Saturday July 24, 2010

Yesterday (Saturday July 24th) we took a tour of a beautiful section of Crimea courtesy our personal tour guide Vilary (pronounced VaLarry).  He seems to thrive on sharing his knowledge of the area; it's geography and history.  It's a little frustrating hearing it through a translator because it's so difficult to ask questions.  He's an interesting guy who gets a pension from the military where he was an engineer and worked on jet engines.  He did some teaching after that. His military background shows up in his ramrod posture and a deep, confident voice that I'm sure his coworkers could hear over the jet engines.  One of the words he knows in English is "smile". When he takes a picture of you and barks the command to smile, you don't dare disobey or you feel like you might end up in Siberia somewhere. :)

We saw some pretty stunning things, the highlight probably being our stop in Noviy Svet where we sat in a cafe‚ listening to Girl from Ipanema and eating Borscht and cabbage salad, while looking at rocks jutting out of a turquoise sea in a Rio de Janeiro-esque fashion.  It was a little surreal.  We chartered a small boat, which took us from the Green Bay, to the Blue Bay to the Light Blue Bay where I sat on the pebbled Czar's Beach and watched some great water frolics performed courtesy of Anastasia, Calvin and Vera.  It was a wonderful day.  We were just reviewing our photos and realized about half of the beach shots are unsuitable for publishing. There is a little bit too much flesh in them.  These aren't nudist beaches, but they're the next thing to them. We also stopped in Sudak where they were having a medieval type festival with people in period costume and folks with owls and falcons.  It was so neat!  Thank you Vilary!

Fortress in the city of Sudak (just before the city of Noviy Svet), built 14th century

Anastasia and Cheryl with a falcon (Sudak fortress in background)

Men dressed in original garb - a medival festival was going on while we were in Sudak

Vera (our translator), Cheryl, Anastasia and Calvin - the outskirts of Sudak on our way to Noviy Svet.  Note fortress and beautiful Black Sea in the background.

Comming into Noviy Svet, Cheryl, Anastasia and Calvin

Ansatasia and Calvin outside Noviy Svet

Beautiful bay of Noviy Svet

Calvin, Anastasia and Vera jumping off a rock into the Black Sea!

Anastasia - not quite a dive but we're working on it

Calvin - beach view at Noviy Svet

 

On our way home we stopped by one of the millions of fruit/veggie stands they have here.  I don't know why this country wastes their time on vodka when they have fresh fruit and vegetables that taste so heavenly.  Hands down, Ukraine has the best tasting fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, and peaches I have ever eaten.  Not to mention their tiny baby dills, ham and yogurt!  And it's so dang cheap!!  Not to make you jealous or anything Roman, but I just finished a sandwich with lavash, (a type of cottage bread) basil, cheese, tomatoes and pickles with a side of fresh peaches and watermelon.  Calvin and I don't talk when we eat, we just moan! It almost makes me forgive them their terrifying public restrooms.

Friday July 23, 2010

Friday the 23rd, we were invited by the curator for a private tour of a museum that highlights a famous Ukrainian sculptress named Vera Mukhina.  She was actually born in Soviet Latvia I guess, but spent part of her childhood in Feodocia.  (Look her up; it's a fascinating bit of soviet history).  Sergei is the curator and artist and author of this book that we are helping translate. They are either very thankful for our work or maybe they think we're rich and might be influential in some way (a great big HA, there) we'll see.

Anastasia is amazingly patient with all of these tours.  Any American kid would be ripping their hair out.  Every day we find something new to love about her.

Famous sculpure of a common man and women with the hammer and cycle (Worker and Kolkhoz Woman) statue is abt 25 meters high and was originally exhibited at the World's Fair in Paris (1937) and now stands in Moscow, Russia.

 

Calvin, Cheryl and Anastasia along with museum curator (Cheryl's left) and his assistant (Calvin's right)

Thursday July 22, 2010

We had a great day yesterday (Thursday).  We met Anastasia at the Center and went to a salon that Vera our translator recommended and had a Ukrainian pedicure.  It cost about $14 and I can't help but smile every time I look at my toes.

Cheryl getting her toes done.  Anastasia also got her's done - forgot to take a picture of her.

On the way home - Calvin and Anastasia "throwin' up the U" Ukranian style.

Afterwards we picked up some fresh vegetables and came home to the apartment with Vera and Anastasia.  Calvin and Anastasia made a delicious pasta primavera.  We were so fortunate to find some beautiful fresh basil in the market on our way home.  After cooking the pasta, he sauteed eggplant, onions, garlic, summer squash and peppers together in olive oil, tossed them in the pasta and added lots of fresh tomatoes and basil.  Yum!  We found some delicious ham and added it on the side along with grated cheese for the pasta. (Anastasia doesn't like cheese).  What made Calvin the happiest was discovering hot peppers!  After mincing them up he brought them to the table and was delighted when both Anastasia and Vera garnished their dish liberally with them. He knew he'd found two kindred spirits! 

