This is the post for Friday, April 23.
I woke at 4:45 and prayed for a few minutes before getting up. I got in the shower and was dressed and ready by 5:30 when Victor arrived. We packed the rest of our stuff up and were in the taxi by 5:45 as planned. At the airport, Victor showed us what line to get in to check in and we were on our own.
The girl at the check in said "Dallas" just like the travel agent did. I explained again that it is pronounced "Dulles" and that that is the name of the airport we are going to in Washington, DC. I said we don't want to got to Texas, just to Washington/Dulles. She looked at me like "Don't you think I know my job?" and ticketed our bags and gave us our boarding passes. We each had 2; one from here to Vienna, and from Vienna to Washington/Dulles. We went to find our gate and had to pass through a security that looked like a customs booth. The lady took all our papers and even wanted the court agreement. Victor had said this might happen and I had it readily available. Then she left the booth. We waited there for what seemed an eternity. Kai was nervous but I said no problem. She returned and gave us our papers and whatever we needed to pass through. Then we went through the scanners.
Kai and I were hungry and I thought there was no meal on this flight, so Kevin had a coffee and we got cheapo sandwiches at at food counter. In no time, we were on a transport out to the airplane. The plane had 3 seats on each side and we were together. I let Kai have the window and Kevin prefers that isle. That left me between my men. The flight was 2 hours long and we were served breakfast; some wierd-looking omelet thing with vegetables. It was edible. We were in Vienna in 2 hours. We had a 2 and 1/2 hour layover and so decided to look in the gift shops. We had planned to bring gifts home to a lot of people but because we blasted out of there so quickly, we never got the opportunity. My advice to people going over there is buy your gifts/souveniers as soon as possible. Don't leave it to the end!
They had some little souvenier type stuff, of course all from Vienna, not Ukraine, so what's the point. But we ended up picking out a key chain, a deck of cards, 3 pencils, and a tiny stein. The price tags were in euros, and we had no idea what a euro was worth. The cashier said she took euros, grivna, dollars and credit cards, all of which we had. She said the total came to 50-something euros and I asked her what that was in dollars. She said $72.00. I honestly said, "You've got to be s____ing me!" (I'm sorry.) She just smiled. I looked at Kevin and he said to use my credit card. I wasn't expecting to hear him say to spend that kind of money on trinkets like that, but I was not about to argue. It must have been terribly important to him to bring gifts to these people.
We waited to board for perhaps 15 minutes. I had a chance to make a post on Facebook and to write a little bit. The plane was big; 7 seats across, and we had the center 3 seats of row 22. We put Kai between us so we big peoples had the aisle. We hadn't left the terminal before I noticed that the young guy sitting directly behind me was talking on the phone to someone about adoptions. When he was finished I spoke to him that I couldn't help but overhear (blah, blah, blah) and we are heading home with our newly adopted son. Well, for goodness sake! This young man has been working as a translator and hosting facilitator for kids and adoptions in Belarusse and Russia, and where ever for like 4 or 5 years and speaks all kinds of Russian dialects. He hadn't slept in like 3 days and had been stuck in Prague due to the volcano. But when he saw Kairos, he got all kinds of excited. The 2 of them began yakking away and I honestly think it went steady for nearly 3 hours. They talked about everything, and I mean everything. This guy could really relate to Kai and Kai had him in hysterics with his talk, his jokes, his comments, and his rapping skills.
About half way through the 9 hour flight, Kai moved back to sit beside him. Both our necks were getting uncomfortable turning to talk to him. They played video games for a while but eventually reverted back to the yak. Boy, my kid can talk! No wonder he is so worried about not being able to speak English. If he can't talk, I think he'll die!
The flight lasted an actual eternity, but there were 2 meals, frequent drinks (I stuck with water) and the flight attendants were fantastic. (We were on Austrian Airlines.) They were incredibly cheerful and friendly. I do believe they all spoke at least 4 or 5 languages, and quite well from what I could tell. The seats were comfortable and there was substantially more leg room than on the Aerosvit flight. I didn't have the attention span to watch a movie, but Kevin watched the chipmonk movie twice. He watched it first in German, and then realized if he turned the channel once more, he got it in English, so he watched it again. I think he just really liked the chipmonks singing "All the single ladies....If you like it then you shoulda put a ring on it...."
Anyway, when we arrived in DC, Kai was sooo excited. Once he set foot on USA soil, he became an American citizen. How cool is that? The guy we talked with the whole flight, Rand Mason, was making a connecting flight back home to Texas but he had to claim his baggage; it wasn't checked through. And even though it took him 2 seconds to clear customs, he was there waiting for us when we finally did.
The customs people were in jovial moods, most likely because it was Friday afternoon and they were all making plans to go out for drinks after work. We didn't have to wait for an available agent and he was quick with the processing of our newest little American. Kairos was fingerprinted and his papers taken for the proper processing. Then we were directed to another officer at the end to get fingerprinted again. He was "sworn in" or something and we were on our way. God, I love America. It was all so efficient and easy. Then we went to get our bags so they could be inspected in the customs process, too.
The bags from Vienna were all placed together and ours were not among them. I reported this to the attendant who looked at the claim stubs and checked each piece of remaining luggage. Did she think we didn't know what our suitcases looked like? Once convinced they were MIA, she directed us to the baggage-is-gone lady by carousel #12. Rand, once again waited for us and we found the place we were looking for.
After waiting for a guy to get every gory detail about why his bags were not where they were supposed to be, I noticed that, on the claim stubs, the mystery was solved. The stubs said: Vienna, then Washington DC, and then (you guessed it) DALLAS!!!!! Our bags were off to Texas. I explained this to the nice lady and she tracked them down. They were being loaded onto a USAir flight to Dallas/Ft. Worth as we speak. She called and aborted their processing and told us to wait while they get sent tp where we were and go through customs. How long would that take? God only knows. I had called Sharyn, who was on her way to pick us up. She called to say she was here and heard the baggage saga. She ended up parking in short-term and came in to wait with us. We had a teary reunion with lots of hugs, but I was suffering terribly with a splitting headach since about 2/3's of the way through the flight. I found a place top sit at the coffee shop and everyone else went to get coffees. We also said our good-byes to Rand at that point. What a Godsend and a blessing he was to us this whole time. It seems that whenever we need a translator, God provides us with one, beginning with Zhenya last summer. She was an exchange student who lived with me while Kairos (Artem at the time) was being hosted by Sharyn. She was from Siberia. Then, of course there was Jessica who is so awesome. But I can't imagine what it might have been like if Kai couldn't yak off any of his excitement with anybody in Russian during that forever flight. And Rand was very experienced with travelling, not to mention that his wife works for the State Department or something and knows how to get his green card and all that stuff, too. It was incredible.
Sharyn ministered to me with an essential oil blend which made me cry. I think my headache was partly due to the airplane air and partly due to my emotions. Kevin went to see where our bags were while Kairos showed Sharyn the pictures he made with "paint" on the computer. Kevin returned shortly with all our bags and we headed out. It was nearly 6:00 when we left the airport but traffic would have been terrible anyway so it was no big deal. I got to rest my head and Kevin and Sharyn got to have coffee and we didn't have to lug our bags through customs, they did it for us.
The drive home was fun because we got to tell Sharyn all about stuff and to catch up on what had been going on in our absence. Plus my headach was going away. We arrived at our house at 8:40 with Kai cheering "Yaaaaay". Sharyn's husband Lanny was there as well as Lindsey Kravitz and Alexis Hopkins, each bearing gifts. Nancy Kravitz was out bringing home more food. We had pizza and celebrated our homecoming. We bestowed our gifts and Kairos gifted all his significants with his drawings. I love that he does that. I mean he has absolutely nothing to give anybody, so he draws these incredible drawings and gives them. We wanted him to keep them for his portfolio, but I'm sure that concept escapes him.
Everyone left by 10:00, at which point we'd been up for 24 hours straight. Kai wanted to actually see the gaming system I had for him (an X-Box) and we all ended up hitting the hay by 11:00. It was so awesome to be home, almost surreal. My appreciation for my God and my country knows no bounds at this point.
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Thursday, April 22, 2010
The End Is In Sight
This is the blog about Thursday, April 22.
I woke early again and snuck out of the apartment just after 7:00 to go to the cafe and blog.
Victor called while I was there and said that there is a flight from Kyiv to Vienna at 8:00, then to Wash. DC, and then to Dallas. I said I don't want to go to Dallas, Texas. The Washington, DC airport is called Dulles. We got that cleared up and he could get us 3 tickets. I said I'd get back to him. Kevin got up eventually and when he got on line I skyped him from the cafe. He said to go ahead and take that flight. I called Victor and he reserved it. I finished up by 10:30 and went back to the apartment. Kai was still luxuriating on the couch, but got up to get ready to go with me and Victor to the travel agent. I needed to get some grivnas and we were hungry so we went to an ATM in the Radisson Hotel and then found one of those little cafeteria places. The food was good but Kai couldn't finish. That was different! I think he is too excited to eat. Then we went to the travel agency. We booked 3 tickets without a hitch and rejoiced all the way back to the apartment.
We got our papers together and chatted about our journey. When it was time to go, we were heading out the door and Kevin couldn't find the apartment key. We wandered around for about 10 minutes or so and Kevin finally spotted it on the bed. It kind of blended in with the print of the spread. We rode a trolley-bus to the Embassy. The money taker guy gave me my tickets (there were 4 of us) and asked me in Russian to give them back to him when I disembark. Victor translated this for me and I asked him what for? He said that the man will resell the tickets and pocket the money. He said that is how things go in the Ukraine. I opted to keep the tickets for a souvenier instead. The man tapped my shoulder as I got off the bus but I ignored him.
We were early to the Embassy, our appointment wasn't until 2:00. Kevin was hungry and I was thirsty so we went in a smal restaurant nearby advertising a business lunch for 40 grivnas (about 5 bucks). It was a lovely little place and Kevin ate while we had juice and tea. Then it was off to the Embassy.
We waited a bit to pay our $400 for the visa and then waited a bit for our interview. While there, we met 3 other families just completing their adoptions and going home. They were all adopting girls, aged 11, 13, and 14. Two of the girls actually knew each other. All of us had been involved in a hosting program. That seems to be a very effective way to get kids adopted. You meet them and fall in love with them. The woman doing the interview was happy and pleasant and from South Carolina. It was great to talk to other Americans. Although they are total strangers, they feel like friends and neighbors here in Ukraine. We all waited again to get our papers and swapped adoption stories. Everyone had stories much worse than ours. Our time here was like a walk in the park compared to some of them! One guy from California got stuck in an airport terminal in Moscow for 2 days because of the volcano business. There was no food, no access to monetary funds, and at times, no bathroom facilities. There were hundreds of travellers, including mothers with babies who had run out of diapers. They called the US Embassy over the course of a whole day and nothing was done. They called the White House and were released 6 hours later!
We all got our visas and papers and congratulated each other. We hugged and kissed and went out to find Victor. It had taken exactly one hour, a piece of cake to our new way of thinking. Victor was downright giddy with joy. We were DONE!!!! We are going home!!!!! We danced down the street to the bus.
Back at the apartment, Victor went over the papers with me and told us he'd be there to pick us up at 5:45am to go to the airport. He left and I started packing. Kai played with the Paint program, and Kevin went to work. I gave Kai the phone and he talked to Jessica, Alina, Nonna, and whorver else was around. He wore out the battery, so I put it on charge that night. Soon we were hungry. Kevin didn't feel at liberty to take the time to go out to eat, so Kai and I took a walk to look for some place nice.
We walked past the Radisson Hotel and I got the idea to ask the desk girl if she had any recommendations. More people speak English in Kyiv than in Zaporizhzhya. She recommended the restaurant at the hotel, but admitted that it was expensive. She then offered a restaurant called Saffron that was Ubakistan or some sort of 'Stan" place. She assured me they spoke English and had an English menu. They have other "stan" food, she said, as well as Ukrainian. It sounded good so we walked down the street and found it.
We were greeted with the insense of hookah smoke. The decor was exotic, the staff in ornate ethnic garb. We were escorted to a table large enough for 6 and sat on pillows. I think it sort of overwhelmed Kai, but I encouraged him that this was cool and we were having fun. We ordered our food, both choosing salads and shashlik (shish-kabab). I got some bread, too. He also got rice and French fries. I got grilled vegetables. For drinks, he had a coke and I had fresh celery juice mixed with apple. I took some pictures, because the place reminded me a little of Tagine, although much bigger.
Our food arrived and everything was delicious. Kai's mood elevated as he became more comfortable that everything was going okay. I even ended up taking half my shashlik in a doggy bag home to Kevin. We asked for the bill. I had a ton of grivnas that I wanted to spend, but I wanted to make sure we had enough for the cab to the airport. I figured I would have plenty. To my great surprise, the bill came to 712 grivna (about $90!!!!!!). I had more than 500, and I thought that would be way more than enough. My bad. So, I asked if I could put 400 on grivnas and the rest on my credit card. He went away to split the bill and I went to the coat check to look for my credit card, since it wasn't in my jeans pocket.
To my horror, my credit card wasn't there, either. I didn't have enough money to pay the bill! Oh, gosh, what was I going to do? The hostess saw my panic and I explained what the problem was. She said, "No problem. We know the Radisson hotel and we will take care of it with them." I explained that I was not staying in the hotel and she said this was a problem. Then she asked, "What about your man?" I said, 'What??" She said, "Your man...your boyfriend?" I couldn't believe my ears. I said, "That's my son!" (It was actually hysterical, that she would think that. I am lol-ing as I write this.) Well, she said I could go back to the apartment and get my credit card and leave my son at the restaurant. I explained this to Kai, who I'm sure is thinking his mom is looney-tunes. He said no problem and I booked it out of there.
Kevin let me in and I explained as quickly as I could what was going on and left quickly. I called Victor to see how much the taxi would cost to the airport and he said 250 grivna. In light of that, I decided to put the whole shebang on the credit card and go. Poor Thomas, our waiter! I'm sure he was glad to see us go. We decided to try to find the little grocery we went to yesterday to get some food for Kevin. We found it and got chips, cookies and whatever. On the way home we passed a homeless lady begging on the street. Kai asked if he could go back and give her some money. I gave him all my change and he went back and put it in her cup. She said all kinds of things to him and I asked what she said. He said she said that he would have good life, good parents, good everything from God. I said, "Oh, she blessed you" and he said yeah.
Kevin was overjoyed to see we had brought him food. I finished packing and Kai listened to his rap music. I could hear the "music" and when I could make out the words and heard bad stuff, I'd call over to him "Hey, we don't talk like that". He would immediately click to another song. Later, as he scrolled through the songs, I did the same thing. He didn't play enough of most of the songs to hear where they were going with the lyrics, but some hit the ground with expletives right at the outset. Eventually I decided to have a little talk about this music. From what I understand, the Russian rap lyrics where pretty tame; "Hello, I'm in America. I don't speak English. Do you like music?" Of course he doesn't totally understand the English lyrics which are much worse. I am not convinced, however, that he doesn't know the cuss words in English. He did grow up in an orphanage, you know. After our talk, he willingly threw the CD's in the trash. I was touched and amazed.
I got ready for bed and told him to take a shower. I showed him one of Kevin's razors and said he could use it if he wanted to. If not, that was okay, too. I was in bed when he got out of the bathroom. He wanted me to look at him. He was clean shaven and beaming. He gave me a kiss and went to bed. Kevin stayed up working for about another hour before showering and coming to bed. We have a big day tomorrow. We all can't wait!
I woke early again and snuck out of the apartment just after 7:00 to go to the cafe and blog.
Victor called while I was there and said that there is a flight from Kyiv to Vienna at 8:00, then to Wash. DC, and then to Dallas. I said I don't want to go to Dallas, Texas. The Washington, DC airport is called Dulles. We got that cleared up and he could get us 3 tickets. I said I'd get back to him. Kevin got up eventually and when he got on line I skyped him from the cafe. He said to go ahead and take that flight. I called Victor and he reserved it. I finished up by 10:30 and went back to the apartment. Kai was still luxuriating on the couch, but got up to get ready to go with me and Victor to the travel agent. I needed to get some grivnas and we were hungry so we went to an ATM in the Radisson Hotel and then found one of those little cafeteria places. The food was good but Kai couldn't finish. That was different! I think he is too excited to eat. Then we went to the travel agency. We booked 3 tickets without a hitch and rejoiced all the way back to the apartment.
We got our papers together and chatted about our journey. When it was time to go, we were heading out the door and Kevin couldn't find the apartment key. We wandered around for about 10 minutes or so and Kevin finally spotted it on the bed. It kind of blended in with the print of the spread. We rode a trolley-bus to the Embassy. The money taker guy gave me my tickets (there were 4 of us) and asked me in Russian to give them back to him when I disembark. Victor translated this for me and I asked him what for? He said that the man will resell the tickets and pocket the money. He said that is how things go in the Ukraine. I opted to keep the tickets for a souvenier instead. The man tapped my shoulder as I got off the bus but I ignored him.
We were early to the Embassy, our appointment wasn't until 2:00. Kevin was hungry and I was thirsty so we went in a smal restaurant nearby advertising a business lunch for 40 grivnas (about 5 bucks). It was a lovely little place and Kevin ate while we had juice and tea. Then it was off to the Embassy.
We waited a bit to pay our $400 for the visa and then waited a bit for our interview. While there, we met 3 other families just completing their adoptions and going home. They were all adopting girls, aged 11, 13, and 14. Two of the girls actually knew each other. All of us had been involved in a hosting program. That seems to be a very effective way to get kids adopted. You meet them and fall in love with them. The woman doing the interview was happy and pleasant and from South Carolina. It was great to talk to other Americans. Although they are total strangers, they feel like friends and neighbors here in Ukraine. We all waited again to get our papers and swapped adoption stories. Everyone had stories much worse than ours. Our time here was like a walk in the park compared to some of them! One guy from California got stuck in an airport terminal in Moscow for 2 days because of the volcano business. There was no food, no access to monetary funds, and at times, no bathroom facilities. There were hundreds of travellers, including mothers with babies who had run out of diapers. They called the US Embassy over the course of a whole day and nothing was done. They called the White House and were released 6 hours later!
