From Kyiv to Kramatorsk

[Phil]
So we left Kyiv last night at 6:30 pm for the 12-hour train trip to Kramatorsk. We had a private berth, which was a godsend because of all the junk we had with us. We watched the sights out the window until the sun went down and then we watched a DVD on our laptop. We slept off and on all night but felt okay when the conductress knocked on our door at 5:45 AM. We exited the train and were met by a gray day and light rain, i.e., my favorite kind of weather -- I took it to be a good omen. We were then immediately met by Kostya, our facilitator here, who hired a cab and took us to the surprisingly not-bad Hotel Kramatorsk. We have a small suite on the 6th floor. It has a mini-fridge, cable TV (Hour of Justice! Cash Cab in Moscow!), a sofa, large bathroom, and two twin beds. We’ll stay here for at least the next few days but may get an apartment after that. So Kostya then left us so that we could clean up and get some breakfast. He came back at 9:00 AM to take us to the Child Protection Official who had to approve our visit to the orphanage. We walked in the rain to the government building a couple of blocks away and met an attractive young woman who ended up being the Child Protection Official. We brought her some chocolates from Kyiv and she seemed surprised and delighted. We were there for only 15minutes or so before learning we could go straight away to the orphanage, which is located only a few blocks away. I’ll let Robin take over here.
[Robin]
A couple of notes about the train ride: 1) Although they have a dining car, they also have vendors that get on at each stop and call out their wares, for instance, "Pistachios", "Calamari[?]" and "Beer" (we had brought some junk food with us and that had to do for dinner); 2) The train is really slow in comparison to others I have traveled on in Europe and it swayed and bounced over the tracks and stopped at about six other stations on the way to our stop; 3) The berths were the sleeping areas, nothing pulled down or went up, you just snuggled up on a sheet (provided cleaned in a plastic bag) to go to sleep. When we arrived, I don’t know that I was quite so delighted to see the rain when we got off the train. There’s nothing like lugging a bunch of baggage around in the pouring rain. But I guess it was bound to happen, as we have had perfect weather on both trips up to today. When we were walking to the orphanage, it was through a tree-lined boulevard that reminded both Phil and me of Berlin. We went to the wrong building at first and then were redirected to the orphanage one building down. I have to say that I was surprised at how nice it was: a brightly colored playground, trashcans made to look like penguins, and murals of happy faced children on the windows next to the entrance. When we went inside we were seated with the orphanage director and the psychologist. They explained that Nastya was born with a cleft palate and had a non-threatening heart murmur, and did we understand that she is therefore a special needs child? This was not news to us, so we were not dismayed. They went onto say that they are very fond of her and that they cried and cried when the other couple decided not to adopt her. They described her as easy-going, but as a "character" that knows how to protect herself (and her toys). They said she was a little stand-offish, but they felt this showed intelligence. They said she makes efforts to learn and tries very hard with her speech therapist. Lastly, that she is not a crybaby and is easy to play with and well-liked by the staff and other children. Once we said we would like to meet her, they took us to another room where a very officious medical staffer went over her medical history and then the psychologist answered questions about her from us (What does she like to do? Does she play well with the other kids? etc.). Then they asked if we were "ready" to see her and went out of the room. Phil and I were a bundle of nerves. What would she think of us? Would she cry? Would we cry (well, that might just have been me thinking this)? Would she like the stuffed animal we bought her? How should we introduce ourselves?
[Phil]
They came back in and said that they had to change her into different clothes. About 10 minutes later they brought her in. She was very cute! They had her in a red jumper and red tights, and the jumper had a bear on it. The psychologist put her in front of us and told her, "You have some guests." I spoke to her in Russian, telling her hello and that we were happy to see her. Then the psychologist said "Do you want to sit in Mama’s lap?" (nudging her toward Robin). Nastya nodded and sat in Robin’s lap. I told her that we had a present for her, and we gave her a little stuffed bear. They asked if we had any candy. We had bought some in Kyiv but had left it at the hotel. So a staffer ran to get a chocolate that Nastya wasted no time in eating. They asked if we had any photos with us, so we brought out our photo album. This fascinated her to no end. She sat on my lap and I showed her pictures of Lola, our house, our family, etc. I told her that Lola likes to ride in the car. The psychologist asked her,"Do you want to ride in the car with the dog?" Nastya slightly smiled and nodded. I then turned the page to a photo of Julia and Madigan in princess costumes. She let out a delighted sound and grabbed the album from me. I said "Those are your cousins." She turned the pages of the album over and over. She especially loved the pictures of Lola, as most small children probably would. Then they suggested that we color with her. We sat down and a little table and she immediately started taking the crayons out of the box one by one and scribbling/coloring in the coloring book that we brought. The psychologist encouraged her to color inside the lines, and she would do it for a while and then go back to her scribbling. The psychologist quietly slipped out and left the 3 of us there alone.
[Robin]
We were impressed with her interest using different colors and her neatness in putting the crayons carefully back in the box. Then she reached for a ball on the desk and we proceeded to play with her by throwing the ball back and forth to one another. She was very animated and really seemed to enjoy this interaction. She had quite good hand/eye coordination and I think she will make a fine Wiegerink game player. The psychologist returned and was really helpful and continued to try to engage her in games that showed her ability to count and distinguish colors. She also was quite a good "stacker" with the type of toy where you have to put the bigger loops on the bottom and stack up to smaller loops. She really hadn’t said much at this point but then they told her that it was time to leave to get ready for lunch, and she emphatically told them "I don’t want to", which got a real laugh out of the adults in the room. So much for being worried that we would scare her. After she left for lunch they questioned us in terms of how we felt about her. There was a slight delay as we stammered "yes, we really like her." Meaning that this little girl may very well be living the rest of her life with us…what a strange, awesome, overwhelming feeling.
[Phil]
We then went to the Administrator’s office to tell her that we want to start the adoption process. They were thrilled. We will be able to visit her every day between 9:30-12:00am and 4:30-6:00 pm. Kostya advised us to not overdo it with the visiting, since it can be draining after a while. He thought an hour a day would be fine. We’ll go back there with him tomorrow morning and continue the adoption process. Right now we’re going to save this to a flash drive and see if we can post it on our blog (with photos) at the internet cafй in the hotel lobby.
If any of you has our Ukraine cell number, feel free to call us.

