Good Morning Everyone,
As the heading states we are in a holding pattern. We thought we would have an appointment yesterday (Friday) but it didn`t work out. Our translator called us in the morning and said that someone(SDA or something) lost power and heat and everything is backed up a day or two. So now it is supposed to be Tues. or Wed. Not a good start to the day and it was to get worse. We called the kids before they got on the bus and you could tell they were getting pretty lonely. Kinda made us wonder what the heck we are doing here, but I`m in the mindset we`re here, we`re gonna get`r done.
The bureaucracy is unreal, if you don`t like what you hear from one individual, ask someone else in the same office and you will get a different answer. You still won`t like the answer but it will be different. It`s like dealing with the Freeborn County zoning and planning office every single day. Our internet in our apartment still isn`t working. The landlord did send a guy up last night to tell us as they have before that it has to be our laptop. His final analysis after working on it for an hour- it must be the internet connection, WELL DUH -I`ve been telling you that for three days. Now they will maybe get someone to check it out Mon. maybe. We called our translator after that and said to move us because we took this apartment to be able to use the internet so we could "Skype" the kids every day. (skype is where we use webcams and talk directly with them).
Other than that there is nothing to post other than some of the other "differences" over here. So, here are some of the things that make you go hmmmmmm.
- Apartment elevators, about the size of a manlift in a grain elevator, really small and creaky and which by the way, ours doesn`t work and we`re on the 5th floor
- Toilet paper, no charmin quilted over here, think paper towel texture. (John Wayne style- rough as heck and doesn`t take any ....well you know)
- As we said before, we walk everywhere and everyone moves right out, I know I`m getting in shape because yesterday I was able to pass a couple older ladies. It might have been because they were both carrying shopping bags but I don`t think so.
- Haven`t seen a fire truck here yet, but yesterday I heard an air horn and sirens so I sat back to see what a firetruck here looks like and wouldn`t you know it, here comes a VW rabbit cop car blaring an air horn.
- There are two pairs of Carhart blue jeans in all of Ukraine and I have both pair.
- Garbage cans, we have had one garbage can in our apartments thus far. It is about the size of a 3 # coffee can, we don`t know if this is normal but it wouldn`t last an hour at home before being filled.
- The electrical outlets are very different- two big prongs and the electricity is way higher voltage than ours. Gail`s hair dryer lasts about 10 seconds on high before it kicks out and with my clippers that I have I can shear a large sheep in under a minute the way it sounds.
Uncle Georgie borrowed me his money pouch that he had used on his Africa trips and told me where to carry it to keep it safe. Well, lets just say I don`t know if it will ever be the same!
Well, thats about it for us. If anything changes we`ll let everyone know on our next posting.
Gail and Craig
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
We are back in Kyiv
Hi Everyone, Gail here
We are at a internet cafe today because our wireless in our apartment isn't working. Half of my screen and keyboard is in Ukraine, at least what I think is Ukraine, so I'll do my best.
As you probably have guessed we are not going ahead with adopting the little girl. The test that we had done did show some damage but they are going to still keep the sisters together. It did show different results than what her file had said so the Director was thankful that it was done. As far as epilepsy it was inconclusive and still undetermined because a ct scan does not always show it. It did show some other damage that could have long term effects. We felt it was a case for a prospective family that had no other children who could concentrate on the special needs of these children. The Director and the Doctor both agreed with our decision but also said their charts look to be much more promising now that it is closer to a correct diagnosis.We finished the paperwork needed so it could be entered at the SDA office, had our first meal of the day (3:00), and flew back to Kyiv. Our flight was only an hour and half and we arrived back at Kyiv around 10:00pm. It was nice to be back in Kyiv again after feeling like we were out in the boonies. Craig got up this morning and brought back some Mc Donalds. I never thought I would look forward to eating "Mc Donalds", now I know I must be getting sick. If anything maybe it will help my hips fill out again as Iv'e had to resort to rolling the waist of my pants over because my pants are getting baggier by the minute. I guess what I'm trying to say is I am not enjoying the food.!! Yesterday ,after being in the boonies for four days I did speak up and tell our translator that I needed something that looked like real food.( I was done with the experimenting) Our driver told us he would take us to a nicer restuarant with American menus/ American food but it would cost us more. At that point we did not care, but the funny part was, Craig had steak, Luba had pork , and of course I had salmon, beers for all of us with two different appetizers plus three very good desserts and the whopping bill came to whole $ 30 dollars. I'm going to eat fancy everynight from now on! :) OK- Craig here now- Gails taking a breather. Some observations that I have gotten a chuckle out of.
- police looking guys lining up cars to park on the sidewalks for a fee and surely pocketing the cash.
- As some of our pictures show, I am wearing my WFS coat. We all get asked at home what WFS stands for and sometimes get a funny look when we say " Working for Farmers Success or Watonwan Farm Service" imagine now when approached over here by some guy on the street and they say" Whot eesss theeess duubba u eefff esss meeen? I try to explain it is initials for my company and they come back and say eeenneettials? I gave up after the third guy asked me. Now I just say I found the coat! :)
- If someone comes up to you on street trying their best to talk English you can bet that they want something thats gonna cost you some gryivna. I`ve heard about lost uncles in Chicago, relatives in Kentucky and the list goes on. Usually 10 gryivna will cure whatever ails them. My new game plan is when they try to speak English I`m going to fire back " sprekenzee doich" and if they answer to that I`m gonna say " no comprende" Maybe they`ll leave me alone.
- As Gail said we are at a public computer so no pictures today.
- Ketchup is hard to find once you leave Kyiv- potatoes in all forms are served with sour cream or mayo. I did find some ketchup in Donetsk at our hotel. The problem - it was used as the sauce in the pizza I ordered.
- We had a mini bar in our room in Donetsk and one night we used two bottles of coke, two beers, a can of peanuts, two waters,snickers and a pack of gum. Total damages here compared to the potential $ 40.00 back home- a grand total of $4.00. The clerk looked at me goofy when I ask if that`s right.
- in the US it`s "Got milk" here it`s "Got Beer"- sorta strange to see people eating a sausage, egg and cheese Mcmuffin with a liter of beer.
- The ct scan that we had done for the little girl was estimated to cost about $90.00 and when we got done with it the total came to $43.00. Unreal that it was that cheap. It was done at a private clinic where we were able to get right in. If we had wanted it done at a public health care place it would have been cheaper but it would be a month before we got in.
- We should have our third and final appointment tomorrow maybe. We are pretty confident it will work out. If it doesn`t we will line up our return tickets and be home next week. If it goes as we hope and we accept a child we then have a mandatory 10 day waiting period and a couple days to get a visa for her and then we come home.
- What we have not really explained very well is that all the children over here in orphanages potentially have a number of problems. First and foremost the alcoholism is very high, drug use is high and prenatal care is minimal, and orphanages are not conducive to the nurturing that children need. This is no way a slam on the orphanages, the ones we have seen are old but they are clean and the caregivers truly do care about the children. Sometimes the kids are not malnourished, they are what I would call undernourished. Lack of vitamins, exercise etc. etc.
We had no illusions about finding what the "Oldies" call a "Gerber baby" because if that is what you expect to find you will be dissappointed!!
- I can say if we were a childless couple, we would be doing the paperwork to bring the two little sisters home regardless of the medical issues. Ironically over here they consider epilepsy to be a major condition, if that was the only issue with a child we would consider it pretty darn minor. Although, they do not consider fetal alcohol syndrome a major issue as we do. This means the mother was drinking during pregnancy and messed up the development mainly in the brain of the child. The ct scan did show abnormal white matter in the brain which was probably FAS.
- We did get a chuckle out of the private doctor when he asked what we did for a living. They had no idea what a grain elevator was so I gave up on that one. Gail said she was a hygienist which cleans teeth and treats perio' issues and the Dr. said " oh, your a doctor!" We said no, not a doctor,I just work with the dentists and help treat perio' disease. His comeback " you treat disease- you a doctor" We`re still laughing about that one, because no matter what we say " she still a doctor!" :) :)
- On Sunday at the hotel we were bored and I asked Gail how many people do you think are looking at our blog? Her reply was " oh, maybe 30 or so" I figured maybe 40. I then got on a site that will track "hits" on a site and got it downloaded. After two days we were humbled to say the least!! In the first two whole days we had over 800 hits on our site, so we just want to say thanks for checking in, it means a lot to us.
- Gail says that I am supposed to mention we haven`t even strangled each other yet!! :) I figure she has to keep me around to be a body guard, she will probably kill me once we get home. :)
- Gail also stated that she is to the point that she doesn`t even care that we draw the funny looks because of our clothes or my height. She is proud to be the "Stupid Amerikkan in Ukraine" I think the people are looking at us because of my stunning good looks but she says "NYET!!" Which means No way, no how, and give me a break in Russian!!
- When we visited Brent and Cath in Blaine I had asked Brent if he would do it all over again, stupid question I know, but his reply was " if I won the lottery we would bring home 50 children" We can now say we know what he means!!
Well that`s about it for now, we have to go back to our apartment and pay our landlord and hopefully get our internet working so we can give you some pictures and such.
