I am not sure why but they missed a connection in the US. I have not verified this with Ann but I got a voicemail from United Airlines that said Katya will be arriving Sunday July 12th at 12:41 PM. It is United Airlines flight # 391 from Denver Colorado to SLC. I do not have anybody phone #s so if anybody can send out a text to people they think were planning to come greet them tonight please let them know. I am sorry for the change.
Alex
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Friday, July 10, 2009
The Sun will Come out Tomorrow
Katya woke up this morning and with a big grin said, "Mom, tomorrow America!" She is not at all excited to go home ;) We have been walking around all day singing, "The Sun will come out tomorrow". At the Embassy, after getting the visa, Katya said told the lady that we were going to America tomorrow and then she picked me up (or at least tried to) and gave me a great big squeeze! We have been counting down the minutes and I think this has been the longest day of my life!
After the Embassy, we went souvenir shopping again, to the bank to exchange our grivnas back into dollars and then came home to finish packing. My mom has repacked her suitcase about three times, one of those times being on account of the handle on her suitcase being broken (it got broken at the train station in Dnipro and she tried to sew it but it didn't really hold it). So now she is reshuffling all her stuff around again. Poor mom! At least it gives her something to kill the time with - right?
We will probably walk down to Independence Square after dinner because it is only 7 pm and as much as we would like to (since we have to be ready for the airport at 3 am) we would really not be able to sleep right now. Katya has a notion that she is going to get to play in the fountain again but that will definately not be happening :).
After the Embassy, we went souvenir shopping again, to the bank to exchange our grivnas back into dollars and then came home to finish packing. My mom has repacked her suitcase about three times, one of those times being on account of the handle on her suitcase being broken (it got broken at the train station in Dnipro and she tried to sew it but it didn't really hold it). So now she is reshuffling all her stuff around again. Poor mom! At least it gives her something to kill the time with - right?
We will probably walk down to Independence Square after dinner because it is only 7 pm and as much as we would like to (since we have to be ready for the airport at 3 am) we would really not be able to sleep right now. Katya has a notion that she is going to get to play in the fountain again but that will definately not be happening :).
Thursday, July 9, 2009
We're coming home!
We went and had Katya's medical exam this morning. She had to have blood drawn to test for HIV and syphilis and then she had to get two shots for her Rubella and Hepatits B immunizations. I have to say that Katya was very brave and didn't cry for either one. After the medical exam, we went to the US Embassy. Katya didn't want to wait in the car and so she came in with me, through the metal detectors and the guy with the metal detector wand. He has you stand there with your arms and legs apart and then scans you to make sure you aren't carrying any extra metal. I think Katya asked him to scan her and afterwards she just giggled and giggled! It was nice to go to a place where they spoke English and exciting to think that we are so close to coming home. After we went to the Embassy, we had to go back to the medical building and wait FOREVER to get the medical exam report. Tomorrow at 8:50 am we will head back to the Embassy with the medical reports to do an interview at the Embassy and get Katya's visa and then we will be free to leave this country! I can't tell you how happy that makes us!!!!!
We went down to Independence Square and Katya played in one of the water fountains. There were several children wading in one of the fountains but you could tell which child was mine because she was the only child that managed to get herself completely wet!
Our flight is scheduled to arrive on Saturday at 10:34 pm on United Airlines flight #6097.
We went down to Independence Square and Katya played in one of the water fountains. There were several children wading in one of the fountains but you could tell which child was mine because she was the only child that managed to get herself completely wet!
Our flight is scheduled to arrive on Saturday at 10:34 pm on United Airlines flight #6097.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Russian TV
I am so tired of Russian TV. I think it is partly that I am just tired of being in this country and hearing a language I don't understand (poor Katya - this is how she is going to feel when we get home!) and it is partly that the shows on TV are really STUPID! In the apartment in Dnipro, we didn't have cable so the TV shows consisted of soap operas, music videos, and these stupid comedy shows that remind me of a "Larry, Moe and Curly" show. Here, at least we have cable and occasionally you can catch old re-runs of "Friends" (with the voices dubbed over in Russian). However, Katya really likes to watch this show that is almost an exact replica of "Married with Children" - she even sings along with the theme song. There is a mom with red hair and big boobs, a daughter with bleach blonde hair, a son, and a dad that sits on the couch a lot. The set even looks like an exact copy of the show in our country. This show is stupid in English and even worse in Russian. I am sad to admit that Katya has basically been watching TV for about two days straight. She woke up this morning and the first thing she wanted to do was watch TV. Then when we got back from souvenir shopping, she went straight for the TV.
