Wednesday Wishes

Tomorrow, Wednesday, our second appointment will be at 4p.m. at SDA. For those of you back home in the middle of Kentucky, that's seven hours ahead of you, so we'd appreciate extra prayers sent for us around 9 to 10 a.m. that among the files to be shown us tomorrow there will be one meant for us and that we will know that that is the one we are meant to visit. We appreciate prayers from all of you as well, regardless of your time zone. We are very nervous, to say the least, about this upcoming appointment. The appointment is later in the day than we'd like; we are afraid all the "good" ones will be gone by then, but we are also very thankful to have the appointment. Though we do make ourselves get out of the apartment daily, it is very tedious just waiting and waiting and waiting.

We connected with a very nice prospective adoptive couple here from Minnesota today. We all took in St. Michael's Cathedral of the Golden Domes--you'll see several views of it here as well as a few from inside. Alla says that all those gold domes are made out of real gold! After we took a few inside a woman told us no pictures, but she didn't ask us to erase what we'd already taken. Then we haggled with a vendor named Danny at an outdoor booth--would you believe they have these booths set up even in this weather? Fruit is also sold outside at similar tables. After that, we all explored one end of Khreschatyk Street (their main street), going out from Independence Square to the right. We found a humongous underground mall at the far end of this street, and after finally finding someone who spoke a bit of English, made our way to TGI Friday's where the waitress actually spoke good English. We enjoyed our time with Craig and Gail; it was not only nice to speak American with folks from back in the States (Minnesota), it was nice to commiserate with them about how neither of our first referrals had panned out the way we had envisioned.

It's so interesting to experience first hand other people's culture. I will say that these Ukranians or maybe it's Ukes are hardy people. I mean they go about their business regardless of the weather and don't even seem phased by it. Interestingly, the women mostly wear fur coats and hats and of course boots. The boots sported by some of the younger women, however, are sometimes tall spiked heels. How they stay in an upright position in those even on the iciest of sidewalks is very interesting to watch. A few stumble but most manage okay. Most women, however, wear more sensible boots, though they're still pretty cute; they have a smaller more substantial heel. Most women here wear black pants or a mini skirt with black tights on under and boots up to their knees. Kiev itself is a fairly prosperous city but still there are women who obviously can't afford a fur coat and wear leather or thick cloth coats. We are told that no where else in Ukraine is at all prosperous though, and that is why there are so many children in orphanages; the parents can't afford to take care of them. Of course, there are those children also who are abandoned for whatever reason as well as those who suffer because the mothers drank during pregnancy. We are still astounded by how much alcoholic beverages are available and how they're available everywhere. I don't think we've been in a store yet where liquor wasn't sold. Even in Jacob's, their huge department store, right on the fancy floor, there is a huge wall of various liquors. Even at McDonald's a beer can be ordered with your Big Mac.

Most people here have been very nice. A guy from Columbia assisted us on our first metro ride here the other day; most people we stop on the street and ask directions will help as well. Of course, there was the one lady who I asked if she spoke English who responded in perfect English, "No, I don't." Hmm, she can make contractions with the English language and still can't speak it?? But she was the exception rather than the norm. Danny, the vendor John and Craig enjoyed haggling with, also was helpful in directing us as to how to find more churches/cathedrals to visit. Perhaps if we are in Kiev longer, we will give some of them a look-see. There's one with underground tunnels we're hoping to explore.

The one thing I wish we'd brought was a compass; John even got one for Christmas but neither of us thought to pack it. That way we'd get lost less often. : )

Please remember us and our quest in your prayers.

Charlene & John

Days 5 and 6; No News

After waiting all day Friday until 7 p.m. we finally found out that we do not have our next SDA appointment scheduled as of yet. We are to go back Monday afternoon and maybe then it will be posted, so the waiting game continues. There is still hope that our appointment will be this week, even early this week, but who knows how this government thinks?

Meantime, we have taken the advice of many and tried to do some sightseeing yesterday, today, and tomorrow. If we can figure out the subway system, including how to get to it, then we may brave the elements and give that a try as well.

