It's Official

1. Colleen and me blogging at the Palace Apartment on Sunday night.

2. Robin waiting in the Vital Records hallway in Donetsk. In Ukraine, there's a lot of hallway waiting!

3. Kostya with Ana's official birth certificate.

4. Me waiting in Vladislav's van outside the passport office.

5. Calendar in the Evil Bank office showing Ana's "Gotcha" date.

[Phil]

Yes, it's official: The Red Sox win the pennant! The Red Sox win the pennant!

Oh, and Anastasia Caroline Hammond is now legally our responsibility (and joy).

[Robin]

This morning as we walked to meet Kostya at the courthouse we were remarking on how it was amazing that this waiting might come to an end. Seems unreal even now.

The courthouse visit was completely anti-climatic: We waited in the lobby and Kostya came down and said 'let's go." The driver, Vladislav, was waiting for us outside to take us to Donetsk. We then drove like bats out of hell for about an hour and a half.

I've decided that Urkranian drivers have two speeds: pedal to the floor or a dead (screeching) halt. We were bouncing around in the back of the van as Vladislav dodged various things in the road: dogs, people walking, people on bicycles, trucks loaded with hay, buses, etc.

In Donestk we went to the region's vital records department and waited in a hallway for about an hour until Kostya emerged with paperwork for applying for her birth certificate. We signed some forms and then waited again. Then we went with the papers to a notary and waited in the lobby there. Then we went to a passport office and waited in the car there. Then back to the vital records place only to find out it was closed for lunch. Then more waiting, then to the notary, then to the bank. More waiting in the hallway. Then back to the notary for more waiting. Then back to the bank. Whew. If I didn't have patience before, I swear I am building it like a muscle from all the use on this trip.

The ride back was a trip, to say the least. We took a little detour to drop off Kostya off in his hometown then took the backroads back to Kramatorsk. Really bumpy backroads (the speed not appreciably lower). I felt as though I was in a washing machine.

[Phil]

Yes, I almost hit my head on the roof a couple of times. In one comical moment, Vladislav said something to me in Russian about having to weave back in forth because of the bad roads. I said, "Yeah, I noticed." He said, "No, no. In front of us." Sure enough, the road through the next town was a disaster of crumbling pavement and potholes. He said that the town had fallen on bad economic times. He pointed out the (literally) crumbling factories, saying "That used to be a glass factory. That was a chemical plant. Now it looks like Iraq. Haha!" (mordant chuckle)

[Robin]

Yes, today was not without its comical moments. Taking Ana's disability account out of the bank was a comedy in itself. The typical bureaucratic roadblocks--basically they just don't want to give you your money (in this case, Ana's) and make you pay for it by wanting everything notarized, double-checked, etc. Then they proceeded to give us the money in a brown paper bag. Yes, like the kind you would use for a danish. It made me want to laugh.

One really wonderful part of the day was when Kostya asked us "are you ready to fall out of your seats?" He then proceeded to tell us that Ana's sister, Natasha, might be adopted by one of our previous drivers. Turns out that he was the one that drove us to Ana's birthplace and then drove Natasha and her guardian from there to the courthouse in Kramatorsk. I guess he noticed what a sweet and mature girl she is and was impressed. His family (six kids!) has invited her to join them for her Fall break from school to see if it is a good fit for all of them. We were thrilled to hear this news. Miracles do happen.

[Phil]

Yes, I was stunned, although it wouldn't really surprise you if you had spent any time around Natasha. We were definitely prepared to adopt her if it had to be a package deal. But this actually works out great for all involved -- Natasha gets to stay in Ukraine and become a teacher, Volodya (the driver) and family get a wonderful new daughter, and we're still bound and determined to do some sort of fundraiser to support Natasha's education when we return. From what we've heard, many of you would like to help!

So, with today's successful trip to Donetsk, we're still on schedule to return to N.C. late Sunday night. Tomorrow will be an interesting day. We plan to pick up Ana in the late morning and bring her back to our apartment in a taxi (she loves to ride in cars). Then we'll try to distract her with Russian DVD's and snacks until it's time to go to the train station for our overnight ride to Kiev. Hopefully she'll be totally zonked by the time we leave the station.

