We have lost track of time. We are in the wait until the court date period. Today was nice because Dan and Joyce arrived after an 18 hour (yes, I correct myself from the previous blog) train ride and we had some good laughs about our adventures. They are blogging but have not been able to post it to the internet as of yet. So when they do you will have a lot of reading to do!
Yesterday we had Kolya prepare what we would call party gift bags for his friends in the orphanage. He initially wanted to take the entire bag of goodies and poor it out onto the room floor and have his buddies have at it. But we encouraged him to put one or two of each of the items into each bag then give them out to each individual child, as we would at a birthday party. We had parachute men, army men, airplanes, Dum Dums, beach balls, pencils, and other trinkets. Today we had beach balls everywhere on the playground! Graham pointed out that there was only one toy (a raggity old soccer ball) that wasn't given to the kids by us. We wondered where all the toys that all the other adoptive parents are bringing are going?! The beach balls did not last long as the boys were pretty rough on them and they developed holes pretty quickly. Next out of the Hickman gift suitcase are the frisbees everyone sent!
Each day we visit from 10:15 to 12:30 and 3:30 to 5:00 pm. We play with Anya and Nastia everyday along with all of the other "well" children. I already want to bring home a blond little girl about 6 or 7 y/o and another boy the same age as Kolya. Joe is relieved we only have one dossier! Joyce notices Joe's view point and points his relief out to me regularly!
We move to a new apartment tomorrow that is closer to the orphanage and has one bedroom and a pull-out couch in the livingroom. This will save us much money as we will be able to walk everywhere and not pay the driver. I expect this is where I will stay when the rest of the clan flies back to Denver.
Each day it gets harder and harder to leave Kolya at the orphanage. He gets sad and watches us get into the van and practacially follows us through the gate each time we leave. I know he waits for the day when he can climb into the van with us and spend his extra time as a family and not be left out. It will be hard for me to entertain him by myself after he has had a Papa and 2 siblings wrestling him and playing soccer, catch, and frisbee non-stop each visit. Mama will be boring. I know he will be sad to leave his friends at the orphanage also, and we will try to have him call once in awhile, especially within the first couple of months.
Sorry this blog isn't funny. Everyone is in bed and I am up typing. I feel obligated to enter our days activity, even if it is mundane, for those of you who are hanging on every word. I have taken more pictures of Nastia today and Joe will post them soon. I have other pics of the orphanage kids but will not post them as requested by the Director, David Avilla, and other people of Ukraine. I will show you all when we get home. The Matthew's Nastia is still at camp and we have not seen her yet. Joyce and Dan are trying their best to be patient. I know as of Aug. 1st they will be able to see her and we will celebrate big time that evening!
As a final note to the neighborhood, how are our cats doing? We miss them terribly! The stray kitties around here are getting lots of lovin from us along with scrap foods!
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Monday, July 28, 2008
Nastia Fields and Anya Garrett
We saw your girls today! A few groups of kids returned from the camp for 2 days and they were in that group! We have posted pictures of them. We had not asked permission to take their pictures so I hid behind Graham and snapped away. Anya gave me big hugs and says thank-you Mama and Papa for her gift. I told her the Matthews had another one for her and not to give up hope that her Mama and Papa are working very hard to get here. I guessed you may be here by November. Nastia Fields played happily on the playground with her friends while Anya flirted with the boys. Joe ended up playing soccer with 5 boys Kolya's age and got his butt kicked! Kolya was giving him directions on what to do and to cover his man! That being said, Joe did score 3 goals and had an assist. He also would have played much, much better if the "field" did not consist of broken up rock and mud. And if he had the proper shorts and shirt. And if he was 30 years younger....
A note about this "camp." It is not American camp, it is a second orphanage along the beach. Kind of like a summer home. The kids go there for a while then return back to the city for 2 days then go back. I have seen Kolya get his hair trimmed and a woman with a stethascope summon him and other kids into a room. He did get a bath on Saturday but it did not take long to undo what the bath had done. The soccer game was a muddy mess. I wonder if his toe nails will ever come clean. The kids either wear flip flops or soccer shoes as regular shoes. It is amazing how well they play soccer with flip flops on! It may just be us, but any one of the kids on the field today could play rings around the kids their age in the States.
The girls who game out to play while we were there brought badminton raquets and birdies. Elizabeth was roundly trounced by a 6 year old. So if you are looking for gifts to bring, badminton supplies might work.
The Matthews are currently on a train from Kyiv to Mariupol. Their ride takes 15 hours as they are coming directly here. We went into Donetsk and it took 12 hours then drove to Mariupol. We were thinking about sharing an apartment which was Joyce's idea, then she called and said it may not work out as we are moving into a one BR apt on Wednesday close to the orphanage to eliminate the driver costs. Apparently Joyce does not sleep at night and if she does, it is not until 3 or 4 am. I would be sleeping on the couch in the only other room and that would not make for happy roommates.
We did not blog yesterday as we saw Kolya for only an hour because the orphanage did not have electricity after the thunderstorm. Ludmilla called the workers and limited all the visiting hours to one hour per child. I guess the workers took the food to their own apartments to heat it up then brought it back to the kids.
Edward told us yesterday that our driver (refer to his picture) would like to invite us to his summer home for a BBQ. We are flattered and are waiting for him to set the date, maybe next weekend. I figure we are paying for his children's college, new houses and probably a Lexus for his wife, so why not! He did take us to a wonderful Armenian restaurant that is owned by a friend of his and we had wonderful pork chops and salads. The boys ordered beers so I ordered my standard vodka and Coca Cola Lite. They did not have cola lite or dark beer as Joe likes so the driver and Edward ran out of the restaurant, jumped in the van and went to the nearest grocery store! We were embaressed and told Edward that I can drink regular coke and Joe can choke down a Pilsner if he has to :-). Edward then said you ask for Coca Cola Lites every ten minutes so I bought you 10 bottles. If I wasn't embarrassed before, I was now. It is either bottled water or Coca Cola Lite here and cold Coca Cola lite is not easy to find. It is a good thing both the driver and Edward have a good sense of humor!
At the end of our afternoon visit with Kolya today, he was trying to tell us something. Our interpreter had gone off with the driver to research apartments for the Matthews so we were left with trying to understand what he was saying. We did get Ukrainian dance, but that was about it. So we called Edward on the phone and asked him to talk with Kolya. It turned out the Canadian couple who we have seen at the orphanage the past few days were finally taking their kids home. It is a tradition at the orpanage that they have a party for the deaparting child. We were invited to the party, as there would be entertainment by the kids. And Kolya was part of the entertainment. He and his friend Meesha, along with 2 of the girls, did a traditional Ukrainian dance in traditional Ukrainian clothing. We did not take pictures of the entertainment because we were not sure of the protocol, but we did get a picture of Kolya in his garb, which has been posted.
Time to close now, Joe cooked the most wonderful meal, more wonderful then we could have gotten in the most expensive resteraunt in Paris. And we all now have to digest it. Except Elizabeth of course, since she does not eat meat. By the way, do not expect to find Kraft Macaroni and Cheese dinners over here. We have been to several different grocery stores and not one of them had it. And they looked puzzled when we try to explain the concept of powdered cheese sauce. So remember to bring your own.
A note about this "camp." It is not American camp, it is a second orphanage along the beach. Kind of like a summer home. The kids go there for a while then return back to the city for 2 days then go back. I have seen Kolya get his hair trimmed and a woman with a stethascope summon him and other kids into a room. He did get a bath on Saturday but it did not take long to undo what the bath had done. The soccer game was a muddy mess. I wonder if his toe nails will ever come clean. The kids either wear flip flops or soccer shoes as regular shoes. It is amazing how well they play soccer with flip flops on! It may just be us, but any one of the kids on the field today could play rings around the kids their age in the States.
The girls who game out to play while we were there brought badminton raquets and birdies. Elizabeth was roundly trounced by a 6 year old. So if you are looking for gifts to bring, badminton supplies might work.
The Matthews are currently on a train from Kyiv to Mariupol. Their ride takes 15 hours as they are coming directly here. We went into Donetsk and it took 12 hours then drove to Mariupol. We were thinking about sharing an apartment which was Joyce's idea, then she called and said it may not work out as we are moving into a one BR apt on Wednesday close to the orphanage to eliminate the driver costs. Apparently Joyce does not sleep at night and if she does, it is not until 3 or 4 am. I would be sleeping on the couch in the only other room and that would not make for happy roommates.
We did not blog yesterday as we saw Kolya for only an hour because the orphanage did not have electricity after the thunderstorm. Ludmilla called the workers and limited all the visiting hours to one hour per child. I guess the workers took the food to their own apartments to heat it up then brought it back to the kids.
