There's No Place Like Home!

As Joe said, we made it! Kolya is grinning from ear to ear! And for those of you who don't know us very well, I did not bribe my way through Ukraine, it just seems like it.
I have some interesting things to tell you. The day I blogged and said Kolya was "bored" was a very frustrating one. Kolya not only was bored but was suffering from food poisoning. The boiled chicken was bad. I was told by our "VIP" driver that I would be picked up at 2:00 to go to the airport. Well, Alexi the driver, was to lazy to make a left hand turn to the Internet cafe when he dropped us off so he stopped in traffic and we were invited to jump out of the van then cross 4 lanes of highway-speed traffic and walk down a block to the Internet cafe. Well, poor Kolya was practically doubled over in pain. I was less than happy with the driver. Once he was inside and sat down he looked better. So I waited outside the cafe at 2:00 for Alexi and at 2:10 I received a call from Edward asking me where I was. I explained I was sitting outside the cafe and Alexi was not there. Edward insisted Alexi was there and had been waiting for us, I insisted he was not. Then Edward told me to go to where Alexi had dropped us off. That is when I lost it. I pay top grivna for this driver and he makes us hike up to where he is and dodge traffic because he does not want to make a left hand turn. Kolya was looking even greener than before and clutching his stomach. I gave Alexi hell when I reached the van in English which he does not understand, which he interpreted as me being mad because we were going to be 10 minutes late to the airport. Clueless. We get to the airport and Kolya runs to the bathroom with Alexi in tow and empties his stomach. Alexi comes back and pantomimes this to me and I sarcastically say, no kidding and roll my eyes for real this time. Alexi immediately gets Edward on the phone and starts whispering to him (like I know what he saying) and Edward gets on the phone to tell me his diagnosis of Kolya's condition. I wanted to say, "No shit Sherlock!" but I held my tongue and instead said, "yea, I figured that one out on my own!" This just fueled my fire. Both men were clueless to why I was mad and frustrated. They just don't care for their children like we do. I checked my luggage and called Joe to vent my frustrations. Poor Joe, I just increased his stress level 10 fold, but I had no one else to talk to.
We arrived in Kyiv and I went to get our luggage and 3 men elbowed me aside and butted in line right in front of me. Then I spotted my luggage going round and round ready to be picked up and no one else's luggage was out yet. Kolya is trying to tell me to go get the luggage and I start venting once again, this time to no one in particular. I said,"You people really out do the French when it comes to rudeness!" No one even flinches or turns to look at me. So I say even louder, "that is my luggage and I would really like to get it but NOOOOOOO you people need to butt in line and be rude." No response from the crowd so this time I say,"HHHEELLLLLLOOOOOOO!!" and start plowing through the crowd. I get my 2 pieces of luggage (they are still the only ones on the carousel) and try very hard to hit everyone's shins and legs as I pull it off the belt and drag it to the back of the crowd. That felt good!
The flat we stayed in was large and in the central area of Kyiv. Everything was within walking distance. For $90 a night we had 2 forks, 2 knives and 2 spoons, 3 rusted pots for cooking and no soap for the shower. BUT, we had air conditioning and hot water. Whoo hoo!
The next day I started off the day with a breakfast of champions, peanut butter on a spoon and a diet coke! We started off the day by going to the "hospital" for the physical exam. I was not expecting much but was surprised that the doctor actually owned a stethoscope and knew how to use it. The interesting thing is the doctor's "office." We waited in a narrow hallway. On one side there are chairs and the other has many doors with the doctor's names on them. I watched as people/patients would occasionally get up from the chairs and open the doctor's door and peek inside or step inside then come back out to sit. I was thinking that must be the reception area behind the doors. Oh no. We are called into a room about 10' x 10'. In it are a desk and chair for the doctor, 2 chairs for patients and family, an exam table and a sink. The view to the exam table from the door was blocked by a simple screen. This is the doctor's office AND the exam room. So during Kolya's exam, people would open the door, peek in and look around and the doctor would tell them to go back and sit down! Can you imagine a stranger walking in on your exam?! Unbelievable.
Kolya received the first of his Hepatitis B series and his last Rubella shot to complete his immunizations for entrance into the U.S. The cost for the exam was $85 and the shots were $40.
We then headed to the US Embassy to apply for Kolya's visa to get into the US ($400). I cannot say enough about Valentin at this point as he is so organized that the visit went without a hitch. He had all our paperwork in perfect order. There was another American couple there adopting a 3 yr. old and they did not have all their papers and had to come back.
We then booked Kolya's flight to the States for $1400. If Joe had booked it from the U.S. it would have cost $2,500. So at last, we encounter a savings!! The rest of the day was running from bank to bank trying to get a cash advance on my Visa card without a PIN number. It was a no go, so Joe had to Western Union money over to me. So a note to the Denver group, take a Visa card and your PIN number with you, just in case.
The next day we had our exit interview at the U.S. Embassy and we were free to leave. I had some Grivna I needed to unload so we went souvenir shopping. I gave Kolya 20 grivna to spend and his face lit up in excitement. After many debates on what to buy, he spent it on candy and comic books! I had to laugh! Typical 11 y/o boy! Speaking of typical boys this age.... I was having Kolya shower each night before bed. He is used to having a shower once a week. So one day I bent over to kiss his head and his hair smelled sweaty. So I made sure he showered that night and emphasized to wash his hair. He came out of the bathroom with the towel over his head, drying his hair. Ten minutes later we were out on the balcony watching the military practice marching and I look over and his hair is dry. I ask him if he washed his hair. He would not say yes or no, just looked guilty. I smell his head and it stinks! He was then bent over the tub by Mama and his hair was washed to his dismay! Today, Friday the 22 nd, he got a bath by Mama and his toenails no longer have dirt underneath them and all the Ukraine has been scrubbed off. He didn't even protest, I think he just gave in to the fact that he must be clean on a daily basis. Now I need to convince him to change his underwear and clothes everyday!

I must add more kudos for Valentin. Customs in Ukraine wanted all the ORIGINAL adoption documents. Well, the US Embassy sealed the originals and told me no one could open them but the US Customs people. Valentin had given me 2 complete copies of all of the papers and they were all notarized and translated. The mean surly customs lady in Ukraine let us by after 20 minutes of going over them and discussing them with everyone else in the airport to the great dismay of all the people standing behind us. I don't think the janitor really knew what she was talking about! The US customs people keep the originals and I am left with one copy of the papers. That came in handy registering him for school today. I was able to give them his new birth certificate and the court decree of adoption in English and Russian, notarized!
We meet with his teacher, the Principal, ESL teacher and a Russian Interpreter on Monday and he starts school on Tuesday. Next will be the many visits to various doctors and dentists.
So the answer to everyone's question is YES I AM GLAD TO BE HOME! I love my house my bed and my in-door ice dispenser! I slept 9 hours last night and am back on Colorado time. It is much easier adjusting coming back than to go over.

To the Denver group, we will have an open house but we want to wait until the Stewarts and Matthews have returned so it may be in mid-September. In the meantime, feel free to call or stop over as we will be happy to see all of you! And we want to thank every one of you who posted comments on this blog as we looked forward each day to hearing from everyone. If anyone else would like to contact us in the future our e-mail address is jwhickman@comcast.net.