Last Day in Ukraine

1. Ana on a ride at the park behind St. Mikhail's

2. Me in the coffee shop on our corner

3. Anastasia and our favorite waitress from Le Borsch, Anya

4. Ana and Robin on dog (?) see-saw

5. Girl about to enjoy the pony ride around the park

[Phil]

Once agin it's just me. Ana had a full day and was cranky when we got home, so she and Robin went to bed about half an hour ago. The good news is that the clocks roll back tonight in Ukraine, so we all get an extra hour of sleep.

Today we mostly packed and tried to buy a few souvenirs. It was a gray day but very pretty. We saw some wedding parties taking photos at St. Mikhail's, and there were lots of people out and about. We had a nice low-key breakfast at the coffee shop on our corner ("Kofe Khauz", for those of you in the know), and then wandered down to Khreschtyk Street to buy a few Ukrainian souvenirs. We then went to Le Borsch for our last meal there. Ana was full of beans and trying to get everyone's attention, but I was very happy that we got a photo of her with our favorite Le Borsch waitress, Anya. She is yet another one of the many Ukrainians who have made our trip so wonderful. She said to me today, "It's hard, because we meet these children and then they're gone in a few days. I hope you'll come back with Nastya." (Big Smile). I told her that we'll definitely be back, if not next year, then maybe the year after that.

Okay, I'm off to bed. We're on the Aerosvit flight that leaves around 1PM Ukraine time, and then we're on the Jet Blue flight that arrives in RDU around midnight. Carmen is picking us up (with car seat!), and then we'll head to Reade Road for a very late homecoming. We look forward to seeing all of you in the next few weeks!

-Phil

My Kingdom for a Stroller!

1. Ana on the big slide behind the apartment

2. Ana and I walking near the Ukrainian History Museum

3. Ana in her new Pooh-Bear stroller

4. Robbin, Ana, and Colleen at the Uzbek restaurant

5. "Hello, can Ana come to the phone?"

[Phil]

Once again, Robin is taking one for the team by lying down to sleep with Ana while I update the blog. Unlike the past 2 nights, however, Ana put on her pajamas and got in bed with no complaints whatsoever. Things are getting easier. In fact, as the title of this post suggests, our lives (and backs) were much relieved by the purchase today of a stroller. We hadn't wanted to buy one in Kramatorsk, and over the past couple of days we have really regretted that decision! When we couldn't find a suitable stroller at the Central Department Store yesterday, we thought that all was lost, but today Robin managed (thanks to Colleen!) to find one for around $50 here in Kiev. I'll let her tell the story tomorrow.

In other news, I picked up our tickets from the Aerosvit office today (only a 20-minute wait), so we're on schedule to return on Sunday.

Today flew by pretty fast. This morning, we tried to feed Ana some scrambled eggs and a glass of milk, but she had no interest in either. We then decided (mostly for our sake) to go to the cafe on the corner and try to get a pastry and some tea (and cappucino for Mama). Ana really liked the hot tea and the banana that we ordered but had no interest in the croissant. We then played on the giant slide set behind the apartment (see photo above) before meeting Colleen and her friend Margaret at, of course, Le Borsch. We got there first, and I was happy to see that our favorite waitress was there. When she saw Ana, she was very surprised (in a good way). For lunch, Ana had mashed potatoes (which Konstantin says is an orphanage staple) and some solyanka soup (basically a vegetable/beef soup), which she devoured.

Tonight we had a great time going out to dinner at an Uzbek restaurant with Coleen, Margaret, and Konstantin. It was Konstantin's first meeting with Ana, but I could tell that she immediately liked him. She's a very good judge of people.

There's so much more I could probably write, but I'm a) tired and b) know that Robin would like to write some things tomorrow. So for now, I'll sign off.

-Phil

Ana Gets Her US Visa

1. Attack Seal!

2. Ana licking the powdered sugar off her apple pastry at the department store's cafe

3. Communist party demonstrators

4. Ana walks the line

5. With giant baloon at Friday's

6. Playing the fishing game in the apartment

[Robin]

We had a good night's sleep last night, once I got into bed with Ana. She feel asleep in about 10 minutes. This, unfortunately, meant that Phil was relegated to the couch.