We all got our visas and papers and congratulated each other. We hugged and kissed and went out to find Victor. It had taken exactly one hour, a piece of cake to our new way of thinking. Victor was downright giddy with joy. We were DONE!!!! We are going home!!!!! We danced down the street to the bus.
Back at the apartment, Victor went over the papers with me and told us he'd be there to pick us up at 5:45am to go to the airport. He left and I started packing. Kai played with the Paint program, and Kevin went to work. I gave Kai the phone and he talked to Jessica, Alina, Nonna, and whorver else was around. He wore out the battery, so I put it on charge that night. Soon we were hungry. Kevin didn't feel at liberty to take the time to go out to eat, so Kai and I took a walk to look for some place nice.
We walked past the Radisson Hotel and I got the idea to ask the desk girl if she had any recommendations. More people speak English in Kyiv than in Zaporizhzhya. She recommended the restaurant at the hotel, but admitted that it was expensive. She then offered a restaurant called Saffron that was Ubakistan or some sort of 'Stan" place. She assured me they spoke English and had an English menu. They have other "stan" food, she said, as well as Ukrainian. It sounded good so we walked down the street and found it.
We were greeted with the insense of hookah smoke. The decor was exotic, the staff in ornate ethnic garb. We were escorted to a table large enough for 6 and sat on pillows. I think it sort of overwhelmed Kai, but I encouraged him that this was cool and we were having fun. We ordered our food, both choosing salads and shashlik (shish-kabab). I got some bread, too. He also got rice and French fries. I got grilled vegetables. For drinks, he had a coke and I had fresh celery juice mixed with apple. I took some pictures, because the place reminded me a little of Tagine, although much bigger.
Our food arrived and everything was delicious. Kai's mood elevated as he became more comfortable that everything was going okay. I even ended up taking half my shashlik in a doggy bag home to Kevin. We asked for the bill. I had a ton of grivnas that I wanted to spend, but I wanted to make sure we had enough for the cab to the airport. I figured I would have plenty. To my great surprise, the bill came to 712 grivna (about $90!!!!!!). I had more than 500, and I thought that would be way more than enough. My bad. So, I asked if I could put 400 on grivnas and the rest on my credit card. He went away to split the bill and I went to the coat check to look for my credit card, since it wasn't in my jeans pocket.
To my horror, my credit card wasn't there, either. I didn't have enough money to pay the bill! Oh, gosh, what was I going to do? The hostess saw my panic and I explained what the problem was. She said, "No problem. We know the Radisson hotel and we will take care of it with them." I explained that I was not staying in the hotel and she said this was a problem. Then she asked, "What about your man?" I said, 'What??" She said, "Your man...your boyfriend?" I couldn't believe my ears. I said, "That's my son!" (It was actually hysterical, that she would think that. I am lol-ing as I write this.) Well, she said I could go back to the apartment and get my credit card and leave my son at the restaurant. I explained this to Kai, who I'm sure is thinking his mom is looney-tunes. He said no problem and I booked it out of there.
Kevin let me in and I explained as quickly as I could what was going on and left quickly. I called Victor to see how much the taxi would cost to the airport and he said 250 grivna. In light of that, I decided to put the whole shebang on the credit card and go. Poor Thomas, our waiter! I'm sure he was glad to see us go. We decided to try to find the little grocery we went to yesterday to get some food for Kevin. We found it and got chips, cookies and whatever. On the way home we passed a homeless lady begging on the street. Kai asked if he could go back and give her some money. I gave him all my change and he went back and put it in her cup. She said all kinds of things to him and I asked what she said. He said she said that he would have good life, good parents, good everything from God. I said, "Oh, she blessed you" and he said yeah.
Kevin was overjoyed to see we had brought him food. I finished packing and Kai listened to his rap music. I could hear the "music" and when I could make out the words and heard bad stuff, I'd call over to him "Hey, we don't talk like that". He would immediately click to another song. Later, as he scrolled through the songs, I did the same thing. He didn't play enough of most of the songs to hear where they were going with the lyrics, but some hit the ground with expletives right at the outset. Eventually I decided to have a little talk about this music. From what I understand, the Russian rap lyrics where pretty tame; "Hello, I'm in America. I don't speak English. Do you like music?" Of course he doesn't totally understand the English lyrics which are much worse. I am not convinced, however, that he doesn't know the cuss words in English. He did grow up in an orphanage, you know. After our talk, he willingly threw the CD's in the trash. I was touched and amazed.
I got ready for bed and told him to take a shower. I showed him one of Kevin's razors and said he could use it if he wanted to. If not, that was okay, too. I was in bed when he got out of the bathroom. He wanted me to look at him. He was clean shaven and beaming. He gave me a kiss and went to bed. Kevin stayed up working for about another hour before showering and coming to bed. We have a big day tomorrow. We all can't wait!
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Craziest Days Ever
This is the blog of April 20th and April 21st, too.
I woke early again, about 5:00 and got in the shower at 5:30. I got some blogging done but couldn't post, of course. I woke Kevin at 6:45 and Kai at 7:00. We got picked up at 7:40 for the busiest day. Lots to do.
We went first to the Office of Vital Statistics to get the new birth certificate. The office doesn't open until 9:00 but Victor arranged for them to open at 8:00 just for us. Isn't he something? We were 5 minutes early but someone arrived at 8:00 and we were in business. Unfortunately, they only wanted Marina, so we sat in the lobby, cold and bored. After a while I pulled out 2 decks of cards and Kevin and I played Solitaire. Eventually, Kai became interested and asked if we could play cards together. Yay. So we got set up and before I could begin to deal, a woman appeared and spoke a bunch of Russian. Of course we had no idea what she was saying, but the funny this was, Kai pretended to not understand as well! She went away and Marina came out immediately saying that it is illegal to play cards in this public place. Well, far be it for us to cause an international incident. So, no cards. I pulled out the Dr. Seuss's ABC book and tried to recite it for Kevin without looking. I did pretty well. Love that book.
We were running out of things to occupy ourselves and it was cold in the lobby. Kai went out to sit in the cab with Vladimir who entertained him with the cool games on his cell phone. What a guy! It was nearly 9:30 when we left that place with new birth certificate in hand. Hooray! Next was off to some office that issues Kai a new identification code (maybe like Social Security or something, I don't know). Marina went in alone this time and was out in 15 minutes with this new number established. Cool. Vladimir said he has been with families who took all day to get this number. Next it was to the notary's office. We like that place. They have good candy.
It was about 10:00 by now and we had papers to sign. One paper had to be signed by Kai in Russian with his new name. This proved to be somewhat of a challenge to him and he had to practice a few times on scratch paper because the document had to be perfect. We got all the papers done by about 10:30 and Marina was rejoicing at our good fortune to have completed 3 out of the 4 things to do today so quickly. No one had eaten or even had coffee yet so we went to McDonalds. I can't seem to be rid of that place!
McDonalds was practically empty. The others got Big Macs and fries. I got a cup of coffee. It was a beautiful day, warm and sunny and we sat on the upper balcony again. There were a group of teenagers there as well, skipping school and drinking vodka. Kevin thought it interesting that we can get arrested for playing cards but these kids can openly drink and skip school and no one seems to mind.
Fat and happy, we headed to our next stop, the passport office. With our papers in order, this should be a breeze, too. Unfortunately, this proved to not be the case. The first thing they had a problem with was that on Kevin's and my passport, there is a space between the 2 c's of McCormack. This is because there is only one font used that does not have upper and lower case letters. In the court agreement and other documents, there is no space, instead the lower case followed by the capital. The man wanted us to go back to the court and have the agreement redone and 10 new copies made. The Queen had something to say about that. The man had no idea what we went through yesterday to get those papers. It took 4 hours!
Just as an aside, something I forgot to mention in yesterday's blog: We were told by the Inspector's assistant that it was a miracle that we got the court agreement at all yesterday. Apparently the head judge dude of the entire court was fired under unknown circumstances and the place was in utter chaos. Nothing got done the whole day, except, it seems, our 10 documents. So, what we thought was a disaster was actually a miracle on our behalf. Isn't God good? And don't prayers work?
The passport man agreed to not make us get the court agreement redone, but he wanted a special paper from the orphanage that states Kai's tenure there and has special stamps and seals. He was asking us to go back to the orphanage and get this document. Again, Marina argued and produced orphanage papers of a similar ilk plus his old passport, which he had used to get to the USA last summer. He appeared to relenquish this requirement, too. Then he found a misspelling of the name McCormack (in English) on 2 of the notary papers. It was spelled "McCormak". I didn't pick it up because, in Russian, they spell our name with K's all over the place. I figured they could spell it any way they wanted. But this point was non-negotiable. With back-and-forth phone calls every 10 minutes from Marina to Victor, it was all very crazy. Then Marina handed me the phone and said Victor wanted to ask me something.
Victor said that if we pay an "expedition fee" of $200 (USD), we could have the passport today instead of waiting until Saturday. Then there would be no reason to remain in Zaporizhzhya and we could go to Kiev asap. I asked him to hold one moment and ran it by Kevin who took all of 1.5 seconds to say "YES!" So, we rode to the notary's office and had tea and candies while new papers were drawn up. Kai had trouble again with writing his name, but I told him all the kids who get new names have trouble and he relaxed and came through brilliantly.
We went to get passport pictures made. The girl at the counter said, "20 grivna and you can pick up your photos tomorrow." No!!!! Marina nearly fainted. Then the girl said, "30 grivna and they will be ready in 20 minutes." That's more like it. Kai sat for his picture and we left. Then we needed to get the cash. We went to a bank and I took out $500 on my credit card. It cost me $15 to do this. No problem. Marina put $200 in a nice envelope and we went back to get the pictures. They were ready and we went back to the passport office.
The man said to wait. We've been getting really good at waiting and so we waited. The new documents were apparently good enough. At about 3:30, Marina had the new passport and pointed to the envelope on the counter saying,"Is that yours?" The man said, "Why, yes, it is." And we left quickly. Victor said that if we could get train tickets, we could leave this very evening. Oh, GOSH! It was overwhelming! We'd heard that it is incredibly difficult to get train tickets at such short notice, but we had Vladimir. He made some phone calls and we dropped Kevin off at the Intourist so he could go home and work. Then we drove to an office where we purchased 4 ticket to Kyiv for of $60. (We had spent $100 on the train to Zaporizhzhya.)
We needed to make more copies of these documents and fax them to Victor (I think) and so we went to a place to do this. It seemed to take forever. At this point I'm freaking. It was 4:30 and we were leaving at 6:30 to get a 7:30 train to Kiev. Marina said we should get something to eat, perhaps at the Pow-Wow (which we call the Nay-Bay, because that's how it's spelled). I called Kevin to see if he wanted to join us and he was reluctant, kinda freaking because of all the work he was behind in. But he said Jessica had called and was going to the Coffee Life near the Intourist. I called her to invite her to eat with us. Jessica said it took Kevin at least 10 minutes to convince her he wasn't kidding that we are leaving tonight. That is why she decided to come to our part of town.
When we got to the restaurant, Jessica was waiting. I was out of cash after paying Vladimir for the entire day so, after we ordered, Jessica and I walked to the Intourist so I could use the ATM. I tried to recount the day's events but it was all a blur. I don't know if I made any sense at all. My mind was a whirlwind. We ate quickly and I got a pizza to go for Kevin. We all went to the apartment; it was 5:30. Because we had paid for the apartment up through Thursday, Victor arranged for the owner to come by and refund us $50 for the day we wouldn't be there. So, the $200 we spent to get the passport today was saved by not being in Zaporizhzhya for 4 extra days (at $50/day). I began throwing things into suitcases. Jessica wanted to help but I didn't know what to tell her to do. I wanted to spend more time with her but there just wasn't time. Marina waited to make sure things with the owner went smoothly so she stayed and Jessica went home for worship practice.
Vladimir and the owner arrived and in 5 minutes we were out the door. The refund was given in grivna and was a little more than $50 worth. We all piled in the car and took Marina back to her apartment. Then Vladimir got us to the train station, carried my monsterous suitcase, and accompanied us to the platform. The train arrived and he escorted us to our compartment. What a guy! He said we owed him 50 grivna cab fare and Kevin gave him 200 extra. He seemed appreciative. Then he gave me a 1 grivna coin as a souvenier of Ukraine and to remember him. I guess the dude on the coin is some holy guy named Vladimir. So cute. We said our thanks and good-bys and I gave him a big American hug. He left and we were all together on the train outta here.
The train was a "local" and made stops all night long. It was hot as hell in the compartment and there's nothing to be done about it. We played cards and watched the last episode of Jordan, draining my battery in the process. Then I gave Kai my iPod and we settled in to sleep.
We were all exhausted, but it was sooooo hot and even the train had potholes, so it shook and rattled terribly. Besides, the events of the day hadn't even sunk in yet. We slept as best we could. I know Kai slept a little because I got up to use the bathroom at 2:00 and he was asleep. But he was restless most the night. The train was due to arrive in Kyiv at 9:13. At 8:00 we started picking up our bedding and getting ready to go. As we pulled into the station, I saw Victor on the platform. Kevin and Kai were out the door in a flash. The cool air and light rain were welcome after 14 hours of sauna.
The cab driver and Victor helped with our stuff and we went to the cab. We were all in the clothes we'd worn the previous day and sweated in all night. But Victor took us straight to the Medical Center. We spent the next 2 1/2 hours waiting while Kai had blood drawn, x-rays taken, a Hep B vaccine, and an exam by a lady doctor. Meanwhile, the cab driver delivered documents to the US Embassy for us. I went with Kai to get the shot and prayed that it would by no means harm him. I went with him for the medical exam, too. The doctor spoke English to some degree. She was very opinionated about us adopting so old a child. She thought it was going to be nothing but trouble. Of course, Kai wasn't making such a great first impression. He'd not slept, he was hungry, and we'd been waiting for 2 hours, not to mention the previous 2 days. He was droopy and taciturn.
The doctor lectured him as she examined him. She said for him to study hard and be obedient and that sort of stuff. He seemed to grow more animated as she talked, so I think she was being nice about it. Then Victor took us to the hospital cafeteria where we all had olivia salad and beef stroganoff. It wouldn't win any culinary awards, but we were hungry and it went down without a problem.
We left to go to our new apartment. Traffic was horrific and we crept from one gridlocked intersection to another for an hour at least. Victor said this is normal for Kyiv. The apartment was beautiful and cost $60/day. It was bigger than the first one we'd had, with a living room, nice kitchen, and modern bathroom with a shower you can stand up in. There was only one bedroom which meant Kai was on the couch. We all took showers and Victor returned at 3:30 after retrieving all the test results back at the Medical Center. We drove to the US Embassy and just the 3 of us went in to the adoption service area to fill out forms for the visa. The girl we spoke with gave us the forms to take home, said we could pay the $400 tomorrow, asked us questions about our adoption experience and fingerprinted Kai (because he is over 14 years old). We were to return tomorrow at 2:00 for our interview and to get the visa. We left and found Victor and drove back to the apartment.
After paying for the cab for the day (lotsa grivna), Victor took us for a walkabout to find an internet cafe and a grocery. There was a Coffee House (spelled K, O, Wierd-letter, E. Then XAY3. That says "Coffee House".) just past the Radisson Hotel. Yay. We found a small grocery and bought bread, cheese, ham, cookies, chocolate, juice, and who-knows-what. Victor left us at the apartment and we all ate sandwiches. I needed to get on line because if we get the visa tomorrow, we can leave on Friday to come home. So, we all went to the cafe and I posted the blog I had just finished about Monday. Then I tried to find flights home.
I had a lot of trouble. Because of such short notice, and because of the backlog from the volcano, the flights were coming up costing $3000 and up. I found something for Saturday to JFK with an overnight layover in Rome for $732. Then there'd be another flight to Richmond which was coming up as $800! So we'd rent a car and drive after 2 days flying plus jet lag. Oh, glory! Then I skyped my very, very good friend Nancy Kravitz who used to be a travel agent. She found one for Monday to JFK through Vienna for $933. But waiting til Monday was going to cost us, too. I gave her my credit card info and told her to wait. I called Victor with what we'd come up with and he said he'd contact his travel agent friend to see what she could come up with. Then he'd call me back at 10:00 and compare. I told Nancy I'd skype her from Kevin's computer when I knew anything.
I was just reeling by now and Kai was pretty bored, but not complaining. He was pretty much just praying to go home. I took advantage of being on line and pulled up some You Tube and we watched the ones of the Ukrainian girl sand painting. My computer is really fast with videos so it was enjoyable, and he seemed very interested. Then there was one about making the Mona Lisa using Microsoft paint program. He watched that with great interest and so I pulled up "paint" on my computer and he began to play. After about a half hour, I was bored and needed to get back and do laundry and fill out the visa forms for tomorrow. So Kai and I left Kevin there and went back to the apartment.
I set him up with the paint program and we put on music (pretty loud) and I got busy. He experimented for a while and then began to copy a drawing he had done of some Ukrainian poet. He worked with enthusiasm and it came out beautifully. I showed him how to save it and he began working on a sea scape for me. Kevin came home and I called Victor. Victor said he found a direct flight on Friday afternoon to JFK but only one ticket was available. I had him book it for Kevin. Kai and I could come later. He said his wife would continue to work until 2:00am looking for 2 more tickets on that flight and he'd call me in the morning. I called Nancy on skype and she booked him a flight from JFK to Norfolk, arriving at 9:00pm Friday night.
I was fairly elated that at least Kevin would be able to get home and I told Kai it was time for bed. When he was ready, he asked me to kneel beside him and pray for us all to go home together on Friday. I did and he crawled in the covers with my iPod of praise music. I got washed up and went to bed. Kevin stayed up for a while working out on the porch. He was exhausted, however, and wisely came to bed before I had fallen asleep. We'll see what the new day brings. Let's pray there are no problems getting the visa, too.
I woke early again, about 5:00 and got in the shower at 5:30. I got some blogging done but couldn't post, of course. I woke Kevin at 6:45 and Kai at 7:00. We got picked up at 7:40 for the busiest day. Lots to do.
