OK, after missing our blog last night and playing catch up now AND continuing to fall asleep...this post will also get the only partially edited version. I can't keep my eyes open!
We have officially been here a week now! We have accomplished our SDA Appointment last Wednesday, our SDA referral on Thursday, and our Visit to the Orphanage with V. signing the offical papers with the "Inspector" (that is really what they call her!) officiating on Friday. On Saturday we toured with the Host with the Most (HwtM) seeing some of the sights in Kiev.
We have met MANY Ukrainians we adore. First and foremost, V., next we met I. , our HwtM's fiance, then O. at Coffee House, then Sa. and Sl. through our HwtM!:) As a friend who has adopted from here said to me, "Ukrainians are not very friendly out in public, but once you get to know them they are the kind of people who would give you the shirt off their back. Hearts of gold.
OK, something that cracks me up here where we are staying. The elevator groans SO deeply that it sounds JUST like BIG stomach noises (the kind that only hits when you are in a quiet meeting, or Church or somethingJ) except bigger, deeper….apartment building size. bwwwooooooooooop. Deep, low…..maybe like a dinosaur would sound if there was one next door. It makes me giggle every time…and typing that word out made me laugh out loud!:)
So now that I finally remembered to mention that (the building just burped at me to remind me) I will tell you about our day. I'm sorry I didn't have a chance to update this last night. I have been staying up way too late to record it all and just couldn't do it last night.
Sunday, Sept 30, 2012
Sweet Sasha met us at the Triangle Park (named such, at this moment, by meJ ) to help us find our way to Church via bus, metro & walking.
Sidenote: The amazing Sv, our HwtM., left on Sunday for a 10 day trip to the U.S.! It is so weird without him. Since he is, by his own admission, a “Professional Third Grader”, my kids are VERY fond of him. An. said she really missed him today. Fortunately for us, he was going to our hometown (which was arranged far before he met us- how weird is that??!), so we were able to get family and friends to help pick him and his fiancé up at the airport! We would have offered our house, too, since we are in his, but he had prepaid his hotel. He is driving our car, though…hopefully not Ukrainian style:D
New Friends:
Sv. left us in good hands with his Ukrainian friends, Sa. and Sl. These sweet girls speak excellent English, helped us get to Church, to a great and affordable Ukrainian restaurant and then all the way out to V. ‘s orphanage and back.
Sa. and Sl. are a delight and a joy and we thank God they have become a part of our lives!
After meeting on Sunday morning, Sa. led us bravely on the bus to the metro stop we needed, then on through the winding labyrinth that is the metro to the Arsenale stop. After ascending to the surface via the jet speed escalator, we walked about ¼ mile to their Church, ICA. We stepped into a wonderful, refreshing oasis where English is spoken and Christ is glorified. Ahhh….felt like home. New people, new place and even several new songs to us, but the love of God transcends time and place.
My favorite part of the worship time was when we sang “Our God is Greater” and V. knew the song!:) Not sure where he learned it, but he was singing along. Our sweet little guy went with his new little sister, An., to Children’s Church. An. said they had to be separated because he went with the translator, but I think they learned a lot about the country of Georgia, who they are now praying for.
After Church, we proceeded through the metro toward an authentic Ukrainian restaurant Sven had asked Sa. & Sl. to take us to experience. When we resurfaced from the depths of the metro, an unpleasant surprise awaited us….rain…rather heavy rain. Of course I brought 6 ponchos and an umbrella to Kiev, but didn’t have a single thing with me as it wasn’t supposed to rain. So we covered up with whatever sweater or jacket we could fling over our heads and trudged up the hill toward the restaurant…dodging puddles, slogging uphill…it was quite unpleasant. After we made it, though, we enjoyed our lunch. It was very good and very affordable. Our family favorite is the varenyky, a YUMMY noodley pocket filled with either meat, potatoes, cottage cheese, potato and mushroom and even cherries. Mmmmm. Anna also enjoyed her chicken steak. This nation LOVES dill. And I thought I did, too, until I have had it on nearly everything from Chicken Kiev to cabbage rolls…and LOTS of it. I discovered dill really just belongs on pickles for me….. no more cabbage rolls here. J
Following lunch we proceeded out, in the continuing rain, to V.’s orphanage to return him for the weekL He was rather low key all day. We suspect he was a little sad to have to go back for school this week. We think we can only get him on weekends until he is fully ours.