I let her watch for a little bit and then made her turn it off. Oh! It was like heaven - it was so quiet, no annoying Russian in the background (granted, Katya was sitting pouting on the couch - but she was at least being quiet too!). I gave Katya some crayons and paper to draw on and she refused to do this and instead wanted to sit there and be mad. I told her it was her choice - she could sit there and be bored or she could draw. She finally drew one picture and then wanted the TV again. I told her no and she played with Tony for a little while and I even got her to read him half of a story from this Russian kids book I bought. Katya helped me make spaghetti for dinner and then she wanted the TV and I told her she could play games on my phone. She did this for a little bit and wanted TV and I was trying to talk to Alex on Skype so I finally told her she could watch TV. So, she is right now sitting there watching "Skooby Doo" (which is much better than "Married with Children"). We are definately going to have to limit her TV viewing when we get home, since I think she would be content with just sitting there and watching TV all day - which is somewhat surprising since they are so active at the orphanage. I am too tired right now, though, to care. I need Alex here so that I can have a break from parenting and let him deal with the kids for a while. I miss you baby! But we are so close to coming home that I can hardly stand it!!!
I let her watch for a little bit and then made her turn it off. Oh! It was like heaven - it was so quiet, no annoying Russian in the background (granted, Katya was sitting pouting on the couch - but she was at least being quiet too!). I gave Katya some crayons and paper to draw on and she refused to do this and instead wanted to sit there and be mad. I told her it was her choice - she could sit there and be bored or she could draw. She finally drew one picture and then wanted the TV again. I told her no and she played with Tony for a little while and I even got her to read him half of a story from this Russian kids book I bought. Katya helped me make spaghetti for dinner and then she wanted the TV and I told her she could play games on my phone. She did this for a little bit and wanted TV and I was trying to talk to Alex on Skype so I finally told her she could watch TV. So, she is right now sitting there watching "Skooby Doo" (which is much better than "Married with Children"). We are definately going to have to limit her TV viewing when we get home, since I think she would be content with just sitting there and watching TV all day - which is somewhat surprising since they are so active at the orphanage. I am too tired right now, though, to care. I need Alex here so that I can have a break from parenting and let him deal with the kids for a while. I miss you baby! But we are so close to coming home that I can hardly stand it!!!
We have the passport!!!
We have the passport!!! This means that tomorrow will be spent at the US Embassy doing a medical exam of Katya in the morning and applying for the visa in the afternoon (or so I am told that this is the plan). Then, we will receive the visa on Friday and be out of here on Saturday. The travel agent had a hard time finding us a flight on Saturday but he did it and we are set to arrive sometime around 10:30 pm (I don't have flight info yet but will post it when I get it).
Today we spent the day souvenir shopping. Katya was not very nice, I have to say. She complained the whole time and then she kept wanting me to buy her all these junkie little things, to which I kept saying no. I finally agreed to buy her this bag and when I gave it to her to carry, she wouldn't carry it. So, I was putting it in the diaper bag and she apparently didn't want it in there and wanted me to carry it. I had Tony in the baby carrier and there was no way I was going to carry it so I told her, in a not-so-nice tone, that it was going in the diaper bag or she was carrying it. I don't think she really understood me but she understood enough that she better leave the bag in the diaper bag :)
Then, we got lost. We had Irena drive us there, because it was a pretty long walk and would have been uphill all the way there but I figured we could walk downhill back. Besides, I didn't want Irena waiting for us. Irena is a pretty gruff person and honestly not my favorite person here and it would have been very annoying to have her rushing us along. I thought I could remember my way back, as I had tried to notice the landmarks on the way there. On one corner there was a "Safari" store and on another corner there was a cafe with a blue and red sign. I am the worst at navigating around. I am embarrassed to admit that I once got lost in the Gateway parking lot. I couldn't remember where I parked my car and Allie was with me and we had to have the guy drive us around to find our car. Allie thought it was pretty funny! I went wrong this time when I had us turn on the street right after the church and we walked all the way down the hill only to end up at Independence Square. We stopped at McDonalds and had a "Big and Nasty" (which is what my mom called Ukraine's version of the "Big and Tasty") and then called Elena who called Irena to find out where we were staying. We were instructed to walk all the way back up the hill we had come from. She gave Katya directions and good 'ole Katya got us home. Katya kept asking people as we were walking along if they knew where "Pushkinska" street was so that we knew we were going in the right direction. We turned left at the street with the Safari (See - I really had tried to pay attention!) and left again at the street with the red and blue sign and we made it home. We got caught in a down pour on the way home. The weather here reminds me of Florida - it will just start downpouring with very little notice, rain for about five minutes and then stop.