We went first to the Office of Vital Statistics to get the new birth certificate. The office doesn't open until 9:00 but Victor arranged for them to open at 8:00 just for us. Isn't he something? We were 5 minutes early but someone arrived at 8:00 and we were in business. Unfortunately, they only wanted Marina, so we sat in the lobby, cold and bored. After a while I pulled out 2 decks of cards and Kevin and I played Solitaire. Eventually, Kai became interested and asked if we could play cards together. Yay. So we got set up and before I could begin to deal, a woman appeared and spoke a bunch of Russian. Of course we had no idea what she was saying, but the funny this was, Kai pretended to not understand as well! She went away and Marina came out immediately saying that it is illegal to play cards in this public place. Well, far be it for us to cause an international incident. So, no cards. I pulled out the Dr. Seuss's ABC book and tried to recite it for Kevin without looking. I did pretty well. Love that book.
We were running out of things to occupy ourselves and it was cold in the lobby. Kai went out to sit in the cab with Vladimir who entertained him with the cool games on his cell phone. What a guy! It was nearly 9:30 when we left that place with new birth certificate in hand. Hooray! Next was off to some office that issues Kai a new identification code (maybe like Social Security or something, I don't know). Marina went in alone this time and was out in 15 minutes with this new number established. Cool. Vladimir said he has been with families who took all day to get this number. Next it was to the notary's office. We like that place. They have good candy.
It was about 10:00 by now and we had papers to sign. One paper had to be signed by Kai in Russian with his new name. This proved to be somewhat of a challenge to him and he had to practice a few times on scratch paper because the document had to be perfect. We got all the papers done by about 10:30 and Marina was rejoicing at our good fortune to have completed 3 out of the 4 things to do today so quickly. No one had eaten or even had coffee yet so we went to McDonalds. I can't seem to be rid of that place!
McDonalds was practically empty. The others got Big Macs and fries. I got a cup of coffee. It was a beautiful day, warm and sunny and we sat on the upper balcony again. There were a group of teenagers there as well, skipping school and drinking vodka. Kevin thought it interesting that we can get arrested for playing cards but these kids can openly drink and skip school and no one seems to mind.
Fat and happy, we headed to our next stop, the passport office. With our papers in order, this should be a breeze, too. Unfortunately, this proved to not be the case. The first thing they had a problem with was that on Kevin's and my passport, there is a space between the 2 c's of McCormack. This is because there is only one font used that does not have upper and lower case letters. In the court agreement and other documents, there is no space, instead the lower case followed by the capital. The man wanted us to go back to the court and have the agreement redone and 10 new copies made. The Queen had something to say about that. The man had no idea what we went through yesterday to get those papers. It took 4 hours!
Just as an aside, something I forgot to mention in yesterday's blog: We were told by the Inspector's assistant that it was a miracle that we got the court agreement at all yesterday. Apparently the head judge dude of the entire court was fired under unknown circumstances and the place was in utter chaos. Nothing got done the whole day, except, it seems, our 10 documents. So, what we thought was a disaster was actually a miracle on our behalf. Isn't God good? And don't prayers work?
The passport man agreed to not make us get the court agreement redone, but he wanted a special paper from the orphanage that states Kai's tenure there and has special stamps and seals. He was asking us to go back to the orphanage and get this document. Again, Marina argued and produced orphanage papers of a similar ilk plus his old passport, which he had used to get to the USA last summer. He appeared to relenquish this requirement, too. Then he found a misspelling of the name McCormack (in English) on 2 of the notary papers. It was spelled "McCormak". I didn't pick it up because, in Russian, they spell our name with K's all over the place. I figured they could spell it any way they wanted. But this point was non-negotiable. With back-and-forth phone calls every 10 minutes from Marina to Victor, it was all very crazy. Then Marina handed me the phone and said Victor wanted to ask me something.
Victor said that if we pay an "expedition fee" of $200 (USD), we could have the passport today instead of waiting until Saturday. Then there would be no reason to remain in Zaporizhzhya and we could go to Kiev asap. I asked him to hold one moment and ran it by Kevin who took all of 1.5 seconds to say "YES!" So, we rode to the notary's office and had tea and candies while new papers were drawn up. Kai had trouble again with writing his name, but I told him all the kids who get new names have trouble and he relaxed and came through brilliantly.
We went to get passport pictures made. The girl at the counter said, "20 grivna and you can pick up your photos tomorrow." No!!!! Marina nearly fainted. Then the girl said, "30 grivna and they will be ready in 20 minutes." That's more like it. Kai sat for his picture and we left. Then we needed to get the cash. We went to a bank and I took out $500 on my credit card. It cost me $15 to do this. No problem. Marina put $200 in a nice envelope and we went back to get the pictures. They were ready and we went back to the passport office.
The man said to wait. We've been getting really good at waiting and so we waited. The new documents were apparently good enough. At about 3:30, Marina had the new passport and pointed to the envelope on the counter saying,"Is that yours?" The man said, "Why, yes, it is." And we left quickly. Victor said that if we could get train tickets, we could leave this very evening. Oh, GOSH! It was overwhelming! We'd heard that it is incredibly difficult to get train tickets at such short notice, but we had Vladimir. He made some phone calls and we dropped Kevin off at the Intourist so he could go home and work. Then we drove to an office where we purchased 4 ticket to Kyiv for of $60. (We had spent $100 on the train to Zaporizhzhya.)
We needed to make more copies of these documents and fax them to Victor (I think) and so we went to a place to do this. It seemed to take forever. At this point I'm freaking. It was 4:30 and we were leaving at 6:30 to get a 7:30 train to Kiev. Marina said we should get something to eat, perhaps at the Pow-Wow (which we call the Nay-Bay, because that's how it's spelled). I called Kevin to see if he wanted to join us and he was reluctant, kinda freaking because of all the work he was behind in. But he said Jessica had called and was going to the Coffee Life near the Intourist. I called her to invite her to eat with us. Jessica said it took Kevin at least 10 minutes to convince her he wasn't kidding that we are leaving tonight. That is why she decided to come to our part of town.
When we got to the restaurant, Jessica was waiting. I was out of cash after paying Vladimir for the entire day so, after we ordered, Jessica and I walked to the Intourist so I could use the ATM. I tried to recount the day's events but it was all a blur. I don't know if I made any sense at all. My mind was a whirlwind. We ate quickly and I got a pizza to go for Kevin. We all went to the apartment; it was 5:30. Because we had paid for the apartment up through Thursday, Victor arranged for the owner to come by and refund us $50 for the day we wouldn't be there. So, the $200 we spent to get the passport today was saved by not being in Zaporizhzhya for 4 extra days (at $50/day). I began throwing things into suitcases. Jessica wanted to help but I didn't know what to tell her to do. I wanted to spend more time with her but there just wasn't time. Marina waited to make sure things with the owner went smoothly so she stayed and Jessica went home for worship practice.
Vladimir and the owner arrived and in 5 minutes we were out the door. The refund was given in grivna and was a little more than $50 worth. We all piled in the car and took Marina back to her apartment. Then Vladimir got us to the train station, carried my monsterous suitcase, and accompanied us to the platform. The train arrived and he escorted us to our compartment. What a guy! He said we owed him 50 grivna cab fare and Kevin gave him 200 extra. He seemed appreciative. Then he gave me a 1 grivna coin as a souvenier of Ukraine and to remember him. I guess the dude on the coin is some holy guy named Vladimir. So cute. We said our thanks and good-bys and I gave him a big American hug. He left and we were all together on the train outta here.
The train was a "local" and made stops all night long. It was hot as hell in the compartment and there's nothing to be done about it. We played cards and watched the last episode of Jordan, draining my battery in the process. Then I gave Kai my iPod and we settled in to sleep.
We were all exhausted, but it was sooooo hot and even the train had potholes, so it shook and rattled terribly. Besides, the events of the day hadn't even sunk in yet. We slept as best we could. I know Kai slept a little because I got up to use the bathroom at 2:00 and he was asleep. But he was restless most the night. The train was due to arrive in Kyiv at 9:13. At 8:00 we started picking up our bedding and getting ready to go. As we pulled into the station, I saw Victor on the platform. Kevin and Kai were out the door in a flash. The cool air and light rain were welcome after 14 hours of sauna.
The cab driver and Victor helped with our stuff and we went to the cab. We were all in the clothes we'd worn the previous day and sweated in all night. But Victor took us straight to the Medical Center. We spent the next 2 1/2 hours waiting while Kai had blood drawn, x-rays taken, a Hep B vaccine, and an exam by a lady doctor. Meanwhile, the cab driver delivered documents to the US Embassy for us. I went with Kai to get the shot and prayed that it would by no means harm him. I went with him for the medical exam, too. The doctor spoke English to some degree. She was very opinionated about us adopting so old a child. She thought it was going to be nothing but trouble. Of course, Kai wasn't making such a great first impression. He'd not slept, he was hungry, and we'd been waiting for 2 hours, not to mention the previous 2 days. He was droopy and taciturn.
The doctor lectured him as she examined him. She said for him to study hard and be obedient and that sort of stuff. He seemed to grow more animated as she talked, so I think she was being nice about it. Then Victor took us to the hospital cafeteria where we all had olivia salad and beef stroganoff. It wouldn't win any culinary awards, but we were hungry and it went down without a problem.
We left to go to our new apartment. Traffic was horrific and we crept from one gridlocked intersection to another for an hour at least. Victor said this is normal for Kyiv. The apartment was beautiful and cost $60/day. It was bigger than the first one we'd had, with a living room, nice kitchen, and modern bathroom with a shower you can stand up in. There was only one bedroom which meant Kai was on the couch. We all took showers and Victor returned at 3:30 after retrieving all the test results back at the Medical Center. We drove to the US Embassy and just the 3 of us went in to the adoption service area to fill out forms for the visa. The girl we spoke with gave us the forms to take home, said we could pay the $400 tomorrow, asked us questions about our adoption experience and fingerprinted Kai (because he is over 14 years old). We were to return tomorrow at 2:00 for our interview and to get the visa. We left and found Victor and drove back to the apartment.
After paying for the cab for the day (lotsa grivna), Victor took us for a walkabout to find an internet cafe and a grocery. There was a Coffee House (spelled K, O, Wierd-letter, E. Then XAY3. That says "Coffee House".) just past the Radisson Hotel. Yay. We found a small grocery and bought bread, cheese, ham, cookies, chocolate, juice, and who-knows-what. Victor left us at the apartment and we all ate sandwiches. I needed to get on line because if we get the visa tomorrow, we can leave on Friday to come home. So, we all went to the cafe and I posted the blog I had just finished about Monday. Then I tried to find flights home.
I had a lot of trouble. Because of such short notice, and because of the backlog from the volcano, the flights were coming up costing $3000 and up. I found something for Saturday to JFK with an overnight layover in Rome for $732. Then there'd be another flight to Richmond which was coming up as $800! So we'd rent a car and drive after 2 days flying plus jet lag. Oh, glory! Then I skyped my very, very good friend Nancy Kravitz who used to be a travel agent. She found one for Monday to JFK through Vienna for $933. But waiting til Monday was going to cost us, too. I gave her my credit card info and told her to wait. I called Victor with what we'd come up with and he said he'd contact his travel agent friend to see what she could come up with. Then he'd call me back at 10:00 and compare. I told Nancy I'd skype her from Kevin's computer when I knew anything.
I was just reeling by now and Kai was pretty bored, but not complaining. He was pretty much just praying to go home. I took advantage of being on line and pulled up some You Tube and we watched the ones of the Ukrainian girl sand painting. My computer is really fast with videos so it was enjoyable, and he seemed very interested. Then there was one about making the Mona Lisa using Microsoft paint program. He watched that with great interest and so I pulled up "paint" on my computer and he began to play. After about a half hour, I was bored and needed to get back and do laundry and fill out the visa forms for tomorrow. So Kai and I left Kevin there and went back to the apartment.
I set him up with the paint program and we put on music (pretty loud) and I got busy. He experimented for a while and then began to copy a drawing he had done of some Ukrainian poet. He worked with enthusiasm and it came out beautifully. I showed him how to save it and he began working on a sea scape for me. Kevin came home and I called Victor. Victor said he found a direct flight on Friday afternoon to JFK but only one ticket was available. I had him book it for Kevin. Kai and I could come later. He said his wife would continue to work until 2:00am looking for 2 more tickets on that flight and he'd call me in the morning. I called Nancy on skype and she booked him a flight from JFK to Norfolk, arriving at 9:00pm Friday night.
I was fairly elated that at least Kevin would be able to get home and I told Kai it was time for bed. When he was ready, he asked me to kneel beside him and pray for us all to go home together on Friday. I did and he crawled in the covers with my iPod of praise music. I got washed up and went to bed. Kevin stayed up for a while working out on the porch. He was exhausted, however, and wisely came to bed before I had fallen asleep. We'll see what the new day brings. Let's pray there are no problems getting the visa, too.
Hurry Up and Wait!
I awoke about 5:30, excited to get this day going. I got showered and dressed and spent some time writing yesterday’s blog. I really need to buy a flash drive so I can post from Kevin’s computer. We were ready before 8:15 and were waiting only briefly when Vladimir arrived with Marina (the Queen) in the car. Our agenda for today was to go to the court, get the 10 copies of our court agreement, the all-important paper without which we can do nothing, then pick up the Inspector from Juvenile Services, go to the orphanage and meet with Ekaterina, sign some documents, take the kid and run. Sounded simple enough and Victor had assured us that everything was all set and ready to go. But this is the Ukraine. When you hear something like that, always take it with a huge grain of salt. At the court building, Marina told the secretary we were here to get the documents. She said they weren’t ready and we should come back tomorrow. This, said the Queen, was unacceptable. The secretary said to wait, and so we did. Victor suggested a gift of coffee and chocolate for the secretary so we went out to get some. Our lawyer, who we had never met, was there and took it upon himself to get the “gift” for us. I suppose he was very good at things like that. He peeled out in his old car and returned shortly with a bag containing the biggest chocolate bar I had ever seen, a jar of instant coffee, and a bottle of wine. Marina was a bit piqued about the wine and bemoaned the state of affairs in Ukrainian public service. I wondered why we did not give the secretary her gift, right away. Marina said she thinks the secretary might just take it and then not do the work for us. But after an hour and a half of waiting, they told us to go and come back in one hour. It was 10:00 and Vladimir took us to the Coffee Life (Coffee As Life Style) near the McDonalds. We had coffee and something to eat and it was a refreshing interlude. We were back at 11:00 and when we asked, were told to wait. Why does that not surprise me? So we sat on the Group W bench a la “Alice’s Restaurant” and watched as various prisoners were being escorted in and out. We even saw an Orthodox priest being brought in. Kevin hypothesized that he must have done something unorthodox. At around 12:00 we saw the secretary walk around with what looked like a stack of documents in her arms. We were hopeful. I wondered how hard it was to make 10 copies of a document that was already drawn up. Marina explained that they do not use staples in these documents. They are literally sewn together with string, sealed down with a special tape, with a stamp and signature in it. That is in addition to the signatures and stamps on the actual documents. And we needed 10. These were to have been completed by last Friday, but apparently this had not occurred. At 12:30, after 4 hours waiting, we were given our documents without ceremony. Marina was to teach English classes this afternoon beginning at 1:30. It wasn’t looking good. We bolted and Vladimir took us to the Inspector’s building across the street. We took the stairs 2 at a time and found her door locked. She wasn’t there! Marina called her and was told that she was unavailable for the rest of the day. Oh, God, no! Upon further discussion it was decided that her assistant could do the job for us but not until 4:00. In that case, we went to the orphanage to tell Kai why we weren’t getting him, that there had been a problem, and to arrange to meet here at 4:00. We were told that Ekaterina would not be there at 4:00 but that it was okay, we didn’t need her, the documents were ready. Marina faxed a copy of the court agreement to Victor and we took her to her work place exactly by 1:30. That itself was a miracle. We went to the apartment and I wrote and Kevin rested. At 3:35 we went out to get picked up by Vladimir and Marina. We picked up the Inspector’s assistant and went to the orphanage. In the Director’s office, Marina and the secretary were pouring over more documents. The assistant was looking at a dossier that wasn’t ours. Then we were told that we could not complete this transaction without Ekaterina, and that she’d be here at 5:15. Unreal! Marina decided that, to pass the time, she’d like to go see the new kitchen that Crosswalk Church had built. Nonna went to get a key and when she returned, she discovered that she needed another key to get in the main door. Someone went to get it and when produced, no one could seem to get it to work. No one can get the simplest things done in this crazy place. Kevin came over and worked the lock as good as any vandal. We got in and oooh-ed and aaah-ed over the beautiful kitchen. No one had the key to the shop room next door (so we could see the big table saw) but it might have taken an act of congress to get it. Besides, it was after 5:15 and we just spotted Ekaterina’s big black sedan. We went upstairs and the director was giving audience to staff person. It was about 5:35 when she asked us in. We exchanged formal pleasantries and then the Inspector lady arrived. It seems that Ekaterina was not about to hand over this kid with the assistant present. That’s not in the rules. This place is full of crap and I was about at my tolerance level with it. As Ekaterina signed and stamped our documents, she gushed about how wonderful it has been to get to know me (HA!) and that we are such great people, and how wonderful Kairos is (yeah, like she even knows him). I made nicey-nice with her and then she had the balls to say, “So, you’ll be picking him up on Thursday.” I first nearly freaked, then it was all I could do to not punch her in the teeth. She actually thought this was funny! She finished her documents and Kai arrived. We exchanged more pleasantries but I was seething with indignation at all the pomposity of this place. Plus I was emotionally exhausted. We all went downstairs where Kai’s classmates poured into the hallway and gave hugs, handshakes, slaps on the back and all kinds of banter. Kai procured all his belongings in a grocery bag and a small knapsack. We exited the building en masse as I videoed. Just outside the gate, teachers and kids crowded around him once more. Good wishes and blessings were lavishly bestowed. Kai said his final good-bye and we headed to the bus. I was crying at this point and Kai held me close and said, “I love my friends.” I said, “Me, too”, and I spent the better part of the bus ride trying to pull myself together. We were all starving at this point (it was about 6:00) and Marina suggested we go eat at the Christian Café near McDonalds. That sounded good so the 5 of us went. Jessica had waited with us all this time. The café was nice but my food came before everyone’s pizzas and we ended up eating at all different times. Kai was somewhat sullen, and that was to be expected, but I didn’t want him to be rude and said so. We all had hot chocolate afterwards and it was, by far the best hot chocolate I have ever had. But we were all exhausted and emotionally drained so we parted ways and went home. At the apartment, Kai watched the good-bye video twice, then all the other recent video before heading to the bath. His feet were absolutely putrid. Kevin tried to work and I just chilled. It wasn’t 10:00 and Kai went to his room. I went and knocked and he said he was going to sleep now. We exchanged kisses and hugs and I-love-yous and he was out for the night. Kevin and I watched a Jordan episode and I went to bed. Kevin stayed up until after 2:00 working.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Attitude Adjustment
A sunny morning and we were at the Coffee Life (Coffee As Lifestyle) early. When I finished my blog, I told one of the baristas that we may be leaving in one week for Kyiv and would it be possible to purchase 2 of their coffee mugs to take home as souvenirs. She understood my meaning and just as we were packing up to go, she presented me with a gift bag with 2 mugs packed with Coffee Life (Coffee As Lifestyle) napkins. I was delighted and asked how much do I owe. She said nothing, it was their gift. What a lovely surprise! I was tickled and we walked home in a jovial mood.