When I woke up, I was face-to-face with the sleepiest angel. She is SO cute when she is sleeping. She has this cute Pooh-body and it is especially precious in a sleep-mode.

We woke up and had breakfast (not of champions--more like bread and juice, as we couldn't make it through the line last night for eggs). Then we walked in the pouring rain, dodging puddles and trying in vain to keep three people under one umbrella (an ASE one--Dr. Martin would be proud!) to St. Sophia's to try to get a taxi down to the main market area. We finally got one and got dropped off in front of the main department store in Kiev. We walked up to the second floor to the kids' area. We proceeded to buy (with Ana's pointed assistance) two undershirts/undies, three pairs of shoes (slippers, rain boots and regular sneaks), a puzzle, a "fishing muppets" game and two pairs of socks. Then I bought a traditional Ukranian tablecloth and napkins (in preparation for the Ukranian feast for my family around Thanksgiving). After the shopping, we got lunch at the department store's cafe--cappucino for mama, ham/salami sandwich and beer for papa, apple danish and water for Ana.

We could not get a taxi on the way out of the store. We had to walk past a political demonstration, then up a steep street and down another long one to our apartment. It took forever with bags and a 4 year-old's pace. We finally settled on trying to speed her up by chasing pigeons (sorry, Colleen and Barb!) to get her to move/run.

We got back to the apartment and tried to get Ana to take a nap on the pull-out trundle in the living room. You can guess what happened. Tears and wailing. We listened to about 20 minutes (we could barely stand it) of crying before we thought to tell her that if she couldn't stop that we would put her in the other room (this was related in Russian, so you can guess who was the bad guy). She immediately went quiet and settled down into a deep sleep. The bad news was that this could only last 20 minutes because our driver called and said traffic was really bad in Kiev and we needed to leave early for the Embassy.

Nikolai picked us up (thank goodness we didn't have to wait for the taxi gods to smile on us) and drove us through very heavy traffic to the Embassy. When we arrived, there wasn't even a line in front (weird!) and we just walked into the metal detector area. Phil sounded the alarm because he had brought the camera with us....I sounded the alarm with lipstick. We had to be "tagged" to come back and pick them up later. Ana charmed even the guards who smiled at her and gave her a fake wanding to her giggles.

We then proceeded to the waiting area and it was packed with people--some of the same parents and kids that we had seen the day before in the medical office! Ana was so good--just sitting on my lap calmly and hanging out while we waited. One of the other parents asked "is she always this calm?" We said no. But, honestly, she really is good the large majority of the time. I think Phil being able to communicate with Ana has been a life-saver--he can tell her what it happening so she has no reason to freak out. The other parents just have to distract the kids as best they can.

[Phil]

I'm finally getting to write now that Robin and Ana are in the bedroom. While Robin was writing the entry above, I was playing numerous games with Ana, including "The seal pup is going to get you", "I'm going to act like a barking dog, please pick me up by the feet and throw me on the couch", "Let me measure everything in the apartment", and of course "Let's inventory the contents of the toy bag".

Bedtime again tonight was again a major cause for crying. I listened for a while and then finally told Robin, "Maybe we tell her that if she keeps crying, we won't go to the store tomorrow. I mean, that's the way the caregivers in the orphanage deal with them -- it's "stop this unacceptable behavior or else there will be consequences." Robin thought that the store threat was too harsh, because we need to follow through on any consequences. Instead she suggested that I tell her that Mama will have to move to the other room if she keeps screaming. This worked like magic. She immediately stopped crying, and I told her, "Ana we love you, but the screaming is unacceptable. All of us are tired and want to go to sleep. We've had a long day, and we have a big day tomorrow -- going back to the store, going to the park, and seeing Colleen. We need to sleep. Understand?" She nodded, and I told her that she was a good girl.