Today we spent the day souvenir shopping. Katya was not very nice, I have to say. She complained the whole time and then she kept wanting me to buy her all these junkie little things, to which I kept saying no. I finally agreed to buy her this bag and when I gave it to her to carry, she wouldn't carry it. So, I was putting it in the diaper bag and she apparently didn't want it in there and wanted me to carry it. I had Tony in the baby carrier and there was no way I was going to carry it so I told her, in a not-so-nice tone, that it was going in the diaper bag or she was carrying it. I don't think she really understood me but she understood enough that she better leave the bag in the diaper bag :)
Then, we got lost. We had Irena drive us there, because it was a pretty long walk and would have been uphill all the way there but I figured we could walk downhill back. Besides, I didn't want Irena waiting for us. Irena is a pretty gruff person and honestly not my favorite person here and it would have been very annoying to have her rushing us along. I thought I could remember my way back, as I had tried to notice the landmarks on the way there. On one corner there was a "Safari" store and on another corner there was a cafe with a blue and red sign. I am the worst at navigating around. I am embarrassed to admit that I once got lost in the Gateway parking lot. I couldn't remember where I parked my car and Allie was with me and we had to have the guy drive us around to find our car. Allie thought it was pretty funny! I went wrong this time when I had us turn on the street right after the church and we walked all the way down the hill only to end up at Independence Square. We stopped at McDonalds and had a "Big and Nasty" (which is what my mom called Ukraine's version of the "Big and Tasty") and then called Elena who called Irena to find out where we were staying. We were instructed to walk all the way back up the hill we had come from. She gave Katya directions and good 'ole Katya got us home. Katya kept asking people as we were walking along if they knew where "Pushkinska" street was so that we knew we were going in the right direction. We turned left at the street with the Safari (See - I really had tried to pay attention!) and left again at the street with the red and blue sign and we made it home. We got caught in a down pour on the way home. The weather here reminds me of Florida - it will just start downpouring with very little notice, rain for about five minutes and then stop.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Lines
In the Ukraine, they don't stand in lines like normal people. Normally in a line, the line goes in the order in which people got there. Here, they basically have a line buddy. I am after the girl in the red shirt, who is after the man in the white shirt, who is after the lady in the black dress and so forth...
Today we had to go and get the birth certificate and adoption decree legalized. Usually, I would not have to be involved in this. However, because of the whole "terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day", Oksana was unable to do this. Apparently if I go and do this, we can get the documents legalized the same day whereas it takes a week if Oksana or Irena do it. So Katya and I left at 10:30 am and went with Irena and her son to the "Ministry of ?" and stood in line - or rather Irena stood in line and I just went and joined her a little before it was our turn. While I was standing there, a lady was recounting to another lady the line order and pointing, in a zig-zag pattern, who was after who, etc. The line for two offices both fall in the same short, narrow hallway so the people just pack in there and move ever so slightly for you when you need to leave. We needed something from both offices, so once we were through with the first office we got right back into line for the second. A man with a little girl butted in line. I couldn't understand what he said but I think he gave the people the story that his wife worked there and he was just going to see her but when he came out and they could tell that he lied, the people were mad. When another man tried to butt, Irena played line back. For those of you who know Irena, she is a large woman and she stood in front of that door like she would tackle the man if he tried to enter. As we were leaving, I could hear the people still arguing with the man that was trying to butt. Since he wasn't the next one to leave, my assumption is that his "butting" attempt was not successful.