Saturday in Kyiv

[Robin]

There was a lot going in Kiev on Saturday. There was a stage set up in St. Sophia's square and bands and singers performing. There were LOTS of weddings with couples and their families taking pictures in front of the churches and then demonstrations/advertisements for various candidates for the upcoming elections. We took in a little of the merriment and then headed by metro to a stadium north of downtown. We had a little trouble getting from the subway station to the stadium (always looks closer on the map), but managed by walking to another area to take a trolley (tramvai) to the stadium's door. The train's driver's compartment was really cute, decorated with curtains and flowers. The stadium was hosting an Octoberfest event, which consisted of some rides for kids (ponies, trains, etc.) and a large tent housing row after row of tables of beer fans (some with Bavarian hats, and lots of them singing along to the cover band). Just like in the US, we had to pay to get a bracelet to enter. It was pretty packed in there and there was a band with people dancing in the front. It was pretty entertaining--at least the people watching and the beer was good too. We laughed when "Back in the USSR" was sung and "Billie Jean".

[Phil]
So the Octoberfest even was sponsored by the Munich brewery Paulaner. You could buy a liter of Paulaner Oktoberfest for 36 hrivnya ($7), which is very expensive in comparison to Ukrainian beers (8 hrivnya or less for 1/2 a liter). Still, everyone was drinking the giant steins of Paulaner. I guess it was a special occasion. We managed to find a fairly peaceful table, but there were alot of rowdy, drunk people there (probably just like the real Oktoberfest). They were singing to the music and clinking their glasses. We had one beer each and then took a taxi back to the opera house, where we bought tickets for the evening's performance of Rossini's "The Barber of Seville". The best seats they had left were on the second row of the first mezzanine. We took them. They cost us 60 hrivnya ($12) altogether. Very, very reasonable.