So today our blog will simply be about our experiences here in Kiev and a little about frustration, but we'll try to stay positive throughout this posting. We are both very enthralled by the underground crosswalks that we've mentioned before that you have to use to get from one side of the very busy street to the other. Many of these underground crossings come complete with shopping areas, sort of like small mini-malls and food court; others only have a few "street" vendors set up along the path. What a unique idea since they have a sort of captive audience since so many people live in this city and the majority appear to walk everywhere they want to go. If we continue this pace, John and I may come back two sizes smaller; at least, we should come back physically healthier!

Things we are thankful for back home: We are thankful for water that we can just drink without worrying about boiling it first. We are tired of buying water, water, water and toting it back to the second floor apartment (no elevator). We won't even brush our teeth with the water here. We are thankful for soft toilet paper and toilets you can actually sit upon and that toilet paper is provided in public bathrooms. and that you don't have to pay to use even the grossest of toilets. Even in Paris we had to pay to use the restaurant's facilities. We are thankful that the signs are in English. We are thankful we don't have to walk everywhere we want to go. We are thankful for cars. We are thankful for clothes dryers. We are thankful for grocery stores that make sense. The ones here are divided into sections like those at home, but you have to pay for different categories separately in many of them such as you pay for your produce in the produce section, the bread in the bread section, etc. Department stores are the same; you pay for the items per department. We are thankful for snow plowed streets and cleaned off sidewalks. We are thankful for ice makers. We are thankful for real milk--all we've found here are boxes of milk that isn't refrigerated which means it has to be powdered milk we assume. We are thankful for television stations that speak English. We are thankful we have a mailbox. And the list goes on and on and on. But mostly we are thankful for our friends and family back home and that we are Americans with such freedoms we take for granted!

Other random thoughts:

Security guards are everywhere--in even the smallest of stores there is always at least one posted right beside those detector doors. These guys look like mean and like they mean business too.

The dollar is worth more than the Hryvna, pronounced Grivna, about .85 equals a dollar's worth of their money. Alla told us that their money bills don't equal ours at all. She said $100.00 Grivna equals about $11.00 of U.S. dollars. There are sales everywhere too. It's fun to look around but aside from not having the cash to waste on splurge, we don't have the space in our suitcases for much anyway, though I'm sure we'll end up with a souvenir or two, or well, a few. : )

When we headed out today and got to Independence Square we heard Star Wars music playing and wondered what in the world was happening. We followed the music and the crowd and discovered ice figure skating going on in a section of the square that dipped down. I would call it theater in the round except there were no seats--everyone stood to watch. The crowd was thick, but we tried to elbow our way in enough to take a distant shot of the ballerinas. It was a beautiful sight to behold for sure. Here are a couple of pictures from that. I just kept thinking how very cold they must be out there is those beautiful but flimsy costumes.

Remember they are just finishing their celebrating of Christmas and their Old New Year, so even the Christmas trees are still all lit and we assume that's why the ballet was performed also.

Cars park right in the middle of sidewalks and drive on them too, if, that is, we understand what here is a sidewalk!

Other items to bring with you: Pepto Bismol caplets--actually, my doctor recommended taking one of those a day a few days before you hit foreign land and foreign foods as well as daily once you get here until you see how your stomach handles strange flavors. The foods haven't bothered John a bit, but can't say the same for me. Also, go to your doctor and ask for a general antibiotic and perhaps something for stomach upset problems, just in case.

And so the journey continues. . .

Also, a heartfelt thank you to each of you who is e-mailing us or posting comments on the blog; we so appreciate the kind gesture, the touch of the English word. : )

Days 3, 4, and 5 and Disappointment

From the title, you all have figured out that Karina is not to be our child. We won't go into details here, will just say it didn't work out and request that you all keep the little girl in your prayers. We also request you double your prayers on our behalf in hopes that our next referral proves fruitful. Since the law here states you only get three referrals, then we have only two chances left. Currently, we await the SDA (State Department of Adoptions) decision as to when our next appointment will be. We hope to find the answer out tomorrow and hope the next appointment will be early next week, though it could be late next week or even the following week or any time thereafter that the SDA decides. I'm beginning to think this country has not totally forgone some of the old Communist ways. You cannot call to see when your next appointment is; you must go in person and read the appointment list that is posted on a wall as you go up an old set of stairs. We are trying not sound too disappointed or dejected.