We had to go stand in line again at 4 pm to pick up the documents. The same people were there again - the lady with the white shirt and shoes with shiny silver heels, the man with the little girl that butted in line, the lady with the broad face and white capris (only she was wearing a different shirt), and the girl with the jeans with holes in them. Katya came with me again because she wanted to (I told her that she could stay with Grandma, but she wanted to come). When she started complaining about the wait, I reminded her that it was her choice to come. Besides, she was playing games on my phone while I had to just sit there! As we were sitting there, I heard the phrase, "Tomorrow is Wednesday" in the middle of someone's conversation. "Yes", I thought to myself. "Today is Tuesday, tomorrow is Wednesday, and I really want to go home on Friday." Then I realized that someone was speaking English. Oh - what a wonderful sound! I looked over to see who it was and I think it was a translator because later in the conversation he spoke another language.
The bad news today was that we aren't getting the passport tomorrow. I was still clinging to the hope that we might be able to fly out of Friday. But alas that hope is gone. According to Irena, once we get the passport, we can do the medical exam and the visa application the same day and then the next day we will receive the visa. When I found out we weren't getting the passport tomorrow, I was thinking in my head, "If we get it Thursday, we will get the visa on Friday and still be able to fly out on Saturday. But if we don't get it until Friday, we will be stuck her until Monday". However, Irena assured me that we can get the embassy to issue the visa the same day so we will be able to fly out on Saturday. I feel about 80% confident that this is the case, so I really hope that we get the passport on Thursday. I need to get out of here. If we have to stay over the weekend I am seriously going to cry.
Today we had to go and get the birth certificate and adoption decree legalized. Usually, I would not have to be involved in this. However, because of the whole "terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day", Oksana was unable to do this. Apparently if I go and do this, we can get the documents legalized the same day whereas it takes a week if Oksana or Irena do it. So Katya and I left at 10:30 am and went with Irena and her son to the "Ministry of ?" and stood in line - or rather Irena stood in line and I just went and joined her a little before it was our turn. While I was standing there, a lady was recounting to another lady the line order and pointing, in a zig-zag pattern, who was after who, etc. The line for two offices both fall in the same short, narrow hallway so the people just pack in there and move ever so slightly for you when you need to leave. We needed something from both offices, so once we were through with the first office we got right back into line for the second. A man with a little girl butted in line. I couldn't understand what he said but I think he gave the people the story that his wife worked there and he was just going to see her but when he came out and they could tell that he lied, the people were mad. When another man tried to butt, Irena played line back. For those of you who know Irena, she is a large woman and she stood in front of that door like she would tackle the man if he tried to enter. As we were leaving, I could hear the people still arguing with the man that was trying to butt. Since he wasn't the next one to leave, my assumption is that his "butting" attempt was not successful.
We had to go stand in line again at 4 pm to pick up the documents. The same people were there again - the lady with the white shirt and shoes with shiny silver heels, the man with the little girl that butted in line, the lady with the broad face and white capris (only she was wearing a different shirt), and the girl with the jeans with holes in them. Katya came with me again because she wanted to (I told her that she could stay with Grandma, but she wanted to come). When she started complaining about the wait, I reminded her that it was her choice to come. Besides, she was playing games on my phone while I had to just sit there! As we were sitting there, I heard the phrase, "Tomorrow is Wednesday" in the middle of someone's conversation. "Yes", I thought to myself. "Today is Tuesday, tomorrow is Wednesday, and I really want to go home on Friday." Then I realized that someone was speaking English. Oh - what a wonderful sound! I looked over to see who it was and I think it was a translator because later in the conversation he spoke another language.