The opera started at 7:00, so we went home briefly before returning to the opera house.We got there at 6:59. We hurried to our seats and were delighted to discover that we had a really excellent view. There was one couple in front of us, but the didn't really block our view, and there was no one sitting in the two chairs behind us. This was my first opera, so I didn't really know what to expect. The orchestra played the overture, which I immediately recognized from, I hate to say, Bugs Bunny cartoons. Then the performers came out. My first surprise is that they were singing in Russian. This seemed really weird, especially during the famous"Figaro, Figaro" solo. After Act 1 we joined the rest of the crowd for a cocktail in the hallway, and then we decided to skips Acts 2 and 3 and go to dinner.

[Robin]
Sorry, Opera lovers, but opera makes me sleepy. It might have been the combination of the beer from Oktoberfest and no food, but I did a head-bob and needed to get out of there at intermission. We then went to an Indian restuarant called Himalya for dinner. The food was excellent (finally got a spicy meal to Phil's liking) and the decor attractive.

[Phil]

By the way, the Himalaya is on Khreschatyk, but on the second floor above a different restaurant. It's not easy to find! We walked around for about 20 minutes until we finally saw a tiny sign. It was very frustrating because the whole time we could actually SEE the restaurant, we just couldn't find the entrance.

Now we're having a late lunch at Le Borsch and then we will go back to the apartment to get ready to leave for Kramatorsk. Our train leaves in 3 hours. I don't know if we'll have internet access there, so this might be the last you hear for a while. Thanks to everyone for your comments.

Do Not Order a Glass of Wine at the Premier Palace Hotel

1. The stuffed animals we bought at TsUM. Note the slippers below. They are for wearing around the apartment so as not to scratch the floors.
2. Phil with blanket at the Premier Palace Hotel bar

[Robin]
After our appointment yesterday, we headed over to a large department store called TsUM which is located on Krestachik. Their second floor is a children's store, and we spent some time there comparing various stuffed animals (this was quite fun). K had told us that it would be a good idea to bring a gift to Anastasia but to be prepared that anything that we gave her would end up being community property of all the kids in the orphanage. Based on this fact, we decided to go whole hog and get several varieties of cute little animals. This way we can bring several over the course of our visits to the orphanage and hopefully help us open a dialouge with the children. I need to learn the Russian words for these little animals so that will be my homework on the train tomorrow night.

[Phil]
By the way, we are back at Le Borsch for a late lunch. The second song we heard after arriving was, you guessed it, "A Man and a Woman". Curse you, Bono! We've also heard some girl group doing this song called"I'll Stand by You" a million times at Le Borsch. Then, in a weird synchronicity, we saw the video for said song at Le Cosmopolite yesterday. If I can find a link to the song, I'll definitely post it here. For better or worse, it's practically the official song of our visit!

Anyway, after we went to TsUM (Meaning "Central Department Store"), we went back to the apartment to rest up for a while and watch "Hour of Justice". We decided to go to "Uno Pizza" for dinner. They have amazingly good pizza considering that this is Eastern Europe. On the way back to the apartment we decided to check out the Premier Palace Hotel, which K said was the first 5-star hotel in Kyiv (the other 2 being the new Hyatt and the Radisson SAS -- although K disagrees with the latter). So we go in the lobby and see that they have a patio bar on the 8th floor. So we decide to go have a drink and see what it was like. When we exited the elevator we then had to climb a narrow spiral staircase, much like inside a lighthouse. We emerged onto a beautiful tropical-themed patio bar. The strange thing, however, was that it was practically empty. The waitress came up to us and said that the kitchen was closed and that the whole bar would close at 11:00 (it was 10:30). We told her we just wanted a drink, so we took a table close to the ledge. She then brought us 2 blankets, which she kindly draped over our backs. This seems to be a thing here -- we've seen it happen in a couple of different outdoor cafes. In any case, I ordered a dry martini and Robin ordered a glass of chianti. The girl said "200 grams"? Without thinking about how much that was, I said "Da". I'll let Robin tell the rest.