Edward told us yesterday that our driver (refer to his picture) would like to invite us to his summer home for a BBQ. We are flattered and are waiting for him to set the date, maybe next weekend. I figure we are paying for his children's college, new houses and probably a Lexus for his wife, so why not! He did take us to a wonderful Armenian restaurant that is owned by a friend of his and we had wonderful pork chops and salads. The boys ordered beers so I ordered my standard vodka and Coca Cola Lite. They did not have cola lite or dark beer as Joe likes so the driver and Edward ran out of the restaurant, jumped in the van and went to the nearest grocery store! We were embaressed and told Edward that I can drink regular coke and Joe can choke down a Pilsner if he has to :-). Edward then said you ask for Coca Cola Lites every ten minutes so I bought you 10 bottles. If I wasn't embarrassed before, I was now. It is either bottled water or Coca Cola Lite here and cold Coca Cola lite is not easy to find. It is a good thing both the driver and Edward have a good sense of humor!
At the end of our afternoon visit with Kolya today, he was trying to tell us something. Our interpreter had gone off with the driver to research apartments for the Matthews so we were left with trying to understand what he was saying. We did get Ukrainian dance, but that was about it. So we called Edward on the phone and asked him to talk with Kolya. It turned out the Canadian couple who we have seen at the orphanage the past few days were finally taking their kids home. It is a tradition at the orpanage that they have a party for the deaparting child. We were invited to the party, as there would be entertainment by the kids. And Kolya was part of the entertainment. He and his friend Meesha, along with 2 of the girls, did a traditional Ukrainian dance in traditional Ukrainian clothing. We did not take pictures of the entertainment because we were not sure of the protocol, but we did get a picture of Kolya in his garb, which has been posted.
Time to close now, Joe cooked the most wonderful meal, more wonderful then we could have gotten in the most expensive resteraunt in Paris. And we all now have to digest it. Except Elizabeth of course, since she does not eat meat. By the way, do not expect to find Kraft Macaroni and Cheese dinners over here. We have been to several different grocery stores and not one of them had it. And they looked puzzled when we try to explain the concept of powdered cheese sauce. So remember to bring your own.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Question for the Hesse's
I found a gift wrapped box, red wrapping paper with a gold tie on it with the name of Andrew Ahgpeio on it in the donation suitcase. I s this for a certain child in the orphanage and who is it from?
Wendy
Wendy
Saturday in the Park
I think it was the 4th of July (that should bring back memories for you Chicago fans).
As we were sitting down to blog, we had 2 power outages in a row. The first one lasted about 15 minutes and the second one about 5. We persevere though; we have the kids using a hand crank generator to power the computer and torch light when we need to go potty.
We took Kolya to Extreme Park today. Think of a cross between Elitch's and the traveling amusements that set up in shopping center parking lots. It had several rides, including a roller coaster, a drop, and bumper cars. The advantage of bringing your kids along to Ukraine is they can ride the rides instead of you. Wendy and Joe did brave the roller coaster and Joe did get on the drop with Kolya and Graham. We all did the bumper cars, which did not seem to have the same restrictor plate that you have on U.S. bumper cars. This must be where the Ukrainian drivers learn their craft. We will post pictures of the park soon.
After the park we had to bring Kolya back to the orphanage. We discovered that Saturday is bath day so we anticipate a cleaner Kolya tomorrow. It is sad to say goodbye to him each time. We talk about the day when we can take him from there forever. We will be able to see Kolya for 2-3 hours tomorrow (Sunday). During the week we can see him twice a day, but it is only once a day on weekends.
On other semi-related news for those who know of the orphanage here in Mariupol. Ksenyia is getting married to a Dane. She met him in Budapest, Hungary last year at a candy museum. She told us today that she will be moving to Denmark. We understood her to say that her last day at the orphanage will be Aug 11. That will be sad for the children at the orphanage. Ksenyia is truly a loving person.
We also learned today that Victor (there are those of you who will cringe at this name and others who will be puzzled; this is for those of you who cringe) did not make any friends here in Mariupol. Apparently, he alienated many people, including the orphanage director, the inspector, etc. Fortunately, our translator, Edward has been very good at mending fences. Wendy describes him as a diplomat.
While Joe claims there is a Russian phrase for "Excuse me," we don't believe they know it here. Or at least they do not know the verbal version. They do use the non-verbal version, which consists of a sharp elbow to the kidney.
That's all for now. We want to save this before another rolling black-out hits.
As we were sitting down to blog, we had 2 power outages in a row. The first one lasted about 15 minutes and the second one about 5. We persevere though; we have the kids using a hand crank generator to power the computer and torch light when we need to go potty.
We took Kolya to Extreme Park today. Think of a cross between Elitch's and the traveling amusements that set up in shopping center parking lots. It had several rides, including a roller coaster, a drop, and bumper cars. The advantage of bringing your kids along to Ukraine is they can ride the rides instead of you. Wendy and Joe did brave the roller coaster and Joe did get on the drop with Kolya and Graham. We all did the bumper cars, which did not seem to have the same restrictor plate that you have on U.S. bumper cars. This must be where the Ukrainian drivers learn their craft. We will post pictures of the park soon.
After the park we had to bring Kolya back to the orphanage. We discovered that Saturday is bath day so we anticipate a cleaner Kolya tomorrow. It is sad to say goodbye to him each time. We talk about the day when we can take him from there forever. We will be able to see Kolya for 2-3 hours tomorrow (Sunday). During the week we can see him twice a day, but it is only once a day on weekends.
On other semi-related news for those who know of the orphanage here in Mariupol. Ksenyia is getting married to a Dane. She met him in Budapest, Hungary last year at a candy museum. She told us today that she will be moving to Denmark. We understood her to say that her last day at the orphanage will be Aug 11. That will be sad for the children at the orphanage. Ksenyia is truly a loving person.
We also learned today that Victor (there are those of you who will cringe at this name and others who will be puzzled; this is for those of you who cringe) did not make any friends here in Mariupol. Apparently, he alienated many people, including the orphanage director, the inspector, etc. Fortunately, our translator, Edward has been very good at mending fences. Wendy describes him as a diplomat.
While Joe claims there is a Russian phrase for "Excuse me," we don't believe they know it here. Or at least they do not know the verbal version. They do use the non-verbal version, which consists of a sharp elbow to the kidney.
That's all for now. We want to save this before another rolling black-out hits.
Friday, July 25, 2008
Cathing up at the end of a long day
Wendy posted a brief blurb earlier. We have gotten a court date, Aug 4. Edward also told us that we got one of the good judges, so our session should only last 30-40 minutes. This has made us very happy. Joe thanks Wendy for her anal nature (Wendy says its okay if you substitute other adjectives there, like organized). With the court date then, we can expect that the court decree should be final by Aug 16. Joe, Graham, and Elizabeth should be able to make their Aug 10 flight and Wendy and Kolya should be home well before the end of August.
We went back to visit Kolya at 3:30 and brought a DVD player and a Marx Bothers movie. Graham and Elizabeth love Marx Brother's movies, Joe having introduced them years ago. While much of the humor is verbal, Harpo Marx provides more than enough physical comedy to entertain across the language barriers. The best part of our day today was hearing Kolya laugh.
A few other things we wanted to mention as part of our adventure. We have posted some pictures of the outside of our Mariupol flat and the stairwell leading up. We will try to get some pictures of the inside which do it justice. While the outside looks rundown from behind, the front looks much more refined (insert your own social commentary here). The flat itself has been given some updates. The kitchen has a beautiful tile floor and new cabinets with state of the art hinges. You just think about it and the cabinet door closes. The living room has 4 separate lighting groups, each with their own dimmer switch, leading to some very cool effects. It is cluttered with the life of the owner and his family. Which brings me to the next story.
The owner of the flat is a businessman here in Mariupol. He is an importer/exporter of agricultural products (we don't dare ask what kind). He came by the flat yesterday to pick up some items and we were able to talk to him through our interpreter. Alexander (the owner) loves to talk, and apparently has connections everywhere. He also has 2 daughters, one 19 and one 15. He has proposed a match. He would like his 15 year old daughter and Graham to be married. We would provide the car and he would provide the 3 room apartment for them. I have no doubt that Graham would become a part of his father-in-laws business. But Graham's heart lies with another back in good old Colorad0, so he turned our landlord down. We just hope that decision does not come back to haunt us.
We have also noticed that the difference in time zones seems to have played weird tricks on this family. Graham and Elizabeth, who normally are up until the wee hours during the summer, are in bed by 10pm. Their parents (that's us) who are in bed by 10pm are up and blogging, wide awake. Go figure.
Joe had an adventure of his own making today. While we were waiting outside the lawyer's office, Joe noticed that there was a sidewalk flea market across the street, so he wandered over. As he looked through the goods, he noticed several Soviet medals. Knowing the kids would get a kick out of that, Joe proceeded to haggle over them. He had learned how to say "How much is it?" in Russian, and knew his numbers from 1-10, a bit shakier once he got above that. But he had a strategy. He put 19 grivnas in his pocket, figuring about $5 for a couple of the medals would be a good deal. He approached and asked in Russian, "How big are the badgers?" (it seems that small differences in pronunciation can have big differences in meaning).