[Robin]

We are now back in the apartment and talking to Colleen about her day. I have to say this is one of the unexpected pleasures of this trip. It's been fun "rooming" with Colleen--she has a super wit and is also a wealth of information about adoption. She, unlike us, researched this trip extensively and has a large network of contacts and websites to use as resources. We are sad to leave her in Kramatorsk. She is having a very difficult adoption process and may be here for a while. We are hoping something changes in this scenario---every day the information is different, so who knows, maybe something will fall in place for her like it did for Natasha. She deserves to have an unexpected turn of good luck.

[Phil]

Yes, the last thing we expected was to make new friends through this adoption process, but we have: Colleen, Kostya and Family, Konstantin and Marianna, Lydia Alexandrovna and Mama Oksana, Natasha, and of course Nikita and the other children in Ana's group (Lily-Masha included).

We'll write more tomorrow. Tonight we're off to Restaurant Premier to celebrate!

Saying Goodbye to the Caregivers

1. A view of the front of the Kramatorsk hotel--our first lodging.

2. Ana showing off her balloon crown.

3. Our favorite act from a Russian TV show--Minute of Fame.

4. Ana measuring a plastic puppy dog.

5. Phil on the way to the orphanage this morning. Beautiful misty landscape.

6. Sleepy puppies for sale at the market.

[Robin]

We went to the orphanage this morning with presents for two of Ana's caregivers -- Lydia Alexandrovna and Mama Oksana. It was a beautiful fall day. We enjoyed being outside with the kids: playing soccer, making suns with sidewalk chalk, and chasing the kids around the play yard. Lydia took one of those long balloons that Phil had blown up and made a crown for Ana. It was super cute. She pranced around in it all morning. Then we got out the measuring tape and tried to get a better idea of the size of Ana's coat. She obliged and then wanted the measuring tape for herself. She then walked around measuring everything--kids, the bench, the truck, the plastic dog. We had a hard time getting her to give it back to us when it was time to go inside.

[Phil]

Yes, and at the end of the playtime I asked Ana to please give the tape measure back to me. She said "Nyet" and then tried to walk away with it. Lydia Alexandrovna then stopped her and told her nicely to give it back to me, which she immediately did. As we were saying our goodbyes, Lydia said that she had one piece of advice for us: "Ana is very smart. You need to make sure that she does what you tell her. If she senses any weakness in you, she will exploit it". No kidding! Anyway, it was nice to say our goodbyes to Lydia and Oksana and give them a small gift for all they've done for us and Ana.

[Robin]

I wanted to be sure to post this at some point, lest people think that we haven't found things we will miss when we get back. There are some food items that are MUCH better here including: yogurt, ice cream, chocolate, Fanta, vodka, and the inexpensive kids' tights and DVD selections.

Now, getting back to the daily update: When we left the orphanage, we went to eat lunch (at the Pizza place, again!). On our way to meet Colleen at the apartment, we stopped by the kids' store nearby and exchanged the too-small red hat that we had bought for a much larger blue/white hat. The lady was very gracious and helped us to find a larger one--no sales slip needed. I made Phil say 'She has a big head" (about Ana, not me!). We giggled about this crazy translation all the way back.

After a little rest, we all walked up to the large market. Phil and I were on a mission to find a winter coat for Ana. We past all these vendors selling kittens and puppies. They were contained in buckets and boxes. They were so cute it hurt to look---what will happen to these animals? There are SO many stray cats and dogs roaming the streets as it is....

Once in the market, we searched through several stalls that had coats and finally settled on a Carolina blue one (big surprise, right?). It says 'Bob" on it. We don't know what this means but that makes it more ridiculously sweet.

When we returned from the market we stopped by the grocery and bought our dinner from the deli case (potatoes with mushrooms and onions, chicken cordon bleu). We also spoke to our facilitator about this week's plans and he seems to think we are on track to leave on Sunday (fingers crossed).