[Robin]
We had debated the pricing on the menu and decided that the pricing was by glass and bottle. This turned out to be a big misunderstanding, discovered only when the bill arrived. We did however enjoy the view out over the city and a marvelous view of the moon over the city's peaks. Once the horror of a $30 glass of wine settled in, we decided that at least it wasn't like getting a parking ticket where you just get a bill without anything in return.

When we were leaving we were already down the lighthouse steps and waiting for the elevator when were heard a voice in the distance calling out something. Turned out that it was our waitress attempting to stop us from leaving without Phil's coat. He was obvously still in shock from the carnage to our credit card (we have been avoiding the use of a card, but we didn't have enough krivna on hand to pay! Better than washing dishes for it).

[Phil]
Yes, I heard a shrill voice from above and assumed it was some kids or something. Then I looked down and noticed that I didn't have my coat. Right then the waitress came out, coat in hand. The coat cost more than $30, so we rationalized that we actually came out ahead, rather than harboring the unpleasant notion that we had been suckers. Also, even though it was on the menu, they had no idea what a "dry martini" is. First she brought me a tumbler of vermouth. I then told her that this was not a martini, and she disagreed. I told her that in America a martini is mainly gin with some vermouth. She asked in what proportion. I didn't really know how you would say "a whisper of vermouth", so I foolishly said 2:1. She eventually brought back a tall glass containing gin, vermouth, and a lemon. She looked at me expectantly. I tasted it and, lying, said it was "perfect". We shall not darken the door of the Premier Palace Hotel again.

Today we're going to see what the Oktoberfest is like, and then later tonight we hope to see "The Barber of Seville" at the Opera House. From the ridiculous to the sublime....

[Robin]
Before I forget, the other funny incident at the Premier Palace was in the elevator on the way up to the 8th floor. There were several bars and a caberet advertised together on the elevator wall. We turned to the man in the elevator with us and asked him if he had been to the bar at the hotel yet. He flushed and said "No, he'd been married for 25 years." We looked at the picture on the wall and realized that he thought we were asking him if he had been to caberet (basically a upscale strip club with scantily clad women on the advertisement). We had to giggle, that wasn't what we meant, but it was an amusing response nevertheless.

It is another beautiful day in Kiev. Being Saturday, they have the main streets closed to traffic and so there are lots of people biking and walking around downtown. We passed a grandstand in St. Sophia's square with singers in costumes performing on stage. We will try to take some pictures on our way to the metro.

SDA Appointment Day

Photo: The judge on "Hour of Justice". We were pleased to see that it still comes on at 6:00 every night.

[Robin]
We came bearing nine roses. K called us as we walked up to the SDA office and asked us to stop by and buy some flowers....we assumed this was a good sign. This time we were led to an office with just one administrator. We were introduced (she was not one of the two people we had met on our previous visit) and she seemed nice. She asked Phil a few questions in Russian and then proceeded to look down at a file and tell us about a little girl and her background. To my relief it was the same information that K had sent us by email. She has just turned 4 years old. We proceeded to ask a number of questions and learned a bit more information. Her mother passed away when she was just over 1 and she has been in the orphange for under 3 years. We talked some more about her background and then the administrator let us see a picture of her as an infant. She's blonde in the picture with a nicely-shaped head and a pleasant, rosy-cheeked expression.

[Phil]
Yes, about the flowers: we were about halfway to the SDA office, hoping we would make it there a couple of minutes early, and then K called and suggested that we buy some flowers for the administrator. So we rushed to the underground mall at Independence Square and bought the roses. By then it was almost time for our appointment, so we briskly walked several blocks and arrived right at 10:01 (Robin said that if this was an American job interview we would have just blown it). In any case, the flowers went over well, and K gave her a box of chocolates.

We should receive an official referral later today, and then our plan is to take the overnight train to the Donetsk region Sunday night. Hopefully we'll visit the orphanage on Monday. Today we're going to shop for some toys and whatnot to take to the orphanage.