Quick aside for breaking news. We are sitting in the apartment which has an internet connection, and fireworks are going off right outside the window.
Okay, back to Joe and the street vendor. After establishing that Joe wanted to know the price of 2 of the medals, the street vendor told him that one was 10 and the other 15. Joe offered 10 for both. And the negotiations began. Joe, however, was merely guessing at what the vendor was offering. When he had the vendor down to what he thought was 20, Joe brought out his grivnas and showed 19. The street vendor looked at them, shrugged, and said "Da." Joe handed over the money, he got the medals and went back to the van feeling very proud of himself. Later, after we finished at the lawyers and were driving away, Joe reflected on what he had heard from the vendor and wondered if the vendor had actually wanted 12. In which case the vendor's shrug probably meant "I will take this crazy American's money if he wants to give it to me.
New pictures are posted, take a look. And rest assured, the cat did not get the bird. Here again is the link to the pictures:
http://s274.photobucket.com/albums/jj262/jhickman13/AdoptionAdventure/?albumview=grid
We went back to visit Kolya at 3:30 and brought a DVD player and a Marx Bothers movie. Graham and Elizabeth love Marx Brother's movies, Joe having introduced them years ago. While much of the humor is verbal, Harpo Marx provides more than enough physical comedy to entertain across the language barriers. The best part of our day today was hearing Kolya laugh.
A few other things we wanted to mention as part of our adventure. We have posted some pictures of the outside of our Mariupol flat and the stairwell leading up. We will try to get some pictures of the inside which do it justice. While the outside looks rundown from behind, the front looks much more refined (insert your own social commentary here). The flat itself has been given some updates. The kitchen has a beautiful tile floor and new cabinets with state of the art hinges. You just think about it and the cabinet door closes. The living room has 4 separate lighting groups, each with their own dimmer switch, leading to some very cool effects. It is cluttered with the life of the owner and his family. Which brings me to the next story.
The owner of the flat is a businessman here in Mariupol. He is an importer/exporter of agricultural products (we don't dare ask what kind). He came by the flat yesterday to pick up some items and we were able to talk to him through our interpreter. Alexander (the owner) loves to talk, and apparently has connections everywhere. He also has 2 daughters, one 19 and one 15. He has proposed a match. He would like his 15 year old daughter and Graham to be married. We would provide the car and he would provide the 3 room apartment for them. I have no doubt that Graham would become a part of his father-in-laws business. But Graham's heart lies with another back in good old Colorad0, so he turned our landlord down. We just hope that decision does not come back to haunt us.
We have also noticed that the difference in time zones seems to have played weird tricks on this family. Graham and Elizabeth, who normally are up until the wee hours during the summer, are in bed by 10pm. Their parents (that's us) who are in bed by 10pm are up and blogging, wide awake. Go figure.
Joe had an adventure of his own making today. While we were waiting outside the lawyer's office, Joe noticed that there was a sidewalk flea market across the street, so he wandered over. As he looked through the goods, he noticed several Soviet medals. Knowing the kids would get a kick out of that, Joe proceeded to haggle over them. He had learned how to say "How much is it?" in Russian, and knew his numbers from 1-10, a bit shakier once he got above that. But he had a strategy. He put 19 grivnas in his pocket, figuring about $5 for a couple of the medals would be a good deal. He approached and asked in Russian, "How big are the badgers?" (it seems that small differences in pronunciation can have big differences in meaning).
Quick aside for breaking news. We are sitting in the apartment which has an internet connection, and fireworks are going off right outside the window.
Okay, back to Joe and the street vendor. After establishing that Joe wanted to know the price of 2 of the medals, the street vendor told him that one was 10 and the other 15. Joe offered 10 for both. And the negotiations began. Joe, however, was merely guessing at what the vendor was offering. When he had the vendor down to what he thought was 20, Joe brought out his grivnas and showed 19. The street vendor looked at them, shrugged, and said "Da." Joe handed over the money, he got the medals and went back to the van feeling very proud of himself. Later, after we finished at the lawyers and were driving away, Joe reflected on what he had heard from the vendor and wondered if the vendor had actually wanted 12. In which case the vendor's shrug probably meant "I will take this crazy American's money if he wants to give it to me.
New pictures are posted, take a look. And rest assured, the cat did not get the bird. Here again is the link to the pictures:
http://s274.photobucket.com/albums/jj262/jhickman13/AdoptionAdventure/?albumview=grid
We have a court date!!!!!
It is 1:30 pm and we are cooling off in the apartment before we go see Kolya again at 3:30. Today the attorney called us and told us our court date is Monday August 4th at 11:30 am!! Edward is GOOD! This morning when we were meeting the attorney he told us we could not have a court date in August because everyone is on vacation. In the middle of the conversation Edward asked us to return to the van. I will give one guess as to what went on in our absence...it starts with a b and ends with an e, and it worked! Edward gets a big tip from the Hickman's!
So this means we get custody of Kolya on 8/16/08 and the race begins to get his birth certificate then have it changed, getting his passport, his physical, etc. So it looks as if Joe and the kids will keep their original flights out of the country on Sun the 10th and I will change my flight to return earlier than planned. My best guess is we may leave on the 19th or 20th.
Stay tuned, we might blog again today before bedtime.
Huuuurrrrrraaaaayyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!
So this means we get custody of Kolya on 8/16/08 and the race begins to get his birth certificate then have it changed, getting his passport, his physical, etc. So it looks as if Joe and the kids will keep their original flights out of the country on Sun the 10th and I will change my flight to return earlier than planned. My best guess is we may leave on the 19th or 20th.
Stay tuned, we might blog again today before bedtime.
Huuuurrrrrraaaaayyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!
Thursday, July 24, 2008
The official meeting with Kolya
We were picked up today at 8:10 am to go meet with the director of the orphanage, Ludmilla. She told Edward yesterday to tell us we need to make a $1,000.00 donation to the orphanage first thing this morning and to put it into an envelope. She made it clear that she would not discuss this with us at all. So, first thing before we saw Kolya, Edward was summoned into her office to make the payment. She then came out smiling and told us we may "meet" our future son. Kolya was eager to show us his "marks" or grades and his drawings . I felt like he was trying to say, "Hey mom and dad, I am a good kid and will try to please you in any way possible." Ludmilla told us he hated the camp because the older boys picked on him constantly and he is glad we came to take him out. That of course, made me sad.
Also present at the "introduction" was a representative from the Inspector's office. We're not sure the purpose of this office, except to add an additional layer of what our driver describes with a shake of the head as the "Beauracratizy". After the introduction, the inspector lady pulled Edward into an office. Edward returned and told us the inspector's office has many bills to pay and the government will not help. She said she will expedite our paperwork today is we give her $200. Cha-ching. We are an ATM. I looked at Joe and said, "Just give it to her." At this point I can't get him out of there fast enough. The director told us we can visit him twice a day from 10-12:30 and 3:30 to 5pm but Graham and Elizabeth are not allowed inside the orphanage so we must go outside in the heat to see him. I will make no further comments as the director is our best friend.
The kids stayed in the apt. today and when we checked in on them they asked if we could move to another apt., one that is cleaner. I asked if they still see me as a clean freak and both said "No!" in unison. Edward took us to see another apt 2 blocks from the orphanage and it is small but very clean and uncluttered. The owner of the apt was so excited to meet a REAL American she hugged me and begged me to stay at her place. Elizabeth's comment was "we aren't that great." The kids just wanted to know if the bathroom was clean! It only has 2 beds, no oven, no microwave but it has air conditioning. We wish we could move in tonight but we paid for this place for 7 days. The beds here are all couches and were made in the 14th century and aren't even close to being comfortable. Actually I was lying there last night wishing I was back on the train. The mattress there was way more comfortable. Go figure. The driver is costing us over $100/day each day. When we move to the other apt. we will not have that cost anymore. Joe is actually thinking of moving over early because if we stay here will have to pay the driver anyway just to see Kolya.
We asked Kolya about choosing a middle name. We wanted to keep his Ukrainian name of Nykolai but asked him to choose a middle name. Edward said he probably didn't have any idea what American names were, and he did not like Graham's suggestions of Stalin or Lenin, so we kept his last name, Katsy, as a middle name. It is so easy to change your name in the US but I think being a boy, he will be fine with what we gave him.
We did make a few interesting discoveries today. We visited the lawyer today who will help us with our petition to the court. As we sat in his office, we noticed that his bookshelf contained exactly 8 books, including 2 lurid paperbacks. It is apparently a indication of the extent of the laws which exist in Ukraine.
We also have noticed that the lanes on the street are apparently just suggestions. Graham wishes he had learned to drive over here, because then his instructor would not have yelled at him so much. Although given the sound of Russian/Ukrainian, you never know if they are complimenting you or about to disembowel you.