I think they're now both asleep. It really was a long day -- I can't believe it's only 10:30. There's a lot about today that I want to write about, but fatigue is setting in, so I'll do the lazy writer's method of just mentioning some of the highlights of today without any real narrative:

The demonstration near the store was by the Communist Party and other pro-Russian parties, apparently because Yuschenko just made it illegal to deny the Soviet involvement in the Ukrainian famine of the early 30's... One of the Americans that we briefly met at the embassy was a man who works as a humanitarian aide to Ukrainian orphanages. He was adopting a 12 year-old boy that he's known for several years through his work. He told us that he had been in-country for 4 months for this adoption, because the government makes it extremely difficult for single fathers. He said he was the first since 2005 to be approved... We got a nice phone call from Kostya today, just to see how everything has been going. He said that he had to be in Kramatorsk all day, and that it was strange to be there without us... When we first came to Ukraine, we thought we'd never go to TGI Friday's, but after 6 weeks here we were dying for a burger. The burgers weren't actually all that great, but the staff was super-nice to Ana (and she got her own rolling high-chair, which we pushed around our little area)... Warning to all potential Aerosvit customers: if you can't get your actual physical ticket (i.e., if you buy online), you have to pick up your ticket at one of their offices. I waited in a line at the office today that literally didn't move for half an hour. I finally gave up and decided to return tomorrow with my ipod and a good book ("Everything Is Illuminated" -- very topical for our situation!).

Okay, I have to get some sleep. I actually managed to get some eggs tonight, so I know Robin will be up early to make some scrambled eggs. For the past couple of days it's been bread and yogurt. Ana doesn't seem to mind.

By the way, as the title of this entry says, Ana did in fact get her US visa today. We're now free to enter the USA. Woo-hoo!

Embassy Day

1. Ana on the playground near St. Mikhail's

2. Ana and I on the slide

3. Ana having borsch at Le Borsch

4. Walking home from the restaurant

[Phil]

So last night's train ride turned out to be pretty mellow. Ana was asleep within an hour of getting on the train. Robin sort of slept on half of the bunk with Ana, but came over to my bunk early in the morning due to Ana's "sleep kicking", for lack of a better term. It's like when a dog is chasing rabbits in its sleep. So I think Ana was actually the only one who got a decent night's sleep. Still, the conductress was very nice and came and roused us at 7AM, an hour before our arrival in Kyiv. We dressed Ana, had some jelly-filled muffins for breakfast (thanks, Colleen!), and then packed our bags. That gave us about 20 minutes or so to look out the window as we arrived. If you ever take the train in or out of Kyiv, be sure to keep your eyes open, because the view of the Rodina Mat statue and the Dnepr River as you cross the bridge is pretty spectacular.

So we managed to get all of our bags off with no problem, and were then met a few minutes later by our very nicely-dressed facilitator for the day, Sasha, and Sergei, the driver. We piled into Sergei's VW van and headed off to the Ukrainian Hospital for Ana's examination. When we arrived at the hospital, the scene was total chaos, as far as I could tell. There were Ukrainians, Americans, old folks, children, nurses, and doctors all crammed together in a narrow hallway with a few benches. We sat down with Ana, and Sasha took off down the hallway with our documents. When he returned, I said, "Is there some kind of organized system here?" He said, "There is, but you have to know it" (rueful smile). Sure enough, we only waited about 30 minutes before Sasha ushered us into the doctor's office. He was a kind-looking man with a very comforting demeanor, so even though Ana cried at first, he quickly calmed her down. He did a brief examination and then transferred all the vital info from her medical records onto the US Embassy forms. We were set free after that.