[Phil]

Also, when we were at the market, we bought a very awesome soccer ball for Ana's group. It has the symbols and names of all of Ukraine's Premier League teams on it. I keep looking at it wanting to take it home myself. If we have time on Tuesday, I may have to go back to the market and get another one.

Speaking of soccer, this morning I mostly kicked the ball with the new girl, Anya. She looks like she's around 6 or 7, but she's definitely developmentally delayed. For example, one of her shoes was untied and kept flying off her foot when she would kick the ball. Finally, Lydia told her to tie her shoe. I watched her try, but she couldn't do it. It typically blunt East European fashion, Lydia said, "Anya, you're a big girl. You should be able to tie your shoes." It was very distressing. These kids need one-on-one attention, and despite the best efforts of the caregivers they will not get it in an institution. Wouldn't one of you like a little Anya or Danil or Vova in your house?

No, it's a huge decision to make, and the caregivers have definitely been doing the hard-sell on us to take a boy home as well "because Ana doesn't play soccer". We just laugh and say, "It's not that simple." But it really is hard to see these kids without parents. Almost every day after the orphanage morning visit, we go to the pizza place for lunch. It's a popular family destination, and we invariably see young children there with their families. They look just like the kids at the orphanage. It's somehow jarring. There's such a stark difference in futures between these groups of children. Like Konstantin has told us, the outlook for the orphanage children in Ukraine is very bleak indeed.

Sorry to digress on such a bummer of a topic, but it's hard to ignore here. In some GOOD news, however, we definitely think we're approaching the finish line. We should be in Kiev Wednesday morning. And the most important thing is that tomorrow morning at 8AM we'll recive the official court ruling making Ana our daughter. Everything after that is just logistics. Yay.

[Robin]

Speaking of a bummer, Colleen showed us some pictures from an older kids' orphanage for kids with special needs (cleft palate would be one of these). Afterwards, I almost wished she hadn't shown us the pictures. It was heartbreaking. I think back on when we applied for a "healthy child under 3 years of age." We had no idea of the need here. It's a personal decision, but I really can understand now how people can come back with more than one child, and especially kids with medical needs. As Colleen said, you can't just hope the next person in line will be willing to help these kids--no, you have to realize that you may be the end of the line for these kids.

I had a great call tonight with Phil's Mom and then my sister, Tina. How nice it is too hear these voices of cheer here in Ukraine. We know so many people are counting down the days with us and this is a real support line.

[Phil]

Yes, there are a lot of good things in our lives, including our dreams. I'm a sleep-talker, much to Robin's amusement, and early this morning she awakened me while I was in the middle of blurting out some nonsense. I promptly told her that she had just interrupted one of the greatest dreams ever, in which Carolina was beating Dook with a roster of unheralded Freshmen and Coach K was on the sidelines screaming at the refs while wearing a plaid leisure suit. The last thing I remember was me and my high school friend Calvin heckling Coach K while eating delicious french fries. I ask you, does it get any better than that?

[Robin]

Tina and I talked about it being the start of the basketball season when we return--yippee! I told her about Phil's dream and she laughed with me. Right now we are listening to beach music ("Let Me Down Easy")--you just can't get the Carolina out of us, even in Ukraine.

We're about to watch a DVD of "Flight Plan". This was our only option since our "My Super Ex-Girlfriend" DVD that we bought at the market (for $5) has language choices of Russian and Dolby Russian. Not gonna work for me.

[Phil]

Well, the good news about "Flight Plan" is that much of it was shot in Berlin, so we'll hopefully see some familiar sights.

I think that's all for now. We need to go to bed pretty soon so that we can get to the courthouse at 8AM tomorrow to meet Kostya and start the final proceedings.

Shopping Spree

1) The hair accessories stall. They are really into putting girl's hair up in bows and ribbons.

2) A view from the outside of the market. Lots of flower vendors.

3) The Chinese restaurant.

4) The doorway into our apartment. Note the wiring!