I was all about getting this party started so we didn’t mess around at the apartment, either. I had a ham sandwich and Kevin ate, too. Then we headed out to the bus stop and were on our way to the orphanage by 12:00. One of Andrei’s brothers said Kai was in the classroom, and sure enough, there he was. He and the boys were watching something on TV. He rose from the floor and greeted us with hugs and kisses. I told Anya we’d have him back at 8:00pm and asked if I could possibly see his room where he sleeps. She said okay to both.
Kai led us to the other building and up the stairs to the 4th floor. The door at the top was locked but after knocking for a minute, we were let in by a small, elderly woman in housekeeping garb. The hallway was spotless and lined by closed doors on either side. Kai pointed to one door and said which of his friends slept there. The next door was his, which he opened to show us 5 small, cot-like beds, as neatly made as a military institute. There were 2 wardrobes and 3 or 4 box-like “night stands” between the beds. This room, too, was immaculate. He showed us where he kept his things and took his white sneakers out of hiding. I had purchased these shoes for him last summer at Marshall’s for $15. He had kept them clean and safe for when he was coming home to America. The sneakers he wore daily were full of holes and about 2 sizes too small.
We headed out of the orphanage without ceremony, got the bus and went back to the apartment. Kai made himself 2 good-sized sandwiches and washed it down with juice. The plan today was to go to a large supermarket called Ashan, which is spelled Awah. Marina said that was a good place to get presents for Kai’s friends. I tried calling Vladimir, but appeared to get wrong numbers. Not sure why. So, I called Victor who did the deed for me. Victor called back to say that Vladimir could not come until 3:00. It was now 2:00 so I said “fine” and that was that.
We spent the better part of the next hour just hanging out. Kai was interested in watching more of the King Tut movie he’d started on Thursday and I did a crossword puzzle. At 2:45 I roused the troops and we were out of the apartment in no time. There appeared to be some elevator traffic and we were waiting longer than usual. Then my phone rang and I was sure it was Victor bugging us to not keep Vladimir waiting. Conveniently, the elevator door opened and my phone service was interrupted. Just outside, Vlad was waiting in his taxi.
I had no idea what kind of shopping area to expect of Ashan, so I didn’t know how long to tell Vladimir we’d be there. It could have been a Ukrainian “mall” with rows and rows of booths. It could have been an area of stores and restaurants. It could have been anything. But as we passed the Amctop, Vladimir said (I think) that Ashan was the same as the Amctop. I was disappointed with that bit of news and we drove down the river road, past the beach and the park where Kevin and I had walked weeks ago.
Ashan proved to be much like a Super Wal-Mart. It was one store with smaller little franchises in it, and sold a bit of just about everything. The place was pretty crowded, too. We got ourselves a cart and proceeded to the office supplies and then to the games and sporting goods department. We got a 3-color pen for Vitaly and a soccer ball for Sergei. We got ping pong paddles for Sasha and cookies for the teachers. In the toiletries section, we went nuts. Kai (the nose) McCormack proceeded to smell every men’s deodorant/body spray on the shelf. We bought one for every boy. Kevin and Kai were stoked. I guess these guys are really enthusiastic about smelling good. (Peas in a pod.)
We wandered through the food section and found the bakery. Kai picked out 2 cakes for his going away party tomorrow. They were beautiful. I’m not sure what else we bought but it all came to just under $500 grivna (about $60). Vladimir had taken the opportunity to do some shopping himself and we were done about the same time. We piled everything into the trunk of the car and drove back to the apartment.
We spread all the presents, both what we had just bought and the things I had brought from home, and divvied everything up so he knew who was to get what. He made tags with names on them and marked on the labels. He said that as far as the deodorants go, they could pick out the one they liked best. I thought that was a good idea, and he packed everything away in a bag. He asked that we would leave everything here and bring it tomorrow afternoon when we come. That plus 2 cakes on the bus…no problem!
It was a little early for dinner so Kai watched the rest of the movie and Kevin and I sat on the balcony, had a beer, and talked. He said that if Kai was sad for a little while, that’s to be expected and allowed. I agreed. We talked about family and how it seems to be so important to him. We talked about tomorrow and taking the kids to McDonald’s.
It was about 5:45 when we decided to go get something to eat. We decided to eat at the Mustang restaurant. I thought Kai might think it cool. He did. The waitress had given us English menus. Kai wouldn’t order food. Then I realized that his menu was in English, too, and he couldn’t read it. I got him a Russian one and he got busy. He ordered the same salad that I did, then some cold soup, and dessert. Kevin got stuffed mushrooms and a pepper steak. I got that “steak done in a Mexican way” that I got before.
Kevin’s mushrooms were sorta nasty, stuffed with liver. Kai didn’t like his soup for some reason. Kevin had some but I think he didn’t like the idea of cold soup. I was happy to share my Mexican steak with Kai and we all got enough to eat. By the time he had his ice cream and we paid the bill (MasterCard!), it was after 7:30. We started back toward the apartment and it was raining. The wind was blowy and the rain came down as we hurried toward the river. Kai called out something in Russian. I asked what he was saying. He said, “Please, Jesus, make tomorrow to have sun and no rain and be hot outside to go to McDonald’s.” I said “Amen!” and was so proud that my son was praying and that he knew all the words in English. He said his shoes were “broken” and I realized that he was walking in puddles with holes in his shoes. His feet must have been freezing.
We didn’t wait long for a bus and we rode back quietly, me holding his hand. I was so encouraged that we had gone the whole day without a translator and had no problems communicating. It was a good day. By the time we arrived at the orphanage it had stopped raining (Yay!). We walked into the courtyard and there was no teacher in sight. Instead we found Sergei and Ludwig walking around in shorts and tee shirts. Why weren’t they freezing? Kevin had to use the bathroom so I waited outside with the boys. I said, in my best Russian, “Tomorrow, maybe McDonald’s?” They said yes and I showed them the pictures I took of the Mustang restaurant and its cool bathroom.
Kevin and I said our good-byes and went to the bus. At home, we watched 2 “Jordan’s” and went to bed before 11:00.
I was all about getting this party started so we didn’t mess around at the apartment, either. I had a ham sandwich and Kevin ate, too. Then we headed out to the bus stop and were on our way to the orphanage by 12:00. One of Andrei’s brothers said Kai was in the classroom, and sure enough, there he was. He and the boys were watching something on TV. He rose from the floor and greeted us with hugs and kisses. I told Anya we’d have him back at 8:00pm and asked if I could possibly see his room where he sleeps. She said okay to both.
Kai led us to the other building and up the stairs to the 4th floor. The door at the top was locked but after knocking for a minute, we were let in by a small, elderly woman in housekeeping garb. The hallway was spotless and lined by closed doors on either side. Kai pointed to one door and said which of his friends slept there. The next door was his, which he opened to show us 5 small, cot-like beds, as neatly made as a military institute. There were 2 wardrobes and 3 or 4 box-like “night stands” between the beds. This room, too, was immaculate. He showed us where he kept his things and took his white sneakers out of hiding. I had purchased these shoes for him last summer at Marshall’s for $15. He had kept them clean and safe for when he was coming home to America. The sneakers he wore daily were full of holes and about 2 sizes too small.
We headed out of the orphanage without ceremony, got the bus and went back to the apartment. Kai made himself 2 good-sized sandwiches and washed it down with juice. The plan today was to go to a large supermarket called Ashan, which is spelled Awah. Marina said that was a good place to get presents for Kai’s friends. I tried calling Vladimir, but appeared to get wrong numbers. Not sure why. So, I called Victor who did the deed for me. Victor called back to say that Vladimir could not come until 3:00. It was now 2:00 so I said “fine” and that was that.
We spent the better part of the next hour just hanging out. Kai was interested in watching more of the King Tut movie he’d started on Thursday and I did a crossword puzzle. At 2:45 I roused the troops and we were out of the apartment in no time. There appeared to be some elevator traffic and we were waiting longer than usual. Then my phone rang and I was sure it was Victor bugging us to not keep Vladimir waiting. Conveniently, the elevator door opened and my phone service was interrupted. Just outside, Vlad was waiting in his taxi.
I had no idea what kind of shopping area to expect of Ashan, so I didn’t know how long to tell Vladimir we’d be there. It could have been a Ukrainian “mall” with rows and rows of booths. It could have been an area of stores and restaurants. It could have been anything. But as we passed the Amctop, Vladimir said (I think) that Ashan was the same as the Amctop. I was disappointed with that bit of news and we drove down the river road, past the beach and the park where Kevin and I had walked weeks ago.
Ashan proved to be much like a Super Wal-Mart. It was one store with smaller little franchises in it, and sold a bit of just about everything. The place was pretty crowded, too. We got ourselves a cart and proceeded to the office supplies and then to the games and sporting goods department. We got a 3-color pen for Vitaly and a soccer ball for Sergei. We got ping pong paddles for Sasha and cookies for the teachers. In the toiletries section, we went nuts. Kai (the nose) McCormack proceeded to smell every men’s deodorant/body spray on the shelf. We bought one for every boy. Kevin and Kai were stoked. I guess these guys are really enthusiastic about smelling good. (Peas in a pod.)
We wandered through the food section and found the bakery. Kai picked out 2 cakes for his going away party tomorrow. They were beautiful. I’m not sure what else we bought but it all came to just under $500 grivna (about $60). Vladimir had taken the opportunity to do some shopping himself and we were done about the same time. We piled everything into the trunk of the car and drove back to the apartment.
We spread all the presents, both what we had just bought and the things I had brought from home, and divvied everything up so he knew who was to get what. He made tags with names on them and marked on the labels. He said that as far as the deodorants go, they could pick out the one they liked best. I thought that was a good idea, and he packed everything away in a bag. He asked that we would leave everything here and bring it tomorrow afternoon when we come. That plus 2 cakes on the bus…no problem!
It was a little early for dinner so Kai watched the rest of the movie and Kevin and I sat on the balcony, had a beer, and talked. He said that if Kai was sad for a little while, that’s to be expected and allowed. I agreed. We talked about family and how it seems to be so important to him. We talked about tomorrow and taking the kids to McDonald’s.
It was about 5:45 when we decided to go get something to eat. We decided to eat at the Mustang restaurant. I thought Kai might think it cool. He did. The waitress had given us English menus. Kai wouldn’t order food. Then I realized that his menu was in English, too, and he couldn’t read it. I got him a Russian one and he got busy. He ordered the same salad that I did, then some cold soup, and dessert. Kevin got stuffed mushrooms and a pepper steak. I got that “steak done in a Mexican way” that I got before.
Kevin’s mushrooms were sorta nasty, stuffed with liver. Kai didn’t like his soup for some reason. Kevin had some but I think he didn’t like the idea of cold soup. I was happy to share my Mexican steak with Kai and we all got enough to eat. By the time he had his ice cream and we paid the bill (MasterCard!), it was after 7:30. We started back toward the apartment and it was raining. The wind was blowy and the rain came down as we hurried toward the river. Kai called out something in Russian. I asked what he was saying. He said, “Please, Jesus, make tomorrow to have sun and no rain and be hot outside to go to McDonald’s.” I said “Amen!” and was so proud that my son was praying and that he knew all the words in English. He said his shoes were “broken” and I realized that he was walking in puddles with holes in his shoes. His feet must have been freezing.
We didn’t wait long for a bus and we rode back quietly, me holding his hand. I was so encouraged that we had gone the whole day without a translator and had no problems communicating. It was a good day. By the time we arrived at the orphanage it had stopped raining (Yay!). We walked into the courtyard and there was no teacher in sight. Instead we found Sergei and Ludwig walking around in shorts and tee shirts. Why weren’t they freezing? Kevin had to use the bathroom so I waited outside with the boys. I said, in my best Russian, “Tomorrow, maybe McDonald’s?” They said yes and I showed them the pictures I took of the Mustang restaurant and its cool bathroom.
Kevin and I said our good-byes and went to the bus. At home, we watched 2 “Jordan’s” and went to bed before 11:00.
Friday, April 16, 2010
A Day Off
Friday arrived cold and rainy. We took our time getting to the cafe and I blogged and wrote emails all morning. I had decided to take the day off from the orphanage mostly because I couldn't figure what to do if I went. And that way Kai could have his last day of school with no distractions. He could be bored and sick of the place so when he leaves, he'll be good and ready.
I had a sandwich and played FreeCell for a while. I even took a little nap (This after 9 hours sleep!). It was raining lightly but I wanted to go out for a while. There is a second hand store just past the bus stop that I have wanted to check out so I went.
The store was tidy and without that second hand store musty smell. I perused the racks of tops and pants, not sure about the sizes. When I had 3 or 4 things draped over my arm, a sales girl came and took them from me, chatting about whatever, and pointing to a rack near the dressing rooms. I tried to look like I knew what she was saying and thought that she was very nice. I had accumulated quite a few things and decided to try them on. The sales girl again helped me by hanging my things on hooks outside the dressing room where I could reach them.
I had not guessed the pants size right, but the tops were right on. I really liked 3 of them and made my purchase. I spent about $25 (195 grivna). What a bargain. They appeared to be brand new. I am so sick of wearing the same 4 shirts, now I have some new options!
I walked to the Amctop, not knowing exactly what for, but just for something to do. I wandered the aisles looking for ideas for small gifts for Kai's friends. The only idea I came up with was a gift for Ludwig's birthday, which is Monday. I thought he might like some of that Axe deodorant/body spray that the teenage boys like so much. I picked one out and got in the wrong check-out line. There were 2 parties before me making just a few purchases, but it seemed to take hours. Then the girls in front of me wanted to buy a small lighter that apparently jammed the cash register scanner. The check-out lady flipped on the flashing light and I went to find another line. Does that always happen to you?
I headed home and was pretty wet by the time I got there. My shoes were a mess. I'm really gonna have to toss them when I get home. They don't owe me anything. I spent the rest of the day and evening sitting on my butt playing computer games and watching episodes of Chuck. Sorry this is so boring, but everyone says it'll get more exciting once we start getting ready to go home. Jessica called me when she was leaving the orphanage. She had told Kai I would not be coming and he seemed a little concerned. She asked him about the weekend plans and I guess he just kept saying that we should do whatever Mom wants to do. He knows we'll be coming to get him tomorrow and that we'd like to take the boys to McDonald's on Sunday. Jessica initiated the permission protocol and the teacher named Olga will be accompanying us. Awesome.
Thank you soooo much to all of you praying and sending me encouraging messages. I think I will have a much better attitude tomorrow because we have plans to do stuff and Kevin doesn't have to work. We're planning to find some big shopping center and buy gifts for Kai's friends. The challenge will be that we'll have no translater and will need to call a cab to take us there. Can't wait to see how that all works out.
I had a sandwich and played FreeCell for a while. I even took a little nap (This after 9 hours sleep!). It was raining lightly but I wanted to go out for a while. There is a second hand store just past the bus stop that I have wanted to check out so I went.
The store was tidy and without that second hand store musty smell. I perused the racks of tops and pants, not sure about the sizes. When I had 3 or 4 things draped over my arm, a sales girl came and took them from me, chatting about whatever, and pointing to a rack near the dressing rooms. I tried to look like I knew what she was saying and thought that she was very nice. I had accumulated quite a few things and decided to try them on. The sales girl again helped me by hanging my things on hooks outside the dressing room where I could reach them.
I had not guessed the pants size right, but the tops were right on. I really liked 3 of them and made my purchase. I spent about $25 (195 grivna). What a bargain. They appeared to be brand new. I am so sick of wearing the same 4 shirts, now I have some new options!
I walked to the Amctop, not knowing exactly what for, but just for something to do. I wandered the aisles looking for ideas for small gifts for Kai's friends. The only idea I came up with was a gift for Ludwig's birthday, which is Monday. I thought he might like some of that Axe deodorant/body spray that the teenage boys like so much. I picked one out and got in the wrong check-out line. There were 2 parties before me making just a few purchases, but it seemed to take hours. Then the girls in front of me wanted to buy a small lighter that apparently jammed the cash register scanner. The check-out lady flipped on the flashing light and I went to find another line. Does that always happen to you?
I headed home and was pretty wet by the time I got there. My shoes were a mess. I'm really gonna have to toss them when I get home. They don't owe me anything. I spent the rest of the day and evening sitting on my butt playing computer games and watching episodes of Chuck. Sorry this is so boring, but everyone says it'll get more exciting once we start getting ready to go home. Jessica called me when she was leaving the orphanage. She had told Kai I would not be coming and he seemed a little concerned. She asked him about the weekend plans and I guess he just kept saying that we should do whatever Mom wants to do. He knows we'll be coming to get him tomorrow and that we'd like to take the boys to McDonald's on Sunday. Jessica initiated the permission protocol and the teacher named Olga will be accompanying us. Awesome.
