The Good Bye Party

Good morning everyone! I hope your day started out better than mine! Tanya and I have been taking Taxi's to places here in Mariupol and I am shocked at how cheap they are. $2 to get uphill to the Internet Cafe! We have been paying Alexi 70 grivna per hour which is $15/ hr. I decided to shop around after I spoke with The Matthews and we had a little discussion on paying this our assigned driver, Alexi, $150 + per day. As most Americans we shop for the best price and as Tanya has pointed out, if they know you are American they charge you twice as much or more. So I found out that Taxi's here charge $40 grivna per hour and if we used the taxi service here in Mariupol for our day of getting the documents we need and to get to Donetsk, it would be $400 grivna total. So Tanya discussed this with Edward and Edward discussed this with Alexi and Alexi said he would do it for $400. But, when Tanya got off the phone she said Edward would Kill her for doing this. That is when the guilt set in. By this morning I was so worried about how Edward and Alexi would act that I was not even excited about getting the court papers. Edward arrived and just nodded to me, no smile and avoided my gaze. We took the bags to the van and Alexi, who usually smiles and says "hello my American friend!" said nothing to me and avoided me totally. When Edward got into the car he said, "well, MAYBE we will get everything done today." And off we drove in a snails pace. Usually Alexi drives so fast I need to close my eyes. We dropped Edward off at the court house and Alexi when to his flat, got out of the van and left us sitting there for 15 minutes, not saying a word to us. This is when I began to cry. When Axeli returned I gave him 700 grivnas and he put his hands up in the air and said,"You tell Edward one price but you give me this!?" We then drove to the court to get the official papers and the secretary said we cannot get them until tomorrow. Apparently this judge allows the papers to be given after the 10th day not on the 10th day. Edward still would not look at me. Today was the first day I have cried on this trip. Joyce says that is better than her as she has cried so many times she has lost count. We drove back to the flat which luckily we have paid for up through tomorrow and dumped our luggage. Axeli wanted to hug me and kept telling me not to be mad at him, I cried more. It took me 30 minutes to get myself under control. We then went to the orphanage to see Kolya and as any 11 yr. old boy does, he shrugged his shoulders at having to stay at the orphanage one more day and asked to play with his Leap Frog games. I figure he is not upset because all of his best friends are at the orphanage, not at camp.
Tanya has bonded with Anya Garrett and has given Anya her cell phone number to call if Anya needs someone to talk to as Ksenyia has not returned to work, which means she got her Visa to go to to her fiance's country to get married. The other secretary understands English but does not speak it very well. She also doesn't have much of a personality either. Anya has written her parents a letter along with answers to the interview I gave her! I have given both the gifts you sent her. She is very grateful. I told both Nastia and Anya that their parents want to hear about what they do during the day and the little things that go on with them. Nastia also wrote a letter to her parents but is never downstairs to hang out with us so I was unable to interview her. Nastia did wear the yellow and purple dress I/her parents gave her to the going away party for Kolya and she looked beautiful.
I video taped the going away party and also gave the camera to Kolya so I am sure all of the Denver group will have plenty to watch when they come to the open house we will have. Tanya and I had to go to the supermarket and buy 3 boxes of fruit for the party which cost about $90. I thought the cashier was going to have a hissy fit the way she carried on about having to ring up a box of fruit that was not weighed before hand. We then had to call a taxi to get it to the orphanage. Ludmilla actually attended the party. I was surprised as she was not there for the Canadian's couple's party. Ludmilla made a big production of how I was a generous person to buy all the children of the orphanage this fruit. I rolled my eyes as I was instructed by her to do so, or else!
Tanya has bonded with the paraket in the waiting area. The bird like her so much she is able to open the cage and pet it. The lady who cares for this pet told us that Ludmilla refuses to let the bird fly as it eats the flowers on the plants. The orphanage cannot buy this bird food and it sometimes goes hungry. So I buy Kolya food and drinks to take to him each day and feed all the cats in Ukraine and she buys nuts, fruit and chips for the bird. Today, I asked the woman who cares for the bird if Ludmilla would be willing to sell the bird for $300. I planned to give it to Tanya as Tanya has said she cannot leave this poor orphan there to be treated as he is. The woman said Ludmilla hates the bird and is looking for an opportunity to get rid of it. So Tanya called her mother, her husband and her mother-in-law and they all agreed she should take the bird. When we asked Ludmilla, she said no way, as the bird is too expensive ($900) and if she sold this bird, she would just buy another one. Tanya cried and said there was no way she would take this bird if Ludmilla would turn around and buy another one. We dubbed today the day of tears for both of us.
Tomorrow will be a better day.