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