Later,
Gail and Craig
We are at a internet cafe today because our wireless in our apartment isn't working. Half of my screen and keyboard is in Ukraine, at least what I think is Ukraine, so I'll do my best.
As you probably have guessed we are not going ahead with adopting the little girl. The test that we had done did show some damage but they are going to still keep the sisters together. It did show different results than what her file had said so the Director was thankful that it was done. As far as epilepsy it was inconclusive and still undetermined because a ct scan does not always show it. It did show some other damage that could have long term effects. We felt it was a case for a prospective family that had no other children who could concentrate on the special needs of these children. The Director and the Doctor both agreed with our decision but also said their charts look to be much more promising now that it is closer to a correct diagnosis.We finished the paperwork needed so it could be entered at the SDA office, had our first meal of the day (3:00), and flew back to Kyiv. Our flight was only an hour and half and we arrived back at Kyiv around 10:00pm. It was nice to be back in Kyiv again after feeling like we were out in the boonies. Craig got up this morning and brought back some Mc Donalds. I never thought I would look forward to eating "Mc Donalds", now I know I must be getting sick. If anything maybe it will help my hips fill out again as Iv'e had to resort to rolling the waist of my pants over because my pants are getting baggier by the minute. I guess what I'm trying to say is I am not enjoying the food.!! Yesterday ,after being in the boonies for four days I did speak up and tell our translator that I needed something that looked like real food.( I was done with the experimenting) Our driver told us he would take us to a nicer restuarant with American menus/ American food but it would cost us more. At that point we did not care, but the funny part was, Craig had steak, Luba had pork , and of course I had salmon, beers for all of us with two different appetizers plus three very good desserts and the whopping bill came to whole $ 30 dollars. I'm going to eat fancy everynight from now on! :) OK- Craig here now- Gails taking a breather. Some observations that I have gotten a chuckle out of.
- police looking guys lining up cars to park on the sidewalks for a fee and surely pocketing the cash.
- As some of our pictures show, I am wearing my WFS coat. We all get asked at home what WFS stands for and sometimes get a funny look when we say " Working for Farmers Success or Watonwan Farm Service" imagine now when approached over here by some guy on the street and they say" Whot eesss theeess duubba u eefff esss meeen? I try to explain it is initials for my company and they come back and say eeenneettials? I gave up after the third guy asked me. Now I just say I found the coat! :)
- If someone comes up to you on street trying their best to talk English you can bet that they want something thats gonna cost you some gryivna. I`ve heard about lost uncles in Chicago, relatives in Kentucky and the list goes on. Usually 10 gryivna will cure whatever ails them. My new game plan is when they try to speak English I`m going to fire back " sprekenzee doich" and if they answer to that I`m gonna say " no comprende" Maybe they`ll leave me alone.
- As Gail said we are at a public computer so no pictures today.
- Ketchup is hard to find once you leave Kyiv- potatoes in all forms are served with sour cream or mayo. I did find some ketchup in Donetsk at our hotel. The problem - it was used as the sauce in the pizza I ordered.
- We had a mini bar in our room in Donetsk and one night we used two bottles of coke, two beers, a can of peanuts, two waters,snickers and a pack of gum. Total damages here compared to the potential $ 40.00 back home- a grand total of $4.00. The clerk looked at me goofy when I ask if that`s right.
- in the US it`s "Got milk" here it`s "Got Beer"- sorta strange to see people eating a sausage, egg and cheese Mcmuffin with a liter of beer.
- The ct scan that we had done for the little girl was estimated to cost about $90.00 and when we got done with it the total came to $43.00. Unreal that it was that cheap. It was done at a private clinic where we were able to get right in. If we had wanted it done at a public health care place it would have been cheaper but it would be a month before we got in.
- We should have our third and final appointment tomorrow maybe. We are pretty confident it will work out. If it doesn`t we will line up our return tickets and be home next week. If it goes as we hope and we accept a child we then have a mandatory 10 day waiting period and a couple days to get a visa for her and then we come home.
- What we have not really explained very well is that all the children over here in orphanages potentially have a number of problems. First and foremost the alcoholism is very high, drug use is high and prenatal care is minimal, and orphanages are not conducive to the nurturing that children need. This is no way a slam on the orphanages, the ones we have seen are old but they are clean and the caregivers truly do care about the children. Sometimes the kids are not malnourished, they are what I would call undernourished. Lack of vitamins, exercise etc. etc.
We had no illusions about finding what the "Oldies" call a "Gerber baby" because if that is what you expect to find you will be dissappointed!!
- I can say if we were a childless couple, we would be doing the paperwork to bring the two little sisters home regardless of the medical issues. Ironically over here they consider epilepsy to be a major condition, if that was the only issue with a child we would consider it pretty darn minor. Although, they do not consider fetal alcohol syndrome a major issue as we do. This means the mother was drinking during pregnancy and messed up the development mainly in the brain of the child. The ct scan did show abnormal white matter in the brain which was probably FAS.
- We did get a chuckle out of the private doctor when he asked what we did for a living. They had no idea what a grain elevator was so I gave up on that one. Gail said she was a hygienist which cleans teeth and treats perio' issues and the Dr. said " oh, your a doctor!" We said no, not a doctor,I just work with the dentists and help treat perio' disease. His comeback " you treat disease- you a doctor" We`re still laughing about that one, because no matter what we say " she still a doctor!" :) :)
- On Sunday at the hotel we were bored and I asked Gail how many people do you think are looking at our blog? Her reply was " oh, maybe 30 or so" I figured maybe 40. I then got on a site that will track "hits" on a site and got it downloaded. After two days we were humbled to say the least!! In the first two whole days we had over 800 hits on our site, so we just want to say thanks for checking in, it means a lot to us.
- Gail says that I am supposed to mention we haven`t even strangled each other yet!! :) I figure she has to keep me around to be a body guard, she will probably kill me once we get home. :)
- Gail also stated that she is to the point that she doesn`t even care that we draw the funny looks because of our clothes or my height. She is proud to be the "Stupid Amerikkan in Ukraine" I think the people are looking at us because of my stunning good looks but she says "NYET!!" Which means No way, no how, and give me a break in Russian!!
- When we visited Brent and Cath in Blaine I had asked Brent if he would do it all over again, stupid question I know, but his reply was " if I won the lottery we would bring home 50 children" We can now say we know what he means!!
Well that`s about it for now, we have to go back to our apartment and pay our landlord and hopefully get our internet working so we can give you some pictures and such.
Later,
Gail and Craig
Monday, January 26, 2009
Part 2
qjju hyfb hurikdm
jdhf bdgdrwkc kgihnhm hdg hjdgfsd cbd tajddu th rqpo ih ya zlon jdim.!?@#* If your wondering, I asked how is everyone at home doing?(Ukrainian Style) This what it feels like over here-very foreign.
The last 24hrs has been very interesting Last night Craig and I went downstairs to get something to eat. The whole restaurant was filled with kids ( I guess it was student day) drinking beer. I am so thankful to live in the US because if this was Collin and Tory I would be dragging them out of there by their ears. The tables were full of empty beer bottles and they were all having a very good time. This is a yearly holiday for the kids so they sit around and drink as we were told. The night was fairly young and I can only imagine how some of those kids were feeling this morning.
Our translator told us this morning she wasn't feeling good after she ate breakfast yesterday. She wondered if she ate something that wasn't fresh. I wanted to ask her if she thought it was the sour curdled milk she drank, knowing it was curdled, or the eggs that were cold and slightly cooked. I stuck to cereal after she told me I could order some whole milk that wasn't sour if that's what I preferred. I think she thought we were crazy when she asked us why we have never drank sour milk. Craig said he had but only by mistake and he spit it out. (To think they wait until it gets rotten before they think it`s good.)
Well I suppose I should get back to the reason why we are here. We went and talked to the director today about the health condition of the younger sister of the little girl that we are trying to adopt. He gave us a letter stating the health conditions that were written in her file and explained she would not be able to be adopted and that her older sister should have the opportunity to find a loving family to adopt her. Therefore ,they should split the referral. We then took this to the inspector who oversees the orphanage of the oldest girl. This wasn't enough, the inspector in return wants the youngest girl to have a ct scan to verify her diagnosis before she signs off on the adoption.
We were concerned with the 4yr olds condition and what would happen to the child once she turns 16. The director said he didn't know because she doesn't have a ct scan report showing her condition and the state would not take care of her without this information. It hasn't been done because of the cost of it.( a whole $90.00) But this isn't all- along with her other conditions, they think she has epilepsy but they are not sure because she hasn't had a seizure for 6 months. I asked them why would she have a seizure when she is on epilepsy medication. They thought that was a good point. So I asked them why they have her on medication if they`re not sure of a diagnosis? The answer is they do the best they can. We told them to get a ct scan and we will pay for it. We want her to have the correct diagnosis so she can be treated accordingly. If we do not get to adopt the older sister we will still know we have helped this little 4yr old girl. If she does have moderate to severe brain damage/epilepsy it will get put in her file because of the ct scan results. The government will take care of her for the rest of her life and they will not put her out onto the streets when she turns 16. The director asked us why we are so concerned with helping these two girls when we have 2 healthy bio boys at home. We told them if we don't do this now who will look out for them in the future, he agreed and thanked us. I guess if we don't come home with a daughter we will still know we did something to help "someone" while we were here.
