Day 6.5
Day 6.5 (Thursday)
Happy Birthday Heather!
This is a long one……Well, we just got back from the Orphanage ‘Our Children’ for the second time today. The doctor told Svetlana that she needed to see us before we saw Chas. I was curious as to what she needed, since she had watched us all morning (from a far) while we were with him. We went to her office and she asked if we liked him and had made a connection and wanted to keep him. Jay and I both told her of course. That being said, she asked if we would be able to make a donation to Our Children. Of course I said, “Yes!” But Svetlana said it was a little early and she would let her know later. I am guessing there is a reason for the delay, she also doesn’t want us to take our toys and candy in just yet. She has been doing this for a long time and has seen it all, so she keeps telling us to be patient - I thought we were :). You know me; I am dying to give all the gifts (an entire suitcase of candy, toys, and books). Svetlana went to the Dept. of Social Services this afternoon to take our paperwork and see about getting a court date. No news today, pray for a decision for tomorrow so we can start our five day (business days) waiting period for court. If we get it tomorrow, we would have a date next Friday. After our court appearance the judge imposes a ten day waiting period, and if I am correct it is not 10 working days but 10 calendar days. After the 10 days, I think we leave straight for Kiev. By train again because Jay is skeptical about Ukrainian airlines (go figure). In Kiev we will have to get another apartment and have doctor visits at the US Embassy, get Chas a passport and some other documents, and then we can leave and come home to Carolina (Litton are you smiling at ‘Carolina’ :)). Since I am sitting in the apartment now (Jay, who can sleep any time/where is napping) I am hoping that the internet cafй down the street accepts a thumb drive, so this can be transferred and I don’t have to type there. Anyway I can tell you a little bit about our apt and the people here. So if you are in a hurry, thanks for reading and keeping up with us!
P.S. if the whole thumb drive worked, there are new pictures on Snapfish, and Heather - I sent yours to your e-mail.
Those who are at work/home and bored……this is for you. We had to wait until 8 pm last night to get into our apt. I was so hoping that it would be like the one in Kiev. I know the pictures didn’t show it, but it was very clean (albeit the sheets, not sure they had been changed, thank goodness for my pillow and fleece blanket I brought! Sorry Jay….again he can sleep ANYWHERE) but the kitchen was nice, and the bathroom was really nice for Ukrainian standards. Here is a little different. The apartment is ok, one bedroom, kitchen, bathroom with washer (very important) and a den. Svetlana is parked in the den and Jay and I have the bedroom. We were not aware she would be staying with us, but it has worked fine. She is always working on our paperwork and is a wonderful woman. Svetlana is great - 58 years old, very active/fit and very kind, so it is not bad sharing an apartment with her. However, the complex is very yucky. There is virtually no crime here, but it is just dirty and poor. People are not as friendly on the street (or anywhere), not rude just not talkative. Maybe since I don’t speak one word of their language that would explain why they don’t talk to me! I try… I say ‘Hey’, ‘thank you’ and ‘please’. Donetsk (for the slower ones, this is the city we are in now) is an industrial city, population 1.1 million. Founded in 1869 based on coal and mining. It is touted as one of the ‘greenest’ cities in Ukraine with thousands of acres of parks and gardens. Somewhere in the city there is a 692 acre park. The area Our Children is in one of the poorest areas I have seen. While we are outside with Chas, there are men climbing over the fence and walking through the play area, bottles and trash all over the fence and one old lady (and I mean old!) that has been sweeping up the leaves for two days. I am dying to help her and tell her they are the same leaves from yesterday. Jay says it is job security! I have laughed about that all day. Anyway, back to Our Children. It is a very clean orphanage, not like what I was expecting. The children are all well fed and I would like to say happy, but how could you be happy in a place like that. There are about 100+ children there (newborns – 3 years). They seem to have toys; there is a bag of stuffed animals in the music room that is not even opened. Maybe it is for special occasions. What they need is someone to adopt these children. There are at least four other orphanages in the city and more outside. Svetlana says that when they turn 16/17 they are just put out on the street to fend for themselves with no education or training. The workers all seem nice, but they could be putting on a front. There is a little kitten (see pictures) that hangs outside the kitchen that is cute. A bright spot, you can’t touch but just watching him play is fun. I was told today that Chas sleeps in a ‘little bed’ not a crib. That was good to know, so ‘bed people’ I do not need a crib. :) Let’s see, now if you need to go back to work now is the time. I am just rambling about odds and ends.We haven’t been eating much here. Although I love the Borsch soup…..beet soup (Molly, if you are reading I always think of you when I eat it since you introduced me to beets). Yesterday, Svetlana dropped us off at a restaurant that had cheeseburgers and some American fare and an American menu. Of course I had a cheeseburger, fries and a banana split. But other than that we have had ham and cheese sandwiches for the rest of our meals. We did go to a grocery store yesterday, it was overwhelming, tons of food and stuff. For some reason we hurried and didn’t really get to look that much and plan what we needed. I should have bought a set of sheets and a pillow. Maybe we will get to go again soon. Especially after we get our court date and have time to kill. We can go see Chas from 10-11 am and 4-5pm each day. The trip over there is about 10 minutes.
Hopefully Jay is getting ready to fix some dinner, after writing about food I am hungry. Let’s see, I think I will have a ham and cheese sandwich.
Miss and love you all!