I had to repeat that joke from yesterdays blog (as my kids have pointed out) as a lead in to the last thing we have learned. The Ukrainian language is not the same as the Russian language. Although they share many letters, a good portion of their pronunciations and words are different. On the TV here, they speak Ukranian and subtitle it in Russian. Although Joe claims he is now fluent in Russian, he blames his lack of understanding on the fact that they are speaking in Ukrainian.
A hint for those of you who may be traveling abroad soon ( a good many of you we hope). We are rinsing out our Cola Lite bottles, buying a large jug of good water then pouring the water into the cola bottles and freezing them. Today the water was thawed by 11 am and warm by noon. There are many small markets around the city, but as Joe found today while waiting outside the Inspector's office it is easier to find beer, than it is Coke Lite. So you either resign yourself to drinking beer all day to stay hydrated, or freeze your bottles. Even though most of Joe's Gates comrades would vote for the beer option,. you have to realize that at various points during the day, you have to stay coherent enough to sign your name (and they are watching your every move, ready to report it in court; and our interpreter informed us today that the KGB does not wear uniforms, so you cannot recognize them).
Okay, I'm on a roll right now, so I have to add one more thing. They have many double doors on the apartments here either directly into the apartment, or a door into a small hallway or vestibule, and then into the apartment.. We have been told this is a holdover from the days of the KGB breaking down doors. If they had to break down 2 doors, it gave you a warning they were coming. So rest assured, we will have warning when they come for us.
Finally, we have not seen any of the other children yet. Some are at the summer camp which is an overnight camp right on the beach and the others have not been out when we were there. We will be going to an amusment park with Kolya and Kseniya from the orphanage on Saturday. We will ask her about the kids.
Even more finally, we have discovered the option which allows you all to post comments using the anonymous option. So if you want to post a comment, you should be able to do so easily. We did leave on the verificiation step which requires you to enter the string of characters displayed as a guard against the spammers.
Also present at the "introduction" was a representative from the Inspector's office. We're not sure the purpose of this office, except to add an additional layer of what our driver describes with a shake of the head as the "Beauracratizy". After the introduction, the inspector lady pulled Edward into an office. Edward returned and told us the inspector's office has many bills to pay and the government will not help. She said she will expedite our paperwork today is we give her $200. Cha-ching. We are an ATM. I looked at Joe and said, "Just give it to her." At this point I can't get him out of there fast enough. The director told us we can visit him twice a day from 10-12:30 and 3:30 to 5pm but Graham and Elizabeth are not allowed inside the orphanage so we must go outside in the heat to see him. I will make no further comments as the director is our best friend.
The kids stayed in the apt. today and when we checked in on them they asked if we could move to another apt., one that is cleaner. I asked if they still see me as a clean freak and both said "No!" in unison. Edward took us to see another apt 2 blocks from the orphanage and it is small but very clean and uncluttered. The owner of the apt was so excited to meet a REAL American she hugged me and begged me to stay at her place. Elizabeth's comment was "we aren't that great." The kids just wanted to know if the bathroom was clean! It only has 2 beds, no oven, no microwave but it has air conditioning. We wish we could move in tonight but we paid for this place for 7 days. The beds here are all couches and were made in the 14th century and aren't even close to being comfortable. Actually I was lying there last night wishing I was back on the train. The mattress there was way more comfortable. Go figure. The driver is costing us over $100/day each day. When we move to the other apt. we will not have that cost anymore. Joe is actually thinking of moving over early because if we stay here will have to pay the driver anyway just to see Kolya.
We asked Kolya about choosing a middle name. We wanted to keep his Ukrainian name of Nykolai but asked him to choose a middle name. Edward said he probably didn't have any idea what American names were, and he did not like Graham's suggestions of Stalin or Lenin, so we kept his last name, Katsy, as a middle name. It is so easy to change your name in the US but I think being a boy, he will be fine with what we gave him.
We did make a few interesting discoveries today. We visited the lawyer today who will help us with our petition to the court. As we sat in his office, we noticed that his bookshelf contained exactly 8 books, including 2 lurid paperbacks. It is apparently a indication of the extent of the laws which exist in Ukraine.
We also have noticed that the lanes on the street are apparently just suggestions. Graham wishes he had learned to drive over here, because then his instructor would not have yelled at him so much. Although given the sound of Russian/Ukrainian, you never know if they are complimenting you or about to disembowel you.
I had to repeat that joke from yesterdays blog (as my kids have pointed out) as a lead in to the last thing we have learned. The Ukrainian language is not the same as the Russian language. Although they share many letters, a good portion of their pronunciations and words are different. On the TV here, they speak Ukranian and subtitle it in Russian. Although Joe claims he is now fluent in Russian, he blames his lack of understanding on the fact that they are speaking in Ukrainian.
A hint for those of you who may be traveling abroad soon ( a good many of you we hope). We are rinsing out our Cola Lite bottles, buying a large jug of good water then pouring the water into the cola bottles and freezing them. Today the water was thawed by 11 am and warm by noon. There are many small markets around the city, but as Joe found today while waiting outside the Inspector's office it is easier to find beer, than it is Coke Lite. So you either resign yourself to drinking beer all day to stay hydrated, or freeze your bottles. Even though most of Joe's Gates comrades would vote for the beer option,. you have to realize that at various points during the day, you have to stay coherent enough to sign your name (and they are watching your every move, ready to report it in court; and our interpreter informed us today that the KGB does not wear uniforms, so you cannot recognize them).
Okay, I'm on a roll right now, so I have to add one more thing. They have many double doors on the apartments here either directly into the apartment, or a door into a small hallway or vestibule, and then into the apartment.. We have been told this is a holdover from the days of the KGB breaking down doors. If they had to break down 2 doors, it gave you a warning they were coming. So rest assured, we will have warning when they come for us.
Finally, we have not seen any of the other children yet. Some are at the summer camp which is an overnight camp right on the beach and the others have not been out when we were there. We will be going to an amusment park with Kolya and Kseniya from the orphanage on Saturday. We will ask her about the kids.
Even more finally, we have discovered the option which allows you all to post comments using the anonymous option. So if you want to post a comment, you should be able to do so easily. We did leave on the verificiation step which requires you to enter the string of characters displayed as a guard against the spammers.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
The Twilight Zone 1960
We are hurtling down the highway between Donetsk and Mariupol. It is as if we are on the autobahn. Our driver, Alexi, is playing no favoirites. He has passed farm trucks, delivery trucks, Volvos, Ladas, Toyotas, BMWs. He just flashed his lights and passed an ambulance with sirens blaring. Our van has no seat belts. This must be the famous Eastern European fatalism. “If I am destined to hurtle through the front window, that is my destiny and no puny seat belt will stop me.” We on the other hand would prefer to return to Colorado with our lives intact. We are desperately rummaging through the luggage looking for something, anything, we can use to tie us down. Wendy has found a belt and secured Graham, she has woven two shirts together into a makeshift sling and lashed herself and Elizabeth to the headrest on the backseat. As for myself, I have taken the power cord to my laptop and wrapped it around the center console used a triple hitch knot to secure myself.
You have entered another dimension, a dimension of sight, sound, time, and space. A dimension not unlike our own, but at the same time, very, very different. You have entered the Eastern Ukraine Twilight Zone.
We had no problems making our train. Our tickets were for the 2nd class compartment, which meant 4 bunks. Unfortunately, we were only able to get 3 of the bunks in one compartment and 2 bunks in another compartment 2 doors away. Contrary to what we had heard, the train was very nice. While the train heated up considerably while it was waiting at the station, it did have air conditioning and once underway, we were quite comfortable. Our train left at 7:30pm for an overnight trip to Donetsk. Joe stayed with Wendy, Graham, and Elizabeth until the sky began to darken and the passengers started getting ready for bed. Then he headed back to the other compartment which he was sharing with Edward (our interpreter) and a Ukrainian couple. Wendy advises that you bring Benadryl on the trip and take it before going to bed on the train (along with Vodka). Wendy seemed to be the only one who was able to sleep most of the night (big surprise!). For the rest of us, it was like sleeping on the Twister II at Elitch’s.
We have arrived in Mariupol, greeted by a factory belching gray smoke and a large statue paying homage to the superiority of the Soviet factory worker. The smell is a seductive blend of coal, creosote, and seaweed. It is 100 degrees and VERY humid! We have worped back to the 1960's where women wore dresses and highheels and men wore dress pants everywhere. There are no seat belts and no speed limits signs. No dryers or dishwashers. I loved explaining to Elizabeth my childhood of hanging clothes on a line and the art of using the least possible amount of clothes pins possible. She is fearful of the birds pooping on our clean clothes! The apartment we are staying in looks like Joes's dad's old house...very cluttered and dirty. BUT, it has internet as we were told 50 times, and hot water (which is a privilge) and air conditioning in one room. For the internet, we could find a cafe, it is summer, so hot water is not as important, but with this temperature, that air conditioning sold us. Even if the outside of the building and the stairwell look like it was transplanted from a horror movie. We'll post pictures as soon as we are rested.