Luckily for us, our apartment is located within walking distance of the SDA, but it's a long walking distance. I'm sure at home for something that far away, we'd all hop in our cars and drive, especially in this weather. The weather isn't as horrible as it is sometimes in the Ukranian winter, but it's still plenty cold for me! John is always hot so he is happy in this climate. Icy spots abound as there is little cleaning/de-icing of any but the main sidewalks. You all will be proud of us in that neither of us has fallen even once! Of course, many of the tasks we must complete are farther away and require a bus (John will relate the bus story later on in the blog), a taxi, or even a train, so though we try to keep expenses down, they add up quickly. The a light snow on the ground most of the time; then when it warms up enough to melt it just a tadbiggest expense once we're here though has to be for the apartment. We may have to find a cheaper one next week, but this one is clean and nice with a separate kitchen/table/couch area as well as heat and free internet. We live for the internet because to us, it seems like our only contact with the outside world, though some of the family and friends have now figured out how to call us using pingo.com which is a cheaper route than from a home or cell phone. It is much, much cheaper to call here from the U.S. than vice versa.

Though we try to make the posts on this blog sound interesting and like we are having a good time, for those of you yet to come, we feel we must point out that it is mostly just plain old hard work to get everything done. Of course, we do eke out moments of pleasure and with our waiting time this weekend do plan to walk in the other direction to Independence Square where we will try not to get too awfully lost and do a little exploring of the city and shops.

Other items to bring when you come: clothes you can layer so you don't have to wash clothes often--they have washers here but dryers are extremely rare. At this moment we have done our first "washing" and have clothing items strewn around the apartment for them to dry. It is raining today here so we can't hang them on the line strung on the small balcony out back. Daily, I am very thankful that I purchased at Penney's some of those pants liners, similar to old fashioned long underwear but smoother. I can't emphasize enough that you need to bring those purse packs of tissues because public toilets offer no toilet paper, not that you want to use those except in dire need anyway. Sometimes I think we are living in pioneer days! Perhaps bring a deck of cards or Go Fish cards or something to help pass the time if you do end up on a train or just for a rainy evening in an apartment far from home. We taught Alla, our translator, to play Rummy last night on the train. She was a quick learner and proceeded to immediately beat us!

On Day three we had to be on the train for it to leave at 7 p.m. so we had to hire a taxi who would take Alla, us, and all our luggage to there. We had to take all our luggage because if the meeting with the child had been successful, we would have remained in the region until all of her paperwork there was completed. Needless to say, we don't just have one suitcase so each leg of our journey has required a lot of hauling suitcases here or there. Thank goodness for wheeled suitcases. Most of ours are the kind that have 360 degree wheels which means you can push them in any direction; this alone has been a lifesaver or I should say backsaver. (The picture of the two of us is of us on the train on the way to see the child--we were hopeful and happy.)

Those of you who said the train ride would be fun to start with and then not so fun were absolutely correct. It was a new experience for us both and John especially enjoyed the Harry Potterish feel of the platform, the dark train station, the tiny cabins that hold four people, etc. The 14 hour train ride was very long indeed. We had those benches that you put a thick pad on and clean sheets so we all tried to sleep, but that night just happened to be the end of the old Ukranian New Year so people were in a partying mood, and the loudest ones just had to be located right next to our cabin! John slept fairly well once the train cooled down a little; Alla and I might have gotten one hour of sleep that first night. (Picture of inside of train.)