The next stop on our errands was the US Embassy. Kostya had been very thorough with our documents, so they were already in one packet to hand to the officials. Just to be safe, however, Sasha looked through them again and pointed out which documents went to whom. It kind of makes your head swim after a while. The scene at the embassy was also chaotic. There was a huge line of people outside waiting to go in to request visas. These turned out to be Ukrainians, so Sasha took us to the front of the line and explained who we were to the guard. He told us to go stand at the door and go in when the light above the door changes from red to green. Meanwhile, I realized that we had left some documents in the car, so I raced back up the hill, retrieved the documents, and got back to the embassy only to find that Ana and Robin were already inside. The guard let me through again, I went through the metal detector, and then had absolutely no idea where to go. I managed to find Ana and Robin after dashing through various hallways, and then we were instructed to go to yet another window. This turned out to be a good thing, however, as we were immediately attended to by a very kind and helpful Ukrainian employee of the embassy. She helped us with our forms and gave us an interview appointment for 2PM tomorrow, meaning that we could actually leave for the States after that. Our plane tickets are for Sunday, however, and it doesn't appear that we can change them. So we'll have a couple of nice days in Kyiv "to enjoy the Autumn". Actually, it's not that big a deal -- Kyiv's a great city with lots of parks and restaurants. I'm sure we'll have a great time with Ana (we already have so far).

[Robin]

So today has gone pretty well. The waiting in the hallway with Ana was kind of a nightmare for someone who's had about three hours of sleep, especially when Sasha brought me additional forms to complete by the time we left for the Embassy. In my sleep-deprived state, I had a hard time remembering when we were married, what was Ana's original name, etc.

Ana was a complete trooper compared to most of the other kids in the hallway. She sat on my lap with not so much as a peep (and with nothing to do but watch people) for over 1/2 hour. She was also really great in the car ride from the train to the Embassy and then to our apartment. She got really excited anytime we passed a big truck. She would point out the window and turn to me to second her excitement.

Our apartment is well-equipped and in a really great location (close to the St. Sophia's cathedral). I actually took a REAL shower for the first time in a month (as opposed to the hand-held showers we had in Kramatorsk). It felt like pure bliss. The place also has the holy grail of Ukrainian apartment amenities--a microwave. Oh, and it also has a washing machine. I had to break down and read the manual (which Phil found in a drawer) to try to avoid flooding the apartment when we did wash (YES! Clean clothes) this afternoon.

Tonight after dinner, we enjoyed the joys of parenthood--watching Ana chase Phil around the apartment with the "attack" baby seal; and the traumas--she didn't want to go to sleep (crying, bargaining) and she has also gone to the bathroom a bunch of times today with an upset stomach. Phil's Mom gave us a pep talk a minute ago by phone and I'm feeling better about this situation. We are just going to muddle through. Tomorrow I have to buy all the things I didn't think about: baby shampoo, tiny toothbrush, etc.

[Phil]

So, to continue the narrative, after we left the embassy we headed over to the apartment rental office, which was in a large apartment building with no sign. Sasha and I walked around the front and back, and finally found an entrance, which was advertising a "marriage agency" inside. We thought "this must be the place", so we went in and found the apartment office behind a heavy steel door next to the marriage agency. They buzzed us in, and we walked in to find two young women seated at computers. Long story short: we got the apartment, drove there, got the keys from the tenant, and then finally sat down and rested. Yesterday we picked up Ana's daily schedule, so we knew that she's used to taking a nap between 1 and 3. I asked her if she wanted to sleep (head shake). Are you hungry? (head shake). Robin and I just looked at each other, totally clueless about what to do. Finally we decided to put her in her PJ's. That brought on another round of tears, but she eventually fell asleep on the trundle bed within about 15 minutes. Once the snoring commenced, Robin and I both took much-needed showers. Ana slept for about an hour. When she awakened, she started quietly crying again. Robin and I surmised that she probably expected to wake up in her old room with all her friends and caregivers. Instead, she's in some strange apartment in a giant, noisy city. We let her lie there for a while (everyone needs a good cry now and then), and then we started asking what clothes she wanted to wear to the park. This snapped her back into the present, and so we all bundled up and headed for the playground near St. Mikhail's.

I've already written so much minutiae already, so I'll just say that the playground was a big hit, and I'm sure we'll be there every day. After the playground, we went to our usual haunt, Le Borsch, for dinner. We were kind of sad that only one of the staff members that we "know" was there, since we wanted to make a big production of showing off Ana. It turned out fine, however, as we got a new waiter who was young, very polite, and liked to practice his English with us. We hadn't eaten all day, so we had a big meal of borsch, black bread, pork-filled dumplings, chicken cutlet with cheese, and mashed potatoes. I think Ana's favorite was the borsch, although she was also pretty crazy about the dumplings. I have to agree with her.