It cannot be emphasized enough to the adoption group, how much time is spent in the car, sweating and pacing! We left the train at 7:15 this morning, and were not able to shower, brush our teeth, eat, or even go to the bathroom until 6pm this evening. We have been going constantly. Teenagers tend to get a little grumpy, go figure! Tomorrow we will have a DVD ready and watch it during the hours of down time. We should be able to see at least 10 movies per day. These people really out-do Floridians (not that we have anything aganist Floridians) in the "lets see how slow we can move" game.
We have saved the biggest news for last. We saw Kolya today. That is the brightest part of our day! He looks exactly the same... no taller or bigger, just a happy kid. He still refuses to talk because he knows we do not understand a word of Ukrainian. The social worker tried to get him to practice his English but he was too shy. He sat in the back of the van and played with our kids, giggling. One of the errands today was to pick him up at summer camp and bring him back to the orphanage. We just happened to be be riding in the van when it picked him up. Tomorrow we will get to officially meet him in the director's office. We will discuss his choice of names with him since he has a chance to totally make him self into someone new. Joe favors Seward Lee Grant Hickman in honor of his great grandfather. Wendy likes Throckmorton because it sounds cool. Graham and Elizabeth are in a coin toss between Bart and Megatron. We just hope he ignores all of us and picks something which he likes. We also have about a zillion more documents (give or take 3-4). Our kids unanimously voted to stay in the airconditioned apartment for the day. Smart kids.
Seriously, once we were able to hug Kolya again, all the frustration melted away. This is our reason for being here.
You have entered another dimension, a dimension of sight, sound, time, and space. A dimension not unlike our own, but at the same time, very, very different. You have entered the Eastern Ukraine Twilight Zone.
We had no problems making our train. Our tickets were for the 2nd class compartment, which meant 4 bunks. Unfortunately, we were only able to get 3 of the bunks in one compartment and 2 bunks in another compartment 2 doors away. Contrary to what we had heard, the train was very nice. While the train heated up considerably while it was waiting at the station, it did have air conditioning and once underway, we were quite comfortable. Our train left at 7:30pm for an overnight trip to Donetsk. Joe stayed with Wendy, Graham, and Elizabeth until the sky began to darken and the passengers started getting ready for bed. Then he headed back to the other compartment which he was sharing with Edward (our interpreter) and a Ukrainian couple. Wendy advises that you bring Benadryl on the trip and take it before going to bed on the train (along with Vodka). Wendy seemed to be the only one who was able to sleep most of the night (big surprise!). For the rest of us, it was like sleeping on the Twister II at Elitch’s.
We have arrived in Mariupol, greeted by a factory belching gray smoke and a large statue paying homage to the superiority of the Soviet factory worker. The smell is a seductive blend of coal, creosote, and seaweed. It is 100 degrees and VERY humid! We have worped back to the 1960's where women wore dresses and highheels and men wore dress pants everywhere. There are no seat belts and no speed limits signs. No dryers or dishwashers. I loved explaining to Elizabeth my childhood of hanging clothes on a line and the art of using the least possible amount of clothes pins possible. She is fearful of the birds pooping on our clean clothes! The apartment we are staying in looks like Joes's dad's old house...very cluttered and dirty. BUT, it has internet as we were told 50 times, and hot water (which is a privilge) and air conditioning in one room. For the internet, we could find a cafe, it is summer, so hot water is not as important, but with this temperature, that air conditioning sold us. Even if the outside of the building and the stairwell look like it was transplanted from a horror movie. We'll post pictures as soon as we are rested.
It cannot be emphasized enough to the adoption group, how much time is spent in the car, sweating and pacing! We left the train at 7:15 this morning, and were not able to shower, brush our teeth, eat, or even go to the bathroom until 6pm this evening. We have been going constantly. Teenagers tend to get a little grumpy, go figure! Tomorrow we will have a DVD ready and watch it during the hours of down time. We should be able to see at least 10 movies per day. These people really out-do Floridians (not that we have anything aganist Floridians) in the "lets see how slow we can move" game.
We have saved the biggest news for last. We saw Kolya today. That is the brightest part of our day! He looks exactly the same... no taller or bigger, just a happy kid. He still refuses to talk because he knows we do not understand a word of Ukrainian. The social worker tried to get him to practice his English but he was too shy. He sat in the back of the van and played with our kids, giggling. One of the errands today was to pick him up at summer camp and bring him back to the orphanage. We just happened to be be riding in the van when it picked him up. Tomorrow we will get to officially meet him in the director's office. We will discuss his choice of names with him since he has a chance to totally make him self into someone new. Joe favors Seward Lee Grant Hickman in honor of his great grandfather. Wendy likes Throckmorton because it sounds cool. Graham and Elizabeth are in a coin toss between Bart and Megatron. We just hope he ignores all of us and picks something which he likes. We also have about a zillion more documents (give or take 3-4). Our kids unanimously voted to stay in the airconditioned apartment for the day. Smart kids.
Seriously, once we were able to hug Kolya again, all the frustration melted away. This is our reason for being here.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Tuesday - Day of confusion
We are still in Kyiv. Our train is scheduled to leave in 4 hours. We will be picked up in 2 hours. Our plans today were to keep a low profile, relaxing around the flat. It has been relaxation interspersed with panic.
Let me start with a short description of our current abode. There is a hallway door which is locked, and then the door to our flat. They are 2 inches apart. I guess they have double doors because the KGB used to knowdown their doors to get in. There are 4 flats on our hallway behind the hallway door and a buzzer for each flat. Because we have always gone out as a group, we have had no need for the buzzer.
Around 11am today, we heard a chirping in our flat. Surprised, we started checking for any rogue parakeets which might have flown into our flat through an open window. The chirping grew more insistent. Finally, we discovered the source of the chirping in a little box by the front door. Ever the sharp family, we deduced that it must be coming from the buzzer at the hallway door. Bravely, the family pushed Joe out into the hallway to answer. Opening the door, Joe encountered a woman speaking either Russian or Ukranian very quickly. Joe backed slowly toward the flat, afraid this was a raid from the dreaded KGB. After a few confusing minutes, during which no guns were drawn or handcuffs displayed, Joe realized he was probably not in danger. Wendy thought fast and tossed Joe the cell phone we had bought for use here. A call to Valentine brought no answer. A call to Edward brought no answer. A call to Andrew brought an answer, quickly followed by a Call Ended message. After several attempts, we were able to establish a connection with Andrew and handed the phone to the mystery woman so he could find out what she wanted. She wanted to know when we were leaving. Ahhh, we could answer that. We were able to tell her that we would be leaving at 5:45 that evening. Crisis averted. We thought....
Around 2pm, the parakeet trapped in the little box began chirping again. Confidently, Joe went to the hallway door and opened it. It was the woman who had shown us the flat when we arrived on Friday, Lena. She also was speaking in a foreign language which Joe could not understand. Where do these people think they are. They should be speaking English.... Oh, maybe not; sorry.
Once again, we grabbed our trusty cell phone and started calling around, and getting Call Ended message after Call Ended message. We pantomined to the woman that we were trying to call Valentin, but our phone was not working. She looked up his phone number in her address book and called using her phone. After connecting, she handed the phone to us. Valentin explained that there was a checkout time of noon, and she would need another 200 grivnas for us to stay until 5:45. It would have been good to know that ahead of time. We could have saved approximately $40 and sat outside with our bags for the 6 hours. Or wandered the streets of Kyiv dragging our bags behind us. All 5 of them.
Later, we used our "state of the art" cell phone to call the Matthews and let them know of our experiences. After several dropped calls, we discovered the secret. There was a 2 sq. ft. box in the bedroom where the cell phone worked perfectly, if you stayed perfectly still with your left arm cocked at a 54 degree angle and your right hand pointed NNW.
So lesson learned, allow for checkout time on the day you are leaving, and make prior arrangements when paying up front.
We have to close the blog now. We have left Graham back in the flat, and have to check to make sure the KGB has not burst in to pick him up on charges of turning the stereo all the way up to 11.
For those of you have left comments in our blog, we thank you for the thoughts and prayers. For those who have asked questions, Wendy has left a comment on yesterdays blog with answers.
Next posting will be from Mariupol (or a gulag somewhere if we do not get out of the flat by 5:45).