[Phil]

So the good news is that no one appealed the court's ruling yesterday, and on Monday morning Ana will officially be our daughter. All that's left now is the logistics of getting all of us back to the States. It looks like we have some errands to run on Monday and Tuesday, but hopefully we'll be in Kiev and getting Ana's visa at the embassy on Wednesday. We still hope to return to NC very late on Sunday the 28th,

So today we went to the Big Market and went a little crazy. I'll let Robin explain:

[Robin]

Colleen, Phil and I went to the orphanage and then the Pizza place (yes. they know our order by now). Then we took a taxi to the big market (the small market is by the courthouse). We got there and went on a buying frenzy once we got to a stall that displayed kids clothes. Really cute tights with teddy bears, stripes, hearts, flowers, etc. Phil helped Colleen and I ask questions (Do you have this pattern in a bigger size, etc.) and then with the sales transaction. We walked away with two new pairs of tights and a pink corduroy jumper. Then we walked onward and found another stall with all kinds of slippers. We bought Ana some yellow daisy slippers (for her lounging on the train!). Then we hit the jackpot for DVDs in a stall. The sales person was very friendly and tried to help us buy some pirated Winnie the Pooh.

[Phil]

Oh yeah, that guy had everything. He asked whether I wanted the Russian Winnie-Pooh or the Disney one. I said "Disney". He said that the Russian was much better and started rummaging through is huge cache of DVD's. Keep in mind that none of these were legal whatsoever. They were pirated double-sided DVD's that had like 8 movies on one disk. In any case, he seemed to take a personal interest in our quest for classic Russian cartoons and went through 4 or 5 before he finally said "This is the best!". I also asked him for an mp3 CD of current Russian pop hits, and not 5 minutes later 13-year-old girl tried to buy it. He was all"I'm so sorry; this is the only one." I was like "Score!"

[Robin]

The guy put the pop music CD into his player and ran through a number of selections (bopping his head to the rhythm). Sounded liked all the selections at Restaurant Premier, so we were like "yes, we want it." He also invited us to a DVD party next Saturday that will feature vodka and beer. Then the ultimate sales moment--he sells the stuff to us and tells Phil that I have a "nice smile." This was all translated to me after the fact. I would have bought some more CDs had I been able to understand him :)

One interesting note, every stall that we went into and looked at items was then besieged by other Ukranians. I turned to Phil at one point and said, "Look, anything we (Americans) find interesting will draw a crowd." We started a virtual run on tights and DVDs.

[Phil]

So after the market we walked back to our neighborhood and bought some gift envelopes for the orphanage people that have been helpful to us. It's hard to belive that tomorrow will probably be our last day on the playground.

In any case, Ana and her whole group were in good spirits tonight. We played some soccer, blew balloons and bubbles, played on the see-saw, etc. We then left Ana in good spirits and had dinner at the Chinese restaurant. This time there were a few other patrons besides ourselves. The waitresses were very helpful and steered us in the right direction. Who would have thought Szechuan pinto beans would be good, but they were!

[Robin]

The "satay" chicken was actually deep-fried chicken (delicious!) with a sweet-sour dipping sauce (no peanut butter!). We had a really good time and laughed over dinner. It was nice to relax. When we got back to the apartment, we traded photos on flash drives and talked about trips we have been on (lots of pictures on our laptop from Florence and Berlin, etc.). It was a nice end to a good day.

[Phil]

So tomorrow may be our last full day in Kramatorsk. I'm somehow melancholy about it. (I have now been drowned aut and ridiculed by Robin and Colleen). But seriously, I kind of like it here, but definitely not enough to live here. In general, the people have been very nice, like the woman at the neighborhood shop tonight who asked where I was from after we bought some chocolates. I told her that we were from America. She then asked why we were here. I always thought I would lie about this, but instead I said "to adopt a daughter". She said "Wonderful. I wish you the best." I said "same to you". And she's not at all an anomaly: the people at the market have been very nice and I haven't sensed them giving us the "Foreigner Price".

