her. Also, they were distributed amongst the luggage, so far so good. Then she asked how long we were going to be there. Uh-oh, this one might require we get into explanations. Forty-five days. Without a hitch she said, “Mrs. Basham I’m a little worried you don’t have enough room to get that much shopping back home.” BAM! Out of the park. Hat’s off to you ma’am, that was a fantastically done joke and we didn’t have to explain everything while being foggy headed. Besides, I wasn’t about to explain to her that we had suitcases inside of suitcases and we could likely fit all the kids in the bigger ones if they’d let us check them. I’m kidding, honest.

After going through security, we found coffee and our gate and sat down just long enough for someone to walk up and start asking people to take a survey about our experience at the Munich Airport. Amy was kind enough to oblige. I wasn’t asked to. I’m pretty sure my expression radiated the word “NO”. To be fair, the Munich airport is nice, just not that early in the morning when your internal clock thinks it’s 3am all the time. We were bussed out to our plane on the tarmac (something I’d forgotten about) and stood waiting to board in a cold drizzle in tee-shirts. A guy just behind us jokingly chided us about it saying, “well, it was summer yesterday.” We had a little chuckle, and fortunately I carry with me a little extra natural insulation at all times for just such occasions. At least that’s my current excuse. After a really short flight we gathered our pile of luggage and found Adam, the awesome guy who’s become indispensable in the last two days. We Tetris-ed (if that’s not a verb already I’m claiming it) our luggage into the car and off we went for a two and a half-ish ride to Nyíregyháza where our rental house was waiting. (Adam, thankfully, kept us awake by asking questions and giving us a run-down of what to expect)

The house we’re in is setup nearly perfectly, and I say nearly only because we discovered we’re in need of towels and a spatula after we had already been taken to the store. And with this knowledge, there is alas, no fainting couch. There are enough beds for all, a huge backyard, and it’s close to two different playgrounds (one setup as a gigantic castle), a waterpark, a zoo, an adventure park (think rope course), and apparently some of the best ice cream in town. The Hungary team has apparently gone to great lengths to make us look like pretty cool people to these kids. After dropping off our luggage they took us to see the aforementioned grocery store and get some food staples and it was just like shopping in Italy except they knew where to put the peanut butter. We did end up purchasing something, as it turns out, that I can’t believe isn’t butter…but it ain’t. If that’s the worst mistake we make we’re in good shape, but let’s be real, this is me we’re talking about.

Then there’s today, our first day in country where we’re left to our own devices. We made the most of it as the jet lag is slowly wearing off. We’ve unpacked, figured out the washing machine, learned to make espresso in the little thingy  they have here (this has been the most essential so far), and despite the grey and rainy weather took a little walk around the neighborhood to see the cool stuff for ourselves. Now, after streaming our home church’s service online (yes, yes, I set up my own router…and a VPN, …and…hey, the nerd’s gonna nerd, what can I say?) we’ve had dinner and sit thinking about tomorrow.

When we were asked if we would consider adopting three children all at once we did have to take a step back and ask ourselves if we would really be willing to take on so much at one time. The eventual answer, obviously, was yes. From that point forward the kids have been pictures, and video, and words on paper. We’ve had to fight the desire to make up in our own heads what they would be like based on just such small snippets of their lives. Tomorrow, it won’t be about pictures, or video, or words anymore. We finally get to meet them face to face and the journey of figuring out who they really are begins. We leave at 8:30 in the morning. Jet lag or not, I’m not sure we’ll get much sleep tonight. :)

4 Comments

  1. Gail Gail
    April 28, 2019    

    I am so excited for your new family! Thank you for sharing your journey.I pray for your safety, and good bonding time. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

  2. Kisha Kelly Kisha Kelly
    April 28, 2019    

    We are so excited for you guys. Love reading about your trip to this point and of course always enjoy your blog but wishing you guys would be here with the kiddos to celebrate the 4th and we could meet them but I understand that can’t happen yet. Praying for your safety and a smooth transitioning.

  3. Aunt Sissie Aunt Sissie
    April 29, 2019    

    I just read this blog from a DAD that will do an awesome job (with a little help from the MOM). You two have this. There are three siblings in a foreign country that are about to blessed with not only great parents, but the chance to live in the most remarkable country in the world. They are siblings as orphans and will be siblings in the Basham family. God has not only blessed them, but has blessed you and has you all wrapped in His love.

  4. Anonymous Anonymous
    April 29, 2019    

    Love the blog and love you both!
    Just WOW…what an adventure!😀😘❤️🙏

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