Enjoying our pasta salad dinner.

Calvin also made another discovery that made him very happy yesterday.  There is a drink made from fermented dark bread and fruit that he loves (Kvas)!  Anastasia and Vera laughed their heads off when they saw him drink it down with a gusto and enthusiasm that only Calvin can show!  He proclaimed it was the best thing he'd found in Ukraine yet!  I couldn't get it past my nose because it smelled exactly like beer.  I'm sure we'll find out it has alcohol in it, (I mean, doesn't the fact that it bubbles and it's fermented automatically make it alcoholic?) although Vera assured us again and again that it doesn't and it's what they give to children.  However, I have discovered that Ukrainians have a very high threshold for alcohol and probably something like beer would be considered mother's milk to them.  I hope someone out there will research it and burst my husband's bubble (or foam) about his drink so I don't have to.  If his propensity for alcohol is anything like it is for diet coke, I fear he will be an alcoholic before our trip is over!

While Calvin and Anastasia were cooking dinner, I was in the living room helping Vera edit an art album that she is translating that will soon be printed for the anniversary of Feodocia.  Feodocia has long been an oasis of mariner artists and the like and they have gathered the photos to create a coffee table type book.  It looks like it will be a beautiful book and we plan on getting a copy.  I enjoy editing and this is giving me something to help fill my time.  Apparently the committee who is putting this together are very grateful for our help and are giving us a personal tour of the art museum.  Vera who is graciously thankful  told me that if I like, she will put my name in the "credits"  for the book.  What I really hope to do is build some goodwill between some of the more influential people of the city and Americans in general.  We'll see....

Time is now creeping to an interminably slow pace.  We find ourselves stretching out any activites to fill the days, rather than cramming them all into a single day.  It's 11:00 and Calvin is already snoring in the other room, enjoying the luxury of naps whenever he feels so inclined.  I brought a volume of the trilogy of Anne of Green Gables with me.  There's no one quite as positive as Anne and I find that reading about an orphan who turned out so marvelously, albeit a fictional one, has had a cheering effect on me.  I also find that the luxury of slower days opens my mind to more planning and dreaming.  It's a good thing occasionally to not fill every moment of our days.  

Wednesday July 21, 2010

We just got back to our apartment.  It’s about 9:15 at night. After we climb the five levels to our apartment, you’ve never seen two people strip faster after we close the door.  No, it’s not a romantic retreat, it’s just so blinkin’ hot we can’t get under the air conditioner fast enough.  As soon as we leave the house in the day, we are almost immediately wet because of the high humidity, and we stay that way the rest of the day.  (Think: sweat literally rolling down your back.)

Today we went to the orphanage and picked up Anastasia.  We took a bus into town and did some shopping at the outside market.  We bought her a very cute skirt and got a bite to eat at an outside BBQ (Tatar style).  We then went back to the orphanage where Calvin played tag with the boys.  It was so fun to watch the boys show off for us afterwards.  They all look like athletes and gymnasts.  

Anastasia with a couple of the other children at the orphanage

Anastasia and Cheryl at an outside restaurant (Tatar style B-B-Q)

Calvin playing tag with the boys at the orphanage

There are quite a few 15-16 year old boys who can do back flips off of trees and handrails.  They jump off of roofs and bounce off of window ledges.  They have quite a small courtyard that has a volleyball net strung across it, and a ping pong table in a roofed patio area.  They play in this small area daily (no grass) and so they have turned every surface into a potential toy.  It almost makes me wonder if we take some of the creativity away from children when we give them so many toys, although I really think they need more space and their set up is sparse.  It’s amazing to me what they’re able to come up with on their own and their little bodies all look so sturdy and lean and solid.

Sadly, some of the best candidates for adoption (smart, healthy, respectful and hard working) are some of these older boys.  What tremendously fine sons they would make, but finding families for them would be close to impossible.  They still hang around nearby, obviously trying to catch our eye in the hopes that we might be their ticket to a family.  It was good to see Sergei (13) and Dima (16) who were hosted last year by Lilly and Ken.  Sergei couldn’t get enough of us and stayed very close.  He said to give a VERY big hello to Lilly and Ken.  (If somebody could forward this to them I’d appreciate it, I don’t think they’re following our blog).  Vera wondered out loud if Dima is regretting his decision not to get adopted now that he is older.  She says she thinks that he probably understands now that the odds of their mother taking them back is probably nil.  Sad.

Tuesday July 20, 2010

Yesterday (Tuesday) was our meeting with Lyubov, a director of child welfare in the girl’s hometown.  It was a long trip in a van that Natasha got us.  The driver was a short, dark, hairy beer- bellied guy who wore his shirt completely open.  He actually looked a lot like that Italian guy who had a crush on Sandra Bullock in “While You Were Sleeping.”  (For those of you who have any affinity towards Seinfeld - I won’t tell you our driver’s name, but it rhymes with Mulva!)  