It's All Over But The Paperwork (HaHa)

[Robin]

We both worked this morning and then got a call from Kostya saying that he received the draft of the court's decree awarding Ana to us, which will be formally handed down on Monday. The good news is that there haven't been any appeals so we are "officially" in the clear to get Ana. How great is that! She was SO cute today.... giggly and yelling "papa" to get Phil's attention. That is music to the ears.

[Phil]

Yes, all that's left is getting her birth certificate from either her hometown or the District capital (Donetsk), and then we go to Kiev to have the medical exam and get her passport and visa. We have tickets home for Sunday the 28th, but that could change if there are hold-ups next week. Please cross fingers, burn candles, pray, etc. that we don't encounter too much red tape.

So, as Robin said, this was basically a work-filled day, which is too bad because the cold front finally left and we had a beautiful Indian Summer day. I finally finished my translation around 5:00. and we headed out to the orphanage to see Ana. When we got there, we were very pleased to see that Mama Oksana was the caregiver for the evening. She came up to me and said that she had been worried when she came to work in the morning and saw that Ana was still here. She was afraid that we'd had a paperwork (!) problem or something. I explained to her that it was just that our 10th day of waiting happens on a weekend, and thus we can't take Ana until Monday. She was very happy about that and told us that we got a wonderful child. She's so awesome. We're going to bring her some kind of nice present this weekend.

[Robin]

I've been reviewing our posts and I don't think the way we feel about Ukraine/Ukrainian people has been properly acknowledged. When you walk around and see the people (and cats and dogs) on the streets, you realize just how much we take for granted in the States. They make do with so much less here. You really admire the people for their perserverance and their ability to be good-natured. We witnessed a wedding today where they were taking pictures of the bride and groom biting pieces of bread from a braided loaf held on an attractive Ukrainian cloth. They were having a great celebration with their family and friends and it was a joy to see. I also washed my dirty clothes in our apartment sink and hung it to dry on a drying rack. It took me over an hour to do about 3 days worth of clothes. This is exhausting and not something I can imagine doing every week (this is effective birth control -- if you had more kids, there would be more washing).

There is such a distinction between the have and have nots here. There are older women sitting out on the sidewalks with pretty little tablecloth-covered "stands" selling bowls filled with tomatoes or cucumbers or potatoes. There is only one building that is under construction in this town within walking distance. They have no laundromat. They have bathrooms with the "feet" rather than a toilet. But, they do have three internet cafes. They do have a department store filled with DVD players and digital cameras. They have lots of cell phone shops and ATM machines. There are people driving expensive German cars and others living in crushing poverty.

[Phil]

Yes, and as Kostya says, Kramatorsk is pretty nice for a Ukrainian city, and I agree. We see much worse on the roads between the major cities. Still, yesterday morning I saw an old woman picking grass/greens from the local park, and I can only imagine that she was going to either try to sell them or to make a soup(?). It was pretty odd and disturbing. We've also seen old women picking the nice flowers at the memorials to sell at their sidewalk stands. Everyone pretends not to notice.

Robin just mentioned another thing about public life here: a lot of the young people hang out in the parking lot in front of the big supermarket "Arbat". I'll let her explain:

[Robin]

My friend Claudia used to talk about when she grew up in Albemarle and there was nothing to do except cruise the Food Lion parking lot on weekend nights (she couldn't wait to go to college at Carolina). I was reminded of this when we saw various groups of teens/early 20s hanging out in groups in front of the local supermarket. Apparently this is the place to hang out with your friends and be "seen" -- drinking, smoking and laughing. There is definitely a lot of bling and high heels on display for the girls; the guys wear black leather car coats and talk on their cell phones. They are hanging out to get away from their families (they most likely live with their parents and grandparents), and this is where they all meet.

[Phil]

Yes, but the nice thing about these shiftless youths is that they don't bother you at all. Can we export that to America?

Also, thank you to Susan for letting us know about the Burrito. I hope it's former staff who are going to keep it going.

