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