A Ball on a Boy

Saturday, 19 May

Not quite as time-adjusted as I had thought, I was awake and ready to meet the world at 6:30 AM. I got up, made a cup of tea, and went through a couple of sections of Russian using the Rosetta Stone program. I now know how to say “The horse jumps” and “A ball on a boy.” Really useful stuff.

At about 8:30, Mark got up, and we got ourselves around and ready to go by the time that our driver Sasha arrived at 10:45 to take us to the orphanage. We had brought gifts for several kids on behalf of their families, and we were able to see a couple of them to give them their gifts and take some photos/video of the kids, and to share lots of hugs and kisses. We’re finding that after school and on the weekends, these kids are petty busy…it’s hard to get them all in the same place at the same time!

Sveta had made arrangements to spend the morning with Fred and Lisa, so we were on our own. We thought it would be a good idea to take Masha to the beach before we got together with them for lunch. We thought wrong.

Lesson #1 of parenting was forgotten in our haste to see Masha…”Always be prepared.” We showed up at the beach with nothing. No towels, no beach ball, no Frisbee, no nothing. We walked up the beach, sat and stared at the sea a little bit. Masha was bored stiff. She took some pictures, but we were really ready for Sasha to return to take us to lunch.

We met back up with Fred and Lisa at a cafeteria restaurant in the center of town. These Ukrainians really like their cafeterias. They are a very popular and very inexpensive way to eat out…and pretty easy for those of us who don’t speak Russian…You can just kind of point at something, and they put it on a plate for you. Sveta has been very helpful in explaining what’s what so there are no major surprises!

Masha picked out some appropriate lunch foods, and then picked this giant tower of pink fluff on top of a cookie for dessert. She called it “Pieroshnoye.” It was the most vile pile of pink sugar….perfect choice for a kid. Fortunately, she had eaten enough for lunch (the biggest meal of the day for Ukrainians) that she got full about halfway through this monstrosity, and she abandoned it. At $0.26, we were OK with her not eating it all!

After lunch, we brought Masha back to our apartment to hang out for the afternoon. She learned how to play Blokus much quicker than I did, and after a couple of games, she asked to look at all the photos we had taken since we’d arrived. We showed her the photos of Kiev, and of her and her friends from our visit to the orphanage on Friday.

Since we had the laptop there, Mark skillfully sneaked a transition to Rosetta Stone for a quick English lesson. She did great at it until it got a little long and she got bored. She now knows how to say “The horse jumps” and “A ball on a boy.” Really useful stuff. Again.

We went outside to play on the playground outside our apartment, and Masha and I spent some time on the teeter-totter. Getting off, though, she slipped and broke the crystal on her watch. She wasn’t terribly upset, but she really wanted to go back inside, so we went back up, and watched about 20 minutes of Toy Story before it was time to take her back to the orphanage.

As we dropped her off, we were able to find one more of the kids for whom we had a gift. He was thrilled to open the package from his American family, and to hear Sveta read him the letter that they included. More hugs and photos, and he bolted back in to show his new stuff to his friends.

After saying our goodbyes, we went with Fred, Lisa and Sveta to the internet café for a quick check email check and then to Amstor. We were amazed that this place existed….Amstor is a grocery store on steroids, or a mini-Meijer. It’s a very very large grocery store with a little less than half the store dedicated to non-grocery items. You can get books, clothes, kitchen items, and CDs as well as fresh fruit, meat and fish, and of course, lots of sweets and liquor. Advice: Don’t worry about wasting any space in your luggage for any food items! We found pretty much anything we could want at Amstor.

Following Amstor, we went back to Papa Karlos’ cafeteria across from the university for a light dinner. I think we’ll be seeing a lot of that place!! Back at the apartment, we settled in and watched The Queen on the laptop and then went to bed.

We All Scream for Ice Cream

Friday, 18 May, 2007

Today was the day! Our train arrived right on time at 9:00 AM. We were met by two drivers; one for Fred and Lisa, the other for me and Mark. We both had so much luggage and the cars were both so small that Sveta barely fit in our car!

We dropped Fred and Lisa off at their apartment, and then drove to ours, about three miles away. The apartment here is very large, and comfortable(unlike the elevator, which *barely* holds three very friendly people. There are two bedrooms, an eat-n kitchen, and a separate living room with a piano and a flat panel TV. (Mark would be in heaven if we could find some English programming….we’ve been watching Russian VH1 all evening!)