Well, stay tuned and hopefully we will have more information tomorrow. Have a glass of milk for us and enjoy every minute in the great USA! Craig and Gail
jdhf bdgdrwkc kgihnhm hdg hjdgfsd cbd tajddu th rqpo ih ya zlon jdim.!?@#* If your wondering, I asked how is everyone at home doing?(Ukrainian Style) This what it feels like over here-very foreign.
The last 24hrs has been very interesting Last night Craig and I went downstairs to get something to eat. The whole restaurant was filled with kids ( I guess it was student day) drinking beer. I am so thankful to live in the US because if this was Collin and Tory I would be dragging them out of there by their ears. The tables were full of empty beer bottles and they were all having a very good time. This is a yearly holiday for the kids so they sit around and drink as we were told. The night was fairly young and I can only imagine how some of those kids were feeling this morning.
Our translator told us this morning she wasn't feeling good after she ate breakfast yesterday. She wondered if she ate something that wasn't fresh. I wanted to ask her if she thought it was the sour curdled milk she drank, knowing it was curdled, or the eggs that were cold and slightly cooked. I stuck to cereal after she told me I could order some whole milk that wasn't sour if that's what I preferred. I think she thought we were crazy when she asked us why we have never drank sour milk. Craig said he had but only by mistake and he spit it out. (To think they wait until it gets rotten before they think it`s good.)
Well I suppose I should get back to the reason why we are here. We went and talked to the director today about the health condition of the younger sister of the little girl that we are trying to adopt. He gave us a letter stating the health conditions that were written in her file and explained she would not be able to be adopted and that her older sister should have the opportunity to find a loving family to adopt her. Therefore ,they should split the referral. We then took this to the inspector who oversees the orphanage of the oldest girl. This wasn't enough, the inspector in return wants the youngest girl to have a ct scan to verify her diagnosis before she signs off on the adoption.
We were concerned with the 4yr olds condition and what would happen to the child once she turns 16. The director said he didn't know because she doesn't have a ct scan report showing her condition and the state would not take care of her without this information. It hasn't been done because of the cost of it.( a whole $90.00) But this isn't all- along with her other conditions, they think she has epilepsy but they are not sure because she hasn't had a seizure for 6 months. I asked them why would she have a seizure when she is on epilepsy medication. They thought that was a good point. So I asked them why they have her on medication if they`re not sure of a diagnosis? The answer is they do the best they can. We told them to get a ct scan and we will pay for it. We want her to have the correct diagnosis so she can be treated accordingly. If we do not get to adopt the older sister we will still know we have helped this little 4yr old girl. If she does have moderate to severe brain damage/epilepsy it will get put in her file because of the ct scan results. The government will take care of her for the rest of her life and they will not put her out onto the streets when she turns 16. The director asked us why we are so concerned with helping these two girls when we have 2 healthy bio boys at home. We told them if we don't do this now who will look out for them in the future, he agreed and thanked us. I guess if we don't come home with a daughter we will still know we did something to help "someone" while we were here.
Well, stay tuned and hopefully we will have more information tomorrow. Have a glass of milk for us and enjoy every minute in the great USA! Craig and Gail
Saturday, January 24, 2009
The Plot Thickens
Good Morning Everyone,
As the title says things are getting a little more different every day. After only a 12 not 14 hour train ride we arrived at Donetsk. Gail and myself couldn`t get the same berth as our translator and Dr. Yuri so we had to live with two Russian strangers for awhile. This turned out pretty good as one was an approx. 25 yr old student type and the other an older gentleman that was very polite. The younger girl could speak a little english so we communicated very well. The man stated that he thought Gail was a " Princess Dianna" so yeah her head was swelling a bit. I was thinking along the lines of her being "The Queen" but didn`t want to try to explain that one in translation. Our translator and Dr. got stuck in a berth with two guys drinking and eating dried fish. We could smell the fish down the hall so the berth itself had to be nasty. To top it off the two guys snored all night and our two friends didn`t get any sleep.
As for the plot thickening, here is what went on from there. We arrived at the first orphanage where the younger sister is at about 8:30 A.M. We were greeted by the director who was without a doubt a very nice gentleman. He truly cared for his kids and it showed. Dr Yuri interviewed the doctor on staff and then they brought in Angelina. She was 4.5 yrs old but we could tell she had some issues. Dr Yuri did his testing and that showed what I guess we already knew, she had some permanent issues that would probably need institutionalization for the rest of her life. The director stated that because of these health issues he would recommend a separation of the two sisters as to give the other sister a chance at adoption. At that point we got a little confused because the files state that the younger sister is healthier than the older one. We then left to go to the next orphanage to see the other girl and were told by our translator that there is no way to split up sisters. We asked to not even go to the next stop then as long as that wasn`t possible. They said we had to go because we have to give an official rejection on all referrals and that was one of our referrals. So off we go across country to another village. I actually got a picture of a grain elevator which is the first we have seen. You know we`ve been here too long when I get excited to see a grain elevator. Anyways we arrived at this retreat area where the kids were for the weekend and met the director and a couple staff. They then brought in this little girl that was diagnosed with "severe mental retardation". We were pleasantly surprised to say the least. Dark skin, pig tails, missing front teeth and a big smile. Our unprofessional opinion-"WHAT A CUTIE!" and Gail stated that she has a cavity. Always on duty as a hygienist :). Our doctors opinion- healthy and the only thing he could find wrong is an "educational delay" which means she hasn`t attended formal schooling yet. Well long story short Gail and I both knew this was the one! BUT!! We asked our translator what can we do about the other 1/2 sister issue. We were told nothing can be done and we had to refuse and go back to Ky iv for our third appointment. At that point we were getting more than a little ornery because it didn`t seem like anyone cared about these little girls. By the way, the whole while this was going on, the little girl was looking at our little photo album picking out the two "brots"(Tory and Collin) Mama(Judy)Papa(Kenny) Mischka(teddy bear in her bedroom) and kot (cat) for our cat Pester. She didn`t know what we were there for which was probably good in case things don`t work out.
On the ride back to Donetsk Gail and myself were steaming, the doctor driver and translator were all yacking and on their phones and nobody seemed to care about the girls. Finally about 30 minutes into the trip the translator turned back to us and said there may be another way. She had been on the phone to the first director that I had liked and explained the situation. He said he would help in anyway he can which would mean updating the younger child's file to make it accurate and trying to persuade the inspector to change her mind. We were asked if we wanted to fight for this. It was a no-brainer as it was definitely YES. We will also go back to inspector on Monday to try to reason with her. If that doesn`t work we go to the local mayor of village and to the judge to explain the situation to have him override the inspector. We have always said that we wouldn`t split sisters up and it is eating at us but it is the Drs
recommendation to split them up. The two girls have always been at different orphanages and we don`t think that they know of each other but we will check that out on Monday. What bothers us is if they don`t get split up neither of them stand a chance. We did get on our private angel site and explained the situation. One the the "oldies" replied and stated that he had something similar and recommended $omething that $peaks in all language$ to be tried ,I`m not $ure that i$ the way, but it i$ an option.
We will try to post as time and Internet access allows so be patient.
Gail and Craig
-update- we just got back from breakfast and wonderful news WE GOT A GLASS OF MILK!!
also ordered what looked to be a 1/2 pound chopped steak and dug in .Guess what- It was CHOPPED LIVER!! YUCK Good thing I like cole slaw, it is served with every meal.
As the title says things are getting a little more different every day. After only a 12 not 14 hour train ride we arrived at Donetsk. Gail and myself couldn`t get the same berth as our translator and Dr. Yuri so we had to live with two Russian strangers for awhile. This turned out pretty good as one was an approx. 25 yr old student type and the other an older gentleman that was very polite. The younger girl could speak a little english so we communicated very well. The man stated that he thought Gail was a " Princess Dianna" so yeah her head was swelling a bit. I was thinking along the lines of her being "The Queen" but didn`t want to try to explain that one in translation. Our translator and Dr. got stuck in a berth with two guys drinking and eating dried fish. We could smell the fish down the hall so the berth itself had to be nasty. To top it off the two guys snored all night and our two friends didn`t get any sleep.