We again took the metro, then a teeny tiny bus out to the village where V.s orphanage is located. P. and J’s son, E., is also located at the same orphanage so they decided to ride along since we had Sl. helping us read signs and translate, and learn the way there. The public transportation is less expensive than the driver we had been using so we all wanted to give it a try. We discovered it is a LOOOOOOOOONNNNG journey by public transportation, though. Even taking a driver, as we have had to do, takes ~30-45 minutes to get out there. It took us at least 90 minutes- 2 hours just to get there! To break up the monotony Weej decided to burst into song on the teeny tiny bus which kept getting more and more crowded with every stop. He began to sing, “The Wheels on the Bus”…..I think several in our party were horrified (myself included??:) He sang’ the wheels on the bus’, then wipers on the bus, then it got really funny as he made up the next two verses: “the people on the bus just keep getting on, no one gets off, just keep getting on.” And “The exhaust on the bus just comes right in, chokes all the people, comes right in.” Our new friend, Slava, who is Ukrainian, initially told him it was embarrassing, but eventually decided it was pretty hilarious, videotaped him and posted it on facebook!:) He made a teen boy by the door smileJ So I apologize for my big, loud and funny husband. I knew he would probably fall into the “obnoxious American” category eventually. I’ll do my best to control him…and I apologize in advance for other blunders. ;)
Once we got there, we met V.’s foster mother in the courtyard on her way home from the market. She looked beautiful in her coral top and ruffled jacket and was returning with a package and a bouquet of flowers. Beyond her outfit, however, her beauty radiates from deep within. The love of Jesus oozes from this precious woman although we can’t even speak three words to one another. I am so grateful to her for all she has done to bring up our V. in such a loving way. He has excellent manners and is very kind and loving. She has a big role in that. I nearly cried tears of gratitude when V. introduced us, and we gave each other a big hug. It makes me want to cry even now. I am gaining a gem….and she is losing him. L However, we intend to allow V. to Skype with his Ukrainian friends and foster family as often as he would like. V’s foster Mom and foster sister, L., asked if we would like some tea and we accepted their kind offer. V., S. and L. began scurrying around taking orders and preparing the water and tea bags. In addition, they prepared a plate of sliced cheese and toast to accompany the tea. It was thrown together in a few minutes and was absolutely beautiful.
We thoroughly enjoyed our time with them and are SO thankful Sl. was able to come with us and translate what V.’s foster Mom wanted to tell us about him. His personality, habits, likes and dislikes make him a perfect fit with our family. I can tell she is really going to miss him. I am reminded of the many amazing foster Moms in our Church back in FL. Thank you Ladies! It is truly a calling. These precious foster Moms who step in for another truly have hearts of gold. When it was time to go, V. didn’t seem as upset as I expected him to be. He hugged us each tightly and waved us off. We showed him the sign language we had taught him for I Love You, (ASL:, thumb, index and pinky fingers out) When his foster Mom asked him what it meant, he told her and she joined him in giving us the I Love You sign as we walked toward the stairwell. Wow….words cannot express that moment.
On a lighter note, during tea, the resident Pug took a special interest in Sl. and laid his grunting pungent head on her lap and fell asleep.
For even more laughs, please see http://bringyarikhome.com for Jenn’s entry about the “Worst Day we are glad we didn’t miss”. Her hilarious rendition of our journey to and from the orphanage made me laugh until I cried. I will add to her story with the fact that Weej was the last passenger on our teeny tiny bus, crammed in SOOOO tightly that when the door closed it smashed into his “backside”. When the door attempted to open at the next stop, his foot/shoe got stuck in the door!! The door wouldn’t fully open to let anybody off, and he was yelling, “Open the Door!”, which may as well have been Chinese to the driver, I am sure. (he really meant “Close the door”, so he could get his shoe out, but he was a little panicked!) Fortunately the door was only gripping his shoe and not his ankle, so it didn’t hurt at all. We, OF COURSE;) , made sure he was OK, before we all burst into laughter. AND we even made three Ukrainians smile or laugh!! Sv. would be so proud.
Monday, October 1st
Although we would have preferred to sleep in until noon and rest our very tired legs (I think we walk 6-9 miles every day!) we had to vacate the apartment for the cleaning lady from 9am-5pm today.
What to do for a full day in Kiev with two tired parents and three tired children?? We decided to begin our day at the Coffee House. They have comfortable seating, clean bathrooms, good food, free Wifi and they don’t care at all how long we stay. We spent well over an hour of our day there….then what. Well, the outdoor vendors near St. Andrews were just down the street, so we decided to go “window shop” for a while and check out their wares.
After we had rounded the shops, we got a call from P.&J. inviting us to join them at the Botanical Gardens. It was another LOOOOONNNNG walk, but we found it and it was well worth the trip. There are actually quite a few flowers still blooming here in Ukraine. I am so thankful we get to see some flowers rather than just all drab, grey and depressing. Ukraine really is beautiful.
We enjoyed a picnic at the park of peanut butter from home, bread, cheese, meat sticks, dried mango and with our friends. The weather couldn’t have been better for me….I think it was in the mid 60’s sunny and beautiful, birds chirping and children playing. It was like a good dream….don’t wake me up! Sadly, my camera battery died before we even set foot into this beautiful place…so I think that means we’ll have to go back!!:)
After finishing our picnic lunch, we decided we were all VERY tired (but still couldn’t go “home”) so we went to the apartment where P & J are staying. Their host family is a wonderful bunch and we enjoyed tea, snacks and conversation with them. As soon as the clock struck 5, we were gleefully able to return to our apartment. We made our way back to our apartment and have all been rather slow moving since we got back to our home away from home. Weej went to the store and got some pork chops and salad stuff for dinner. What we thought was lettuce turned out to be cabbage. SO, we dealt with it and did the best we could to make some type of salad/slaw. I sliced up the cabbage, sliced in a cucumber & tomato, then added mayonnaise and Italian dressing and gave it all a stir. Weej said, “MMMMM” when I let him try it…AND all of the kids liked it, too! Winner! We will bring this crazy mixed up recipe back to the States with us and call it Slaw Kiev!:)
We missed V. several times today as we did our head counts. It was strange without him and we missed his laugh, funny sounds and hugs! We discovered, on our ride back without him, that he is like the salt to our entrée of life. It feels very bland without him. J
Until next time……
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