On the way home we stopped in a little grocery store to buy some breakfast food. Ana seemed awed by the experience. She kept pointing at stuff and mumbling. It's actually very likely that she's never been in a store before, as amazing as that seems.

Bedtime has been a bit of a disaster tonight. We tried to put her down at 9:00, but she wailed and cried and eventually came back into the living room. Robin has been trying to calm her down. They're both exhausted, so I think I'll let them share the big bed and I'll sleep out here on the sofa. Which means please feel to email me in the next hour or so, 'cause I'll be up!

Until tomorrow,

Phil

Back in Kyiv

1. Ana in Pooh pajamas in the train compartment.

2. Breakfast of strawberry muffins.

3. In the van, going to the embassy.

4. The view from our window.

[Phil]

So here we are again in the capital city. Kramatorsk seems worlds away. We're in a very nice apartmentment on Bolshaya Zhitomirskaya St., not far from St, Mikhail's and the city center. The view froom our balcony is pretty magnificient, as it looks over Podil (the lower city) and the Dnepr. There's also an awesome playground in our courtyard.

We'll update more later. Now we're off to the playground and, of course, Le Borsch. :-)

Klass!

1. Ana's last meal with the group at the orphanage. It was a snack of apple slices and bread.

2. Ana in the apartment doing Robin's hair.

3. Ana trying to wear all of her clothes.

[Phil]

"Klass" (Russian for "cool") is what we keep saying to Ana as she tries on outfit after outfit at our apartment. She wailed like a banshee in the taxi after we left the orphanage, freaking out us and our taxi driver as well, but once we got in the apartment we immediately distracted her with cake, toys, and Russian cartoons. Now she's in little kid heaven: toys, juice, cartoons, new clothes, etc.

Soon Colleen will return and we'll go to the neighborhood restaurant for dinner, and then it's on to the train and Kiev!

The Blustery Day

1. Colleen, Robin, and I celebrating Ana's Gotcha Day at Restaurant Premier

2. Robin and I dancing at Premier.

3. Bag o' Money for the orphanage.

4. Ana with the soccer ball I bought for her group.

5. Ana in new jacket(Bob) and hat.

6. Windblown Robin outside the Big Market.

[Robin]

We got up this morning and walked over to the orphanage. It is a beautiful day here--sunny with a warm breeze. We stopped at the playground when we arrived to say hi to Ana and tell the caregiver that we were going to pick her up later, but we needed to go inside and do some paperwork with the director.

We then were ushered into the deputy director's office and joined by a few other representatives of the orphanage (psychologist and nurse). They congratulated us and then we proceeded to fill out forms and sign documents. It turned out that we needed to have Kostya there to finish the paperwork so we called him. He was in Donetsk getting Ana's passport and wouldn't be in town for another hour. We adjourned for a lunch break.

We went outside to see Ana, and all the kids were playing with the soccer ball that Phil had bought them, including Ana. She kicked the ball back and forth with Phil and some of the other boys. Then one of the kids opened the bag that I had brought and pulled out Ana's new jacket. She was on it immediately! She threw off her old coat (unassisted) and yanked off her hat. She the paraded around to show the caregiver and the other kids her new clothes. She looked like she had swallowed the canary.

[Phil]

And she had never shown much interest in soccer, but with the arrival of the new "Ukraine Premier League" ball, she was all over it. So after all the meetings with Kostya and the orphanage staff, we decided to go with Colleen to the Big Market one last time to get some supplies for tonight's train trip. In a very strange coincidence, we ended up buying pretty much the exact same clothes that Colleen bought for Lily, sight unseen. We also tried to get another Ukraine soccer ball, but the guy had closed his stall. We also ran into our DVD salesguy, who made a point to stop and say hello and good luck to us.

[Robin]

Phil forgot to add that we said goodbye to Kostya. He did a great job for us and he was very nice and said nice things to us at our parting.

We are going to pick up Ana now! Tonight we take the train to Kiev. Vladislav is picking us up to take us to the train and help us to depart. YAHOO!!!