Wednesday October 31, 2007

Cheryl with Roman and one of Roman's Teachers, Sumy Orphanage


Calvin, Cheryl, Roman and Nadia in Director's Office, Sumy Technical/Boarding School


Our First Dinner in our Apartment, Sumy

Last night I got to bed around 10:30 – 11:00 pm. Cheryl had the alarm set for 2:15 am because we had to leave at 3:15 am so we could be in Sumy by 8:00 am to meet some individuals concerning the adoption. We arrived in Sumy and ate breakfast at McDonalds. However, one small item was missing – they don’t serve breakfast in McDonalds in Ukraine. So at 8:00 am, I had a salad and tomato juice while the others had fish sandwiches and hamburgers.

We went right to the orphanage where Roman lives. It is located on the edge of Sumy – right at the end of the public bus line. It is surrounded by a grove of trees on one side and apartment buildings on another. Although it is very old and shows it’s age, it is quite serviceable and much nicer than I thought it would be.
We were able to meet with officials from the orphanage and got to see Roman! When they brought him in, we hugged each other! It was great to see him. He has grown taller from when we saw him a year ago. He looks older and his voice is a lot lower. He has grown his bangs a bit longer in the front so they barely come over his eye brows and almost get in his way of seeing. Periodically he would shake his head to get the hair out of his eyes – all teenager.

We then went to the technical school where Nadia lives and goes to school. She is studying to be a baker. We met with several officials of the school. When they brought Nadia in, Cheryl and I both gave her a little hug. This was the first time we had met her. Up until now, we have only seen one picture of her – a picture which has been Cheryl’s computer wallpaper for the last about 8 months. The officials of the school asked us some very good questions regarding her continued schooling, and her opportunities. It was quite evident these officials wanted nothing but the best for Nadia, and to be sure our motives in wanting to adopt her were of the highest intentions.

We then ran some errands and stopped for lunch. We had pizza/lasagna/salad, drinks, etc. which ran about $26 for 6 people. While at lunch we were able to ask Nadia (through our translator Natalie) several questions. We learned that she went and saw her brother Serge in prison. She was advised not to go see him, but she went anyway. She had to get up about 3 am and take a train down to the Southern section of Ukraine – (down in the Odessa region I believe??). She then had to take a bus and walk a great deal to get to the prison. She had to wait until about noon to see Serge. Apparently, she wanted to see him before being adopted. Serge wanted her to check on their father and see how he was doing. When we asked her when she had made the trip, she indicated it was just this last weekend! Apparently, Serge is happy for her and Roman. She indicated she went to see her father, but he was not able to respond to her at all as he was passed out from being drunk. I’m grateful she was able to see both her brother and father so recently. I feel it will help in bringing closure to her and Roman in terms of their hoping that perhaps their family situation could work out. How tragic it is.