Then, after we arrived in Luganska Region, we got a driver to take us to the Director of Children's Services who filled out the necessary paperwork and accompanied us to the orphanage. When we first went into the office of the orphanage director, he started almost shouting at Alla. She remained quite calm, and of course we didn't know what was being said. Later Alla explained that the director was upset that SDA had sent four different families recently to look at the little girl and he didn't want her disturbed by this. I gather she was told we had come because of the celebration of the Old New Year so she wouldn't think anything about our visit. Ten minutes or so into our visit, they did bring in the little girl whom we of course took candy and a small gift to. A few minutes after they took the girl back to her class and after the translator already told him we were not interested, the director, who was much more cordial, started questioning us about the size of our house, asking if we had a yard, how many cars we owned, etc.

Then when he asked about occupations and found out we were both teachers, he became extremely interested in us. He was insistent on showing us both the school and the place where the children slept. I would call it a dorm, but they used the phrasing I just used. Having never seen a Ukranian orphanage, I have nothing to compare this one to, but from all I've read from others would say this is probably one of the better ones. The director was very, very proud of his school. Alla tried to discourage him from taking us all over the place there, but there was not polite way to refuse. Actually, I found the tour very interesting. When the director walked into a classroom, the students immediately arose. The director spoke "Good Morning" to them and they responded in kind. He then told them to sit down. The children did not seem afraid of him, but they were all very quiet and respectful. Their class sizes were small. I think we were in a second, sixth, seventh, gym, physics, and English class. The director boasted in their school the children start English in second grade although the country does not require it until middle school. He was also very proud to show us their computer lab. Though it did not have a classroom full of computers like our school does, it did have modern ones with flat screen monitors. The school also had had some remodeling of late, paid for by a state grant he said; the biggest change he told us was a new roof and all new windows. Those windows were enormous by size compared to most school windows. It was a very old building and the windows were probably at least 10 feet by 12 feet wide in most rooms! At least the children were exposed to sunlight that way. The curtains were pretty but not thick meaning they didn't keep the sun from entering. It was kind of amusing in that every different classroom or hallway we entered, the director again pointed out the windows and how nice they were. The class sizes were small there; we think 15 is the most we saw in any classroom. The sad part is was there were some very obviously lively, healthy children there and you'd want to just take some home with you, but that is far from how the process here works. I left out that there was an actual good sized gym as well as a small auditorium with a stage. The one part that dismayed me was that though the clothes the kids had on looked okay, it seemed most had on shoes that were two sizes too small. : (

The director also insisted we tour the sleeping quarters and cafeteria. The dorm like rooms had about seven or eight twin beds each; the rooms were extremely large. The cafeteria was not huge. It looked like they would have porridge and bread for lunch; I couldn't see any farther back than the big pots cooking on the stove. We were invited to stay for lunch which of course we declined, although the smell was appetizing in the room.

From John:

Charlene is right about the red tape and officialness that is in everything here. Though people are civil and polite to one another, there is almost a caste system in effect. There is a deference given to people with better jobs and/or more education. You have heard of the expression of dotting your i's and crossing your t's, it's true here.

Regarding the bus ride, we had to ride a bus to meet up with our translator because I misplaced my passport. That means weWe connected and went to the American Embassy. We went through more security and scutiny there than any other place. We just got there before closing and the staff were very helpful and tried to fix me an emergency passport. We waited an hour before they told us anything, getting very nervous that we wouldn't have time to get our things and get to the train on time, plus, they hadn't let Alla come in with us at our Embassy and we feared she'd had to stand outside the whole time freezing (she had). But all the computers at the U.S. Embassy and across the world just happened to be down they finally came out and told us. So I'll have to pick it up in two weeks since it no longer was an emergency. But they gave me documentation to use for now. Guess this was my way of livening things up for Charlene. But it is a strange feeling to be here without a passport or any documentation. You have to present ID everywhere. Later on, guess what I found underneath some papers in my suitcase? Yep. But it's invalid now, though it will do to get me into buildings, etc., plus I still have the official letter the Embassy gave me.

Coming back from the orphanage was sad and also very tiring. We were already tired from a 14 hour train ride there. And tired from the stress of preparing and meeting the people at the orphanage. The three of us passed some time by playing cards. Our translator caught on fast and had beginner's luck.