We caught a quick shower, and met our driver downstairs. First we drove to the Notary’s office to have some documents prepared and signed to get started on our court petition; this formalized our request to adopt Masha. The facilitator and translator kept mixing the girls up, and talking to us about Khrystyna, and to Lisa and Fred about Masha! Instead of being switched at birth, we were joking that they were switched at the notary!

After the notary, we tried to visit the government’s social worker, who also needed to approve us before our paperwork could be finalized and turned in to the court. When we got there, we learned that the social worker had been called into a very important meeting, and that she would call us later in the day.

We went to Papa Karlos’ for lunch…a ccafeteria-style restaurant across from the University. The food was great, and it was pretty inexpensive. Also, since it’s cafeteria-style, you can just point at something, and they put it on a plate for you. Much easier than ordering from a menu.

Following lunch, Sveta tried the social worker again, but no luck. We all decided to go on over to the orphanage while we waited.

The nerves hit me about the time we pulled into the little parking lot in front of the building, and I recognized it from another family’s photos. We were ushered into a large room filled with plants, a fishtank, and a very loud bird. On our way in, we ran into Vika and Little Masha. It took us a couple of seconds to recognize Vika with her new haircut, but they were both doing great! I think Vika has been working on her English…she was very proud to answer our questions in English!

We waited for a little bit, saw Nataliya, the assistant director, and then were led to Ludmilla’s office. She brought in the orphanage doctor and social worker, and they shared some additional information with us about both girls. While this was going on, they also orchestrated a set of tasks that let us see some of the other children that had been identified as a good match.

After we spoke with Ludmilla for a while, there was a knock at the door, and when it opened, we saw Masha and Khrystyna. We ran over to them, and all kinds of hugging and kissing ensued.

We all went outside and walked around the grounds hand-in-hand for a while. Then one of Masha’s friends came out, and they pulled us around behind a little storage building to a box on the ground. Masha carefully lifted a piece of plywood from the top of the box to reveal a mama-cat and five baby kittens. They looked like they were abut 2 weeks old or so, and the kids were taking really good care of her. They all picked up the kittens and snuggled them and we took lots of pictures. It was so cute that I think Masha needs a cat. Mark does not share that opinion!

The girls had to go back inside for dance practice, and when they were done, we took them out for ice cream (with was VERY good) and we taught them “I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream.” But we had to return them to the orphanage by 6:00, so we cut the visit short and took them back. We gave each of the girls three packs of gum, and Masha also kept Sloanie (her elephant) and a can of Pringles. She also wanted to keep my flip book of her dance performance last summer to show all of her friends.

We said our goodbyes and “see you tomorrows” and then headed for the grocery store. The apartment that we are staying in does not include someone to cook for us, so we stocked up. I don’t think that many people were used to seeing a cart as full as ours was! I was even getting a little concerned that we might not have quite enough cash to cover the contents in our cart. I was relieved to see that they took Visa, but even more relieved that our cart full of groceries totaled only about $45! The same cart at home would have easily been twice that!

We got back to the apartment at about 7:30, put away all of our groceries, and heated up some cabbage rolls that we got at the store deli and then just chilled out.

Today was a great success. Masha has grown at least three inches…the pink camo pants we got her in the summer are now capris! But she is healthy and happy, and she’s wearing her glasses. She looks great, and she was very happy to see us.

The Train, The Train

Thursday, 17 March

Today, we didn’t have any real plans, so we took the opportunity to sleep in a little bit. And then a little turned into a lot.

We got up around 11:30, which left us just enough time to pack all of our stuff, eat lunch, and check email. Mark walked out to the grocery to pick up a few bottles of water and some snacks for the train.

At 3:00 on the dot, Zhana arrived with a new driver who would take us to the train station. She had thoughtfully prepared us a care package for the train, including sandwiches, apples, bottled water and diet coke, and some sweets for dessert…needless to say, we had plenty of food for the trip

We met Fred, Lisa, and Sveta at the train station with plenty of time to spare. Around 4:20, we boarded the train, and got settled into our compartment. Sasha had purchased eight beds (two full compartments) for us, but he wasn’t able to book them all in the same compartment…or car, for that matter. So he and Sveta went through good deal of trading so that both couples could have some privacy. At the current exchange rate, the train tickets ran us $130 per couple.