Almost There

[Robin]

Yes, Barb's grandmother (ha!) was in fine form this morning at the orphanage. We obeyed the rules dutifully by avoiding all playground equipment and just giving the kids sidewalk chalk and also blowing bubbles with the bubble horn. Everything was copacetic until I pulled out the cream-filled waffle cookies to give the kids as a treat. The caregiver pulled the offered treat from the hand of one of the kids and told Phil that it would make the kids sick (the dairy filling). I then had the very unpleasant task of trying to pry the cream-filled treat from Ana's grasp (did I tell you how strong she is?). The other kids started to cry when they realized they weren't going to get the treats that they had just seen with their own eyes. I about started to bawl myself. We left shortly after that incident and I comforted myself with a glass of beer at the Pizza place....I would have preferred to tell the caregiver her off, but this was NOT an option.

Colleen and I then went to the ticket booth at the hotel to try to switch her train ticket as she was sold another 4-person cabin when she wanted a deluxe with just two berths (unsuccessfully, as they were sold out) and then on to the market. We secured some toilet paper and paper towels at the market (not available in the grocery store) and then totally scored by finding a vendor selling measuring tapes (1 hrivnya---20 cents a piece!). We can now measure the girls and use this to compare to the clothes on the racks. On our way back, we then saw yet another pharmacy and I decided to try my luck with the saline solution request (hand-written in Russian by Phil). Turned out that, yes, they did have this.... out came a clear glass bottle with clear liquid inside and what looks like a beer bottle top. I took this and paid about 50 cents. When we returned to the apartment Phil confirmed that this was, indeed, saline solution. However, I might not have to use this, since Colleen is going back to Kiev tonight and she's going to look for something more like Renu, etc. when she arrives.

Since this issue with the quest for the saline solution, I've been thinking about giving people who are adopting a list of things to bring with them when they journey here. Most of the stuff has been covered in other blogs, but this would be my wish list if I could do it over again:

1) Bring a dvd player on your laptop. Bring funny movies with you so that you can have some sure laughs. I would have brought Anchorman and some old Woody Allen--Bananas!.

2) Bring a swiss army knife. You are going to apartments that may not have the following: a can opener, a knife, a wine bottle opener.

3) Bring a set of spoons/forks. I was reduced to eating yogurt with a plastic fork when no spoons could be found at the supermarket.

4) Bring lightweight jeans or pants that won't show dirt. Bring shirts, socks, etc. that can dry quickly. I brought woolite and a clothesline with clothespins and these have been very handy. No one has dryers here--everything is line dried.

5) Bring a small-sized russian dictionary. I have a "Russian in 10 minutes a day" workbook and this has been helpful, but for a quick translation or word (like at the restaurant), you really need something pocket-sized.

6) Bring two cloth/nylon bags with zippers or drawstring closures. One of these will be indispensible for carting stuff to and from the orphanage. The other will be needed to separate out your dirty laundry/giving your laundry to the hotel staff for cleaning.

7) Bring a sturdy digital camera and a flash drive.

8) People have said this in other blogs--but you really can't find books to read in English so you must lug them over here. Bring enough for six weeks (seriously).

9) Kleenex in small travel-sized individual holders and Wet Ones in the individual packs. You are going to want to stuff these in your pockets.

10) Flashlight. We've had two apartments now where you can't see the door locks at night without the aid of a light.

11) Crosswords or some other amusement (cards, etc.). You will have a lot of time on your hands at the notary offices, etc.

12) Comfortable walking shoes that are stylish and are black or brown. I covet Colleen's Dansko patent leather clogs. My flats are so disgusting right now they are going in the trash before we leave. My black Aerosole boots are okay, but the uneven pavement here has been a killer with even the slightest heel.

13) Some spices (other than dill). I brought red pepper, cumin and oregano.

[Phil]

I think all of those suggestions are great. I would add an ipod and ipod speakers. Being able to hear music from home is unquantifiable. It's kept me sane (so far).

So Kostya is coming tomorrow tobasically touch base with us before our big week next week. Tomorrow is day 9 of our 10-day waiting period in which the prosecutor or other concerned party can appeal our judge's decision. Thus, tomorrow at 5PM, Ana will esentially be our daughter. It won't really be official until Monday when we get her birth certificate, but for all intents and purposes, tomorrow is the last day of our wait.