Thank you soooo much to all of you praying and sending me encouraging messages. I think I will have a much better attitude tomorrow because we have plans to do stuff and Kevin doesn't have to work. We're planning to find some big shopping center and buy gifts for Kai's friends. The challenge will be that we'll have no translater and will need to call a cab to take us there. Can't wait to see how that all works out.
The End of My Rope
So I get to the Coffee Life (Coffee As Life Style) early, without Kevin. I check my email, look at Facebook and write my blog. Then I get to do what I really want to do, find us flights home. My computer is really fast and I checked multiple sites, days and airports. The best I could find for the 28th was an 8:20am out of Kiev on Ukraine Airlines going to Frankfurt. Then a change of planes to Delta to JFK arriving at 2:30pm. Flight time of 13 hours, instead of 10 and 1/2 for a direct flight. Those tickets cost $525 each with $187 taxes on each as well. Then there is a Delta flight from JFK to Richmond at 6:30, arriving around 8:30pm. That flight cost $49, I think. The only direct flight from Kiev to JFK is on May 4th. I'm really not all that willing to stay another week for that. I called Victor to tell him what I came up with and he told me to wait and not book anything. He wants to see what his travel agent friend can come up with and he has concerns that we might not have the new passport in time. Oh, well.....
Kevin arrived at the cafe around 11:00 and we left after 12:00. He made an awesome batch of ham salad and we ate. I did a crossword puzzle and some laundry, then left to go to the orphanage. I told Jessica I'd bring my computer so she could take whatever pictures and stuff she wanted off of it. I also brought a couple of movies. My sister had a set of those made-for-tv Hallmark movies that are packaged 4 for like $10. I took them thinking they'd have enough action to keep him interested and would be good for him to learn some English.
Kai parked me in the classroom while he went to have lunch. Jessica arrived and we started uploading pictures on her camera memory card because she forgot to bring her flash drive. In no time, Kai was back and we looked at all the video we took of Sasha jumping off stuff. I showed him I had brought some movies (I should say "film" because that's like the Russian word) and he was interested in seeing one. I put in the one about King Tut's Tomb and he was riveted. My idea of fun on a sunny afternoon does not involve watching stupid movies, so Jessica and I went to Silpo. She needed to get money from the ATM and wanted to get something to eat. I had eaten ham salad with Kev so I wasn't hungry. We sat on the steps and she ate and we talked. I am so anxious to get home, but I'm sure gonna miss Jessica. She's been such a great friend for me while I've been here. I wouldn't have made it without her, that's for sure.
By the time we made our way back to the classroom it was nearly 5:00 and time for studyhall. Kai wanted me to buy food for him before I was "dismissed". He took Sergei with him and we went to Rainford. My mood grew worse as we shopped. I was feeling somewhat used. I show up every day for a couple of hours and gooberhead can't spare me a few minutes except to get me to feed all his friends every night. This was getting old. Jessica had to head home for small group at her apartment. Kai asked what was wrong. Jessica did her best to convey what I was having trouble expressing. I said that when it was vacation and we were getting food every day and hanging out all together and eating and playing games, that was fun. But now I'm just the meal ticket and nothing else. Kai said his friends are hungry at night and they want food. I said I understand, but it's not my job to feed all them, and what are they gonna do when we're gone? He also said that he wants to buy gifts for his friends and come back next week and visit and give them. I just want to be done.
Jessica left and I walked to the gate with the boys. I wanted to go home and said so. Kai was incredibly apologetic. He hugged me and kissed me and said he was sorry about 50 times, and I love you at least 25 times. I said I loved him, too. As I left, he called to me to tell Kevin he loves him, too. I said okay. I was so sad for some reason. I rode the bus praying and trying to think of what to do about this weekend. I felt that it is best that I don't go back tomorrow, but take a day off. Saturday Jessica has a wedding to go to, so I thought it might be a good day to take him shopping for gifts for his friends. Then on Sunday afternoon, perhaps a trip to McDonald's with his friends, walk to a nearby park, and then back to the orphanage for cake. I think I can handle that. Maybe Marina would be available on Saturday. But if not, I think I'll be okay. I also think that once I take him from the orphanage on Monday, we should not go back.
Back at the apartment, Kevin was about to take his lunchtime walk. My plan was to get rip-roaring drunk. Instead, I sat on the porch and prayed. I had no idea why I was so sad and the Lord said I was at the end of my rope. I guess that's as good a way to put it as anything. I am bored to my gourd, missing friends, my sister, my home, my LIFE! I want out of here. I sat and bided and cried and was Comforted. I briefly checked my FB on Kevin's computer. Kathie Schweikhert gave me a link to a travel agency that helps people doing adoptions and missionary work. I went to the site and sent a request. Perhaps they can come up with a good way to get home. I watched a episode of Chuck, and then we watched "Jordan" together. Then I went to bed. Kevin stayed up late working.
Kevin arrived at the cafe around 11:00 and we left after 12:00. He made an awesome batch of ham salad and we ate. I did a crossword puzzle and some laundry, then left to go to the orphanage. I told Jessica I'd bring my computer so she could take whatever pictures and stuff she wanted off of it. I also brought a couple of movies. My sister had a set of those made-for-tv Hallmark movies that are packaged 4 for like $10. I took them thinking they'd have enough action to keep him interested and would be good for him to learn some English.
Kai parked me in the classroom while he went to have lunch. Jessica arrived and we started uploading pictures on her camera memory card because she forgot to bring her flash drive. In no time, Kai was back and we looked at all the video we took of Sasha jumping off stuff. I showed him I had brought some movies (I should say "film" because that's like the Russian word) and he was interested in seeing one. I put in the one about King Tut's Tomb and he was riveted. My idea of fun on a sunny afternoon does not involve watching stupid movies, so Jessica and I went to Silpo. She needed to get money from the ATM and wanted to get something to eat. I had eaten ham salad with Kev so I wasn't hungry. We sat on the steps and she ate and we talked. I am so anxious to get home, but I'm sure gonna miss Jessica. She's been such a great friend for me while I've been here. I wouldn't have made it without her, that's for sure.
By the time we made our way back to the classroom it was nearly 5:00 and time for studyhall. Kai wanted me to buy food for him before I was "dismissed". He took Sergei with him and we went to Rainford. My mood grew worse as we shopped. I was feeling somewhat used. I show up every day for a couple of hours and gooberhead can't spare me a few minutes except to get me to feed all his friends every night. This was getting old. Jessica had to head home for small group at her apartment. Kai asked what was wrong. Jessica did her best to convey what I was having trouble expressing. I said that when it was vacation and we were getting food every day and hanging out all together and eating and playing games, that was fun. But now I'm just the meal ticket and nothing else. Kai said his friends are hungry at night and they want food. I said I understand, but it's not my job to feed all them, and what are they gonna do when we're gone? He also said that he wants to buy gifts for his friends and come back next week and visit and give them. I just want to be done.
Jessica left and I walked to the gate with the boys. I wanted to go home and said so. Kai was incredibly apologetic. He hugged me and kissed me and said he was sorry about 50 times, and I love you at least 25 times. I said I loved him, too. As I left, he called to me to tell Kevin he loves him, too. I said okay. I was so sad for some reason. I rode the bus praying and trying to think of what to do about this weekend. I felt that it is best that I don't go back tomorrow, but take a day off. Saturday Jessica has a wedding to go to, so I thought it might be a good day to take him shopping for gifts for his friends. Then on Sunday afternoon, perhaps a trip to McDonald's with his friends, walk to a nearby park, and then back to the orphanage for cake. I think I can handle that. Maybe Marina would be available on Saturday. But if not, I think I'll be okay. I also think that once I take him from the orphanage on Monday, we should not go back.
Back at the apartment, Kevin was about to take his lunchtime walk. My plan was to get rip-roaring drunk. Instead, I sat on the porch and prayed. I had no idea why I was so sad and the Lord said I was at the end of my rope. I guess that's as good a way to put it as anything. I am bored to my gourd, missing friends, my sister, my home, my LIFE! I want out of here. I sat and bided and cried and was Comforted. I briefly checked my FB on Kevin's computer. Kathie Schweikhert gave me a link to a travel agency that helps people doing adoptions and missionary work. I went to the site and sent a request. Perhaps they can come up with a good way to get home. I watched a episode of Chuck, and then we watched "Jordan" together. Then I went to bed. Kevin stayed up late working.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
The Week Creeps On
Warmer today, no winter coat, just turtle neck and fleece jacket. I am so sick of wearing the same 2 pair of jeans and 4 shirts. But if it gets any warmer, I'm sunk. I brought one tee shirt. It was snowing daily when we got here! After the morning at the cafe, I relaxed and headed to the orphanage. Got there at 3:00 with no agenda. The kids were still having lunch. What's with lunch so late? I sat on the bench in the playground and Ludwig found me. He wanted me to come inside where I found Kai helping a guy paint a doorway. Everything has about 100 coats of paint on it around here. He gave me a hug and said he wanted to continue helping (5 minutes, Mom.). I went back outside and watched some boys kick the soccer ball back and forth to each other. It was pretty impressive how they wouldn't even let the ball touch the ground, but bounced it on every part of them except their hands. One kid ended up climbing a huge tree to retrieve a ball that was lodged up in the branches. I wasn't bored.
Kai helped clean up the paint and then wanted to take video of his friend Sasha doing flips off of various apparatus. First he ran up the side of the building and did a back flip. After a few of those, we went out back to where the tire and "landing pit" were. It was set up so that they would run to the tire and use it like a mini-trampoline to bounce on it and do various flips, landing in the soft dirt. Sasha could do tucks, layouts, and twists. He was quite good. Kai had done some of these flips for me before we went bowling last Saturday, but today he was admittedly scared. He managed to do one, but I couldn't figure out why he was scared. We went inside because Kai wanted to do some video of them break-dancing. Sergei provided music from his phone and they did a little bit. I was wanting more, but that's all I got.
We went back outside and Sasha climbed a tree and did a back flip out of it, landing on the dirt. Out in the playground, he climbed a monkeybar thing and did it again, off the top of that. He said, in English, "I crazy". I said you sure are! Kai asked to go to the store and I had a little money so I said okay. He specifically wanted Sergei to come, and Sasha came, too. He mostly got food that I didn't feel like eating, including 2 kinds of fish, and I asked him if this food was for now or for later. He said now. I wasn't so sure because by the time we got back to the classroom it was pretty much 5:00 and time for study hall. I was kicked out so we did kisses and hugs and I went upstairs to see if Jessica would turn up eventually.
I was listening to my iPod and started in on some semki (sunflower seeds) when Jessica emerged from somewhere. I gave her a packet of semki, and we ate and got caught up. I told her about my conversation with Victor this morning. I called him to ask about the boat around the Cossack island. We were hoping it might be running so we could take the boys for one last hurrah field trip. Victor had all kinds of news for me, however. He said he'd been talking with people at the court, the passport office, the Vital Statistics place and God knows who else. He said everything is all in line and all set for us to have what we need as quickly as possible. I wrote out a make-shift calendar so I could have a clue.
Monday the 19th, we go early to the court with Marina and get the all-important court agreement. I think Victor said we need 10 copies of this document. Can you believe it? This is the document that says the kid is officially ours. With that in hand, we can go to the orphanage and take Kai once and for all. Then we go to some other places to get other documents processed, like the birth certificate and passport, because you can't have them until the kid is yours. On Tuesday we will do some more of this because some places are not open on Mondays. Victor said he will arrive on Thursday, the 22nd. He thinks we will have the passport by Saturday the 24th and that we will take the train to Kyiv that night. Once in Kyiv, we will need to go to the American Embassy for something and also to the medical center for another exam for Kai. Victor said that, if all goes as planned, we can fly out on Wednesday, the 28th. That is 2 weeks from today. Victor also called back after a while to tell me that he spoke with Vladimir who said the boat ride around the island does not start up until the end of May. I asked if he'd see if Vladimir could suggest some other outing we could do with the boys.
I sat with Jessica thinking about all this, and wondering what we should do for the time I am still here. Nonna came over and began a long conversation about Kai, the kids in the orphanage, the system in the Ukraine, keeping in touch, how I've enjoyed being here...all kinds of things. Jessica was doing a great job of translating despite being tired (I bet). Ekaterina, the director came by as well and thanked me for the table saw again. It was nearly 6:00 and the bell ending the first study hall rang. Nonna left and apparently told Kai I was still here because he came up and sat at my feet while we talked with Dima and other kids who milled around. We really needed to go but it is difficult extracting yourself from these kids. The girls, Victoria, Anastasia, and Natasha, noticed I had something rust colored on the back of my whit fleece jacket. I determined that it was most likely paint from Kai's first hug today. Oh, well. Wearing white in the Ukraine is really not such a good idea anyway. The girls continued to call after us as we walked outside the gate, "Good-bye! We love you! See you soon!"
Jessica walked me to the bus. It had grown colder. I am still clueless about how to spend these last few days. I wish we had a plan. Kevin let me go on his computer while he took a walk to the store during his "lunch" break. I checked FB and the blog for comments (thank you!) and then poked around for flights home. Kevin's computer is painfully slow due to all the programs and security on it. But the only direct flight I could find from Kyiv to JFK was on May 4th. There was one on the 27th but only business class seats were available for over $1000 a piece. This was a bit discouraging, so I quit and went in the bedroom to watch a movie. Kevin came home and worked for a while. Then we watched a Jordan episode and I went to bed. He stayed up and worked some more.
I plan to go to the Coffee Life (Coffee As Life Style) early tomorrow and spend some time searching out more flights home. If anyone has any connections, let me know, okay? I really want to come home!
Kai helped clean up the paint and then wanted to take video of his friend Sasha doing flips off of various apparatus. First he ran up the side of the building and did a back flip. After a few of those, we went out back to where the tire and "landing pit" were. It was set up so that they would run to the tire and use it like a mini-trampoline to bounce on it and do various flips, landing in the soft dirt. Sasha could do tucks, layouts, and twists. He was quite good. Kai had done some of these flips for me before we went bowling last Saturday, but today he was admittedly scared. He managed to do one, but I couldn't figure out why he was scared. We went inside because Kai wanted to do some video of them break-dancing. Sergei provided music from his phone and they did a little bit. I was wanting more, but that's all I got.
We went back outside and Sasha climbed a tree and did a back flip out of it, landing on the dirt. Out in the playground, he climbed a monkeybar thing and did it again, off the top of that. He said, in English, "I crazy". I said you sure are! Kai asked to go to the store and I had a little money so I said okay. He specifically wanted Sergei to come, and Sasha came, too. He mostly got food that I didn't feel like eating, including 2 kinds of fish, and I asked him if this food was for now or for later. He said now. I wasn't so sure because by the time we got back to the classroom it was pretty much 5:00 and time for study hall. I was kicked out so we did kisses and hugs and I went upstairs to see if Jessica would turn up eventually.
I was listening to my iPod and started in on some semki (sunflower seeds) when Jessica emerged from somewhere. I gave her a packet of semki, and we ate and got caught up. I told her about my conversation with Victor this morning. I called him to ask about the boat around the Cossack island. We were hoping it might be running so we could take the boys for one last hurrah field trip. Victor had all kinds of news for me, however. He said he'd been talking with people at the court, the passport office, the Vital Statistics place and God knows who else. He said everything is all in line and all set for us to have what we need as quickly as possible. I wrote out a make-shift calendar so I could have a clue.
Monday the 19th, we go early to the court with Marina and get the all-important court agreement. I think Victor said we need 10 copies of this document. Can you believe it? This is the document that says the kid is officially ours. With that in hand, we can go to the orphanage and take Kai once and for all. Then we go to some other places to get other documents processed, like the birth certificate and passport, because you can't have them until the kid is yours. On Tuesday we will do some more of this because some places are not open on Mondays. Victor said he will arrive on Thursday, the 22nd. He thinks we will have the passport by Saturday the 24th and that we will take the train to Kyiv that night. Once in Kyiv, we will need to go to the American Embassy for something and also to the medical center for another exam for Kai. Victor said that, if all goes as planned, we can fly out on Wednesday, the 28th. That is 2 weeks from today. Victor also called back after a while to tell me that he spoke with Vladimir who said the boat ride around the island does not start up until the end of May. I asked if he'd see if Vladimir could suggest some other outing we could do with the boys.
I sat with Jessica thinking about all this, and wondering what we should do for the time I am still here. Nonna came over and began a long conversation about Kai, the kids in the orphanage, the system in the Ukraine, keeping in touch, how I've enjoyed being here...all kinds of things. Jessica was doing a great job of translating despite being tired (I bet). Ekaterina, the director came by as well and thanked me for the table saw again. It was nearly 6:00 and the bell ending the first study hall rang. Nonna left and apparently told Kai I was still here because he came up and sat at my feet while we talked with Dima and other kids who milled around. We really needed to go but it is difficult extracting yourself from these kids. The girls, Victoria, Anastasia, and Natasha, noticed I had something rust colored on the back of my whit fleece jacket. I determined that it was most likely paint from Kai's first hug today. Oh, well. Wearing white in the Ukraine is really not such a good idea anyway. The girls continued to call after us as we walked outside the gate, "Good-bye! We love you! See you soon!"
Jessica walked me to the bus. It had grown colder. I am still clueless about how to spend these last few days. I wish we had a plan. Kevin let me go on his computer while he took a walk to the store during his "lunch" break. I checked FB and the blog for comments (thank you!) and then poked around for flights home. Kevin's computer is painfully slow due to all the programs and security on it. But the only direct flight I could find from Kyiv to JFK was on May 4th. There was one on the 27th but only business class seats were available for over $1000 a piece. This was a bit discouraging, so I quit and went in the bedroom to watch a movie. Kevin came home and worked for a while. Then we watched a Jordan episode and I went to bed. He stayed up and worked some more.
I plan to go to the Coffee Life (Coffee As Life Style) early tomorrow and spend some time searching out more flights home. If anyone has any connections, let me know, okay? I really want to come home!