The train left on time, and we quickly learned that the compartment windows do not open, nor do they have any air conditioning…and it was HOT! On the other hand, the bathroom wasn’t nearly as bad as I expected (although I hear it got worse toward the end of the trip…I only braved it once, early on).

Each “bed” has a bedroll that sits on top of the bench seat, and they provide a sealed packet of sheets and pillowcases…not the softest in the world, but perfectly serviceable for a night. There are also blankets for the colder months…

Once the sun went down, the temperature in the compartment dropped to “fairly comfortable” and after a time, it got downright cold. My advice, wear comfortable layers that you can add and subtract as conditions change.

Mark and I set up the laptop (we brought several extra batteries) connected our headphones, and watched Night at the Museum. Then we snuggled down, I plugged in my iPod, and tried to sleep. We dozed in and out all night, but we got a lot more sleep than on the plane!

Dog Fight

Wednesday, 16 May

Wednesday at 11:00 AM was our scheduled appointment with the SDA; the State Department of Adoption and Protective Rights of Children. This is the first official step in our adoption activities, and without their approval, we would be headed back home without Masha…so it’s a very important step.

We got up early on Wednesday, made a cup of tea, checked email and uploaded the Tuesday blog entry. We showered and dressed for our SDA appointment (skirt and blouse for me, slacks and a shirt (no tie) for Mark. Our driver Sergei picked us up promptly at 9:30, and we got into downtown Kiev by 10:20.

There I a beautiful church next door to the SDA, so we walked around a bit and enjoyed the beautiful day. They say that May is the best time in Kiev, and I think I believe them. It was unusually warm (high 80’s the last could of days), but sunny and beautiful. The chestnut trees are all in bloom and they’re everywhere. They are gorgeous, but if you have allergies, be sure to bring antihistamines!

Just before 11:00, we went with our translator Sveta to stand outside the side door to the SDA to wait. They have a unique system. No lobby, no waiting room. At your appointment time, you stand outside in this little courtyard and wait for someone to come out and call your name. Can’t imagine doing it in winter or in the rain…..if you’re coming during inclement weather, be sure to dress appropriately and bring an umbrella!!

Tatiana, one of the SDA’s translators, came for us promptly at 11:00, and ushered us up a flight of stairs to a small office. She introduced us to the social worker in charge of preparing referrals, who confirmed that we had met Masha during a holiday hosting program last year, and checked a couple of details to be certain they had pulled the correct file. Then they told us that we had our referral, and that the paperwork would be ready for us the next day between 5 and 6.

After that, they asked us a couple of additional questions. They asked us if we had any contact with Masha since she had left, if we had sent letters, package, or had phone calls. We kept it simple but explained that we had sent letters and packages, and that we had recently received a phone number, and had spoken with her last week.

Then they asked if we had told her we were adopting her. That took us a bit by surprise; later Sasha, the leader of our facilitation team, told us he wasn’t aware of anyone being asked that question before. He seemed pleased with our answer, which was “We told her that we would like to, but that there were many steps and permissions we needed, but that we would try. We also asked her if she wanted to be adopted, and she told us yes.”

Note: those of you who are coming after us, please check with Sasha or you facilitator to followup on the *right* answer if you get asked this question…I understand that the connection between hosting and adoption is a very sensitive subject in Ukraine.

Overall, the workers at the SDA were very very nice, and seemed truly happy to be connecting us with our future daughter. They smiled a lot, and had a very gentle and kind look in their eyes.

After our appointment, we waited a bit for Sasha. We went with him on a couple of errands and then to an American-style coffee shop, where I had a CAPPUCINO! I was in heaven…coffee here is mostly Nescafe instant, so I’ve switched to tea for my caffeine buzz. While I was a little disappointed that the French press coffee wasn’t available, a triple cappuccino gave me a really nice fix.

After the coffee, we walked back to the car, and Sergei drove us back to the apartment. We spent the rest of the afternoon chilling out. We walked around a “flea market” area and to the neighborhood grocery to pick up some juice and snacks for the train trip. This was our first “on our own” adventure, and we made it through successfully.