Once again this was a day that I spent most of my time in the apartment working on a translation, but I did accompany Robin and Colleen to the evening orphanage visit. I'm glad I did, because one of our favorite caregivers (Lydia Alexandrovna) was there, and I also got to play a good hour of soccer with a potential great futbalist named Nikita. We had a great time, and it reminded me of playing catch or shooting hoops with my dad in the backyard until it got too dark to see. It made me rethink my adamantly pro-girl stance. Meanwhile, Lydia Alexandrovna came over and said, "I think Papa should adopt a boy and Mama can have the girl." I laughed and said that we're not ready for 2 kids yet, but now I can finally see the appeal of a son. I could tell that just spending time kicking the ball with Nikita was just so anaomolous to his daily life (and mine too!), so I think both of us got a lot out of it. If any of you want to adopt a athletic but sensitive 4 year-old soccer player from Southeastern Ukraine, let us know. We'll fast-track you, if we can.

[Robin]

The boys love Phil. They were so thrilled to get attention from him. When he juggled the ball from one foot to the other and then kicked it with his knee back to them, they squealed with delight. Ana was very content to sit on my lap and make things out of playdoh while all this went on in the background. She's a gymnast (the next Olga Korbut), not a soccer player :) Seriously, none of these kids should be lacking a home. They are so sweet--they like hugs, being chased and are so amazed at just the most regular things. When a plane was crossing the sky leaving a vapor trail they all pointed up excitedly and were jumping up and down.

I spoke to Carmen tonight and it is getting really exciting to talk about "when we get back". I am so looking forward to the Day of the Dead fundraiser for Kidzu. Tina's museum for kids needs its own space. Then I want to get them to be the "sister" property for the kids at the orphange here in Kramatorsk. I can just see kids from Chapel Hill, Carrboro bundling up toys and clothes for the orphans here (or maybe just fundraisers, they might need some new playground equipment soon since it gets so much use!).

[Phil]

Thanks to eveyone for the comments and emails. We especially enjoy the emails about daily life back home, neighborhood gossip, nights out, etc., i.e., all the things we're missing here, so please feel free to email us about such minutiae.

-P.

No salsa, peanut butter, popcorn, or saline....

1. Track outfit.

2. Ducky underwears.

3. Hard at work on a translation.

4. Relegated to the rocker.

5. P&R at Celetano with latte

[Robin]

These are the mysteriously missing items in the grocery stores here. Today Colleen and I went to four pharmacies to try to buy some saline solution. I even had a note written in Russian from Phil to hand to the sales staff. No dice. I might have to resort to using something akin to Visine to store my contacts for the last week.

The day was fairly uneventful. Phil, Colleen, and I went to the orphange in the morning and played with the kids. It was a pretty day and warmer than the past couple of days, which made being outside more enjoyable. We went to the pizza place for lunch. Then Phil went home to work on a translation (thank you Universe!) and Colleen and I shopped for a stroller for Ana (several fairly lightweight, collapsable models were found), then went on the search for saline solution and then went to the internet cafe for some online time (since Phil was occupying our link in the apartment). On our way back from the internet cafe, we spied a children's clothing store. We went in and I bought a couple of things that I think will fit her (clothing sizes are not uniform). We need a few outfits just to get us through the last couple of days here.

We are going to post some pics of these clothing finds, but I warn you, the selection was limited and there is nothing like GapKids in Kramatorsk!

This afternoon just Colleen and I braved the playground (Phil kept working). Ana was in a great mood and was really happy to see me. Unfortunately the new caregiver didn't share her excitement. She proceeded to dress me down (finger wagging in my face) for the coins that Phil had given Ana. She handed them back to me with great disdain. Then when Colleen and I tried to play with Lily and Ana on different types of playground equipment, she would tell us no ....everything (slides, swings, etc.) was too dangerous for the kids. She finally pointed to the two-seated rocker and told us to play with them on that. The bad news was that this is not really very interesting to the kids. It just doesn't do much other than rock back and forth. We tried to be gracious about these restrictions, but it was hard.... We finally just colored and played with some other toys that we had brought.