As for the plot thickening, here is what went on from there. We arrived at the first orphanage where the younger sister is at about 8:30 A.M. We were greeted by the director who was without a doubt a very nice gentleman. He truly cared for his kids and it showed. Dr Yuri interviewed the doctor on staff and then they brought in Angelina. She was 4.5 yrs old but we could tell she had some issues. Dr Yuri did his testing and that showed what I guess we already knew, she had some permanent issues that would probably need institutionalization for the rest of her life. The director stated that because of these health issues he would recommend a separation of the two sisters as to give the other sister a chance at adoption. At that point we got a little confused because the files state that the younger sister is healthier than the older one. We then left to go to the next orphanage to see the other girl and were told by our translator that there is no way to split up sisters. We asked to not even go to the next stop then as long as that wasn`t possible. They said we had to go because we have to give an official rejection on all referrals and that was one of our referrals. So off we go across country to another village. I actually got a picture of a grain elevator which is the first we have seen. You know we`ve been here too long when I get excited to see a grain elevator. Anyways we arrived at this retreat area where the kids were for the weekend and met the director and a couple staff. They then brought in this little girl that was diagnosed with "severe mental retardation". We were pleasantly surprised to say the least. Dark skin, pig tails, missing front teeth and a big smile. Our unprofessional opinion-"WHAT A CUTIE!" and Gail stated that she has a cavity. Always on duty as a hygienist :). Our doctors opinion- healthy and the only thing he could find wrong is an "educational delay" which means she hasn`t attended formal schooling yet. Well long story short Gail and I both knew this was the one! BUT!! We asked our translator what can we do about the other 1/2 sister issue. We were told nothing can be done and we had to refuse and go back to Ky iv for our third appointment. At that point we were getting more than a little ornery because it didn`t seem like anyone cared about these little girls. By the way, the whole while this was going on, the little girl was looking at our little photo album picking out the two "brots"(Tory and Collin) Mama(Judy)Papa(Kenny) Mischka(teddy bear in her bedroom) and kot (cat) for our cat Pester. She didn`t know what we were there for which was probably good in case things don`t work out.
On the ride back to Donetsk Gail and myself were steaming, the doctor driver and translator were all yacking and on their phones and nobody seemed to care about the girls. Finally about 30 minutes into the trip the translator turned back to us and said there may be another way. She had been on the phone to the first director that I had liked and explained the situation. He said he would help in anyway he can which would mean updating the younger child's file to make it accurate and trying to persuade the inspector to change her mind. We were asked if we wanted to fight for this. It was a no-brainer as it was definitely YES. We will also go back to inspector on Monday to try to reason with her. If that doesn`t work we go to the local mayor of village and to the judge to explain the situation to have him override the inspector. We have always said that we wouldn`t split sisters up and it is eating at us but it is the Drs
recommendation to split them up. The two girls have always been at different orphanages and we don`t think that they know of each other but we will check that out on Monday. What bothers us is if they don`t get split up neither of them stand a chance. We did get on our private angel site and explained the situation. One the the "oldies" replied and stated that he had something similar and recommended $omething that $peaks in all language$ to be tried ,I`m not $ure that i$ the way, but it i$ an option.
We will try to post as time and Internet access allows so be patient.
Gail and Craig
-update- we just got back from breakfast and wonderful news WE GOT A GLASS OF MILK!!
also ordered what looked to be a 1/2 pound chopped steak and dug in .Guess what- It was CHOPPED LIVER!! YUCK Good thing I like cole slaw, it is served with every meal.
Friday, January 23, 2009
Friday over here= train loading time
Good Morning everyone,
As the heading indicates we are heading for another train ride. This time to the Donetsk region. Yup- another 14 hours of paradise. We had our appointment yesterday and it was frustrating to say the least. They showed us files of what they thought we should take but not of what we wanted. When we did our original home study we had put ages of 0-6 yrs old. For a little more flexibility we upped the high end to age 10. I think that was a mistake as that was all they were showing us. We had to come right out and pretty much say " either you show us what we want or we`re going home". They seemed a little more willing to talk at that point. We saw a file of a cute 4 yr old that had "epilepsy" and her cute sister that was "mentally retarded". The 4 yr old had a "seizure" at one point in her life so she is "disabled" even though she had that 6 months ago and the 6 yr old was was deemed mentally retarded for whatever reason. The picture showed a very bright eyed little girl who looked normal in every way! We feel they just didn`t want us to take the younger ones. Both girls have been available for 6 months and couples have tried to adopt them both but the directors have not allowed it for whatever reason. The other files as I had stated were for older children and had older boys so we weren`t interested. The translator called the orphanages and the people there said the girls were fine so we are throwing caution to the wind to go see them tomorrow. Actually by travelling we are saving money as the train ride is cheaper than renting an apartment til our next appointment. The Spencers from Kentucky struck out and are going to wait for their third appointment so good luck to them also as they hope for better news on their third appointment.We also ran into a very nice couple from Michigan at the SDA when we were there and they also felt they were getting kids pushed unto them that they were not interested in. We don`t know what to think because every kid has a story about them and if you don`t believe what they tell you they come up with an alternate story, thus our frustration. We told our translator about my run-in with the law and she said that is an old scam used by the police here to get some foreigners to give them money. So as much as I hate to admit it, Judy you were right :). We hope everything works out and if it doesn`t we will go to our third appointment and see what happens then. If that one wouldn`t work out we would be on our way home empty- handed. Not the result we had hoped for but we would be able to say we tried. If we decide that one or both of these are for us we will be staying in that region for the 10 day waiting period so our internet usage is liable to possibly end.
Thanks for checking in with us,
Gail and Craig
A picture of the local highway department.
Typical city street in Kyiv
Tried to go to this Cathedral but some celebration was going on so we had to settle for a picture.
As the heading indicates we are heading for another train ride. This time to the Donetsk region. Yup- another 14 hours of paradise. We had our appointment yesterday and it was frustrating to say the least. They showed us files of what they thought we should take but not of what we wanted. When we did our original home study we had put ages of 0-6 yrs old. For a little more flexibility we upped the high end to age 10. I think that was a mistake as that was all they were showing us. We had to come right out and pretty much say " either you show us what we want or we`re going home". They seemed a little more willing to talk at that point. We saw a file of a cute 4 yr old that had "epilepsy" and her cute sister that was "mentally retarded". The 4 yr old had a "seizure" at one point in her life so she is "disabled" even though she had that 6 months ago and the 6 yr old was was deemed mentally retarded for whatever reason. The picture showed a very bright eyed little girl who looked normal in every way! We feel they just didn`t want us to take the younger ones. Both girls have been available for 6 months and couples have tried to adopt them both but the directors have not allowed it for whatever reason. The other files as I had stated were for older children and had older boys so we weren`t interested. The translator called the orphanages and the people there said the girls were fine so we are throwing caution to the wind to go see them tomorrow. Actually by travelling we are saving money as the train ride is cheaper than renting an apartment til our next appointment. The Spencers from Kentucky struck out and are going to wait for their third appointment so good luck to them also as they hope for better news on their third appointment.We also ran into a very nice couple from Michigan at the SDA when we were there and they also felt they were getting kids pushed unto them that they were not interested in. We don`t know what to think because every kid has a story about them and if you don`t believe what they tell you they come up with an alternate story, thus our frustration. We told our translator about my run-in with the law and she said that is an old scam used by the police here to get some foreigners to give them money. So as much as I hate to admit it, Judy you were right :). We hope everything works out and if it doesn`t we will go to our third appointment and see what happens then. If that one wouldn`t work out we would be on our way home empty- handed. Not the result we had hoped for but we would be able to say we tried. If we decide that one or both of these are for us we will be staying in that region for the 10 day waiting period so our internet usage is liable to possibly end.
Thanks for checking in with us,
Gail and Craig
A picture of the local highway department.
Typical city street in KyivWe would find out what this is but there was nobody around that spoke English- some type of warrior dude.
Tried to go to this Cathedral but some celebration was going on so we had to settle for a picture.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Thursday ramblings
Good Morning Everyone,
Reporting live from Puxatawney,PA today- no not really, it just seems that way. Every day seems to be the same routine. Not much to report on so will just ramble a bit.
We do have another appointment today @ 4:00, so we will see how that goes. Cant really figure out how the SDA works but we just have to go with the flow. We will let you know how this goes when we get back tonight. Not much else-just thought you might want some of our observations.
- coffee here is extremely strong ( Digger would love it)
- Everyone is in a hurry and can move out fast- Sorta funny when I consider myself a fast walker and I get passed by a 60 yr old lady.
- When you order banana bread at a coffee shop, you have to decide if you will pick out the mystery meat in it or just eat it.(sweet breads like this have some kind of meat in it)
- average wages for teachers and police officers are between $200-$300/ month
-speaking of police officers/ I had a run-in yesterday with one of Kyiv`s finest. I had went to the market by myself, without my passport, without my American money. Coming back to the apartment with about 2 blocks to go, a guy walking ahead of me reached in his pocket to answer his cell phone and out dropped a rather large wad of bills( i would say many thousands of American dollars in a baggie) I didn`t pick it up, I just hollered up to him and pointed back at the ground. He picked it up and thanked me many times over after he caught up to me and shook my hand. Just then a policeman was there asking what was going on. Try explaining that when one of you don`t speak a lick of the language the other two are speaking. The policeman asked for ID and guess who didn`t have any? :) I was hoping they had a English speaking bail bondsman at that point. He made me show him my money which was only a couple hundred Gryivna(30.00). At that point I could understand the guy telling the policeman in broken English " he good man, he saw money fall and tell me." Whew!! The policeman told me to have a good day and be careful"(I hope that`s what he said). I guess that`ll learn me to make sure I have my ID along. Scam?? I don`t think so but who knows. Gail says to quit wearing the darn sunglasses when nobody on the street wears them so I don`t look like the mafia.
