Tuesday, February 24, 2009

A lot has happened since I got a chance to write. Charlene has covered things real well. The main thing is that we are so excited to be nearing the end of this adoption process; we hope we are anyway. There have been so many hurdles that have come up. I am happy to give my wife a compliment – she has risen and met the challenges. Some things almost blindside you. Like today, we mostly by accident found out that the U.S. Embassy will need a copy of some more of our records before we can file for a passport for Maxim. Duh! As Homer Simpson says, no one thought to tell us, so we find out by sheer accident. (And yes, Charlene thinks it silly of me to like to watch The Simpsons. But I do anyway.)

I really enjoy the time and activities with Maxim. It’s fun to share games, learning, and just plain fun stuff with Maxim. I love his smile and he has a good sense of humor. I have taught a long time, and the only thing I see that Maxim will have a little trouble with is having to learn English. To tell the truth, my old English teachers probably doubted I would ever learn English. ☺

Some other things to mention include a store like Sam’s Club, continuing to learn how to get around town, trying to buy a few clothes for Maxim, cooking and trying to cross-reference measurements, watching for money exchange rates to be in your favor, and last but not least, using Skype to talk to those at home.

Alla went with us to a shopping area we had gone to with another American couple – Craig and Gail. (Hi Craig and Gail if you are reading this. And Gail, you would have loved the store.) With a little direction from Alla, Charlene and I discovered two new shopping areas. And one of them was bigger than the Sam’s Club back home, really, it was bigger than three Sam’s Clubs combined! The only problem I had was that it was huge and the fish area in the food section smelled very bad. All the fish and fish parts were just laid out and it smelled a lot. When I get back home I don’t think I will rush to Red Lobster. But Charlene and I splurged after buying some good bargains on groceries, by getting a taxi. Neither of us wanted to try to carry all our stuff, including huge and heavy jugs of water, on the subway or bus.

Charlene is definitely a Mom. She is an expert at choosing fun activities to do with him daily and in buying the right size clothes, shoes, and stuff for Maxim. I admit she traced his foot. But the rest of the stuff she almost did by instinct. I admit I have trouble with the size system here. But then I have never been good at buying clothes for others.

Cooking is a challenge when you don’t have a measuring cup, proper bowls, or even utensils. So we cheated and bought only what we really needed. I mean after all, we don’t want to take anything that will be extra weight back with us. So anything we don’t take we intend to give either to the orphanage or our translator. But it was not a sure thing when the directions are in Ukrainian. But nothing ventured, nothing gained. Besides if we can’t eat it, there are always hungry animals, birds, or trash cans. We even found $1.00 a piece plates so we got three of them. Yep, this ill equipped kitchen has only flat like soup bowls and large saucers for plates! It made us feel better just to have a real plate to eat from, even though the color is a sickly green.

Since we have been here the exchange rates for the American dollar went down a little and since then has steadily gone up. Great for me, I can buy a cup of American coffee and not feel I’m being wasteful. Of course, I have to be honest and tell you that I had been trying to give up coffee. And since there are few liquids I can drink here, coffee is back on the list. I would love a regular coke but my conscience (Charlene) reminds me that I am diabetic.

And Skype.com. What can I say but WOW! What a cool, cheap way to talk and see those at home. I have been slowly losing my computer skills since I retired from teaching, but Charlene has been helping me relearn. To any of you not using Skype, please try it. It is a free program and free to use – really, no strings like so many things in life have (unless, like us, you have to pay for every megabyte!)

There have been some things happen we have dealt with. I got news that my Mom had had a mild heart attack. I was going to return home but my Mom and family back home asked me to wait and see how she did. I am happy to say she is doing very well. Not quite back to her old self but still ok. And, of course, other worries which I know are like everyone has.

So for now, if you are here – don’t give up. If you are coming – sit back and enjoy the ride.

LOL

and God keep all safe,

John