After the orphanage, we went to the grocery store and it was packed....everyone getting items for their dinners. We got in line at the deli counter and stood behind this guy who ordered practically everything in the case. The large line of people behind us was really getting impatient and I started sweating just thinking that they might think it was us holding them up (remember we don't "blend"). One woman broke in line, and I thought this might break the seal of civility and we might never get served. Luckily I think we positioned ourselves well because we did finally manage to get the worker's attention and get to order our takeout items. We bought chicken filets, potatoes with mushrooms and onions, and meat-stuffed cabbage rolls. We came home and warmed them up (and added some spices). Turned out to be yummy. We watched Spinal Tap on DVD and had some laughs over dinner.

[Phil]

Yes, I basically worked all day and really have nothing of substance to add, except that every time I watch Spinal Tap I discover something that I missed before. This time it was when they were unable to find the stage from the bowels of the stadium, so when they ran across the maintenance man, they asked for directions:

David: We're in the group. We're in the group that's playing tonight.

Janitor: You go right straight through this door here, down the hall....

David: Yeah.

Janitor: ...turn right...

David: Yeah.

Janitor: ...and then there's a little jog there, about thirty feet.

Derek: A jog?

Janitor: ...jog to the left...

David: A jog?

Derek: We don't have time for that.

Har har. I got a serious case of the giggles after that. Now we need to go to the market and find all the Mel Brooks movies on DVD, and our last few days here should be very enjoyable.

That's all for now. It was a busy day for basically doing nothing.

"Serenity Now!"

1. Ana hiding in the closet in the outdoor playroom.
2. Ana with cookie on swing.

[Robin]
Many of you Seinfeild fans may remember George's father yelling this... This title reflects my statement upon coming home from the travel agent and hearing her say that 1) There were no flights out of Kiev on Saturday; 2) Business class tickets could cost $6,000; and therefore, 3) We would have to go back to trying to buy a ticket online (which would mean that we would also have to figure out a way to pick up paper tickets in Kiev). I stated this and Colleen laughed. Phil then set to work online and later, after the system "timed out" mid-purchase, and then talking on the phone with two different Aerosvit agents, we got our tickets. Aargh. Nothing, absolutely nothing, has been especially easy about this process.

Still, today was actually a good day. Ana was really fun this morning, playing on the piano, using the flashlight to blind mama, etc. We had lunch at the apartment and I spent the afternoon joyfully looking through all the magazines that Colleen had gotten from Lynn. Lynn and her husband are adopting an 8 year old, and she was returning from spending her 10 day wait in the US. She shared a train cabin last night with Colleen. There is nothing like reading US, People, and inStyle and catching up on the celebrity gossip to put one in a good mood.

[Phil]
Meanwhile, I sat on my corner of the couch and worked on a translation. Now that we have a permanent internet connection, I can finally do some work. I can't say that real excited about this, but it's an unfortunate necessity.

[Robin]
We also got train tickets from the stand in our old hotel. The vendor asked Phil a bunch of questions and then Phil turned to me and said "she says the only cabin available is next to the bathroom, do we want that?" You can imagine the sinking feeling. Turned out, after Phil asking a number of other questions, that we were able to get a deluxe cabin for an overnight trip on the 22nd. Yay.

Tonight we went with Colleen to the Ukrainan place. Yet another party was under way--a going away party from what Phil could gather. The karaoke singers were in full force and couples were dancing.

We are now watching "Best in Show" and laughing. A good end to a good day.

[Phil]
Yeah, and we had a lot of fun with Ana tonight. I was totally exhausted by the end of the play period. We chased her all over the place, picked her up, spun her around, pushed her on the swing, tickled her, caught her jumping off the jungle gym, etc. Meanwhile the caregivers, God bless them, decided to go inside for a good half-hour or so, leaving us with Ana and 5 rowdy little boys. I think I'll be hearing "Papa, swing me!"in my sleep tonight.