Biding Our Time
Spent the morning at the Coffee Life (Coffee As Life Style) and went home for lunch. I left at 2:00 to meet Jessica at the bus stop near her apartment. It was a nice day, a little chilly, but sunny. We walked toward the orphanage and talked. She said she decided not to see Sasha again. I was disappointed but saw the wisdom in that. During their conversation, Jessica determined that the Lord has no place in this guy's life, and that the kids were just an excuse to meet her. Since Jessica is all about God and her work at the orphanage, that leaves little in common between the two of them. He came across as self-assured, aggressive, and self-centered. These are not the kind of qualities I think Jessica is attracted to. Oh, well. It was a little bit fun meeting him.
Yesterday I had suggested that, instead of shopping and feeding the boys, that we go to the Horseshoe restaurant and have a meal together. When we found Kai, he was all about that. Jessica was scheduled to teach from 3 to 5, but as things are subject to change around here, we found that she was actually free. Yay! Nonna said she had something for me and would I please wait. We sat upstairs on the couches and Nonna produced a folder. It was a professionally done picture folder consisting of a 5x7 class picture of Kai, a group shot of the entire 9th grade class, Kai's individual class, and small photos of each kid and each teacher, with names printed on the as well. What a treasure! I was excited that Kai would have something so special to take home. I thanked her very much and put it safely in my tote bag.
We got permission from Kai's teacher to go and be back by 7:00. No problem. The 3 of us rode the tram to the restaurant and sat by the window. We all ended up ordering the same thing, crab salad and a pork chop. Kai had spaghetti while we had potatoes. Today the service was poor and the meat was tough. It took a long time to get our food but that left time for conversation.
Kai has expressed a desire, at least 3 times, to be able to take break-dance lessons. He is quite good at it, but I don't know how he learned except from movies or TV. With all the dance classes Kelly has taken her whole life, you'd think I'd know about break-dance. But the closest she'd come to street-type dance was hip-hop. I wonder if a person can even take break-dance lessons. I thought that was something people just learn on the street. He said he is also interested in jazz, too, so perhaps we can try a couple of classes at a studio in Williamsburg and see how it goes. I explained to him that there are not many boys who take dance classes, and that he might be very smart to do this because he will meet a lot of girls.
After Jessica and Kai had their ice cream, I paid the check and we decided to walk back. When we got to the orphanage, I suggested that we walk Jessica back to her apartment (She is scheduled to have worship practice this evening.) in order to spend more time together. So, we walked some more. Kai asked lots of questions about school and if Dylan and Benjamin will come and visit him. He asked if Elliot will help him learn English and how long it will take for him to be able to speak English. I answered as best I could and Jessica translated up a storm.
It was a really long walk to Jessica's and Kai began to complain that it was so far. I knew we had to walk all the way back, and then I had to walk to my bus stop, so we said good-bye across the street from her apartment and headed back. Kai went into his own world as we walked and didn't realize he was leaving me behind. I said, "Don't you like me?" and he slowed his pace to match his old mother's. Without Jessica, our conversation came to a screeching halt, but I tried to talk about a few things that, between his English and my Russian, he could understand.
We parted outside the orphanage so I could head up to the bus stop. I like how he will hug and kiss me in public and in front of his friends. Robbie was like that, too. The boys in his class will tease and make jokes about just about anything. But they never tease or joke about me or about Kai hugging me, holding my hand, or anything. It appears to be somewhat sacred. And now when I arrive at the orphanage, each one approaches me with a hug, and even allows me to kiss his head or cheek. I love being a mom. These kids really value it, too.
I think I had walked a million miles today and I realized that I had suggested to Kevin that we go grocery shopping when I got home this evening (during his lunch break). Oh, great! I got home, put my feet up for 15 minutes or so, and it was 7:00 (12:00 US time). So we headed out to the Amctop (Umstore) and shopped. We got all kinds of food and walked home with it. Kevin carries the heavy stuff in my tote bag. That thing has more than paid for itself. Don't leave home without one of those. At home, I relaxed, had a beer, and we watched a Jordan episode. I was exhausted and was in bed before 11:00. Kevin worked late.
Yesterday I had suggested that, instead of shopping and feeding the boys, that we go to the Horseshoe restaurant and have a meal together. When we found Kai, he was all about that. Jessica was scheduled to teach from 3 to 5, but as things are subject to change around here, we found that she was actually free. Yay! Nonna said she had something for me and would I please wait. We sat upstairs on the couches and Nonna produced a folder. It was a professionally done picture folder consisting of a 5x7 class picture of Kai, a group shot of the entire 9th grade class, Kai's individual class, and small photos of each kid and each teacher, with names printed on the as well. What a treasure! I was excited that Kai would have something so special to take home. I thanked her very much and put it safely in my tote bag.
We got permission from Kai's teacher to go and be back by 7:00. No problem. The 3 of us rode the tram to the restaurant and sat by the window. We all ended up ordering the same thing, crab salad and a pork chop. Kai had spaghetti while we had potatoes. Today the service was poor and the meat was tough. It took a long time to get our food but that left time for conversation.
Kai has expressed a desire, at least 3 times, to be able to take break-dance lessons. He is quite good at it, but I don't know how he learned except from movies or TV. With all the dance classes Kelly has taken her whole life, you'd think I'd know about break-dance. But the closest she'd come to street-type dance was hip-hop. I wonder if a person can even take break-dance lessons. I thought that was something people just learn on the street. He said he is also interested in jazz, too, so perhaps we can try a couple of classes at a studio in Williamsburg and see how it goes. I explained to him that there are not many boys who take dance classes, and that he might be very smart to do this because he will meet a lot of girls.
After Jessica and Kai had their ice cream, I paid the check and we decided to walk back. When we got to the orphanage, I suggested that we walk Jessica back to her apartment (She is scheduled to have worship practice this evening.) in order to spend more time together. So, we walked some more. Kai asked lots of questions about school and if Dylan and Benjamin will come and visit him. He asked if Elliot will help him learn English and how long it will take for him to be able to speak English. I answered as best I could and Jessica translated up a storm.
It was a really long walk to Jessica's and Kai began to complain that it was so far. I knew we had to walk all the way back, and then I had to walk to my bus stop, so we said good-bye across the street from her apartment and headed back. Kai went into his own world as we walked and didn't realize he was leaving me behind. I said, "Don't you like me?" and he slowed his pace to match his old mother's. Without Jessica, our conversation came to a screeching halt, but I tried to talk about a few things that, between his English and my Russian, he could understand.
We parted outside the orphanage so I could head up to the bus stop. I like how he will hug and kiss me in public and in front of his friends. Robbie was like that, too. The boys in his class will tease and make jokes about just about anything. But they never tease or joke about me or about Kai hugging me, holding my hand, or anything. It appears to be somewhat sacred. And now when I arrive at the orphanage, each one approaches me with a hug, and even allows me to kiss his head or cheek. I love being a mom. These kids really value it, too.
I think I had walked a million miles today and I realized that I had suggested to Kevin that we go grocery shopping when I got home this evening (during his lunch break). Oh, great! I got home, put my feet up for 15 minutes or so, and it was 7:00 (12:00 US time). So we headed out to the Amctop (Umstore) and shopped. We got all kinds of food and walked home with it. Kevin carries the heavy stuff in my tote bag. That thing has more than paid for itself. Don't leave home without one of those. At home, I relaxed, had a beer, and we watched a Jordan episode. I was exhausted and was in bed before 11:00. Kevin worked late.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Love Ukrainian Style
Another cold and dreary day. We saw Pastor John again at the Coffee Life (Coffee As Life Style). He was alone this time and we chatted briefly before we left. I was still pretty tired from the weekend so after lunch I did a crossword puzzle and had a little nap. What an old fart I'm becoming!
I got to the orphanage by 3:00 and found the kid. He was tired, too, but asked right away about getting food at the store. I wanted to wait for Jessica, who arrived after a bit. Kai was interested in watching some movie; I think he just wanted to chill. Jessica had to teach from 4:00 to 5:00 so we had a few minutes to kill. I suggested we go worship for a while. Jessica had brought some music and we went to the old, tinny, out of tune piano in the foyer and made a joyful noise. Kid's came and went, listening to our offering and trying to understand what we were saying.
Jessica left at 4:00 and Kai and I went to the store. There were no friends around today and Kai wanted to save the food for tonight at bed time, so I pulled out my books and said we will have an English lesson. As usual, he chose Hop On Pop, and read about half the book before claiming profound fatigue. He does this every time, and I encouraged him to read along with me. I read and soon he joined back in and finished the book. Then I offered to read Go Dog Go to him and he was game. He seemed more interested as I read, and when some kids came in and I implied that I would stop reading now, he insisted I finish the book.
Then he pulled out the tin whistle I had given him last summer and I asked him to play for me. He got all shy again and wouldn't. Andrei wanted to try but gave up quickly. He asked me to play something so I started in on a few jigs I know. I was just getting into the 3rd and loudest jig when he told me to be quiet. I said Why? And he pointed out that it was 5:00 and study hall had just begun. My bad. He told me he wanted to stay for study hall, play soccer with his friends, eat dinner and go to bed and have food with his friends, and that I should find Jessica and go home and see Kevin and eat and sleep. Basically, he was getting rid of me, but I was okay with that. He told me to tell Kevin that he loved him.
Jessica had one more meeting so I went to the lounge area and listened to my iPod, ate chips, and played solitaire. When Jessica was finished we talked briefly. It seems the 5th grade class has been attempting to do a little match-making. Some scooter-riding guy named Sasha came around offering to play soccer with the kids. They told him certain times when he could come by and play...they were all the times when Jessica would be there. I guess the teacher and the kids are very concerned that Jessica is 27 and not married. Well, little did we know what was in store for us tonight.
We decided to go get something to eat but had not decided what or where. Just outside the gate, waiting by his scooter, was Sasha. He was tall and sandy-haired, thin and Ukrainian-looking. Really kinda cute. I was introduced and he wanted Jessica to get on his scooter and go with him. Jessica said there was not room for 3, and besides, it was freezing out. His English was limited and all of the sudden Jessica's Russian seemed to escape her. What a mess. It was finally decided that we would all go for coffee at a Coffee Life near the Intourist. Excellent, then we would be near my apartment. And I could chaperone this little first "date".
Jess and I hopped on the #70 bus to the Ukriane mall and he followed on his scooter. He left his scooter somewhere and we took another bus together. We passed our Coffee Life and 2 others before we got off and walked to one down a side street. I asked what was so great about this one that we had to pass 3 in order to get to this one, and he said that there was an upstairs section where there was no smoking. Well, yes, that does make a difference. The smoking is a discomfort at these places. The European cigarettes are much stronger than in the US and the second hand smoke is pretty strong, too.
Sasha bought us all tea or coffee and also a pastry for each of us. We set ourselves up at a table near the window and he realized it was 7:00. He said he had to meet someone to give them money at 7:00 and it would take 20 minutes. He said we should have our tea/coffee and wait for him to return. He left and Jessica and I passed the time happily eating, sipping, and chatting. It was probably 7:30 by the time Sasha got back. Jessica had gone to wash her sticky hands and I took the opportunity to grill Sasha while she was gone. I first asked him how old he was. He seemed coy about telling me but confessed to being 26. Well, that's definitely in the ballpark. Then I asked him what he does for work. Jessica returned as he was pulling out a laptop to show us pictures of what he does. Apparently he hangs from scaffolding and does exterior repairs and painting on buildings. (Kinda reminded me of Sharyn.)
Then he showed us pictures of him hiking in exotic locations in Crimea and such. Also he showed pictures of him participating in another one of his favorite pasttimes, bridge jumping. I mean really! He had time-lapse pictures of him leaping from a bridge over the river. He said it was not bungee jumping; the rope is not elastic. I was incredulous, but he explained that it is set up like a swing in order to absorb the shock. Hard to explain as it is to imagine. Then we talked about how he like also to parachute out of airplanes. We concluded that this guy must be loaded by Ukrainian standards. He had 2 cell phones, a laptop, a scooter, can afford to go papachute jumping, and can treat 2 Americans to coffee and treats. I said, "Thank you, Jesus." Jessica was like a deer in the headlights.
It was 8:30 and he said he had an appointment to look at a room to rent somewhere in town. He called for a taxi and said that we should go with him and then he will drop me off at my apartment. On the way, he pointed out a dance club that he likes and asked if Jessica dances. Then he talked about how he likes to bike ride from 2:00 to 4:00 am because the roads are deserted. I said I liked to sleep from 2:00 to 4:00 and I don't care about the roads. Jessica was trying to figure how she would extract herself from him and I said for her to use me as an excuse as much as she wanted. But we ended up driving to God-knows-where in a rickety taxi with a GPS. We imagined he was taking us somewhere to use us as ritual sacrifice or something, but when we finally found the place he was looking for, he had us stay in the cab.
He returned after a while and asked for the address to my apartment. I have no idea what my address is, but Jessica described it well enough that the cab driver found it without a problem. We had decided that she would come to my place, have something to eat, and hop the #14 back to her apartment. We gathered he had other plans. Jessica said she was going with me, which threw him for a minute. He paid the taxi and came to talk to Jessica. I was waiting for her but he said I should go on ahead without her. Kevin let me in and I waited. After a few minutes, Jessica buzzed and came up. She said he was waiting for her. Oh, gosh! He said he would ride the bus with her back to her apartment. I told Jessica to do what she was comfortable with and not to be railroaded by this guy. She said it is hard trying to figure out what guys are up to in a foreign place. They might be just interested because she's American and therefore kind of exotic, or perhaps to practice their English. I said to keep the relationship with the orphanage kids at the center and just see what eventuates.
Jessica left and I relaxed and had something to eat. Before I knew it, it was 10:30 and I needed to go to bed. I figured I'd worry about Jessica unless I knew she was home safe so I called her. She said they talked about "everything" on the bus home and that he wanted to come up and make omelets. I said, "That's a new name for it." She refused his offer and said she was glad I called. Her roommate was around so she didn't want to talk, and we arranged that I would come over early the next day to get the gory details. Talk about an adventure!
I got to the orphanage by 3:00 and found the kid. He was tired, too, but asked right away about getting food at the store. I wanted to wait for Jessica, who arrived after a bit. Kai was interested in watching some movie; I think he just wanted to chill. Jessica had to teach from 4:00 to 5:00 so we had a few minutes to kill. I suggested we go worship for a while. Jessica had brought some music and we went to the old, tinny, out of tune piano in the foyer and made a joyful noise. Kid's came and went, listening to our offering and trying to understand what we were saying.
Jessica left at 4:00 and Kai and I went to the store. There were no friends around today and Kai wanted to save the food for tonight at bed time, so I pulled out my books and said we will have an English lesson. As usual, he chose Hop On Pop, and read about half the book before claiming profound fatigue. He does this every time, and I encouraged him to read along with me. I read and soon he joined back in and finished the book. Then I offered to read Go Dog Go to him and he was game. He seemed more interested as I read, and when some kids came in and I implied that I would stop reading now, he insisted I finish the book.
Then he pulled out the tin whistle I had given him last summer and I asked him to play for me. He got all shy again and wouldn't. Andrei wanted to try but gave up quickly. He asked me to play something so I started in on a few jigs I know. I was just getting into the 3rd and loudest jig when he told me to be quiet. I said Why? And he pointed out that it was 5:00 and study hall had just begun. My bad. He told me he wanted to stay for study hall, play soccer with his friends, eat dinner and go to bed and have food with his friends, and that I should find Jessica and go home and see Kevin and eat and sleep. Basically, he was getting rid of me, but I was okay with that. He told me to tell Kevin that he loved him.
Jessica had one more meeting so I went to the lounge area and listened to my iPod, ate chips, and played solitaire. When Jessica was finished we talked briefly. It seems the 5th grade class has been attempting to do a little match-making. Some scooter-riding guy named Sasha came around offering to play soccer with the kids. They told him certain times when he could come by and play...they were all the times when Jessica would be there. I guess the teacher and the kids are very concerned that Jessica is 27 and not married. Well, little did we know what was in store for us tonight.
We decided to go get something to eat but had not decided what or where. Just outside the gate, waiting by his scooter, was Sasha. He was tall and sandy-haired, thin and Ukrainian-looking. Really kinda cute. I was introduced and he wanted Jessica to get on his scooter and go with him. Jessica said there was not room for 3, and besides, it was freezing out. His English was limited and all of the sudden Jessica's Russian seemed to escape her. What a mess. It was finally decided that we would all go for coffee at a Coffee Life near the Intourist. Excellent, then we would be near my apartment. And I could chaperone this little first "date".
Jess and I hopped on the #70 bus to the Ukriane mall and he followed on his scooter. He left his scooter somewhere and we took another bus together. We passed our Coffee Life and 2 others before we got off and walked to one down a side street. I asked what was so great about this one that we had to pass 3 in order to get to this one, and he said that there was an upstairs section where there was no smoking. Well, yes, that does make a difference. The smoking is a discomfort at these places. The European cigarettes are much stronger than in the US and the second hand smoke is pretty strong, too.
Sasha bought us all tea or coffee and also a pastry for each of us. We set ourselves up at a table near the window and he realized it was 7:00. He said he had to meet someone to give them money at 7:00 and it would take 20 minutes. He said we should have our tea/coffee and wait for him to return. He left and Jessica and I passed the time happily eating, sipping, and chatting. It was probably 7:30 by the time Sasha got back. Jessica had gone to wash her sticky hands and I took the opportunity to grill Sasha while she was gone. I first asked him how old he was. He seemed coy about telling me but confessed to being 26. Well, that's definitely in the ballpark. Then I asked him what he does for work. Jessica returned as he was pulling out a laptop to show us pictures of what he does. Apparently he hangs from scaffolding and does exterior repairs and painting on buildings. (Kinda reminded me of Sharyn.)
Then he showed us pictures of him hiking in exotic locations in Crimea and such. Also he showed pictures of him participating in another one of his favorite pasttimes, bridge jumping. I mean really! He had time-lapse pictures of him leaping from a bridge over the river. He said it was not bungee jumping; the rope is not elastic. I was incredulous, but he explained that it is set up like a swing in order to absorb the shock. Hard to explain as it is to imagine. Then we talked about how he like also to parachute out of airplanes. We concluded that this guy must be loaded by Ukrainian standards. He had 2 cell phones, a laptop, a scooter, can afford to go papachute jumping, and can treat 2 Americans to coffee and treats. I said, "Thank you, Jesus." Jessica was like a deer in the headlights.