The bad news today was that we aren't getting the passport tomorrow. I was still clinging to the hope that we might be able to fly out of Friday. But alas that hope is gone. According to Irena, once we get the passport, we can do the medical exam and the visa application the same day and then the next day we will receive the visa. When I found out we weren't getting the passport tomorrow, I was thinking in my head, "If we get it Thursday, we will get the visa on Friday and still be able to fly out on Saturday. But if we don't get it until Friday, we will be stuck her until Monday". However, Irena assured me that we can get the embassy to issue the visa the same day so we will be able to fly out on Saturday. I feel about 80% confident that this is the case, so I really hope that we get the passport on Thursday. I need to get out of here. If we have to stay over the weekend I am seriously going to cry.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Five children in Ukraine
Today we went over to the orphanage to give Nadia and Anya, the attorney, their little gifts. Nadia wasn't there but Anya was and I think she was very surprised to get something from us. I really like Anya. Then we tried to go to the bank. I forget here that the bank closes from 1 pm - 2 pm for lunch so it seems that it is always closed when I try to go. We had taken Katya and her three friends, Nastia, Anya and Anton (oooh! Anton!) with us so we decided to walk down to the park and let them play while we waited for the bank to open. They played for a bit, although they were a little too old for the play equipment and the other park patrons probably didn't appreciate them. My mom, Tony, and I sat and watched them play and also watched this little girl and boy run around chasing the birds that Anton was feeding sunflower seeds to and then the little boy turned around and hit the little girl for trying to ride his bike. I guess kids are the same no matter where you are! On the way to the bank we had stopped at the store to get water and an older lady was very surprised that we had so many kids. My mom and Tony were outside waiting and an older lady stopped to chat with my mom. When we came out, she counted the number of children we had with us a pronounced that there were "Piats" (five). Five children in the Ukraine is a lot of children!
We are now just waiting for 5:15 pm to come along, which is when Oleg and Oksana are coming to get us to go to the train station. The house is clean, the kids are fed, our luggage is sitting by the door. We are so ready to get out of this place!
We are now just waiting for 5:15 pm to come along, which is when Oleg and Oksana are coming to get us to go to the train station. The house is clean, the kids are fed, our luggage is sitting by the door. We are so ready to get out of this place!
Sunday, July 5, 2009
For Daddy
Alex is really missing us (as we are really missing him), so here are some pictures for you baby! (Sorry - the pictures posted weird but they took forever to upload so this is how they are going to be!)
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Katya
Katya is so easy to love. Oksana commented one day that she likes her because she is such a happy child and she really is happy (about 95% of the time, anyway). I don't know the story of her life and maybe I never will but I know it has been rough. One day she asked Oksana why her mom and dad beat her. It just broke my heart to think that she had to deal with that - she would have been younger than 9 years old.
Oksana also said, basically, that she hopes she never loses that innocence about her. I had actually been thinking that same thing. She reminds me of the song "I Hope You Dance" (which I put on the player on the blog). She is like a kid was when we were kids - before video games and a TV in every room, where your mom would send you out in the neighborhood and not expect you back until night fall. You would spend the day riding bikes, climbing trees, swinging on the monkey bars, and playing "Red Rover". I hope she stays this way - at least for a little while!
I can't wait until Katya can speak English well enough that she can actually have a conversation with me. Up to this point, we have really just gotten to know her through her facial expressions and her comical charades. It will be awesome to know what she is thinking and feeling. I have a feeling that she is going to say really funny stuff!
She makes my mom and I laugh. At night, she will not go to sleep - she will tickle grandma in the middle of the night. This morning she whispered in my ear, "Mom, me I love you Anton". There is a little boy in the neighborhood that she plays with named Anton. She definately has good taste because he is the cutest boy around here but she's already thinking about boys and she is only 11! The other day, my mom bought this book with English phrases in it and Katya was reading the phrases to us and we were laughing so hard. To hear her say, "I am sick and tired of this" and "That is none of your business" with her little accent - it was hilarious! She would eat bananas all day if we would let her, she puts ketchup on everything and she can get so dirty doing anything. Yesterday she came in with mud all over her white shirt and yet her friends didn't seem to have any dirt on them. Oh brother!
It is amazing to think about how we got to this point. It was a long road and it cost a lot of money but makes it all worth it when she comes and puts her arms around me and says, "Mom, I love you".
Oksana also said, basically, that she hopes she never loses that innocence about her. I had actually been thinking that same thing. She reminds me of the song "I Hope You Dance" (which I put on the player on the blog). She is like a kid was when we were kids - before video games and a TV in every room, where your mom would send you out in the neighborhood and not expect you back until night fall. You would spend the day riding bikes, climbing trees, swinging on the monkey bars, and playing "Red Rover". I hope she stays this way - at least for a little while!
I can't wait until Katya can speak English well enough that she can actually have a conversation with me. Up to this point, we have really just gotten to know her through her facial expressions and her comical charades. It will be awesome to know what she is thinking and feeling. I have a feeling that she is going to say really funny stuff!