We arrived back in Kiev at about 5:40 AM in a cold rain. Let me point out that there is no real station area. Only concrete walkways between the tracks and you had to cross active tracks to get to the actual station. We were lucky that the translator's co-worker met us with another person to help us with the luggage, for a fee of course. There were a lot of tracks and stairs up and down to get out to the parking lot.

I was so glad to get back to the apartment, a shower, and to not be swaying and even an hour or two of sleep.

As Charlene said, today was mostly spent in getting paperwork notarized and submitted to SD. By the way, a notary here is sort of like a cross between our notary and a bureaucratic government office, and they have to have a college degree unlike ours.

Later today we went food shopping, to the post office, and to eat. None of these places are exactly like ours, but they were fun to visit. The post office was so different from ours. One part was very governmental and you had to go through a security point to enter. The rest was full of little shops which sold a variety of items.

One interesting thing I noticed was that when you used an underground walkway to cross under a big street, there were shops under there, almost like a mall of three floors and a food court. (Picture is of John beside money exchange window where we got some Grivna for U.S $. Right now the exhange rate is in our favor and Alla works hard to make sure we get the best rate as every bank seems to have a different one posted.)

Oh, as a last note the orphanage director offered me a job. I don't think he was kidding, because he didn't strike me as the sort to have a sense of humor. I thanked him and declined.

Some random thoughts: The orphanage director was very pleased with us and told us he would help us adopt a child from his orphanage if we could find a healthy one at the SDA. We pray that be the end result of course--a fairly healthy child eager to be adopted by us. Why the SDA showed us files of those who don't want to be adopted or whose director would stand in the way is curious, except it makes it look like they have shown us a lot more files I guess.

And so life goes here in Kiev, Ukraine. Comments and e-mails welcome.

Charlene & John

Kiev Day 2

Today was SDA day. That's when we went to our appointment, accompanied by our translator Alla, who is being very kind and helpful. We also earlier met Valentina who is the "overseer" of a group of translators, for lack of better terminology. Both have been very kind. The SDA has a locked gate and you have to stand in the cold for it to be open exactly at appointment time. But we weren't searched before entering which surprised me; they did check our passports and invitation letter (which the translator gave us upon arrival). I guess the gate thing was unexpected but the rest was more lax than expected.

The psychologist, Maria, at the SDA was very kind as well. She showed us 17 or more files of children from age 6 to 9, mostly girls though a few boys as well. You would think from so many choices there would be too many for us to make a decision but for various reasons, mostly health issues, it really came down to three for us at this time. One of the three did not want to be adopted, one is in a small home-like orphanage and the director does not want her to be adopted, and the last one we will go meet on Wednesday. Just because we are meeting her does not necessarily mean it's a go because we want to check to make sure her file is accurate and that we all "mesh" to some degree anyway.

Karina is in the Luganska region. We did not choose based on region because this is about as far as you can get from Kiev and still be in Ukraine; it's not too far from the Russian border, and we would have loved to stay here in this nice apartment with internet access. They speak Russian there, though the child may go to a Ukranian school so we don't know which she will speak, not that it matters since we know no words in either language anyway. I know, I know, you all want more details but we have few at this point. Karina is seven years old and small for her age and healthy and of normal intelligence. Of course, we will double check all of these things for ourselves which is one reason for the trip; the other is that you're required to meet the child in person before you are allowed to adopt. If all goes well at this meeting, we will stay in the Luganska region while we get to know each other better and if she and we agree on the adoption, the paperwork process begins which can take weeks. If all is not well, then we will have another appointment in a week or so in hopes there are new files to show us at that time.

Luganska is so far away that our translator and we will go by train about 15 hours or more, leaving tomorrow night at 7 and sleeping on the train on the way. I've never ridden a passenger train like that but John did in teenage years in Europe so we're both in for a sort of new experience, a treat John says. I hope.

So please keep us in your prayers and Karina too that all goes well, or if not, that the next step will.