It was 8:30 and he said he had an appointment to look at a room to rent somewhere in town. He called for a taxi and said that we should go with him and then he will drop me off at my apartment. On the way, he pointed out a dance club that he likes and asked if Jessica dances. Then he talked about how he likes to bike ride from 2:00 to 4:00 am because the roads are deserted. I said I liked to sleep from 2:00 to 4:00 and I don't care about the roads. Jessica was trying to figure how she would extract herself from him and I said for her to use me as an excuse as much as she wanted. But we ended up driving to God-knows-where in a rickety taxi with a GPS. We imagined he was taking us somewhere to use us as ritual sacrifice or something, but when we finally found the place he was looking for, he had us stay in the cab.
He returned after a while and asked for the address to my apartment. I have no idea what my address is, but Jessica described it well enough that the cab driver found it without a problem. We had decided that she would come to my place, have something to eat, and hop the #14 back to her apartment. We gathered he had other plans. Jessica said she was going with me, which threw him for a minute. He paid the taxi and came to talk to Jessica. I was waiting for her but he said I should go on ahead without her. Kevin let me in and I waited. After a few minutes, Jessica buzzed and came up. She said he was waiting for her. Oh, gosh! He said he would ride the bus with her back to her apartment. I told Jessica to do what she was comfortable with and not to be railroaded by this guy. She said it is hard trying to figure out what guys are up to in a foreign place. They might be just interested because she's American and therefore kind of exotic, or perhaps to practice their English. I said to keep the relationship with the orphanage kids at the center and just see what eventuates.
Jessica left and I relaxed and had something to eat. Before I knew it, it was 10:30 and I needed to go to bed. I figured I'd worry about Jessica unless I knew she was home safe so I called her. She said they talked about "everything" on the bus home and that he wanted to come up and make omelets. I said, "That's a new name for it." She refused his offer and said she was glad I called. Her roommate was around so she didn't want to talk, and we arranged that I would come over early the next day to get the gory details. Talk about an adventure!
Monday, April 12, 2010
Barbecue In The Park
Jessica called in the morning to say that she had to play for P&W at the church near the orphanage and would be a few minutes late to Calvary Chapel. I said, no worries and we'll meet you there. The bus was crowded which is a bummer because when you're standing, you can't see out the windows to tell where you are. And since we haven't gone that way but once before, I wasn't familiar with the landmarks. But soon someone near me disembarked and I got a seat. I saw the Coffee Life (Coffee As Life Style) that we had gone to after Easter service and I knew where we were. We got off the bus and found we were 15 minutes early so we went across the street to have a cup of coffee.
We saw Lenya as soon as we entered the sanctuary. Service had already started and she sat with us. Before praise and worship was over, Jessica walked in with an entire contingent from New Hope, the Canadian church. We moved to be near them. A guy translated for them and Lenya did her best for us. Today is a special day in Ukrainian tradition where the people go to the cemetaries and leave flowers, baked goods and candy on the graves of loved ones. Then the orphans, homeless, and drug addicts go to the cemetaries and steal all the candy and food. The pastor talked about this a little bit in his message. His word was about walking with God as a daily choice and then standing before Him when your life is over. I don't know how he connected his message to the candy on the graves thing, though because Lenya wasn't that quick with her translation skills.
The young people from New Hope said they were having a barbecue in Victory Park this afternoon at 2:00 and we were invited. We thought that sounded like a good idea and told them we'd be there, albeit a little late. After church we went back to the Coffee Liife (Coffee As Life Style) with Jessica and had coffee and Napoleons. Totally yummy. Kevin got off the bus at our apartment and Jessica and I went all the way to her apartment so she could put on jeans. Then we took the bus a couple of stops to the orphanage and got Kai. He had been to the cemetary with all the kids and was full of candy. The little kids all ran to Jessica and gave her some of their candy. We asked the teacher when I had to have Kai back and she said like 6:00 or 6:30. I wasn't happy about that and negotiated to 8:00. She said she was there until 8:30. Great.
We went back to the apartment and got Kevin. He had made a batch of chicken salad and Kai and Jessica had sandwiches. I put on another sweater under my parka and we left for the Park. Jessica wasn't sure where it was, and we ended up walking around a bit before finding it. We found the church group and they welcomed us. They made hot dogs for us and there were various salads. Kai jumped right in with some young men and began to kick the soccer ball around. The whole afternoon he never sat and ate. Instead he kicked the ball with Kevin, played games with the young people, and soccer with a group of boys. One girl who was visiting from Canada had a birthday. We sang "Happy Birthday" and had a cake. She tricked another girl to smell the cake and then pushed her face right into it. There was a bit of fun with frosting flying. We stayed until after 5:00. John and Evelyn invited us back to their apartment with the gang, but I really wanted some quiet time with just us. Besides, I think we all were a little tired.
We hopped the #54 bus back to our apartment and discovered we were like only 2 stops away. We went into the corner store and got juice, chips, and chocolate (Ukrainian staples). We decided to play cards and we ate and played listened to music. Kai ate 2 bags of nasty salt fish and between that and his BO, he stunk pretty bad. After he won the card game he was happy to take a shower. I was bummed that he'd have to put on dirty clothes afterwards but there was nothing to do about that. He looked and smelled a whole lot better, and even used Kevin's cologne. We had to boogie out of there because it was already after 7:30. We all went on the bus and Kevin and I walked him back to the orphanage while Jessica continued on to her apartment. He was admittedly tired and the teacher was outside waiting for us to return. We had hugs and kisses and Kevin and I headed home.
We were both pretty wiped out but we watched an episode of Crossing Jordan and I went to bed. Kevin stayed up until at least 2:00 to watch the Master's on his computer. Kai had made it a point to say that he had a lot of fun today. I did, too. It's neat to be a family.
We saw Lenya as soon as we entered the sanctuary. Service had already started and she sat with us. Before praise and worship was over, Jessica walked in with an entire contingent from New Hope, the Canadian church. We moved to be near them. A guy translated for them and Lenya did her best for us. Today is a special day in Ukrainian tradition where the people go to the cemetaries and leave flowers, baked goods and candy on the graves of loved ones. Then the orphans, homeless, and drug addicts go to the cemetaries and steal all the candy and food. The pastor talked about this a little bit in his message. His word was about walking with God as a daily choice and then standing before Him when your life is over. I don't know how he connected his message to the candy on the graves thing, though because Lenya wasn't that quick with her translation skills.
The young people from New Hope said they were having a barbecue in Victory Park this afternoon at 2:00 and we were invited. We thought that sounded like a good idea and told them we'd be there, albeit a little late. After church we went back to the Coffee Liife (Coffee As Life Style) with Jessica and had coffee and Napoleons. Totally yummy. Kevin got off the bus at our apartment and Jessica and I went all the way to her apartment so she could put on jeans. Then we took the bus a couple of stops to the orphanage and got Kai. He had been to the cemetary with all the kids and was full of candy. The little kids all ran to Jessica and gave her some of their candy. We asked the teacher when I had to have Kai back and she said like 6:00 or 6:30. I wasn't happy about that and negotiated to 8:00. She said she was there until 8:30. Great.
We went back to the apartment and got Kevin. He had made a batch of chicken salad and Kai and Jessica had sandwiches. I put on another sweater under my parka and we left for the Park. Jessica wasn't sure where it was, and we ended up walking around a bit before finding it. We found the church group and they welcomed us. They made hot dogs for us and there were various salads. Kai jumped right in with some young men and began to kick the soccer ball around. The whole afternoon he never sat and ate. Instead he kicked the ball with Kevin, played games with the young people, and soccer with a group of boys. One girl who was visiting from Canada had a birthday. We sang "Happy Birthday" and had a cake. She tricked another girl to smell the cake and then pushed her face right into it. There was a bit of fun with frosting flying. We stayed until after 5:00. John and Evelyn invited us back to their apartment with the gang, but I really wanted some quiet time with just us. Besides, I think we all were a little tired.
We hopped the #54 bus back to our apartment and discovered we were like only 2 stops away. We went into the corner store and got juice, chips, and chocolate (Ukrainian staples). We decided to play cards and we ate and played listened to music. Kai ate 2 bags of nasty salt fish and between that and his BO, he stunk pretty bad. After he won the card game he was happy to take a shower. I was bummed that he'd have to put on dirty clothes afterwards but there was nothing to do about that. He looked and smelled a whole lot better, and even used Kevin's cologne. We had to boogie out of there because it was already after 7:30. We all went on the bus and Kevin and I walked him back to the orphanage while Jessica continued on to her apartment. He was admittedly tired and the teacher was outside waiting for us to return. We had hugs and kisses and Kevin and I headed home.
We were both pretty wiped out but we watched an episode of Crossing Jordan and I went to bed. Kevin stayed up until at least 2:00 to watch the Master's on his computer. Kai had made it a point to say that he had a lot of fun today. I did, too. It's neat to be a family.
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Bowling
We woke at 7:00 and I threw some laundry in and got in the shower. I blogged on Kevin's computer while he got ready and we walked up to the Intourist Hotel. It wasn't quite 9:00am but John was waiting for us in a taxi cab. We went to his apartment, a 5th floor walk-up (no elevator). Evelyn was there preparing the most marvelous breakfast. Their apartment was beautiful. They apparently had bought it because they had made a 10 year commitment in the Ukraine, and they had remodled it completely. The kitchen alone was a thing of beauty, gas stove, lovely cabinetry, center island, coffee maker, and lo and behold, a dishwasher! There was a guest bedroom and a large master bedroom, open floor plan with living/dining areas off the kitchen. But in the bathroom was something that you will not see in all of Ukraine....a clothes dryer. We had a wonderful time eating and sharing Ukrainian adventures. When we were done, Evelyn walked us back to Lenin Street where we stopped in at the Coffee Life (Coffee As Life Style) to blog for a bit. We went home, rested for 20 minutes and headed out to the orphanage.
We got there just after 2:00 and everyone was there. Kai was wired. He was so excited about our outing that he was doing flips off an old tire in the playground with some other boys (I have video). We went to the store for snacks and then left to get the bus by 2:45. We took 2 buses and got there by 3:30. The bowling alley was on the 3rd floor of a mall. The mall was very upscale and expensive. No one was there and it was a Saturday! The bowling alley was busy but not crowded. It was clean, modern and very nice. They give you socks that look brand new when you get your bowling shoes. They hold your shoes in plastic shoe boxes that the bowling shoes were in. What a nice idea. They also take your names at the desk and program the score board for you.
We got 2 lanes for 2 hours. The six boys played on lane 16 and the grown-ups were on #15. I think there were only 16 lanes in the whole place. There were pool tables and a restaurant/bar area, too. The lanes were smooth and fast, the balls in good condition. I have bowled in worse places by far. The boys were so funny. All 6 of them crowded onto the bowling platform and they grabbed all the balls, even when it wasn't their turn. When one kid was bowling, the others were all in their way, but no one seemed to mind. It was like watching "Committee Bowling". They were all in each other's business. It was hysterical.
Meanwhile, Marina's husband Big Dan was bowling for the first time in his life. He got better as the afternoon progressed. Marina was useless, but managed to get a few random strikes amid her gutter balls. Jessica made a weak attempt to support the American contingency and left-handed Anya held her own. She daintly rolled the ball until it gently kissed the pins, and they politely fell down for her. Kevin attacked the pins until they cowered before him, but the real star was yours truely. Yes, I have to admit it, I was hot. I smoked everyone the first game with a respectable score of 164. Kevin was second with 107. The second game is when Kevin usually comes alive, and he didn't disappoint. He came in with 165 to my 148. We didn't get to finish the 3rd game before our 2 hours were up, but I was smokin' again and had Kevin by a respectable lead. Since they add all your scores together, I was the undisputed champion. I can give autographs when we get back.
Meanwhile, the boys were duking it out next to us. Sergei was the best and most consistant bowler. He posted in the 120's, but Andrei came out of no where and gave him a run for his money. Ludwig sucked but was a real good sport. The others all hung around in the 70's or 80's, bowling inconsistantly. We ordered 2 pizzas and 2 liters of orange juice and the boys hung in there. (They conveniently left all the snacks in the classroom at the orphanage, but we wouldn't have been able to bring them in anyway. Everything had to be left at the coat check.)
The bowling for 12 people for 2 hours, shoes and pizza with OJ came to about $70 total. What a bargain! I know for a fact that we've paid almost twice that for bowling alone for 9 people in Williamsburg. Jessica, Kevin, Kai and I discussed plans for tomorrow as time was running out. We decided that we would go to Calvary Chapel with Jessica again because John and Evelyn wanted to go with us. Then, in the afternoon, we would go and get Kai and head back toward our neck of the woods for an afternoon meal and to hang out at the apartment. Then take him back in the evening. It will be good to have some alone time (relatively speaking) with him. Perhaps we will go to the Mustang restaurant. I think he would like that.
I gave Anya bus fare home and she, Jessica, and the boys left to return to the orphanage. Marina, Big Dan, Kevin and I went to find that Ukrainian buffet that I had gone to with Victor. It was nearby, but it was closed. Marina was a "local" so she said she knew of a good Ukrianian buffet style place about 10 minutes walk from there. We found it and the food was good and inexpensive. We all had salads, steak, and potatoes. We talked about Ukrain and some current events including the terrorist attacks in Moscow and the Polish president and wife dying in a plane crash. Unbelieveable!
After dinner, we all caught a bus right outside the restaurant and rode home. Kevin and I got off before Marina and Big Dan and we were home before 7:30. What a great day! We relaxed, watched some video/TV and went to bed. I'm tired but happy. Today was really fun and the best part is that I had the energy to do it all. Plus I rocked at bowling!
We got there just after 2:00 and everyone was there. Kai was wired. He was so excited about our outing that he was doing flips off an old tire in the playground with some other boys (I have video). We went to the store for snacks and then left to get the bus by 2:45. We took 2 buses and got there by 3:30. The bowling alley was on the 3rd floor of a mall. The mall was very upscale and expensive. No one was there and it was a Saturday! The bowling alley was busy but not crowded. It was clean, modern and very nice. They give you socks that look brand new when you get your bowling shoes. They hold your shoes in plastic shoe boxes that the bowling shoes were in. What a nice idea. They also take your names at the desk and program the score board for you.
We got 2 lanes for 2 hours. The six boys played on lane 16 and the grown-ups were on #15. I think there were only 16 lanes in the whole place. There were pool tables and a restaurant/bar area, too. The lanes were smooth and fast, the balls in good condition. I have bowled in worse places by far. The boys were so funny. All 6 of them crowded onto the bowling platform and they grabbed all the balls, even when it wasn't their turn. When one kid was bowling, the others were all in their way, but no one seemed to mind. It was like watching "Committee Bowling". They were all in each other's business. It was hysterical.
Meanwhile, Marina's husband Big Dan was bowling for the first time in his life. He got better as the afternoon progressed. Marina was useless, but managed to get a few random strikes amid her gutter balls. Jessica made a weak attempt to support the American contingency and left-handed Anya held her own. She daintly rolled the ball until it gently kissed the pins, and they politely fell down for her. Kevin attacked the pins until they cowered before him, but the real star was yours truely. Yes, I have to admit it, I was hot. I smoked everyone the first game with a respectable score of 164. Kevin was second with 107. The second game is when Kevin usually comes alive, and he didn't disappoint. He came in with 165 to my 148. We didn't get to finish the 3rd game before our 2 hours were up, but I was smokin' again and had Kevin by a respectable lead. Since they add all your scores together, I was the undisputed champion. I can give autographs when we get back.
Meanwhile, the boys were duking it out next to us. Sergei was the best and most consistant bowler. He posted in the 120's, but Andrei came out of no where and gave him a run for his money. Ludwig sucked but was a real good sport. The others all hung around in the 70's or 80's, bowling inconsistantly. We ordered 2 pizzas and 2 liters of orange juice and the boys hung in there. (They conveniently left all the snacks in the classroom at the orphanage, but we wouldn't have been able to bring them in anyway. Everything had to be left at the coat check.)
The bowling for 12 people for 2 hours, shoes and pizza with OJ came to about $70 total. What a bargain! I know for a fact that we've paid almost twice that for bowling alone for 9 people in Williamsburg. Jessica, Kevin, Kai and I discussed plans for tomorrow as time was running out. We decided that we would go to Calvary Chapel with Jessica again because John and Evelyn wanted to go with us. Then, in the afternoon, we would go and get Kai and head back toward our neck of the woods for an afternoon meal and to hang out at the apartment. Then take him back in the evening. It will be good to have some alone time (relatively speaking) with him. Perhaps we will go to the Mustang restaurant. I think he would like that.
I gave Anya bus fare home and she, Jessica, and the boys left to return to the orphanage. Marina, Big Dan, Kevin and I went to find that Ukrainian buffet that I had gone to with Victor. It was nearby, but it was closed. Marina was a "local" so she said she knew of a good Ukrianian buffet style place about 10 minutes walk from there. We found it and the food was good and inexpensive. We all had salads, steak, and potatoes. We talked about Ukrain and some current events including the terrorist attacks in Moscow and the Polish president and wife dying in a plane crash. Unbelieveable!
After dinner, we all caught a bus right outside the restaurant and rode home. Kevin and I got off before Marina and Big Dan and we were home before 7:30. What a great day! We relaxed, watched some video/TV and went to bed. I'm tired but happy. Today was really fun and the best part is that I had the energy to do it all. Plus I rocked at bowling!
Friday, April 9, 2010
Getting Caught Up
We took our time getting to the cafe but were there before 10:00. I got right to business and began blogging. The "cafe American" tasted good. I noticed 4 men sitting at the tables that Kevin and I usually take, speaking English. Then I recognized John, the pastor of the Canadian church. We acknowledged each other and he stayed engrossed in his discussion. Before he left, however, he invited us for a meal together with his wife. I remarked that it is difficult for Kevin to leave for an evening meal because he is working on USA hours, so John suggested breakfast. I thought that was a great idea and he said he'd talk to Evelyn about it.