She makes my mom and I laugh. At night, she will not go to sleep - she will tickle grandma in the middle of the night. This morning she whispered in my ear, "Mom, me I love you Anton". There is a little boy in the neighborhood that she plays with named Anton. She definately has good taste because he is the cutest boy around here but she's already thinking about boys and she is only 11! The other day, my mom bought this book with English phrases in it and Katya was reading the phrases to us and we were laughing so hard. To hear her say, "I am sick and tired of this" and "That is none of your business" with her little accent - it was hilarious! She would eat bananas all day if we would let her, she puts ketchup on everything and she can get so dirty doing anything. Yesterday she came in with mud all over her white shirt and yet her friends didn't seem to have any dirt on them. Oh brother!
It is amazing to think about how we got to this point. It was a long road and it cost a lot of money but makes it all worth it when she comes and puts her arms around me and says, "Mom, I love you".
Same old, same old
You are all celebrating the 4th of July there. Here, it is just another day. I haven't posted because nothing exciting has been going on. Yesterday I went to the train station to go buy tickets with Constantine and after finding out the night train on the 6th was booked and several lengthy conversations on the phone with Elena, we finally decided to buy train tickets for the express train that leaves on July 6th at 5:40 pm and arrives about 11:30 pm in Kiev. This is 51 hours, 10 minutes from now. I packed up all of our clothes yesterday, except for the clothes we will need through Monday. We are not excited at all to go :) The thought is that we will be able to fly home on Saturday.
Katya has found some friends around here to play with. This has been a double-edged sword because it is nice for her to be entertained but they come and ring the doorbell and knock on the door constantly. They are "in and out" so much that it is driving me crazy. I can't wait to get home to get into some sort of a schedule. Tony needs to be back on a schedule, too. He hasn't been sleeping well and he is so bored with this place that he just wants to be hauled around all day. I think my mom and I are ready to trade him in :) except that he is just so darned cute!
Our excitement for the day will be that we will walk down to the grocery store to get some milk and bread and an ice cream cone for Katya. She has been asking for one for two days.
51 hours, 3 minutes to go...
Katya has found some friends around here to play with. This has been a double-edged sword because it is nice for her to be entertained but they come and ring the doorbell and knock on the door constantly. They are "in and out" so much that it is driving me crazy. I can't wait to get home to get into some sort of a schedule. Tony needs to be back on a schedule, too. He hasn't been sleeping well and he is so bored with this place that he just wants to be hauled around all day. I think my mom and I are ready to trade him in :) except that he is just so darned cute!
Our excitement for the day will be that we will walk down to the grocery store to get some milk and bread and an ice cream cone for Katya. She has been asking for one for two days.
51 hours, 3 minutes to go...
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day
July 1st
According to Oksana, this was a day when nothing went right. You hate those days, especially when you just want to go home. We were supposed to leave at 10 am to get the registration document here and head to Dniprodesk (a city about 30 km away) to apply for the passport and get the birth certificate legalized. We got up, got ready to go, and then waited, waited, and waited. This seems to be the story of our lives - waiting. At 10:15, Elena called to say that the person here that was going to do the registration card was not in the office until 12:00, so we would have to wait until then to go. So we waited for them to call us. Katya was getting very impatient and kept asking, "Elena?". When Elena finally did call, I told Katya that Elena would be here in a minute (meaning it to be just a general statement that Elena is on her way) but then told her that Elena would be here in about five minutes. It was funny because Katya basically said (not quite this straight forward), "Is it one minute or five minutes?" I have to add another funny story here. We were walking to the store later that day and we were behind a woman who really was walking with her butt unusually far out behind her. Well, Katya - the little comedian - started mimicking her (luckily the lady did not notice that she was doing this!). I couldn't help but laugh but told Katya to stop and to "be nice". Then she kept saying as we were walking, "Be nice be nice be nice". This is definately not a bad phrase for her to learn!
When Oksana, Oleg, and Elena got there, the plan was to go to the bank, pick up the registration card, and then go to Dniprodesk to apply for the passport. The reason we were going to the bank was because Katya has an account that the Ukrainian government has been putting money into for the last two years and we are entitled to take that money out. So, we went to the bank, except they had moved it - moved it to the building that our apartment was in! So, we went back to that building and of course the bank was closed from 1 pm to 2 pm for lunch and it was about 1:45 pm.