The evening was uneventful until about 10:30 when we heard a huge ruckus on the sidewalk below the apartment. We heard a dog snarling and barking like crazy, and we hustled onto the balcony to see what was up. Our view was obstructed by a tree, but it sounded like quite a nasty dogfight. The funny thing….there were tons of people hanging around, but no one showed any concern until the owner of one of the dogs showed up. What happened next was unclear, but man grabbed the aggressor-dog and shouted very loudly and angrily. He yelled for a couple of minutes, then dragged the dog away down the street. We are still very unclear whether he was yelling at the people or the dog, or of what he was yelling, but it sure wasn’t sweetness and light!

The owner of the attackee-dog then gathered around his dog (a pretty mid-sized reddish-blonde long-haired dog). Someone brought a flashlight out so they could check to see if he was ok; apparently, he was, as they put his leash back on and he trotted off.

When everything settled down, we headed off to bed.

Huh?

Tuesday, 15 May

Mark to Christine: “Hey, honey, what time is it?”
Christine: “It’s 3:15”
Pause…Mark to Christine “Hey, honey, what did I just ask you?”
Christine: “You asked what time it was.”
Mark: “Uh, what did you say?”
Christine: “3:15.”
Mark: “Oh, OK, Thanks.”

We’re a little zoned out, but I think we’ve made the transition to Ukraine about as well as can be expected. we spent Tuesday in Kiev, getting a feel for the city.

We went to bed around 9:30 on Monday, dead tired. We both woke up about midnight, and decided it was time to put the sleeping pills we brought to a good test. One good night’s sleep would put us right on the Ukrainian time. We got up around 8:00 (we woke up before the alarm), made a cup of tea, and little triangular meat-pies and cheese slices that Zhana had left us for breakfast. We generally met the day ready to roll.

Sasha came by our apartment to pick us up at 10:00 AM, and Sergei, our driver for the day, was waiting downstairs. We quickly learned about traffic in Keiv…it rivals that of DC or LA in congestion. In addition, things like lines painted on roads are merely suggestions. In fact, curbs on sidewalks are merely suggestions as well. Ukrainians will pretty much drive or park wherever they feel like it. They still manage to avoid hitting each other or pedestrians, and they only seem to use their horns when danger is imminent. The exception is when traffic is completely stopped. Because honking your horn will certainly make everyone else in the traffic jam move faster.

Sasha dropped a couple of documents off, and then we headed off on Mission #1 for the day…getting our cell phone figured out. We tried three or four places to get our T-Mobile phone unlocked before we gave up and bought a new phone…$60 bought us a perfectly good LG phone with color display and Sudoku games built-in! Another $20 for a SIM card got us going. The per-minute charge is not too bad, and it’s got free incoming calls….so we’re in business!

We met up with Fred and Lisa for lunch at a pizzeria above Independence Square that had menus in English. They had a lot of different California-style pizzas; Mark and I had one that had a garlic sauce with ham and kidney beans on it. It looked weird (and really was nothing like what we thought we ordered) but it was very tasty. We got out of there for around $8.

We walked through the underground mall, where we saw a man carrying a monkey dressed like a kid. We couldn’t get our camera out fast enough to get a picture, but it was pretty funny. From there, we walked up a San Francisco-type hill to St. Sofia’s Cathedral. We paid 2 grivna (the Ukrainian currency) to walk around the beautiful grounds, where Sasha gave us a brief history lesson.

Then we walked a few blocks to St. Michael’s Cathedral, which was finished about 7 years ago. The inside walls and ceiling of the building were decorated with beautiful paintings of various saints. Just beyond St. Michael’s was a large park perched on top of a hill overlooking much of Kiev and its suburbs. The view was beautiful, and it really gave a perspective of this city of 3 million people.

After the park, we met back up with Sergei and drove to the internet café near our apartment where we managed to quickly upload Monday’s blog and check email. Thanks again to all of you who have expressed your encouragement and prayers! Keep ‘em coming!!! It’s really uplifting to hear from each one of you!

Sergei dropped Sasha, Mark and I back at the apartment, where we quickly checked our laptop and then walked to the local grocery store to pick up pastries, beer, and an access card for about 10 hours of dial-up internet service. Sasha came back with us, got it working, and then left us on our own. Mark got connected and called home with Skype. There was a bit of a delay, but it worked pretty well.

Zhana brought us dinner of fish and rice at 7:00, and then we settled into bed, shared a Ukrainian beer called “Black” (very yummy dark beer), watched a movie, and fell asleep