Wendy here, when these people talk to us they speak very quickly and loudly (which is good because some of you know I am deaf). Even though we know they are not yelling at us, well I guess we don't know that, it seems like it. When a Frenchman cusses you out it sounds like poetry, when a Ukrainian woman compliments you it sounds as if she is cussing you out. The French at least smile when they hate you. I guess I have discovered that this language is harsh even in the best of times. Poor Kolya, we will be very patient with him and pantomine EVERYTHING. :)
Let me start with a short description of our current abode. There is a hallway door which is locked, and then the door to our flat. They are 2 inches apart. I guess they have double doors because the KGB used to knowdown their doors to get in. There are 4 flats on our hallway behind the hallway door and a buzzer for each flat. Because we have always gone out as a group, we have had no need for the buzzer.
Around 11am today, we heard a chirping in our flat. Surprised, we started checking for any rogue parakeets which might have flown into our flat through an open window. The chirping grew more insistent. Finally, we discovered the source of the chirping in a little box by the front door. Ever the sharp family, we deduced that it must be coming from the buzzer at the hallway door. Bravely, the family pushed Joe out into the hallway to answer. Opening the door, Joe encountered a woman speaking either Russian or Ukranian very quickly. Joe backed slowly toward the flat, afraid this was a raid from the dreaded KGB. After a few confusing minutes, during which no guns were drawn or handcuffs displayed, Joe realized he was probably not in danger. Wendy thought fast and tossed Joe the cell phone we had bought for use here. A call to Valentine brought no answer. A call to Edward brought no answer. A call to Andrew brought an answer, quickly followed by a Call Ended message. After several attempts, we were able to establish a connection with Andrew and handed the phone to the mystery woman so he could find out what she wanted. She wanted to know when we were leaving. Ahhh, we could answer that. We were able to tell her that we would be leaving at 5:45 that evening. Crisis averted. We thought....
Around 2pm, the parakeet trapped in the little box began chirping again. Confidently, Joe went to the hallway door and opened it. It was the woman who had shown us the flat when we arrived on Friday, Lena. She also was speaking in a foreign language which Joe could not understand. Where do these people think they are. They should be speaking English.... Oh, maybe not; sorry.
Once again, we grabbed our trusty cell phone and started calling around, and getting Call Ended message after Call Ended message. We pantomined to the woman that we were trying to call Valentin, but our phone was not working. She looked up his phone number in her address book and called using her phone. After connecting, she handed the phone to us. Valentin explained that there was a checkout time of noon, and she would need another 200 grivnas for us to stay until 5:45. It would have been good to know that ahead of time. We could have saved approximately $40 and sat outside with our bags for the 6 hours. Or wandered the streets of Kyiv dragging our bags behind us. All 5 of them.
Later, we used our "state of the art" cell phone to call the Matthews and let them know of our experiences. After several dropped calls, we discovered the secret. There was a 2 sq. ft. box in the bedroom where the cell phone worked perfectly, if you stayed perfectly still with your left arm cocked at a 54 degree angle and your right hand pointed NNW.
So lesson learned, allow for checkout time on the day you are leaving, and make prior arrangements when paying up front.
We have to close the blog now. We have left Graham back in the flat, and have to check to make sure the KGB has not burst in to pick him up on charges of turning the stereo all the way up to 11.
For those of you have left comments in our blog, we thank you for the thoughts and prayers. For those who have asked questions, Wendy has left a comment on yesterdays blog with answers.
Next posting will be from Mariupol (or a gulag somewhere if we do not get out of the flat by 5:45).
Wendy here, when these people talk to us they speak very quickly and loudly (which is good because some of you know I am deaf). Even though we know they are not yelling at us, well I guess we don't know that, it seems like it. When a Frenchman cusses you out it sounds like poetry, when a Ukrainian woman compliments you it sounds as if she is cussing you out. The French at least smile when they hate you. I guess I have discovered that this language is harsh even in the best of times. Poor Kolya, we will be very patient with him and pantomine EVERYTHING. :)
Monday, July 21, 2008
SDA Appointment
This is the day we have waited for for 16 months. Joyce and Dan could not stand waiting in their apartment while we had our meeting at the SDA so they demanded to come along. It is so nice to have them with us as they are so funny and easy to get along with. We were told not to wear shorts but capris were okay. Great, I had capris, what I didn't have was an appropriate pair of shoes. Of course I heard all the wise cracks from the boys about how many shoe shops we had passed in the last 2 days. What can I say (Kara) I don't like shopping for shoes. I lucked out as Joyce had on a perfect pair of mules and did not think twice about offering me them for the appointment and we wear the same size. She is my third sister! When I told Valentin to wait a second because I had to change shoes he LOL. Am I becoming a Ukrainian? (by the way, this was written by Wendy; Joe had an appropriate pair of shoes and did not have to borrow Joyce's)
The SDA was interesting for several reasons: They were 15 minutes late calling us in because we are approved for up to 3 kids and they were trying to find 2 more children for us to take home! Go figure adoption friends, I guess we could adopt unrelated children. Maybe they had some left over from last week! I would have brought home all the kids from Mariupol for you guys if I could have, honest. It just isn't that easy is it Lisa?! Next, they stated they knew we were here to adopt a preselected child that had stayed with us in the US. They asked when that was. We told them. Oh yeah, Valentin did no prepping before the appointment, we just answered the questions truthfully. Then she asked us to tell her about our family. We then saw Kolya's picture and paperwork. His information is the same; born to a mother who was born in 1964 and her parental rights were taken away and she still lives in Mariupol. The father died in 2001. No siblings and he may have something going on with his heart which is minor. Thats it. Just remember, no one smiles here and this is very serious. (sarcasm inserted). The mother is not allowed to visit the child once the parental rights are relinguished. Another lie the Stork and "She who must not be named" told. While we were sitting there the lady asked Valentin about the Matthew's appt on Wed. The SDA had not recieved a letter requesting a specific child (another strike for The Stork and David). Valentin called Dan to ask Nastia's last name because the SDA lady could not find Nastia in her Mariupol book. (Wendy then begins to panic for the Matthew's). But, she does find Nastia in the computer so all is well. It is really good that the Matthews came as Nastia was not "reserved" or set aside for Dan and Joyce due to the missing paperwork. When Joyce found out about this, she was understandably upset and it pretty much ruined her day, even though she knows Nastia is still there and the SDA will not adopt her out to anyone else before Wed. It's the fact that they almost did not come here as the Stork requested, that really bothers them.
We then commenced souvenir shopping just next to the SDA. There are many street vendors just like a flea market in Mexico who love to pressure you into buying their junk. We did. Graham was once again in his element as there is so much soviet paraphernalia. I have never seen this kid love to shop like he does here.
We picked up our paperwork (walking papers) at the SDA at 5 pm today. It kills me that we can't leave tonight on the train but the train is booked way ahead just like plane tickets and our tickets are for tomorrow night. We leave at 7:30 pm and arrive in Donetsk at 7am then drive 80 miles to Mariupol. Valentin warned us the kids are at camp and it is up to the director whether or not she will allow him to be at the orphanage while we are in town. He must be there when we arrive for the initial meeting to sign the adoption papers and he must be present for the court date, but whether or not he is at the orphanage or at camp in between, is up to the director.
We are getting along with Dan and Joyce so well we decided that when Joe and the kids leave after the court date, Dan and Joyce will move into our 3 room flat to save money. Our flat will cost $45/noc.
By the way, Twyla, thanks for the Febreeze. With 4 people sharing a bathroom, it comes in handy.
And Shelli, we are so pleased with Valentin. Please send us an e-mail to jwhickman@comcast.net. We thought we would have your e-mail address available using our webmail, but our contacts list is not available. Andrew was the best! We now have Edward for the rest of the trip, he does laugh at our jokes as hard as Andrew. We'll break him in (Ihope).
Joe here. I am providing a link which shows a better default view of our pictures.
http://s274.photobucket.com/albums/jj262/jhickman13/AdoptionAdventure/?albumview=grid
We have no new pictures posted today. We will take pictures of the train which we will post some time after we get to Mariupol. By the way, our translator in Mariupol will be Edward. He has been working adoptions since 1999 and seems to know what he is doing.
The SDA was interesting for several reasons: They were 15 minutes late calling us in because we are approved for up to 3 kids and they were trying to find 2 more children for us to take home! Go figure adoption friends, I guess we could adopt unrelated children. Maybe they had some left over from last week! I would have brought home all the kids from Mariupol for you guys if I could have, honest. It just isn't that easy is it Lisa?! Next, they stated they knew we were here to adopt a preselected child that had stayed with us in the US. They asked when that was. We told them. Oh yeah, Valentin did no prepping before the appointment, we just answered the questions truthfully. Then she asked us to tell her about our family. We then saw Kolya's picture and paperwork. His information is the same; born to a mother who was born in 1964 and her parental rights were taken away and she still lives in Mariupol. The father died in 2001. No siblings and he may have something going on with his heart which is minor. Thats it. Just remember, no one smiles here and this is very serious. (sarcasm inserted). The mother is not allowed to visit the child once the parental rights are relinguished. Another lie the Stork and "She who must not be named" told. While we were sitting there the lady asked Valentin about the Matthew's appt on Wed. The SDA had not recieved a letter requesting a specific child (another strike for The Stork and David). Valentin called Dan to ask Nastia's last name because the SDA lady could not find Nastia in her Mariupol book. (Wendy then begins to panic for the Matthew's). But, she does find Nastia in the computer so all is well. It is really good that the Matthews came as Nastia was not "reserved" or set aside for Dan and Joyce due to the missing paperwork. When Joyce found out about this, she was understandably upset and it pretty much ruined her day, even though she knows Nastia is still there and the SDA will not adopt her out to anyone else before Wed. It's the fact that they almost did not come here as the Stork requested, that really bothers them.