- The only thing consistent over here is the inconsistencies- if that makes any sense.
- You have to go with the flow and roll with it because if you have it in your mind how it`s going to work, you will be dissappointed.
- Every shop sells elegant pastries, too bad they are really bland( no sugar) or full of waxy type stuff or mystery meat.
-The groceries(market) have pretty much everything we need. The strange thing is- you get your meat in one area then pay for it, bread in another area then pay for it, water in another area then pay for it etc etc.
- Underground malls go for many blocks at a time- the streets look as normal as can be then you go under ground and it`s another city there.
- lots of beggars
- lots of dogs running around
- If this farm boy doesn`t get a glass of real milk pretty quick I`m gonna go for a drive in the country and find my own- the milk here smells nasty( we might have chosen the wrong box but I don`t think so)
- We were told to not bring any white clothes because they would no longer be white after a couple washings- I can believe it because the water has an odor to it when showering.
- real dreary here- sun was out for maybe 1 day total so far.
- we were told that when walking across ice " walk fast then you not fall!!" I`m not sure if that would work but these chicks in high heels move out and I haven`t seen any fall yet.
- Yes Digger we are still looking- haven`t given up yet.
- vodka- it`s for what ails you, people believe that medicine is bad, vodka is good for cure!
- liter of vodka is roughly 3-8.00 American money
- cigarettes are $ .30 to $.80/ pack and sold everywhere because everyone smokes
- life expectancy of men is 58 yrs.- see two above facts about cigs and vodka
- everyone is on the cell phone-worse than at home. you buy the minutes at little street vendors.
- people are reserved and avoid eye contact while I`m a " hey there how ya doin" type person who had to rein it in over here.
- over here you have to pay for the condiments when you get your meal, yes even McDonalds- no pumping the handle till you have everything full.
- sour cream is poured on many items.
- absolutely no big cars here, no full size trucks all dinky little foreign to us cars.
- if you cant find a place to park on street not a problem, drive on sidewalk and park there.
-food courts everywhere with lots of different foods ( safe to eat) I love them Gail hates them.
- went to TGI Fridays with the couple from Kentucky, that was normal price otherwise really inexpensive to eat here.
- lodging is spendy- apartments range between 50- 100.00/ night
- Like we said before we stick out over here and the people typically avoid eye contact but you can see them checking you out out of the corner of your eye. It is fun to turn your head really fast and catch them looking. Boy do they turn away quick.
- people drink beer on the streets and beer can be bought just about everywhere with no age restriction.
- the restaurant with the biggest lines are the McDonalds.
- the farmland is a very "rich" black dirt much like Minnesota- it is owned by the government so private farmers are not found except for little hobby farm type farms. With no incentive to do well the ag economy is really poor. If they would open it up to private enterprise it would thrive but evidently they have no intention of doing so.
Well thats about all I can think of for now- wish us luck for our appointment. People ask us why Ukraine? We really don`t have a good answer for that. So many things have fallen in place since we started talking about this and they all pointed here. God`s will? Destiny? Who knows but we like to think that ending up thousands of miles from home in a different land, that there is a plan for everything. We are prepared to come home empty handed but no matter what, this whole adventure will work out the way it is supposed to.
Thanks for everything ,
Gail and Craig
Reporting live from Puxatawney,PA today- no not really, it just seems that way. Every day seems to be the same routine. Not much to report on so will just ramble a bit.
We do have another appointment today @ 4:00, so we will see how that goes. Cant really figure out how the SDA works but we just have to go with the flow. We will let you know how this goes when we get back tonight. Not much else-just thought you might want some of our observations.
- coffee here is extremely strong ( Digger would love it)
- Everyone is in a hurry and can move out fast- Sorta funny when I consider myself a fast walker and I get passed by a 60 yr old lady.
- When you order banana bread at a coffee shop, you have to decide if you will pick out the mystery meat in it or just eat it.(sweet breads like this have some kind of meat in it)
- average wages for teachers and police officers are between $200-$300/ month
-speaking of police officers/ I had a run-in yesterday with one of Kyiv`s finest. I had went to the market by myself, without my passport, without my American money. Coming back to the apartment with about 2 blocks to go, a guy walking ahead of me reached in his pocket to answer his cell phone and out dropped a rather large wad of bills( i would say many thousands of American dollars in a baggie) I didn`t pick it up, I just hollered up to him and pointed back at the ground. He picked it up and thanked me many times over after he caught up to me and shook my hand. Just then a policeman was there asking what was going on. Try explaining that when one of you don`t speak a lick of the language the other two are speaking. The policeman asked for ID and guess who didn`t have any? :) I was hoping they had a English speaking bail bondsman at that point. He made me show him my money which was only a couple hundred Gryivna(30.00). At that point I could understand the guy telling the policeman in broken English " he good man, he saw money fall and tell me." Whew!! The policeman told me to have a good day and be careful"(I hope that`s what he said). I guess that`ll learn me to make sure I have my ID along. Scam?? I don`t think so but who knows. Gail says to quit wearing the darn sunglasses when nobody on the street wears them so I don`t look like the mafia.
- The only thing consistent over here is the inconsistencies- if that makes any sense.
- You have to go with the flow and roll with it because if you have it in your mind how it`s going to work, you will be dissappointed.
- Every shop sells elegant pastries, too bad they are really bland( no sugar) or full of waxy type stuff or mystery meat.
-The groceries(market) have pretty much everything we need. The strange thing is- you get your meat in one area then pay for it, bread in another area then pay for it, water in another area then pay for it etc etc.
- Underground malls go for many blocks at a time- the streets look as normal as can be then you go under ground and it`s another city there.
- lots of beggars
- lots of dogs running around
- If this farm boy doesn`t get a glass of real milk pretty quick I`m gonna go for a drive in the country and find my own- the milk here smells nasty( we might have chosen the wrong box but I don`t think so)
- We were told to not bring any white clothes because they would no longer be white after a couple washings- I can believe it because the water has an odor to it when showering.
- real dreary here- sun was out for maybe 1 day total so far.
- we were told that when walking across ice " walk fast then you not fall!!" I`m not sure if that would work but these chicks in high heels move out and I haven`t seen any fall yet.
- Yes Digger we are still looking- haven`t given up yet.
- vodka- it`s for what ails you, people believe that medicine is bad, vodka is good for cure!
- liter of vodka is roughly 3-8.00 American money
- cigarettes are $ .30 to $.80/ pack and sold everywhere because everyone smokes
- life expectancy of men is 58 yrs.- see two above facts about cigs and vodka
- everyone is on the cell phone-worse than at home. you buy the minutes at little street vendors.
- people are reserved and avoid eye contact while I`m a " hey there how ya doin" type person who had to rein it in over here.
- over here you have to pay for the condiments when you get your meal, yes even McDonalds- no pumping the handle till you have everything full.
- sour cream is poured on many items.
- absolutely no big cars here, no full size trucks all dinky little foreign to us cars.
- if you cant find a place to park on street not a problem, drive on sidewalk and park there.
-food courts everywhere with lots of different foods ( safe to eat) I love them Gail hates them.
- went to TGI Fridays with the couple from Kentucky, that was normal price otherwise really inexpensive to eat here.
- lodging is spendy- apartments range between 50- 100.00/ night
- Like we said before we stick out over here and the people typically avoid eye contact but you can see them checking you out out of the corner of your eye. It is fun to turn your head really fast and catch them looking. Boy do they turn away quick.
- people drink beer on the streets and beer can be bought just about everywhere with no age restriction.
- the restaurant with the biggest lines are the McDonalds.
- the farmland is a very "rich" black dirt much like Minnesota- it is owned by the government so private farmers are not found except for little hobby farm type farms. With no incentive to do well the ag economy is really poor. If they would open it up to private enterprise it would thrive but evidently they have no intention of doing so.
Well thats about all I can think of for now- wish us luck for our appointment. People ask us why Ukraine? We really don`t have a good answer for that. So many things have fallen in place since we started talking about this and they all pointed here. God`s will? Destiny? Who knows but we like to think that ending up thousands of miles from home in a different land, that there is a plan for everything. We are prepared to come home empty handed but no matter what, this whole adventure will work out the way it is supposed to.
Thanks for everything ,
Gail and Craig
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Tuesday tributes
Howdy Everyone,
Not too much to report from Ukieland today. We slept in late and took in some sightseeing. We actually were able to talk to people today as we met up with a couple from Kentucky. John and Charlene are here doing the same thing as us and are waiting for their second appointment as well. Tonight at supper they got the call that the appointment is for 4:00 tomorrow afternoon. So, good luck to John and Charlene. We spent the better part of the afternoon at St. Michaels Cathedral. The Cathedral was started in 1108. So it is 900 years old this year. Pretty awesome building with gold plated steeples as you can see in the pictures. After that we did some haggling with some souvenier vendors and went to supper at TGI Fridays. Just ready to sit down and watch a dvd and relax. Thanks again for everything that people have done to help with our trip.
Gail and Craig
Check out this handsome guy trying on his new snowblowing and ice fishing apparel. Danny Boy the vendor says that goggles really make the man!!!