Our cab driver

It was pleasant to see the farmlands and roadside fruit and vegetable stands. The roads are a little smoother here than what we experienced three years ago in Sumy. We drove about an hour and a half to the city where her 17-year-old sister Valentina (or Valya) lives. We picked her up there and took her to the girl’s hometown called Karasnoverekopsk (say that three times fast!).  The purpose of the meeting was to get the okay to separate the sisters.  Valya is 8 1/2 months pregnant and adoption is obviously not an option for her.  She still needed to write a letter indicating she gives her permission for her sister to be adopted, without her, as she is not 18 yrs old yet.

Valya (Valentina-left), with Anastasia (right)

Anastasia supporting her sister, Valya, as she writes her separation letter

Lyubov Vladimirnova (the lady inspector) took some time speaking directly with the girls and reminding them of the neglected situation their family was in when the state took custody. She described the house and the state of their alcoholic parents.  She asked them directly if they thought it was right that she took them away from their parents.  Anastasia was reluctant to reply but Valentyna who is two years older said it was good that they were taken away.  I’m sure it was a difficult meeting for the girls, but I think a good and necessary step for some closure, especially for Anastasia.  I noticed that she seemed more affectionate than ever on our way home. We went out for pizza and gave Valya a small gift for her baby and for herself from Anastasia and then we gave her a little money to help with the expense of childbirth.

Left to right: Valya, Lyubov (the inspector), Anastasia, Calvin, and Cheryl

What made this most interesting was that Lyubov (the lady inspector) was the woman who took these children away from their parents when Anastasia was about eight years old.  She had an excellent memory of the situation because she has been involved in the subsequent separations of the 5 sisters and has reviewed the case several times.  Also, it seems that their birth mother took some kind of retaliation on her after she took the kids away.  She wouldn’t say exactly what she did, only to say it was unpleasant.  

It was a little heart wrenching to see these girls say goodbye.  They did so with very little emotion, aware and timid of the attention on them, but Anastasia said she talked to Valya later and they were both in tears.  I worry very much about this young 17 year old mother, who has a young boyfriend and has never had an example of a good family to help her raise her own child. She seems much more sweet and unworldly than I’d expected.  The father thankfully has plans to go to school and is currently working.  We’ll add her to our list of people we regularly pray for.
Anastasia’s adoption and trip to Kiev will happen sometime around the baby’s due date.  I think she’d never forgive us if we didn’t let her see her new niece or nephew, so I hope he/she comes sooner than later.  

The latest updated schedule for our adoption is to have our court date in a week (Thursday July 29th).  The Interpol reports only come in about once a week and ours wasn’t there on Tuesday, otherwise things would be moving along sooner! We will probably be returning home around next Saturday (July 31st) and then one of us will return to Ukraine to finish the process and pick up Anastasia about a week–and-a-half later.  

We are feeling healthy and doing quite well. Our main complaint is that this stone mattress and the jolting buses are not the best for our backs, but all the walking is probably pretty good for them, so overall we are doing great.  We got our hot water back yesterday, so no more cold showers! Our main problem is just a little homesickness for our beautiful family at home.  We are so appreciative of Margie who has taken our two sons on a Lake Powell family vacation with them.  I can only imagine how much fun they are having with Kent teasing them a mile a minute! Nadia is back safe and sound from her trip to Oregon and the girls sound great holding down the fort and keeping Grandpa out of trouble.  Love you girls!  

Monday July 19, 2010

Just a quick post:

Today was a great day.  We went to the notary (who is more like an attorney in Ukraine) and got some documents notarized.  Don't ask me for sure which ones, I think it was intention to adopt.  I would not make a great attorney!  We then went to the apartment while Natasha and Vera ran around trying to get hold of the Director over Feodocia.  Finally tonight at about 8:15 pm we went into a building and signed some papers allowing us to travel out of the city to get legal separation papers signed by Anastasia's older sister Valya.  We bought a gift for her and her new baby because tomorrow at 6:00 am we will travel to the city where Valya lives, pick her up if she's able/willing to travel.  She's almost full term pregnant.  Then we will take her to the birth city  of the two girls for the official signing of the sibling separation papers.

Pray that we'll have a safe and successful trip tomorrow.  It looks likelу it will be a long but interesting day. 

Cheryl and Calvin outside the office of the notary (attorney)

Sunday July 18, 2010

Today we took a guided tour of the town of Feodocia.  Below are a couple pics of some parts of the town.  

Natash, Cheryl, Anastasia and Calvin in front of a well which was built under the direction of Ivan Aivozovsky, a famous painter/engineer of Feodocia.

Calvin, Cheryl and Anastasia in front of a monument

A portion of the origional city wall of Feodocia, built 13th/14th century.