They decided that while we were waiting we should go to the train station to purchase our train tickets to Kiev. (Yes - I said to purchase our tickets to Kiev! Yeah!!!! We are heading to Kiev the night of the 6th and will arrive there on the 7th.) The train station was a complete nightmare. The lines were long and they were not moving at all. Elena had Katya stand at a window that was closed just in case (the other people standing there thought this window was going to open soon) and then we stood in another line. As my mom put it one day, the people in the country could really use some "PR" (Public Relations) classes. The employees were in no hurry to get people through the lines and to make it worse, the lady at the front of our line was trying to purchase a large amount of tickets on the same train, which according to Elena was impossible. We stood in line for about 45 minutes and the line barely moved. In front of us was a young man (probably about 20) from Texas that was asking Elena how much money she made as a translator. (I don't know what Elena answered, as she answered him in Ukrainian). After two people had been moved through the line and there were only three people in front of us, the lady closed her window. Although I couldn't understand what they were saying it was obvious that the people were very mad!!! To make it worse, they lady moved over to the window that was closed and that Katya was no longer in line for because when Elena asked if they were going to open up that window, they told her no. Needless to say, we did not purchase our train tickets and will have to do it tomorrow.
It was then about 2:30 pm and apparantly we had an appointment to get the registration card at 2:30 pm. They dropped Elena and I off at the bank and Oksana went to go and pick up the registration card. At the bank, we were informed that this bank no longer holds those accounts and we were directed to another bank. We went to this bank and this bank also told us that they didn't hold these accounts. We went to yet another bank, who told us that the account had no money in it. According to Oksana, the orphanage attorney, Anya, had just checked a couple of days before to make sure that there was money in it. After questioning the bank person and having them check again, she told us that we would have to find out what bank holds the account because it wasn't their bank. I guess this will be dealt with tomorrow...To top it all off, Katya had been playing with my phone and it had frozen but wouldn't let me even turn it off, I had asked Elena to see if they had a paperclip at the bank so I could manually reset it and she told me that we couldn't ask for that from them (we couldn't ask for a paperclip?), and somehow it had been turned off of "airplane mode" and appeared to be connecting to the local service here that meant I was probably being charge for the internet usage that my phone automatically uses. Have you ever read the book, "Alexander and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day"? I felt like saying, "This was going to be a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. I think I will move to Australia." (except a better phrase would be, "I think I will just go home!")
It was now 3:00 pm and we were heading to Dniprodesk to apply for the passport but it was late enough that we could no longer get the birth certificate "legalized" today which meant that Oksana was going to have to make another trip to Dniprodesk tomorrow (luckily I don't have to go) and of course this was going to cost us money. There was an accident on the way there, which made the drive even longer, we had to stop so that Katya could use the bathroom which took even more time, and we had to wait for a long time at the passport office. But we did get Katya's picture taken and the passport application submitted which is very good, because the passport takes three to four business days. Tomorrow Oksana will call to make sure there were no issues with the picture (so that we can avoid your fun passport adventure, Wendy) and Oksana said that the passport will be ready either on the 6th or the 7th - hence the reason that we are leaving this lovely town and heading to Kiev on the 6th.
We took Oksana, Oleg, and Elena out to dinner, since this is one of the last times we will see them. It was nice because we went to a Ukrainian Cafe and we got to try real Ukrainian food without guessing at what we are ordering. The food was really good and the company was excellent. We got some news that Katya's friend, Natasha, who we got to know really well may be adopted. So, it actually didn't turn out to be all together a "terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day"! (But I do still want to go home!)
According to Oksana, this was a day when nothing went right. You hate those days, especially when you just want to go home. We were supposed to leave at 10 am to get the registration document here and head to Dniprodesk (a city about 30 km away) to apply for the passport and get the birth certificate legalized. We got up, got ready to go, and then waited, waited, and waited. This seems to be the story of our lives - waiting. At 10:15, Elena called to say that the person here that was going to do the registration card was not in the office until 12:00, so we would have to wait until then to go. So we waited for them to call us. Katya was getting very impatient and kept asking, "Elena?". When Elena finally did call, I told Katya that Elena would be here in a minute (meaning it to be just a general statement that Elena is on her way) but then told her that Elena would be here in about five minutes. It was funny because Katya basically said (not quite this straight forward), "Is it one minute or five minutes?" I have to add another funny story here. We were walking to the store later that day and we were behind a woman who really was walking with her butt unusually far out behind her. Well, Katya - the little comedian - started mimicking her (luckily the lady did not notice that she was doing this!). I couldn't help but laugh but told Katya to stop and to "be nice". Then she kept saying as we were walking, "Be nice be nice be nice". This is definately not a bad phrase for her to learn!