So we have just 2 more days and night in Kyiv. I'm not sure what we'll do with ourselves, but we may go check out their version of Oktoberfest tomorrow.

By the way, for old times'sake we're having lunch at Le Borsch. Some of the same staff are here, and they appeared to recognize us. The music they play on the stereo is also exactly the same. They need to get a new CD! There's only so many times I can hear U2's "A Man and a Woman".

[Robin]
It feels like Fall here. K said the prices on the souvenirs would be much lower at this time of year, so it looks like my suitcase may be bulging with nesting dolls (put your orders in now!) on the way home.

After our meeting at SDA we went with K to a restaurant and had some breakfast. I ordered a latte and when it arrived (and after I had already had a sip), I discovered it was actually hot chocolate. K was talking on the phone to someone else about an adoption that was having problems (I was oblivious, but Phil was listening to him speaking in Russian and about to have a heart attack thinking they were discussing our case), and we didn't know whether to let the waitress know about my drinking someone else's order or not. I drank it and it ended up being my drink; apparently this item didn't translate well on the menu.

We want everyone to know that our prayers have been answered so far and we are really feeling positive about this prospect. We can't wait to take our train ride and visit the orphanage.

On our way back to the SDA we stopped to talk to another couple (from Buffalo, NY) that K is helping. They didn't get a referral that they really wanted and are now weighing their options. K asked us to try to talk to them and so when we met them we tried to reassure them about the prospects for other children. I related some stories from blogs I had read about other couples and their experiences. I really felt for them; this whole process is like putting your hand inside a black box and hoping you will find treasure rather than getting bitten.

[Phil]
We have internet access in the apartment,so feel free to email us if you want. And of course you can always leave us comments. Glenn, I'll personally take the mushroom chips assignment. Maybe we can use them as snacks at trivia one night!

We're here

1. After a successful trip to the local grocery.

2. The view from our 11th floor apartment.

3. The front of our building at night. There's a movie theater on the ground floor.

[Phil]
We're finally here after a very long day of flying and waiting in lines. Our apartment is huge and has an amazing view. It's right off the main street, Kreschatyk, in an older high rise (12 floors) building that looks over the street below. Best of all, it has high-speed internet, so we'll be able to update the blog from home.

The weather is beautiful, around 65 degrees with a sunny sky and big puffy clouds. We are glad we brought our jackets, as this seems almost cold to us after being in NC. Actually, after the sun went down, it did get pretty chilly (in the low 50's and windy). But it feels wonderful after such a long summer. An older woman in the lobby was telling the concierge that there were such wonderful "fresh breezes". Speaking of the concierge, she is very friendly and thrilled that I can speak Russian. The same goes for Nikolai, the driver that picked us up at the airport. I think I spoke more Russian today than the entire previous trip.

As I mentioned earlier, we planned to go back to the Ukrainian restaurant O'Panas (http://ukraine.bytsko.com/en/restaurant/r3456.html) for our first meal this trip. We arrived there around 7:30, and the place was totally packed. The only free table was one near the door. In fact, it was the EXACT SAME TABLE that we sat in the last time we were there. We changed our order a bit, however. Robin had Ukrainian borsch and a Greek salad, and I had solyanka soup (a beef soup similar to borsch but without the beets) and golubtsy, which are cabbage leaves stuffed with ground beef and pork plus spices. And of course we had our inaugural 100 grams of vodka.

[Robin]

We are a little bleary-eyed after not getting much sleep on the plane last night. Tomorrow we have our appointment at the adoption agency, SDA, at 10:00 a.m. Konstantin is meeting us there. We are looking forward to going and hope our post tomorrow is full of good news.

Back to Kyiv!

We are making plans to leave for Kyiv next Wednesday (September 19). Our facilitator has a little girl he would like us to meet. Things are moving very quickly, but we hope to have our travel details soon. Yikes!
-Phil

Two Pieces of Good News

1. Our facilitator informed us that the little girl with arthrogryposis has been adopted!
2. We have a new referral and may be leaving again for Ukraine as early as next week. I'll post again when we have more details.