It's nice to be home. My last day in Moscow was very crazy. We were stuck in traffic jam for an hour and 40 minutes, we got lost driving to the express train station where I could check in my luggage so I don't have to think about it for the rest of the day. My coaching certificate exam was supposed to be at noon, but I was late of course. My teacher was OK with that, and he didn't mind that I had my dog with me. She behaves well in public. So Happy was with me throughout the exam, so no wonder I passed! :)) I'm a certified instructor now, officially allowed to teach!!! Then I had to hurry back to the express train station which would take me to the airport. I was really worried because I still wasn't sure if everything would be OK about having Haps flying with me.
My flight was to be at 6.15 P.M., I arrived to the airport at 4.45 - seemed like I would have just enough time to relax finally, get something to eat finally, go to the bathroom finally... NO! It all went wrong. Suddenly the check-in lady tells me I can't have the dog on the plane. I go searching for an airline rep, to get their permission. I've had a pet seat reserved when I purchased the ticket, I had all the vet papers. Took me half an hour to find the representative, he was hesitant at first, but at my last job I've learned to negotiate with male people in Russia, so finally he said OK, I just had to go get a pass for her at the pet regualtions office at the airport and pay the pet fee at the cashiers'. Took me another half hour to find the pet regulations office and it's closed!!! I waited and waited... Ran to the cashiers to pay, then back to the pet office...
Gosh, you can't imagine the amount of running I did that day! That airport is long like a small street... I thought my poor dog would be quite shocked, but I think she was tired enough to already start ignoring all the strange things happening to her.
The pet office gave me trouble too... I think the girl was just trying to force a bribe out of me, because I consulted two vets and they said my paperwork was fine, but this girl said it was too early for me to go and she can't let me take the dog, and then as I was about to cry, she finally says "OK, FINE, just don't tell anyone I let you go, or I'll have problems!". It is already 6.05, I have 10 minutes to get on the plane, I went through some special scanning thing, so I didn't have to take my shoes off and carry my stuff in a tray, it was all pretty easy and fast, because I was so late. And then I got lost again, I didn't know what gate to go to. I said that airport is very long, I'm carrying a big dog cage and bunch of carry on, for some reasons I just can't find the screens that would list my flight...
At some point it dawned upon me that maybe I'm just not meant to take this flight, it's 6.15 already... and suddenly I hear a voice from above: "Miss YuliaG please proceed to gate X". See, miracles still happen to me! :)) I ran to gate X and everything was fine after that. Moreover, they gave me a seat such that the seat right next to it was empty, so I could put the dog there. The little baby behaved well on the flight. Slept in her cage, kept quiet, played with her toys, entertained the passengers. People like her usually. I even had a guy approach me and say: "Look, I'm not gonna eat my breakfast, but I thought that maybe I'll give my serving to your dog, would she prefer pancakes or omelette?" That was funny. :)
Anyway, it's nice to be home finally... I'll write more later...
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 jetsetjunkie
2005-10-26 09:21
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Hey Yulia! Nice to hear about your adventures with your pup. Yeah airports can be a pain sometimes, I've had some pretty "lengthy" experiences myself (bleah).. the guy who offered ur pup an omelette, gosh he's so obviously trying to pick you up! ;)
Hope u settle down at home quickly enough and congrats on passing your exam!
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