When Oksana, Oleg, and Elena got there, the plan was to go to the bank, pick up the registration card, and then go to Dniprodesk to apply for the passport. The reason we were going to the bank was because Katya has an account that the Ukrainian government has been putting money into for the last two years and we are entitled to take that money out. So, we went to the bank, except they had moved it - moved it to the building that our apartment was in! So, we went back to that building and of course the bank was closed from 1 pm to 2 pm for lunch and it was about 1:45 pm.
They decided that while we were waiting we should go to the train station to purchase our train tickets to Kiev. (Yes - I said to purchase our tickets to Kiev! Yeah!!!! We are heading to Kiev the night of the 6th and will arrive there on the 7th.) The train station was a complete nightmare. The lines were long and they were not moving at all. Elena had Katya stand at a window that was closed just in case (the other people standing there thought this window was going to open soon) and then we stood in another line. As my mom put it one day, the people in the country could really use some "PR" (Public Relations) classes. The employees were in no hurry to get people through the lines and to make it worse, the lady at the front of our line was trying to purchase a large amount of tickets on the same train, which according to Elena was impossible. We stood in line for about 45 minutes and the line barely moved. In front of us was a young man (probably about 20) from Texas that was asking Elena how much money she made as a translator. (I don't know what Elena answered, as she answered him in Ukrainian). After two people had been moved through the line and there were only three people in front of us, the lady closed her window. Although I couldn't understand what they were saying it was obvious that the people were very mad!!! To make it worse, they lady moved over to the window that was closed and that Katya was no longer in line for because when Elena asked if they were going to open up that window, they told her no. Needless to say, we did not purchase our train tickets and will have to do it tomorrow.
It was then about 2:30 pm and apparantly we had an appointment to get the registration card at 2:30 pm. They dropped Elena and I off at the bank and Oksana went to go and pick up the registration card. At the bank, we were informed that this bank no longer holds those accounts and we were directed to another bank. We went to this bank and this bank also told us that they didn't hold these accounts. We went to yet another bank, who told us that the account had no money in it. According to Oksana, the orphanage attorney, Anya, had just checked a couple of days before to make sure that there was money in it. After questioning the bank person and having them check again, she told us that we would have to find out what bank holds the account because it wasn't their bank. I guess this will be dealt with tomorrow...To top it all off, Katya had been playing with my phone and it had frozen but wouldn't let me even turn it off, I had asked Elena to see if they had a paperclip at the bank so I could manually reset it and she told me that we couldn't ask for that from them (we couldn't ask for a paperclip?), and somehow it had been turned off of "airplane mode" and appeared to be connecting to the local service here that meant I was probably being charge for the internet usage that my phone automatically uses. Have you ever read the book, "Alexander and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day"? I felt like saying, "This was going to be a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. I think I will move to Australia." (except a better phrase would be, "I think I will just go home!")
It was now 3:00 pm and we were heading to Dniprodesk to apply for the passport but it was late enough that we could no longer get the birth certificate "legalized" today which meant that Oksana was going to have to make another trip to Dniprodesk tomorrow (luckily I don't have to go) and of course this was going to cost us money. There was an accident on the way there, which made the drive even longer, we had to stop so that Katya could use the bathroom which took even more time, and we had to wait for a long time at the passport office. But we did get Katya's picture taken and the passport application submitted which is very good, because the passport takes three to four business days. Tomorrow Oksana will call to make sure there were no issues with the picture (so that we can avoid your fun passport adventure, Wendy) and Oksana said that the passport will be ready either on the 6th or the 7th - hence the reason that we are leaving this lovely town and heading to Kiev on the 6th.
We took Oksana, Oleg, and Elena out to dinner, since this is one of the last times we will see them. It was nice because we went to a Ukrainian Cafe and we got to try real Ukrainian food without guessing at what we are ordering. The food was really good and the company was excellent. We got some news that Katya's friend, Natasha, who we got to know really well may be adopted. So, it actually didn't turn out to be all together a "terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day"! (But I do still want to go home!)
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