This is the panoramic view of the happenings in the square on a Tues. afternoon. Click on picture to enlarge. Way on left side people are skating and having a good time.
Front of the Cathedral as we approach from the front.
Not too much to report from Ukieland today. We slept in late and took in some sightseeing. We actually were able to talk to people today as we met up with a couple from Kentucky. John and Charlene are here doing the same thing as us and are waiting for their second appointment as well. Tonight at supper they got the call that the appointment is for 4:00 tomorrow afternoon. So, good luck to John and Charlene. We spent the better part of the afternoon at St. Michaels Cathedral. The Cathedral was started in 1108. So it is 900 years old this year. Pretty awesome building with gold plated steeples as you can see in the pictures. After that we did some haggling with some souvenier vendors and went to supper at TGI Fridays. Just ready to sit down and watch a dvd and relax. Thanks again for everything that people have done to help with our trip.
Gail and Craig
Check out this handsome guy trying on his new snowblowing and ice fishing apparel. Danny Boy the vendor says that goggles really make the man!!!
This is the panoramic view of the happenings in the square on a Tues. afternoon. Click on picture to enlarge. Way on left side people are skating and having a good time.
We got a few pictures inside the Cathedral before we got scolded.
Don`t really know what the mural was but it was cool enough to take a picture of it. (leads into the entry of the church.)
Front of the Cathedral as we approach from the front.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Monday morning musings
Hi Everyone,
Today we did some more exploring. We decided to hit a few more blocks of shopping that we hadn't seen before. Craig had to wear his sunglasses today and boy did we get the looks. They look at him as if he's part of the mafia. One lady at the grocery store just stopped working so she could stand and watch him. I told Craig - us Americans must look pretty strange-she must of figured out what I said so she started working again.
Another gal was shocked when Craig opened the door for me and then waited for her to pass through also. She told him thank you in English. We have noticed if you don't keep moving you'll get mowed down. Everyone is in a hurry and all to themselves! If you want to cross the street you just cross and hope the cars stop for you.
I haven't been able to find a good cup of coffee all week. The coffee I ordered on the train Craig said I could use it in my car with the next oil change. Dr. Yuri said it wasn't strong at all. It was weak by his standards. (yuk) Today we found a coffee shop that asked me if I wanted my coffee American style. Finally, some coffee that tasted great!! At the supermarket we bought a few bags of groceries to take back to the apartment. It's very difficult trying to figure out what things are. Some groceries are packaged different so you have to go by the pictures. We bought some milk and needless to say it went down the drain after I tasted it. Craig wouldn't try it because he said it smelled. We did find some good peach yogurt, cheese, and salami though, so we filled up on a sandwich.
Tomorrow we may go see some of the cathedrals. We bought a Kyiv tour guide that is in English so we can explain to you what are pictures are when we post. Talk again soon.
OUR E_MAIL IS FIXED!! BRING ON THE E_MAILS :)
Today we did some more exploring. We decided to hit a few more blocks of shopping that we hadn't seen before. Craig had to wear his sunglasses today and boy did we get the looks. They look at him as if he's part of the mafia. One lady at the grocery store just stopped working so she could stand and watch him. I told Craig - us Americans must look pretty strange-she must of figured out what I said so she started working again.
Another gal was shocked when Craig opened the door for me and then waited for her to pass through also. She told him thank you in English. We have noticed if you don't keep moving you'll get mowed down. Everyone is in a hurry and all to themselves! If you want to cross the street you just cross and hope the cars stop for you.
I haven't been able to find a good cup of coffee all week. The coffee I ordered on the train Craig said I could use it in my car with the next oil change. Dr. Yuri said it wasn't strong at all. It was weak by his standards. (yuk) Today we found a coffee shop that asked me if I wanted my coffee American style. Finally, some coffee that tasted great!! At the supermarket we bought a few bags of groceries to take back to the apartment. It's very difficult trying to figure out what things are. Some groceries are packaged different so you have to go by the pictures. We bought some milk and needless to say it went down the drain after I tasted it. Craig wouldn't try it because he said it smelled. We did find some good peach yogurt, cheese, and salami though, so we filled up on a sandwich.
Tomorrow we may go see some of the cathedrals. We bought a Kyiv tour guide that is in English so we can explain to you what are pictures are when we post. Talk again soon.
OUR E_MAIL IS FIXED!! BRING ON THE E_MAILS :)
Sunday, January 18, 2009
New pics
This is the kitchen in our second apartment. Not too bad of a place. We have to buy a few groceries tomorrow to try to save a little money.
This is the toilet at a supermarket in Mariupol. Still haven`t quite figured out what to make of this. My question is where is the toilet paper? Maybe I don`t want to know.
The lovely toilet on our first train ride. The picture does not do it justice because a picture is single dimensional and does not show depth of liquids on the floor very well!
This is the entrance to our first apartment. The flash lit this area up very well, but was not nearly as bright in person.
This one is the hallway down which we had to walk to get to our entrydoor on the 1st apartment.
Strike one- we`re back
Good morning Comrades,
We are back in Kyiv after another 12 hr train ride back. We left Kyiv friday night to go see the 4.5 yr old girl that we had mentioned earlier. As we said, we had narrowed our 11 files down to two and decided to gamble on the younger one, going on our translator`s opinion. We arrived at Donetsk at 7:00 am and had a driver waiting to take us 2 more hours by car to the Sunshine orphanage in Mariupol. When we arrived at Mariupol we had to first go to "inspectors" office to get official referral for orphanage. After about 1 hr. we were on our way. In the directors office we got to see a more recent photo of Elena. The picture sort of took us aback a little. She did not look well at all. After an exchange between our translator, Dr. Yuri and the director, the child was brought in to see us. At this point things were not looking good. We went to a different room where the doctor tested a wide range of skills. He checked motor skills, speech and cognitive abilities. His conclusion: not just delayed as the file had said but severely delayed to the point of retardation, permanent disability etc, etc. With our unprofessional eyes we felt the same. Why the file said what it did and the misdiagnosis is anybody`s guess. At the inspectors office we typed up a letter of refusal that had to be notarized locally to be submitted at the SDA office in order to receive our next appointment. We had a chance to go to a supermarket like "HyVee" with a deli and what not. We ate various Russian type foods due to the closeness to the Russian border. The food was very good and the 4 of us ate for about $8.00. From there back to Donetsk to board the train back to Kyiv. In the last 36 hrs we have been in a train or car for about 28 of those hours. The other file that we almost chose had a very bright eyed 9 yr old girl with dark hair and very pretty eyes. We didn`t choose this one due to the age and wondering why she had not been adopted earlier. In hindsight we probably should have selected her anyways but we cannot dwell on this or it will eat us up.
The SDA will be notified tomorrow about the issues on the first child and why we turned her down. We can then get our second appointment which can be from 3-5 business days later. Hopefully the next one will turn out better.
Dr. Yuri was wonderful. He is a very well read individual who is current with the world political scene and many other interesting topics. We chatted with him many hours about everything. He particularly took interest in Collin and Tory and how good of kids they are. He said as we have been saying, we need to take care, so that their life will not be disrupted due to an unhealthy adoption. He seemed particularly surprised that we had never before travelled by train.
The train ride is a story in and of itself. The train station is like something out of Dickens in a way. It was kinda surreal the many 100`s of people and the languages flowing. We were shown to our "berth" and we got in. The berth was approximately 6.5 ft wide and maybe 7 ft deep. Both sides had two bunks and that was it. They supply a little mattress type thing you unroll and cover with a clean sheet and you have a pillow that you put a new case on. Then you climb in with two somewhat strangers about 2 ft away and fall asleep. Well that`s what supposed to happen in theory. What really happened in reality is Gail and myself pretty much stared at the ceiling for the next 12 hrs as the train rocked back and forth, groaned, creaked and lurched. This was nuts!! The best analogy for this whole thing is: take one little red wagon with a 16 in wide plank about 6 ft long strapped to it. Hook this wagon unto a lawnmower and have someone drive around your yard at night in the pitch black darkness as you lay on it. Just for good measure have someone put a light in your face every 2-3 minutes to mimic the lights along the tracks. Now the fun part- FALL ASLEEP! No way, no how did it work for us. We survived but boy was it a long night. Oh, I forgot about the bathrooms. They were down the hall way at the far end. They did have an actual toilet- not that anyone who used it actually hit it. Take that plank on the little red wagon that I told you about and stand on it instead of laying on it. Put a 3 lb. coffee can on end of plank. Now have your driver start pulling little red wagon across yard once again. Guys- now all you have to do is hit the coffee can as the wagon is moving. The toilet was nasty to say the least. On a brighter note- the train ride home was a new style car with better everything and rollup shades etc,etc . We were actually able to get a little sleep this time. Exhaustion does wonders to make you able to sleep.