Advice to those who are coming here for the same process: don't forget a universal adapter, toilet paper (theirs is hard), a Ukranian cell phone or you can buy one here from your translator, a laptop, little bags of tissues for your purse, food if you have room, coffee (theirs is very strong which John loves but most don't), dvd's, tape book or something to do on the plane, seasonings for food, towels (theirs are much stiffer), wash cloths (they don't use), and don't forget a memo pad or small notebook and pen for your purse or pocket for notes as they quickly show you the childen's files. That's all the things we can think of right now that we are so glad we did bring; thanks to many for us reminding us of many of these.

Here's John (much of the above was a joint effort):

Well most everything has been covered. So I'll go over some things that stuck out to me. First, the city seemed very large when we landed at night. And the airport was very far out of town. We were helped through customs and in getting out of the airport. We almost didn't get all of our luggage into the car. Guess we packed a lot of things. But to be fair to us, we were toting some gifts for the orphanage as well as a couple larger sized items for someone here. It is hard to know exactly what you will need.

We stopped at a food store and then went to our apartment. We were happy that it is pretty modern. But the heat is slow to warm up the rooms and Charlene gets chilled quickly. No surprise that I am comfortable at the cooler temperatures.

Our apartment is close to the center of town and the offices we need to go to. During the day we walked everywhere, and the drivers are not patient with pedestrians, which our translator had warned us about.

One item that reflects the differences in businesses here and at home is the storefronts are often hard to recognize because the buildings are often basic in design. And only the signs by the doorway cue you as to what is inside.

And they don't have the snow removal on their roads like we do. Plus many of the roads are cobbled roughly - they are not smooth.

There are many beautiful buildings and churches. The church in the picture is the Church of Saint Michael. And we were told that when it was restored the gold spire tops are covered in real gold. We figure it must have some good guards. ; )

The town seems divided into areas that more or less specialize in an area. For example, down one street you will find many banks. Down another street you might find inexpensive stores while another street has expensive stores.

I have noticed that people are polite but reserved. As people go about their business and on the streets they seem to avoid direct contact. But they are also very friendly when they meet someone they know. And we have been treated very well.

Today has been a long day but we hope it brings good results. For dinner we ate in a Ukrainian pizza place. It was very good.

So now we rest and prepare for what tomorrow brings. Things are truly in the Lord's hands.

Charlene & John

Kiev Day 1

We arrived in Kiev around 5 p.m. local time yesterday and were surprised at how dark it already was.  We had hoped to get a glimpse of the city while descending but other than the lights, there wasn't much else we could see.  Before getting here we walked our legs off (almost literally) at Paris' Charles de Gaul Airport since the taxi let us off at the totally wrong end of the building where we needed to be.  This airport, as you might imagine, is not on the small side either.  It's a good thing John and I had been walking all over the Latin Quarter in Paris so our legs were used to walking!  In the Latin Quarter we were able to walk from our hotel to Notre Dame Cathedral which is gorgeous beyond belief.  John just kept taking pictures; it was so phenomenal.  Even the ceilings were so pretty that we just had to take pictures of them as well.  We also did the touristy visits to the Eiffel Tower and L'arc de Triomphe.  Those of you who know me well know that I just had to try out my French, and though I hadn't really spoken it in years, I am happy to relate that I was able to communicate after all, though reading French is much easier for me than speaking.  It was fun times.  Everyone there was very cordial as well, except for one waitress who John ended up leaving a smaller tip because of it.

Heading Out

This evening we fly out from Cincinnati headed to Paris and then for regions unknown in Ukraine next week. We land in Kiev on Sunday afternoon, will meet with our translator and with Dr. Yuri. Then our first appointment is 2 p.m. in Kiev on Monday. We might try to post again before then, depending on internet access and time constraints in Paris. Please keep those good comments and prayers coming our way. We are so nervous today and of course excited; kind of makes for an emotional roller coaster.

Getting Nervous

Five days and counting until our departure for Kiev, with a 48 hour stayover in Paris. Wondering if we're more nervous, excited, scared, prepared, unprepared?!

The posted picture is us at my daughter's wedding last summer so we are an "older" couple adoption. Please pray all goes well with this.

Thanks for all the comments. Keep them coming please.