We then commenced souvenir shopping just next to the SDA. There are many street vendors just like a flea market in Mexico who love to pressure you into buying their junk. We did. Graham was once again in his element as there is so much soviet paraphernalia. I have never seen this kid love to shop like he does here.
We picked up our paperwork (walking papers) at the SDA at 5 pm today. It kills me that we can't leave tonight on the train but the train is booked way ahead just like plane tickets and our tickets are for tomorrow night. We leave at 7:30 pm and arrive in Donetsk at 7am then drive 80 miles to Mariupol. Valentin warned us the kids are at camp and it is up to the director whether or not she will allow him to be at the orphanage while we are in town. He must be there when we arrive for the initial meeting to sign the adoption papers and he must be present for the court date, but whether or not he is at the orphanage or at camp in between, is up to the director.
We are getting along with Dan and Joyce so well we decided that when Joe and the kids leave after the court date, Dan and Joyce will move into our 3 room flat to save money. Our flat will cost $45/noc.
By the way, Twyla, thanks for the Febreeze. With 4 people sharing a bathroom, it comes in handy.
And Shelli, we are so pleased with Valentin. Please send us an e-mail to jwhickman@comcast.net. We thought we would have your e-mail address available using our webmail, but our contacts list is not available. Andrew was the best! We now have Edward for the rest of the trip, he does laugh at our jokes as hard as Andrew. We'll break him in (Ihope).
Joe here. I am providing a link which shows a better default view of our pictures.
http://s274.photobucket.com/albums/jj262/jhickman13/AdoptionAdventure/?albumview=grid
We have no new pictures posted today. We will take pictures of the train which we will post some time after we get to Mariupol. By the way, our translator in Mariupol will be Edward. He has been working adoptions since 1999 and seems to know what he is doing.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Sunday in Kyiv
Today we were on our own until 1 pm. We tried the WiFi Cafe across the street but were unable to log on with the lap top. We then ventured out and stumbled upon a large farmers market, fish market and what we would call a flee market. These women are shoe obsessed and wear dresses and highheels everywhere! That is all they sold at the flee market it seemed. When Joyce, Elizabeth and I went shopping at the mall yesterday they were all American stores! And of course the other stores sold.......you guessed it, dresses and highheels! No way Jose! While we were at the farmers market we saw bing cheeries and wanted to buy them. We tried not to talk too much so that the sellers would not know we were American and take advantage of us. It didn't work, we spent 12 dollars for a kg of cheeries! Oh well.
From 1-4 pm we walked around what we would call "Living History Farms" in Iowa. It was a very large area depicting the history of Ukraine. None of us girls were that interested in it but the boys liked it.
We are now at an underground mall at an internet cafe. It seems the malls are all underground and like a maze. We do not know when we will get to another computer so don't hold your breath for our next blog. But we do have to hold our breath in this room as everyone here has B.O. including us after walking around in the heat for 3 hours. Our apointment at the SDA is at 9am tomorrow and we plan on going shopping right after that for souvenirs.
Kyiv is very modern and not much different than New York. The food is a little different and we can't read the signs or undersatnd anyone, but many people can speak English and are vey accomadating. EXCEPT the lady in the restroom just now. We have to carry toilet paper with us everywhere because they do not provide it. So I waltzed into the mall bathroom with my own TP and the lady in the booth was right on my rear-end when I came out speaking loudly and pointedly at me and demanding 1 grivna. I had no money and I did not use her TP. It didn't matter. Luckily Elizabeth and Joyce came to my rescue with money and freed me from the Ukrainian bathroom I was held prisoner in! The bathrooms are the hole in the ground and squat kind. It was a hoot to see joyce's face the first time she saw one! LOL.
One more note; the vodka here is really smooth and no headache at all in the morning. I am hooked! Only Russian vodka from now on!
We have created a place for the photos we have been taking. You can find them here:
http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj262/jhickman13/AdoptionAdventure
From 1-4 pm we walked around what we would call "Living History Farms" in Iowa. It was a very large area depicting the history of Ukraine. None of us girls were that interested in it but the boys liked it.
We are now at an underground mall at an internet cafe. It seems the malls are all underground and like a maze. We do not know when we will get to another computer so don't hold your breath for our next blog. But we do have to hold our breath in this room as everyone here has B.O. including us after walking around in the heat for 3 hours. Our apointment at the SDA is at 9am tomorrow and we plan on going shopping right after that for souvenirs.
Kyiv is very modern and not much different than New York. The food is a little different and we can't read the signs or undersatnd anyone, but many people can speak English and are vey accomadating. EXCEPT the lady in the restroom just now. We have to carry toilet paper with us everywhere because they do not provide it. So I waltzed into the mall bathroom with my own TP and the lady in the booth was right on my rear-end when I came out speaking loudly and pointedly at me and demanding 1 grivna. I had no money and I did not use her TP. It didn't matter. Luckily Elizabeth and Joyce came to my rescue with money and freed me from the Ukrainian bathroom I was held prisoner in! The bathrooms are the hole in the ground and squat kind. It was a hoot to see joyce's face the first time she saw one! LOL.
One more note; the vodka here is really smooth and no headache at all in the morning. I am hooked! Only Russian vodka from now on!
We have created a place for the photos we have been taking. You can find them here:
http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj262/jhickman13/AdoptionAdventure
Saturday – Sightseeing in Kyiv
Andrew, who would be our guide, and Victor, our driver, picked up the Matthews and then us. They were going to show us the sights of Kyiv. The first sight we saw was McDonalds. I guess Andrew figured a group of pasty Americans would need to fuel up at some place familiar before exploring the new.
We toured so many places: thousand year old churches with walls covered in murals and mosaics, a museum of miniature exhibits viewed only through magnifying glasses, an outdoor military museum with the relics of Soviet armies past (tanks, artillery, MIG fighters, rocket launchers, helicopters, etc.) Graham, of course, was in his element.
At one point in the afternoon, the guys graciously allowed the ladies to shop at an underground mall while they drank beer at an underground bar. The sacrifices guys will make for women….
Finally, after numerous tours and stops for shopping, we arrived back at our apartment. Victor then took Joyce and Dan back to their apartment. We made our way up the elevator to the 10th floor. You have not experienced elevators until you have ridden in a Soviet era model. The doors slam shut when they close, bouncing the car. It groans, it creaks, it bumps, and finally it will clunk to a rest on what you hope is your floor. It’s like a game of elevator roulette when you ride. Will the door open on our floor, will it open 2 floors below or above, or will it hurtle at break neck speed, out of control, back to the ground floor? We decided that every time it opens on the floor we actually choose, we will buy a lottery ticket. We don’t expect to win much money.
Enough digression about elevators. We were arriving back at the apartment about 10:00pm after a day of sightseeing. We took the elevator up to our floor, unlocked the door, and flicked on the light. Then tried to flick it on again, then again, then one more time for good measure. We had no power. We went through checking the various lights, the fridge, etc. No power. Joe went back down to the ground floor, bravely risking all in the elevator once again. There, he asked the building manager (or at least the little old lady who seemed to live at the front door) in his best Russian “Nyet light?” She proceeded to rattle off an impressive Russian monologue which lasted at least 3 minutes. At the end, Joe could only respond with the single Russian phrase he knows, which roughly translates to “I don’t understand.” She then led him outside and pointed to the building across the way which also seemed lightless. Joe saw the light (as it were) at that point. The power was out in a few buildings. As Joe rode back up in the elevator he had nicknamed Christine, he speculated on why the elevator would be working in a building without power, and for that matter, why the little old lady at the front desk was comfortably bathed in light. He could only imagine that it was a holdover from the Soviet days when electricity was randomly cut off to keep the populace in fear of the power of the state. A few minutes after Joe came back up, the power was restored and we happily made our way to our corners to journal our thoughts of the day.
Lessons learned today:
Ukrainian women wear 4 inch heels on cobblestone streets. Visitors to Ukraine would be better off with comfortable walking shoes because you will walk.
Hang out in Independence Square on Saturday afternoon. They have pony rides for the kids and thousands of Kyivians joining you.
Be careful on the sidewalks. Because there is little room on the street, cars use the sidewalks for parking.