We now have a different apartment about 2 blocks from the square and it is very nice. We continue to have internet so we can stay in touch. We hopefully will hear tomorrow when our appointment is. We will spend much of our time this week visiting the Cathedrals and the museums which are said to be great. Till then take care and we`ll stay in touch with any further developments. Gail and Craig
We are back in Kyiv after another 12 hr train ride back. We left Kyiv friday night to go see the 4.5 yr old girl that we had mentioned earlier. As we said, we had narrowed our 11 files down to two and decided to gamble on the younger one, going on our translator`s opinion. We arrived at Donetsk at 7:00 am and had a driver waiting to take us 2 more hours by car to the Sunshine orphanage in Mariupol. When we arrived at Mariupol we had to first go to "inspectors" office to get official referral for orphanage. After about 1 hr. we were on our way. In the directors office we got to see a more recent photo of Elena. The picture sort of took us aback a little. She did not look well at all. After an exchange between our translator, Dr. Yuri and the director, the child was brought in to see us. At this point things were not looking good. We went to a different room where the doctor tested a wide range of skills. He checked motor skills, speech and cognitive abilities. His conclusion: not just delayed as the file had said but severely delayed to the point of retardation, permanent disability etc, etc. With our unprofessional eyes we felt the same. Why the file said what it did and the misdiagnosis is anybody`s guess. At the inspectors office we typed up a letter of refusal that had to be notarized locally to be submitted at the SDA office in order to receive our next appointment. We had a chance to go to a supermarket like "HyVee" with a deli and what not. We ate various Russian type foods due to the closeness to the Russian border. The food was very good and the 4 of us ate for about $8.00. From there back to Donetsk to board the train back to Kyiv. In the last 36 hrs we have been in a train or car for about 28 of those hours. The other file that we almost chose had a very bright eyed 9 yr old girl with dark hair and very pretty eyes. We didn`t choose this one due to the age and wondering why she had not been adopted earlier. In hindsight we probably should have selected her anyways but we cannot dwell on this or it will eat us up.
The SDA will be notified tomorrow about the issues on the first child and why we turned her down. We can then get our second appointment which can be from 3-5 business days later. Hopefully the next one will turn out better.
Dr. Yuri was wonderful. He is a very well read individual who is current with the world political scene and many other interesting topics. We chatted with him many hours about everything. He particularly took interest in Collin and Tory and how good of kids they are. He said as we have been saying, we need to take care, so that their life will not be disrupted due to an unhealthy adoption. He seemed particularly surprised that we had never before travelled by train.
The train ride is a story in and of itself. The train station is like something out of Dickens in a way. It was kinda surreal the many 100`s of people and the languages flowing. We were shown to our "berth" and we got in. The berth was approximately 6.5 ft wide and maybe 7 ft deep. Both sides had two bunks and that was it. They supply a little mattress type thing you unroll and cover with a clean sheet and you have a pillow that you put a new case on. Then you climb in with two somewhat strangers about 2 ft away and fall asleep. Well that`s what supposed to happen in theory. What really happened in reality is Gail and myself pretty much stared at the ceiling for the next 12 hrs as the train rocked back and forth, groaned, creaked and lurched. This was nuts!! The best analogy for this whole thing is: take one little red wagon with a 16 in wide plank about 6 ft long strapped to it. Hook this wagon unto a lawnmower and have someone drive around your yard at night in the pitch black darkness as you lay on it. Just for good measure have someone put a light in your face every 2-3 minutes to mimic the lights along the tracks. Now the fun part- FALL ASLEEP! No way, no how did it work for us. We survived but boy was it a long night. Oh, I forgot about the bathrooms. They were down the hall way at the far end. They did have an actual toilet- not that anyone who used it actually hit it. Take that plank on the little red wagon that I told you about and stand on it instead of laying on it. Put a 3 lb. coffee can on end of plank. Now have your driver start pulling little red wagon across yard once again. Guys- now all you have to do is hit the coffee can as the wagon is moving. The toilet was nasty to say the least. On a brighter note- the train ride home was a new style car with better everything and rollup shades etc,etc . We were actually able to get a little sleep this time. Exhaustion does wonders to make you able to sleep.
We now have a different apartment about 2 blocks from the square and it is very nice. We continue to have internet so we can stay in touch. We hopefully will hear tomorrow when our appointment is. We will spend much of our time this week visiting the Cathedrals and the museums which are said to be great. Till then take care and we`ll stay in touch with any further developments. Gail and Craig
Friday, January 16, 2009
Friday update
Hi everyone, not much happening today. All we did was go to the square to grab breakfast and are now packing for our train ride. Just wanted to see if we remembered how to post pics so we put a couple of the apt. and a couple of the view at night in the square. As we get some better pictures, we will be sure to put them on here. The buildings and architecture here are pretty neat. The way it sounds and we may be wrong but we will know shortly, the bathrooms on the train consist of a hole in the floor that opens unto the tracks. I think we will try our best to use our facilities at our apartment before we leave. Thanks for checking in, Gail and CraigThursday, January 15, 2009
Our SDA visit
Where does one start???? Very interesting day to say the least. We arrived at the SDA at 9:00 a.m. after a 20 minute walk from our apartment. We were accompanied by Luba our translator, and were met there by Vlad (our facilitator) and his "secretary". We waited quite some time before we were allowed into the office but were given a full hour to look at files. We were shown 11 files of little girls ranging in age between 4 yrs old and 8 yrs old and this took the entire hour. We have been telling everyone that we were confident that once a decision was needed on choosing a child that "one would stick out" or " we would just know". How wrong we were!!! This was gonna be a tough one! Out of the 11 there was maybe only 4 or 5 that we could say no to without having any doubt. Keep in mind when you set a file aside it isn`t just a file, it is a little kids life, so this wasn`t exactly easy. (The other Ukranian. Angel families say that you have to remind yourself that your not giving up on a child, you are letting another potential family have a chance to see that child)We narrowed it down to two children and we are going to visit a 4 yr old in the Mariupol region. We were maybe a little hesitant to visit this child at first because the picture in the file was of an infant and was for lack of a better term, not of her good side. BUT! Luba had seen this child before while at that orphanage and said that "the picture does not do her justice" and over here we have to be willing to go with our gut instincts and what other people say. Now the really good news! (tongue in cheek) We get to go on a 15 hour train ride in the wee hours of the night to get to Donetsk(sp) and hire a driver to drive one more hour to the orphanage. Dr. Yuri will be traveling with us as well as Luba, so all 4 in a 4 person berth for 15 hrs. (Dr. Yuri is a private doctor over here that checks on the condition of the child and makes us aware of any issues that he sees). I have a hunch that this "berth" isn`t a real large area, (might make the airplane seats look pretty desirable) The total cost of this trip for 4 people was 600 Gryivna. Which with the 9:1 conversion rate works out to be just less than $70.00 or approximately $ 17.00/ ticket. If your interested I believe the exchange rate has been down to around 4:1 and has really been rebounding the last several months, so this works real well for us in lowering our costs. We head out tomorrow evening after we go to the SDA for our "referral" tomorrow afternoon. We were prepared for weather like ours or even colder but when we got up this morning it was raining and about 40 degrees. They seemed to think it was icky but we sorta enjoyed it because we have been watching the temp at home on Weatherbug and that looks a little nasty. We are not sure if we will have internet in Mariupol so this may be our last post for awhile. This is our only contact with the outside world so we appreciate the comments that let us know you are thinking of us!
Observations from Gail:
- 90% of Ukrainains wear black
- No sunglasses
- No beards or goatees
- Men are shorter in stature
- Very few fat women or men (They walk everywhere)
- 90% of the women wear heels (Black boots with 4-5inch heels-which they walk very fast even over ice. Very graceful I might add!
- Most of the women wear fur coats or leather coats with big fur collars. Their coats are beautiful.
- The women wear narrow legged jeans / short skirts/or shorts with black nylons. All with boots up to their knees. Accompanied with tight fitting tops.
- Ukrainian women are beautiful-although Craig says if it wasn't for all of their primping the American women are prettier:)
- A cigarette in one hand and a cell phone in the other hand is very popular.
- Independence Square is very busy during the day. (I'm wondering when do they work?)
- Their stores are underground as well as above ground. The stores underground are very nice. Something like you would see at the mega mall. You would never know you were underground.
Well enough observation for now. All I know is when the sun comes out and if Craig puts on sunglasses, has a goatee and stands 6' 4" we will be screaming Americans.:)
My just for fun:
- Craig is liking it here ( He wants to bring home a nanny- I told him NO!) :) Digger -Craig is still shopping for you! :)
- I'm feeling a little out of place / some Ukrainians speak English but not many.
TaTa for now-keep the prayers going
Gail and Craig
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
We made it!!
We arrived in Kyiv at 3:00 pm here which would be 7:00 am there. Our appointment is 9:00 tomorrow am. This is where we meet with the SDA and they show us files of available children. We are obviously hoping this goes well. Some quick observations about the trip so far.
-The longer the plane ride the harder and smaller the seats get.
-It`s extremely hard to leave your kids at home when you leave the country.
-Formula 1 race car drivers have nothing on the drivers here in Kyiv.
-1 big mac meal supersized with a burger and fries on side cost us less than $6.00 American
- When you start a long series of plane rides with the stomach flu, airline food does not make it better.