Happy Birthday Heather!
This is a long one……Well, we just got back from the Orphanage ‘Our Children’ for the second time today. The doctor told Svetlana that she needed to see us before we saw Chas. I was curious as to what she needed, since she had watched us all morning (from a far) while we were with him. We went to her office and she asked if we liked him and had made a connection and wanted to keep him. Jay and I both told her of course. That being said, she asked if we would be able to make a donation to Our Children. Of course I said, “Yes!” But Svetlana said it was a little early and she would let her know later. I am guessing there is a reason for the delay, she also doesn’t want us to take our toys and candy in just yet. She has been doing this for a long time and has seen it all, so she keeps telling us to be patient - I thought we were :). You know me; I am dying to give all the gifts (an entire suitcase of candy, toys, and books). Svetlana went to the Dept. of Social Services this afternoon to take our paperwork and see about getting a court date. No news today, pray for a decision for tomorrow so we can start our five day (business days) waiting period for court. If we get it tomorrow, we would have a date next Friday. After our court appearance the judge imposes a ten day waiting period, and if I am correct it is not 10 working days but 10 calendar days. After the 10 days, I think we leave straight for Kiev. By train again because Jay is skeptical about Ukrainian airlines (go figure). In Kiev we will have to get another apartment and have doctor visits at the US Embassy, get Chas a passport and some other documents, and then we can leave and come home to Carolina (Litton are you smiling at ‘Carolina’ :)). Since I am sitting in the apartment now (Jay, who can sleep any time/where is napping) I am hoping that the internet cafй down the street accepts a thumb drive, so this can be transferred and I don’t have to type there. Anyway I can tell you a little bit about our apt and the people here. So if you are in a hurry, thanks for reading and keeping up with us!
P.S. if the whole thumb drive worked, there are new pictures on Snapfish, and Heather - I sent yours to your e-mail.
Those who are at work/home and bored……this is for you. We had to wait until 8 pm last night to get into our apt. I was so hoping that it would be like the one in Kiev. I know the pictures didn’t show it, but it was very clean (albeit the sheets, not sure they had been changed, thank goodness for my pillow and fleece blanket I brought! Sorry Jay….again he can sleep ANYWHERE) but the kitchen was nice, and the bathroom was really nice for Ukrainian standards. Here is a little different. The apartment is ok, one bedroom, kitchen, bathroom with washer (very important) and a den. Svetlana is parked in the den and Jay and I have the bedroom. We were not aware she would be staying with us, but it has worked fine. She is always working on our paperwork and is a wonderful woman. Svetlana is great - 58 years old, very active/fit and very kind, so it is not bad sharing an apartment with her. However, the complex is very yucky. There is virtually no crime here, but it is just dirty and poor. People are not as friendly on the street (or anywhere), not rude just not talkative. Maybe since I don’t speak one word of their language that would explain why they don’t talk to me! I try… I say ‘Hey’, ‘thank you’ and ‘please’. Donetsk (for the slower ones, this is the city we are in now) is an industrial city, population 1.1 million. Founded in 1869 based on coal and mining. It is touted as one of the ‘greenest’ cities in Ukraine with thousands of acres of parks and gardens. Somewhere in the city there is a 692 acre park. The area Our Children is in one of the poorest areas I have seen. While we are outside with Chas, there are men climbing over the fence and walking through the play area, bottles and trash all over the fence and one old lady (and I mean old!) that has been sweeping up the leaves for two days. I am dying to help her and tell her they are the same leaves from yesterday. Jay says it is job security! I have laughed about that all day. Anyway, back to Our Children. It is a very clean orphanage, not like what I was expecting. The children are all well fed and I would like to say happy, but how could you be happy in a place like that. There are about 100+ children there (newborns – 3 years). They seem to have toys; there is a bag of stuffed animals in the music room that is not even opened. Maybe it is for special occasions. What they need is someone to adopt these children. There are at least four other orphanages in the city and more outside. Svetlana says that when they turn 16/17 they are just put out on the street to fend for themselves with no education or training. The workers all seem nice, but they could be putting on a front. There is a little kitten (see pictures) that hangs outside the kitchen that is cute. A bright spot, you can’t touch but just watching him play is fun. I was told today that Chas sleeps in a ‘little bed’ not a crib. That was good to know, so ‘bed people’ I do not need a crib. :) Let’s see, now if you need to go back to work now is the time. I am just rambling about odds and ends.We haven’t been eating much here. Although I love the Borsch soup…..beet soup (Molly, if you are reading I always think of you when I eat it since you introduced me to beets). Yesterday, Svetlana dropped us off at a restaurant that had cheeseburgers and some American fare and an American menu. Of course I had a cheeseburger, fries and a banana split. But other than that we have had ham and cheese sandwiches for the rest of our meals. We did go to a grocery store yesterday, it was overwhelming, tons of food and stuff. For some reason we hurried and didn’t really get to look that much and plan what we needed. I should have bought a set of sheets and a pillow. Maybe we will get to go again soon. Especially after we get our court date and have time to kill. We can go see Chas from 10-11 am and 4-5pm each day. The trip over there is about 10 minutes.
Hopefully Jay is getting ready to fix some dinner, after writing about food I am hungry. Let’s see, I think I will have a ham and cheese sandwich.
Miss and love you all!
posted by Kelley @ 6:26 AM
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