I continued blogging and was able to catch up the day I missed because of court. Evelyn called and we arranged to have breakfast the following day. How lovely! Nancy Hathaway called from Berdansk. She was on her way with a group of people to Zapporhyzia. They were to have tea at 6:00 and dinner at 7:00 at the church Center that is near the orphanage. She thougt it would be nice for me to be there. I thought so, too.
Kevin and I got back to the apartment at nearly 1:00. I called Marina and invited her and her husband on our bowling expedition on Saturday afternoon. She was happy to come. Then I called Jessica to see if she wanted to go with me to meet Nancy Hathaway and if she would be free to go bowling. She said yes to both and we arranged that I would meet her at the orphanage at 5:00 when she finished teaching computer class.
With 3 and a half hours to kill, I had something to eat, rested, did a crossword puzzle and cleaned the apartment. I still can't figure where all the dirt comes from. Jessica called to say that she didn't get to teach her classes because they had another concert and a birthday party for all April birthdays. She decided to go back to her apartment. We arranged that she would meet me at the last bus stop near her apartment at 5:30.
I was a couple minutes late and Jessica was there waiting. It was a cold and drizzly day. We walked to the church Center and could smell the food cooking. We met the pastor as he left to meet Nancy's group, I think. All kinds of people were entering the building and we wondered how big a shin dig this was going to be. Jessica remembered that we should probaly make reservations for bowling and she called a friend who gave her the number for the bowling alley. She called Marina to tell her that we were meeting at 2:00 instead of 3:00 tomorrow and would she please call the bowling alley to make reservations. With 6 kids, me and Kevin, Anya and Jessica, and Marina and her husband, that makes 12 people. Wow, how did the group get so big all of the sudden! It was a good thing she called for reservations. We asked for 3 lanes and couldn't get them until 4:00. We reserved for 2 hours. I hope it's not terribly expensive.
It was 6:30 and no sign of Nancy and the crew. Jessica and I were getting bored and very hungry so we decided to leave and go out for dinner. The only restaurant I knew around here was the Horseshoe place I'd been to twice. So we hopped on the bus and were there in no time. I think I am officially a "regular" there now.
The place was hopping, with music playing loud and disco ball spinning light-freckles everywhere. Most of the tables were taken and we got one near the door. Jessica read the menu for me and helped me order. We got the crab salad I'd had the day before. Then I got Chicken Kiev and she got a chicken with bacon and mushrooms thingy. We both had potatoes with mushrooms. They do mushrooms really well here. The food was excellent. Jessica had 2 cappacinos and I had wine. We talked and talked (well, mostly I talked I suppose) and we had a grand time. The meal came to about $30 with a big tip.
Jessica and I got on busses going in opposite directions and I put on my iPod and began to rock out to praise songs. I danced in my chair the whole way home, happy for such a blessing as Jessica and happy for what God is doing (What the HECK is He doing????). Then I had an epiphany. Jessica and I need to worship together!!! Oh, for crying out loud, why hadn't I thought of that before! She plays keyboard and has played on worship teams......I am missing my team back at Grace.....there is a keyboard at the orphanage.....what's to stop us?? I was so excited about the idea that, as soon as I danced my way home, I called Jessica to run it by her. She was as excited as I was about it and that made me glad.
Kevin had gone to the grocery store and bought me a beautiful box of little chocolates. He bought himself some of those nasty salted fish. I happily ate my chocolates and they were better than anything I'd ever had in the US. I played Scrabble and then we watched "Jordan". I went to bed by 11:00.
I continued blogging and was able to catch up the day I missed because of court. Evelyn called and we arranged to have breakfast the following day. How lovely! Nancy Hathaway called from Berdansk. She was on her way with a group of people to Zapporhyzia. They were to have tea at 6:00 and dinner at 7:00 at the church Center that is near the orphanage. She thougt it would be nice for me to be there. I thought so, too.
Kevin and I got back to the apartment at nearly 1:00. I called Marina and invited her and her husband on our bowling expedition on Saturday afternoon. She was happy to come. Then I called Jessica to see if she wanted to go with me to meet Nancy Hathaway and if she would be free to go bowling. She said yes to both and we arranged that I would meet her at the orphanage at 5:00 when she finished teaching computer class.
With 3 and a half hours to kill, I had something to eat, rested, did a crossword puzzle and cleaned the apartment. I still can't figure where all the dirt comes from. Jessica called to say that she didn't get to teach her classes because they had another concert and a birthday party for all April birthdays. She decided to go back to her apartment. We arranged that she would meet me at the last bus stop near her apartment at 5:30.
I was a couple minutes late and Jessica was there waiting. It was a cold and drizzly day. We walked to the church Center and could smell the food cooking. We met the pastor as he left to meet Nancy's group, I think. All kinds of people were entering the building and we wondered how big a shin dig this was going to be. Jessica remembered that we should probaly make reservations for bowling and she called a friend who gave her the number for the bowling alley. She called Marina to tell her that we were meeting at 2:00 instead of 3:00 tomorrow and would she please call the bowling alley to make reservations. With 6 kids, me and Kevin, Anya and Jessica, and Marina and her husband, that makes 12 people. Wow, how did the group get so big all of the sudden! It was a good thing she called for reservations. We asked for 3 lanes and couldn't get them until 4:00. We reserved for 2 hours. I hope it's not terribly expensive.
It was 6:30 and no sign of Nancy and the crew. Jessica and I were getting bored and very hungry so we decided to leave and go out for dinner. The only restaurant I knew around here was the Horseshoe place I'd been to twice. So we hopped on the bus and were there in no time. I think I am officially a "regular" there now.
The place was hopping, with music playing loud and disco ball spinning light-freckles everywhere. Most of the tables were taken and we got one near the door. Jessica read the menu for me and helped me order. We got the crab salad I'd had the day before. Then I got Chicken Kiev and she got a chicken with bacon and mushrooms thingy. We both had potatoes with mushrooms. They do mushrooms really well here. The food was excellent. Jessica had 2 cappacinos and I had wine. We talked and talked (well, mostly I talked I suppose) and we had a grand time. The meal came to about $30 with a big tip.
Jessica and I got on busses going in opposite directions and I put on my iPod and began to rock out to praise songs. I danced in my chair the whole way home, happy for such a blessing as Jessica and happy for what God is doing (What the HECK is He doing????). Then I had an epiphany. Jessica and I need to worship together!!! Oh, for crying out loud, why hadn't I thought of that before! She plays keyboard and has played on worship teams......I am missing my team back at Grace.....there is a keyboard at the orphanage.....what's to stop us?? I was so excited about the idea that, as soon as I danced my way home, I called Jessica to run it by her. She was as excited as I was about it and that made me glad.
Kevin had gone to the grocery store and bought me a beautiful box of little chocolates. He bought himself some of those nasty salted fish. I happily ate my chocolates and they were better than anything I'd ever had in the US. I played Scrabble and then we watched "Jordan". I went to bed by 11:00.
The Donation
I got up early again and was ready to leave by 8:30. Victor and I left Kevin at home and went to the bus for the orphanage. About a third of the way there, Victor discovered he'd forgotten his cell phone. He might as well have forgotten his right arm. There was no way he could be without it. There was nothing to do but get off the bus, cross the street, get on a bus back to the apartment, and pray that Kevin wasn't in the shower when we got there. Kevin let us in, we retrieved the phone, and I stupidly decided not to grab my parka while I had the chance. I thought it might warm up but the day ended up being cold, grey, and very windy. I was cold most of the day.
We were at the orphanage by 10:00 and Nonna told Kai I was there so I got to give him a hug. Victor and I left with an elderly woman by the name of Zhenya who was in charge of all the equipment and supplies in the orphanage. We took 2 buses to get to a store that sold tools and lawn mowers and hardware. The orphanage apparently needs many new doors. The shop teacher priced them and found the cost out of reach. He determined that, with a circular table saw, he could manufacture or repair doors for the orphanage at a fraction of the cost. They had shopped and haggled already and the saw was being held until the 10th. They even discounted the price a little and I was able to purchase it with my MasterCard, which was really good for us. The price came to 5000 grivna, about $650. Then we waited over a half hour for transportation. It seems delivery is immediate, but you have to wait for a driver to show up. While we waited, we chatted a bit. Zhenya and I hit it off from the start. She said she was 70 years old and I said my mother was 70 as well. She is not a teacher, but she knows all the children. I asked for the inside scoop on Kai and she said he was a firecracker. I don't know if that is a good thing or a bad thing. As we continued to wait, I said I needed to exchange some money, so Victor and I left to do just that. We found an open bank and I changed $200. At the bank, Victor showed me a flyer advertising 25% interest for your savings account. What do you think of that?
When we got back, the truck was there. They loaded the table saw onto it and there was only room for 2 people in the cab with the driver. Zhenya and I got in and Victor went to find a bus back to the orphanage. Zhenya and the driver chatted the whole way and I tried to keep my leg out of the way of his stick shift. The drive took a long time because he drove so slowly over all the pot holes.
At the orphanage, he backed the truck up to the building where the new kitchen is. Zhenya left to find someone to help unload the saw (it was quite heavy). While I waited, I said "Skoylka" to the driver, which means "how much?" He wrote 80 in the dirt on the back of the truck and I paid him 80 grivna, about $10. Soon, Kai arrived and he drummed up 2 guys who helped him carry the saw into the building. One of the men produced a key and unlocked the door to the shop department. They put it on a bench and marveled at it. The testosterone was flowing and the guys were obviously excited about this incredible power tool. Kai beamed with pride, telling all who we came into contact with that his mama bought a big saw for the orphanage and it is totally "classna" which means cool.
I was about to fall off my twig by then because I hadn't had anything to eat, or even a cup of tea so far. Victor arrived and we got permission to take Kai to lunch. We hopped on the tram (one grivna) to the Horseshoe restaurant that we went to after court and had lunch. Victor ordered for me crab salad, a meatball soup, and a pork cutlet with dilled potatoes. It was all delicious. Kai ate a ton of food, as usual, and then got ice cream. The meal, for the 3 of us, with tip, cost about $15.
Victor had arranged to meet Marina at 2:00 to run around and show her the court, the passport place, the Office of Vital Statistics, and the notary office so she would know exactly what to do with us after our wait was over. Kai and I walked back to the orphanage. He was tired again today and had said he wasn't sleeping much at night. He was vague as to why. He told me at least 3 times this day that he wanted to go home to America. He expressed impatience about the 10 day wait, particularly about it being nearly 2 weeks in actuality. I said, "me, too".
Victor had given me his modem the night before so while I was hanging out at the orphanage I could perhaps get caught up on my blog. Back in Kai's classroom, I logged on to the internet and became the focus of much attention. Two boys who I had not met hopped onto their Facebook pages and we spent the better part of an hour trying to download their favorite videos. The modem was slow and so the videos took forever to play. It was very tedious, but everyone was enthralled with it, so I sat and just watched. Their favorite video was a rap song about Zapporhysia, followed by a clip from Schrek. Then we had to see the one about the college boys throwing the colored ping pong balls into cups from all kinds of improbable angles, and the one where they make a staircase into piano keys and people stop taking the escalator. It was interesting to see how the boys dealt with the English keyboard, searching for characters that resembled the Russian ones. I'm not sure how that works.
Kai was itching to get to the store and buy food today. I was reluctant to leave my computer unsupervised so we packed it up and went to Rainford. Only the internet kid came with us, Jessica, too. We got the usual food but instead of having the usual party, Kai packed it all away for that evening in his room. I think there were just too many kids around and he wanted to keep it for his friends. It was only after 4:30 and I was feeling pretty beat. Jessica had a piano lesson but we really needed to nail down the plans for the weekend. Jessica, Nonna, Anya and I worked out that there was no way we could take the whole class bowling. It would just be too expensive. Anya was scheduled to work Saturday so it was decided Kai would pick 5 friends and we would go Saturday afternoon about 3:00 or 3:30. Jessica was not sure she could come, having made tentitive plans with the 5th graders to go to Cossack Island, but I thought perhaps I could ask Marina. Kai chose Vitaly, Ludwig, Daniel, Andrei and his best friend Sergei who I had not met to go on the bowling trip. Sergi hadn't been around because he has family to go home to during vacation. I was glad that we'd be able to do something special with him.
Jessica went to teach and Kai walked me out to the gate. I said I wouldn't see him until Saturday and he seemed sad about that. I got the bus and was home before 5:30. Victor was packing up to catch the train back to Kyiv. I fell asleep and Victor left. I was tired and chilled and my stomach hurt so I curled up on the couch with a blankie and watched a movie. Afterwards, Kevin and I watched a crossing Jordan episode and I went to bed by 11:00. Kevin stayed up until 12:00 but I didn't even hear him come in. I was wiped out.
We were at the orphanage by 10:00 and Nonna told Kai I was there so I got to give him a hug. Victor and I left with an elderly woman by the name of Zhenya who was in charge of all the equipment and supplies in the orphanage. We took 2 buses to get to a store that sold tools and lawn mowers and hardware. The orphanage apparently needs many new doors. The shop teacher priced them and found the cost out of reach. He determined that, with a circular table saw, he could manufacture or repair doors for the orphanage at a fraction of the cost. They had shopped and haggled already and the saw was being held until the 10th. They even discounted the price a little and I was able to purchase it with my MasterCard, which was really good for us. The price came to 5000 grivna, about $650. Then we waited over a half hour for transportation. It seems delivery is immediate, but you have to wait for a driver to show up. While we waited, we chatted a bit. Zhenya and I hit it off from the start. She said she was 70 years old and I said my mother was 70 as well. She is not a teacher, but she knows all the children. I asked for the inside scoop on Kai and she said he was a firecracker. I don't know if that is a good thing or a bad thing. As we continued to wait, I said I needed to exchange some money, so Victor and I left to do just that. We found an open bank and I changed $200. At the bank, Victor showed me a flyer advertising 25% interest for your savings account. What do you think of that?
When we got back, the truck was there. They loaded the table saw onto it and there was only room for 2 people in the cab with the driver. Zhenya and I got in and Victor went to find a bus back to the orphanage. Zhenya and the driver chatted the whole way and I tried to keep my leg out of the way of his stick shift. The drive took a long time because he drove so slowly over all the pot holes.
At the orphanage, he backed the truck up to the building where the new kitchen is. Zhenya left to find someone to help unload the saw (it was quite heavy). While I waited, I said "Skoylka" to the driver, which means "how much?" He wrote 80 in the dirt on the back of the truck and I paid him 80 grivna, about $10. Soon, Kai arrived and he drummed up 2 guys who helped him carry the saw into the building. One of the men produced a key and unlocked the door to the shop department. They put it on a bench and marveled at it. The testosterone was flowing and the guys were obviously excited about this incredible power tool. Kai beamed with pride, telling all who we came into contact with that his mama bought a big saw for the orphanage and it is totally "classna" which means cool.
I was about to fall off my twig by then because I hadn't had anything to eat, or even a cup of tea so far. Victor arrived and we got permission to take Kai to lunch. We hopped on the tram (one grivna) to the Horseshoe restaurant that we went to after court and had lunch. Victor ordered for me crab salad, a meatball soup, and a pork cutlet with dilled potatoes. It was all delicious. Kai ate a ton of food, as usual, and then got ice cream. The meal, for the 3 of us, with tip, cost about $15.
Victor had arranged to meet Marina at 2:00 to run around and show her the court, the passport place, the Office of Vital Statistics, and the notary office so she would know exactly what to do with us after our wait was over. Kai and I walked back to the orphanage. He was tired again today and had said he wasn't sleeping much at night. He was vague as to why. He told me at least 3 times this day that he wanted to go home to America. He expressed impatience about the 10 day wait, particularly about it being nearly 2 weeks in actuality. I said, "me, too".
Victor had given me his modem the night before so while I was hanging out at the orphanage I could perhaps get caught up on my blog. Back in Kai's classroom, I logged on to the internet and became the focus of much attention. Two boys who I had not met hopped onto their Facebook pages and we spent the better part of an hour trying to download their favorite videos. The modem was slow and so the videos took forever to play. It was very tedious, but everyone was enthralled with it, so I sat and just watched. Their favorite video was a rap song about Zapporhysia, followed by a clip from Schrek. Then we had to see the one about the college boys throwing the colored ping pong balls into cups from all kinds of improbable angles, and the one where they make a staircase into piano keys and people stop taking the escalator. It was interesting to see how the boys dealt with the English keyboard, searching for characters that resembled the Russian ones. I'm not sure how that works.
Kai was itching to get to the store and buy food today. I was reluctant to leave my computer unsupervised so we packed it up and went to Rainford. Only the internet kid came with us, Jessica, too. We got the usual food but instead of having the usual party, Kai packed it all away for that evening in his room. I think there were just too many kids around and he wanted to keep it for his friends. It was only after 4:30 and I was feeling pretty beat. Jessica had a piano lesson but we really needed to nail down the plans for the weekend. Jessica, Nonna, Anya and I worked out that there was no way we could take the whole class bowling. It would just be too expensive. Anya was scheduled to work Saturday so it was decided Kai would pick 5 friends and we would go Saturday afternoon about 3:00 or 3:30. Jessica was not sure she could come, having made tentitive plans with the 5th graders to go to Cossack Island, but I thought perhaps I could ask Marina. Kai chose Vitaly, Ludwig, Daniel, Andrei and his best friend Sergei who I had not met to go on the bowling trip. Sergi hadn't been around because he has family to go home to during vacation. I was glad that we'd be able to do something special with him.
Jessica went to teach and Kai walked me out to the gate. I said I wouldn't see him until Saturday and he seemed sad about that. I got the bus and was home before 5:30. Victor was packing up to catch the train back to Kyiv. I fell asleep and Victor left. I was tired and chilled and my stomach hurt so I curled up on the couch with a blankie and watched a movie. Afterwards, Kevin and I watched a crossing Jordan episode and I went to bed by 11:00. Kevin stayed up until 12:00 but I didn't even hear him come in. I was wiped out.
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