Pedestrians take their life in their hands crossing the street. Just like New York City, the pedestrian does not have the right of way; he is merely a target for a driver collecting points.
Public toilets tend to be a hole in the ground and a “bring your own paper” affair.
Borscht is a tasty dish.
And the most important lesson: BRING A FLASHLIGHT.
We toured so many places: thousand year old churches with walls covered in murals and mosaics, a museum of miniature exhibits viewed only through magnifying glasses, an outdoor military museum with the relics of Soviet armies past (tanks, artillery, MIG fighters, rocket launchers, helicopters, etc.) Graham, of course, was in his element.
At one point in the afternoon, the guys graciously allowed the ladies to shop at an underground mall while they drank beer at an underground bar. The sacrifices guys will make for women….
Finally, after numerous tours and stops for shopping, we arrived back at our apartment. Victor then took Joyce and Dan back to their apartment. We made our way up the elevator to the 10th floor. You have not experienced elevators until you have ridden in a Soviet era model. The doors slam shut when they close, bouncing the car. It groans, it creaks, it bumps, and finally it will clunk to a rest on what you hope is your floor. It’s like a game of elevator roulette when you ride. Will the door open on our floor, will it open 2 floors below or above, or will it hurtle at break neck speed, out of control, back to the ground floor? We decided that every time it opens on the floor we actually choose, we will buy a lottery ticket. We don’t expect to win much money.
Enough digression about elevators. We were arriving back at the apartment about 10:00pm after a day of sightseeing. We took the elevator up to our floor, unlocked the door, and flicked on the light. Then tried to flick it on again, then again, then one more time for good measure. We had no power. We went through checking the various lights, the fridge, etc. No power. Joe went back down to the ground floor, bravely risking all in the elevator once again. There, he asked the building manager (or at least the little old lady who seemed to live at the front door) in his best Russian “Nyet light?” She proceeded to rattle off an impressive Russian monologue which lasted at least 3 minutes. At the end, Joe could only respond with the single Russian phrase he knows, which roughly translates to “I don’t understand.” She then led him outside and pointed to the building across the way which also seemed lightless. Joe saw the light (as it were) at that point. The power was out in a few buildings. As Joe rode back up in the elevator he had nicknamed Christine, he speculated on why the elevator would be working in a building without power, and for that matter, why the little old lady at the front desk was comfortably bathed in light. He could only imagine that it was a holdover from the Soviet days when electricity was randomly cut off to keep the populace in fear of the power of the state. A few minutes after Joe came back up, the power was restored and we happily made our way to our corners to journal our thoughts of the day.
Lessons learned today:
Ukrainian women wear 4 inch heels on cobblestone streets. Visitors to Ukraine would be better off with comfortable walking shoes because you will walk.
Hang out in Independence Square on Saturday afternoon. They have pony rides for the kids and thousands of Kyivians joining you.
Be careful on the sidewalks. Because there is little room on the street, cars use the sidewalks for parking.
Pedestrians take their life in their hands crossing the street. Just like New York City, the pedestrian does not have the right of way; he is merely a target for a driver collecting points.
Public toilets tend to be a hole in the ground and a “bring your own paper” affair.
Borscht is a tasty dish.
And the most important lesson: BRING A FLASHLIGHT.
Friday – Arriving in Kyiv
Friday – Arriving in Kyiv
We had expected to suffer thru the long flight from Denver to Munich, but thanks to Lufthansa, the 9 and a half hours passed quickly. The only downside to the flight occurred because Joe tried to be a good person. He pre-ordered gluten-free meals for Wendy and Graham and a vegetarian meal for Elizabeth. Wendy and Graham were presented with beautiful pieces of salmon. Wendy and Graham hate fish. Elizabeth, ever the dedicated vegetarian, looked shocked at the spinach and cheese ravioli. How could a vegetarian be expected to eat something which contained spinach????
It was the 5 hour layover in Munich which did us in. Sprawled comfortably across the luxurious airport chairs, Graham and Joe managed a couple hours of blissful sleep while Wendy and Elizabeth glared malevolently.
The second leg from Munich to Kyiv was uneventful and we met Valentin at the airport without problems. The Matthews arrived an hour after we did so we all rode into the city together. Valentin and Lena showed us our apartment, or at least tried to. It took 5 minutes of what we assume to be Russian or Ukrainian swear words, before they realized they were trying to open the door of the wrong apartment. I’m just glad that apartment was not the home to a former Soviet KGB agent. Eventually, we were shown our home in Kyiv for the next 4 days. Completely exhausted and assured by Valentin that things were on track for our SDA appointment at 9am on Monday, we fell asleep to the sounds of singing coming from the park across the street.
We had expected to suffer thru the long flight from Denver to Munich, but thanks to Lufthansa, the 9 and a half hours passed quickly. The only downside to the flight occurred because Joe tried to be a good person. He pre-ordered gluten-free meals for Wendy and Graham and a vegetarian meal for Elizabeth. Wendy and Graham were presented with beautiful pieces of salmon. Wendy and Graham hate fish. Elizabeth, ever the dedicated vegetarian, looked shocked at the spinach and cheese ravioli. How could a vegetarian be expected to eat something which contained spinach????
It was the 5 hour layover in Munich which did us in. Sprawled comfortably across the luxurious airport chairs, Graham and Joe managed a couple hours of blissful sleep while Wendy and Elizabeth glared malevolently.
The second leg from Munich to Kyiv was uneventful and we met Valentin at the airport without problems. The Matthews arrived an hour after we did so we all rode into the city together. Valentin and Lena showed us our apartment, or at least tried to. It took 5 minutes of what we assume to be Russian or Ukrainian swear words, before they realized they were trying to open the door of the wrong apartment. I’m just glad that apartment was not the home to a former Soviet KGB agent. Eventually, we were shown our home in Kyiv for the next 4 days. Completely exhausted and assured by Valentin that things were on track for our SDA appointment at 9am on Monday, we fell asleep to the sounds of singing coming from the park across the street.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
2 Days and Counting!
Well the nerves are jumpin and anxiety is high as we are leaving on July 17th on our BIG adventure. We have 3 suitcases full of donations that we and many other people want to send, along with our stuff. Luckily, Lufthansa allows 2 bags per person plus one carry on per person. Three of the bags are duffle and will fold up into the other suitcases when emptied. It’s lugging them on and off trains and in and out of hotels without elevators that will be a pain.
The adoption saga has not quieted since our last blog, as a matter of fact, things have heated up even more. The couple that is currently over in Ukraine to adopt, originally had the 2 kids they hosted adopted-out to an Italian couple several months ago. They were then given names of another sibling group. They had their appointment with the Ukrainian government in Kyiv last week and found out those 2 kids were also adopted the day before they arrived. Two other couples who hosted children have had their children adopted before they could go over there and get them. So, guess what we are worried about?! You guessed it….will Kolya be there when we get there? We contacted the adoption people in Ukraine and asked if they could possibly find out if he is indeed still there before we travel. We have not heard back.
The next question is, if he is not there (i.e., already been adopted) would we go anyway? I think the answer is yes. I would keep the appointment with the SDA then go stalk the orphanage to see if they were telling the truth. We would consider adopting another child, but we really have not gone into that thinking process just yet. The reason we were adopting Kolya was that he fit nicely into our family and we grew to love him, not just to adopt. I have been told that once we get there we will want to save all the kids we meet. Luckily, we only have permission to take one home.
We will post pictures of our departure and increasingly graying (or in my case, increasingly curly) hair as soon as we find an internet café. We do have a long layover in Munich, Germany. Maybe they will have an internet cafe and we can download/upload some pictures. Stay tuned!
The adoption saga has not quieted since our last blog, as a matter of fact, things have heated up even more. The couple that is currently over in Ukraine to adopt, originally had the 2 kids they hosted adopted-out to an Italian couple several months ago. They were then given names of another sibling group. They had their appointment with the Ukrainian government in Kyiv last week and found out those 2 kids were also adopted the day before they arrived. Two other couples who hosted children have had their children adopted before they could go over there and get them. So, guess what we are worried about?! You guessed it….will Kolya be there when we get there? We contacted the adoption people in Ukraine and asked if they could possibly find out if he is indeed still there before we travel. We have not heard back.
The next question is, if he is not there (i.e., already been adopted) would we go anyway? I think the answer is yes. I would keep the appointment with the SDA then go stalk the orphanage to see if they were telling the truth. We would consider adopting another child, but we really have not gone into that thinking process just yet. The reason we were adopting Kolya was that he fit nicely into our family and we grew to love him, not just to adopt. I have been told that once we get there we will want to save all the kids we meet. Luckily, we only have permission to take one home.
We will post pictures of our departure and increasingly graying (or in my case, increasingly curly) hair as soon as we find an internet café. We do have a long layover in Munich, Germany. Maybe they will have an internet cafe and we can download/upload some pictures. Stay tuned!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