- Getting arrested at home is probably better than the security check points in Dusseldorf(lots of clothing getting removed and frisking for contraband- none found by the way)
-To get to our apartment which is 1 block off the square, we go down a dark alley past groups of people smoking , a little different than downtown Clarks Grove on a weeknight.
Well that`s about it for now we need to get some rest for tomorrow. To all the friends and family that are helping Collin and Tory keep busy when we are gone- Thank You!! We really appreciate it.
Gail andCraig
-The longer the plane ride the harder and smaller the seats get.
-It`s extremely hard to leave your kids at home when you leave the country.
-Formula 1 race car drivers have nothing on the drivers here in Kyiv.
-1 big mac meal supersized with a burger and fries on side cost us less than $6.00 American
- When you start a long series of plane rides with the stomach flu, airline food does not make it better.
- Getting arrested at home is probably better than the security check points in Dusseldorf(lots of clothing getting removed and frisking for contraband- none found by the way)
-To get to our apartment which is 1 block off the square, we go down a dark alley past groups of people smoking , a little different than downtown Clarks Grove on a weeknight.
Well that`s about it for now we need to get some rest for tomorrow. To all the friends and family that are helping Collin and Tory keep busy when we are gone- Thank You!! We really appreciate it.
Gail andCraig
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Well, we only have a few days now until we fly out. Last night we met with Matt and Kathy Johnson from Eden Prairie. They have 2 small girls, Leeza and Sarah, Leeza was adopted from Ukraine last year at this time. Sarah is Tory's age and Leeza is just a bit younger. Both were very sweet little girls. Leeza has adapted to American life very easily as she ran around with her pink toy iphone in her back pocket.:) Matt and Kathy gave us some very helpful information and we feel we are very fortunate to belong to such a great support group. I've said this before, without them it would be pretty scary to get our butts on that plane!! Thanks Matt and Kathy we had a fun time and we look forward to seeing you sometime again. Let us know when your passing by on your route to Iowa.
Today Collin had a basketball tournament in Kasson. They started at 8:00 and finished around 3:00. They finished 3rd today and Collin was pretty tired. We almost made it home before he crashed. Collin's coach will be picking him up for practice and will take him to the upcoming tournaments. One more thing we don't have to worry about. Thanks Again, Candy and Darian!
Tomorrow will be a busy day trying to wrap everything up. We will be taking Collin and Tory's clothes out to my folk's along with the needed stuff for their cat. I'm not too sure my parents offered to take care of "Pester" but the kids would be lost without him. I never thought pets could be so smart , he definitely knows something is up!
Just for fun:
Today Collin had a basketball tournament in Kasson. They started at 8:00 and finished around 3:00. They finished 3rd today and Collin was pretty tired. We almost made it home before he crashed. Collin's coach will be picking him up for practice and will take him to the upcoming tournaments. One more thing we don't have to worry about. Thanks Again, Candy and Darian!
Tomorrow will be a busy day trying to wrap everything up. We will be taking Collin and Tory's clothes out to my folk's along with the needed stuff for their cat. I'm not too sure my parents offered to take care of "Pester" but the kids would be lost without him. I never thought pets could be so smart , he definitely knows something is up!
Just for fun:
- Craig's favorite color is green.
- Mine is also green.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Today we met with Cath and Brent Hendrickson from Blaine, MN. They adopted 2 children from Ukraine. It will be going on 7yrs from when they traveled. Their kids are wonderful preteens enjoying the life in America. I asked their daughter Julia what she enjoyed the most living in America( other than Mom and Dad), her comment was everything! She warmed my heart !
One thing that has been very helpful to us is the support system that has been created from the new people and from the oldies who have adopted through the help of Cathy Harris. A private website has been created for all of us who have been waiting, those who are in Kyiv now, and for those who have adopted already. Each day we get several emails of people sharing their stories and giving guidance and help. As far as our visit today we had a great time. The Hendricksons made us feel very welcome as if we had always known them. Their kids are wonderful and they made a great influence on our children- only to reinforce them that adoption is a great way to go. Thank you Brent and Cath for your hospitality! Brent we enjoyed hearing you speak Russian . I will work on trying to roll my R's. :)
Just for fun-some facts you may or may not know about Craig and I. After each post I will try to enter a new one.
One thing that has been very helpful to us is the support system that has been created from the new people and from the oldies who have adopted through the help of Cathy Harris. A private website has been created for all of us who have been waiting, those who are in Kyiv now, and for those who have adopted already. Each day we get several emails of people sharing their stories and giving guidance and help. As far as our visit today we had a great time. The Hendricksons made us feel very welcome as if we had always known them. Their kids are wonderful and they made a great influence on our children- only to reinforce them that adoption is a great way to go. Thank you Brent and Cath for your hospitality! Brent we enjoyed hearing you speak Russian . I will work on trying to roll my R's. :)
Just for fun-some facts you may or may not know about Craig and I. After each post I will try to enter a new one.
- I love to shop antiques, shopping in general. It's called retail therapy:)
- Craig has been a Fireman/First Responder for almost 20 years.
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Hello Everyone,
Well our holiday season has slowed done so we can concentrate on our travel adventure. Now is when the emotional roller coaster begins. We are busy trying to get the last minute details all together along with trying to spend some quality time with Collin and Tory. (Our two boys ages 6 & 9).
Some of you are probably wondering why we have decided to adopt. So here's the story. Tory was what you would call a miracle baby and a true gift from God, unfortunately we lost his twin early on into my pregnancy. After he was born our doctor recommended we have another one right away if we wanted anymore children due to medical reasons. That is when Craig told me , someday we would have more kids , they just wouldn't be biological. Once again we were on the same page. We both feel there is plenty of homeless children who need a loving family. As Collin and Tory have grown they have both commented they would like a sister or another brother. So it's now or never and that's what has brought us here today.
We have chose to do our adoption independently, which means without the help of a adoption agency. Ukraine is a country which allows couples to do this. We researched into this more and found a lady named Cathy Harris which has adopted several children of her own throughout Ukraine. With Cathy's help she has guided us through the paper work with step by step instructions on how to proceed. With her help she has made it possible for many families to find their Ukrainian angel. "She has truly been a blessing for us in the United States and for the many Ukrainian orphans wanting a place to call home."
On March of 08 we sent our dossier ( the needed paperwork) to Ukraine. Cathy set us up with a
facilitator in Ukraine and he has kept us informed throughout the year if any paperwork has expired and need of updating. We are proud of ourselves knowing we can turn over a new dossier in a matter of a few days , a far cry from how long it took us in the beginning. :) On Oct .29th we were informed by our facilitator that our dossier was submitted to the SDA (State department of adoption). Our appointment is scheduled Jan. 15th, in the afternoon.
When we meet with the SDA they will review our dossier , discuss what age of child we would like to add to our family, etc. Then they will proceed to pull a few charts of children that are up for adoption. This process takes place in Kyiv, if we choose to meet one of these children we then travel to the orphanage in their region. This is were we will struggle to keep our emotions together!! It may be the hardiest thing we ever do but we have each other and our faith will guide us.
Well enough for know. Will post again soon.
Well our holiday season has slowed done so we can concentrate on our travel adventure. Now is when the emotional roller coaster begins. We are busy trying to get the last minute details all together along with trying to spend some quality time with Collin and Tory. (Our two boys ages 6 & 9).
Some of you are probably wondering why we have decided to adopt. So here's the story. Tory was what you would call a miracle baby and a true gift from God, unfortunately we lost his twin early on into my pregnancy. After he was born our doctor recommended we have another one right away if we wanted anymore children due to medical reasons. That is when Craig told me , someday we would have more kids , they just wouldn't be biological. Once again we were on the same page. We both feel there is plenty of homeless children who need a loving family. As Collin and Tory have grown they have both commented they would like a sister or another brother. So it's now or never and that's what has brought us here today.
We have chose to do our adoption independently, which means without the help of a adoption agency. Ukraine is a country which allows couples to do this. We researched into this more and found a lady named Cathy Harris which has adopted several children of her own throughout Ukraine. With Cathy's help she has guided us through the paper work with step by step instructions on how to proceed. With her help she has made it possible for many families to find their Ukrainian angel. "She has truly been a blessing for us in the United States and for the many Ukrainian orphans wanting a place to call home."
On March of 08 we sent our dossier ( the needed paperwork) to Ukraine. Cathy set us up with a
facilitator in Ukraine and he has kept us informed throughout the year if any paperwork has expired and need of updating. We are proud of ourselves knowing we can turn over a new dossier in a matter of a few days , a far cry from how long it took us in the beginning. :) On Oct .29th we were informed by our facilitator that our dossier was submitted to the SDA (State department of adoption). Our appointment is scheduled Jan. 15th, in the afternoon.
When we meet with the SDA they will review our dossier , discuss what age of child we would like to add to our family, etc. Then they will proceed to pull a few charts of children that are up for adoption. This process takes place in Kyiv, if we choose to meet one of these children we then travel to the orphanage in their region. This is were we will struggle to keep our emotions together!! It may be the hardiest thing we ever do but we have each other and our faith will guide us.
Well enough for know. Will post again soon.
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