Thursday, January 31, 2008

The Walking Street

Marina had told us of a wonderful "walking street" which we had begun to think was just a myth, but today we found it! It is several blocks long, closed to vehicular traffic and is lined with stores. It is actually quite nice and sheds a new light on Khmelnytskyi. We took a few representative photos of the fashions we saw, keeping in mind that we must be discreet with the camera.

Ellen tried on more leather and fur - apparently they don't have fake fur in Ukraine, only the real kind. I found a watch that I may purchase. It is inexpensive and employs a swiss mechanical movement, but is manufactured here in Ukraine at the Kyiv Watch Factory.

It was an interesting day with the boys. Thomas has been an angel - today. Matthew was a bit out of sorts and cried much when it came time to end this morning's visit. It was really quite difficult to leave him and will probably only get harder. We showed the boys a picture of our house and Matthew treasures it. He has shown it to every adult in the place at least once, telling them it is his home, with Mama and Papa. He forgets Thomas, but Thomas doesn't seem bothered - he just keeps on talking and singing. It is clear that Matthew has some understanding of what is coming, and like a boy during the 3rd week of December, Christmas can't come soon enough - for all of us.

Fashion is king in Khmelnytskyi


Fur and boots. These are middle aged women, not kids.

These boots are made for walking

Today, there was snow in the air, and boots on the street. We've commented before about the fashion and boots and here's a sampling on a snowy day.
We saw this woman (below) in a store, and later on the street. She is quite high fashion and striking.

Our mothers didn't wear boots like this when they had us out as kids.

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Shopping Day

We had great visits with the boys. There was light snow and everything was wet so we didn't spend much time outside.

Taking an objective look, it seems we may have two of the loudest kids at the orphanage, and they're full of personality. It promises to be a fun flight back to JFK.

After the morning visit we found a department store and bought the boys shoes and jackets. There's lots more to buy as they leave the orphanage with absolutely nothing except perhaps a pair of undies.

I'd like to get Ellen a coat in the local fashion as they are striking. We found a black leather jacket with a black mink collar and mink cuffs - it was stunning on Ellen. Ellen has an issue with fur so I explained this was mink that had been hit by cars in Vermont but she doesn't believe that. We'll keep looking.

There are a lot of stray dogs here. We saved the meat bones from yesterday's borsch, cut off the meat and gave it to a puppy near the hotel. It's another cutie we'd like to bring home, but we're not sure about the passport photo session.

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Good Morning America

It is colder today. Our cheeks are rosy and we've just ordered borsch and pasta for lunch.

Good visit with the boys this morning. Matthew gave a warmer than usual greeting and Thomas worked hard to melt our hearts some more. We watched concrete piles being driven at an adjacent construction site which fascinated Matthew and his dad.

Big doings - an American couple from Illinois arrived late last night and made their first trip to the orphanage this a.m.

Monday, January 28, 2008

Road Trip!!!

We got another road trip to Krasyliv (another one next week!) this is a shot from the window of the car. We were doing 120km/hr - about 75 mph - on a pockmarked road that would be posted about 40 mph in the U.S. This is the municipal building in Krasyliv, on the main square. Note the Americanski woman. She's easy to spot because she is wearing sensible footwear rather than boldly colored boots with spiked heels. The statue of Lenin is just to the right of the photographer.


Court, and so much more

We arrived on schedule and waited around for a while in a run down corridor. We met the judge in her office with two witnesses, the prosecutor, orphanage director, member of Tutorial Council (who knows?) and our representative/interpreter, Marina. It was very professional, and somewhat intimidating, but we got through it successfully. Pending completion of the 10 day waiting period, the boys will become Kellys. Then it got wierd. Apparently the paperwork from the good folks of Krasyliv (you remember Krasyliv) didn't actually say they approved the boys for adoption. That meant the orphanage director would not agree this could all move forward...



So, we were off to the Inspectors's office in the dumpy building with Communist Party, then to the notary's office to start the passport applications, then off to Krasyliv.



In Krasyliv we sat in an attorney's office for two hours and watched Marina argue with the inspector we had coffee with last week. It was a pitched battle (all in Russian and Ukrainian)with the outcome never certain. At last we received assurance the proper revisions would be made and sent via fax and mail. Yet again a 30 minute outing with Marina turned into a day without food. We love her but she keeps us hungry and tired.



When we arrived at the orphanage at 4pm, the boys were out getting their passport photos taken. It's pretty much "hurry" or "stop" around here. We had a great visit with the boys and were able to ask lots of questions. So, all in all another great day in Khmelnytskyi oblast (look it up).

Introducing...

Given the 10 day waiting period, we hope this is not premature but...from left to right we have Mama, Thomas Nicholas Kelly, Papa, and Matthew Andrew Kelly.

Sunday, January 27, 2008

Week one is just about done

This week started what seems to be months ago, so much has happened. We're going through the beef jerkey at an alarming rate and may not have any left in another week - please feel free to send more.

Tomorrow we go to court at 10:00 am (3:00am EST) to see if they will approve our adoption of the boys. If successful, there is a 10 day waiting period for the adoption to become official. After that 10 day period we can obtain their birth certificates at the Department of Vital Records in Krasyliv. Remember Krasyliv? That's where we partied in town hall.

After getting the birth certificates, we can take the boys full time and travel to Kyiv. In Kyiv we will get them Ukrainian Passports (it's the law) and do the necessary paperwork at our embassy to make them U.S. citizens and allow them entry to the USA. Speaking of the USA, we miss it a lot and look forward to getting back there.

Nickolai had his first meltdown today. It was not pretty and he may get disowned in an airport some day soon. Andrei must be comfortable with us as he was not on his best behavior. He likes to rifle through pockets looking for candy and presumably anything else he can sell on the inside.

We hope to spice things up over the next few days with pictures of the footwear fashions here. This isn't Connecticut, and the women don't wear sneakers for the walk to their desk. Dosvidanya.

Scenic Khmelnytskyi

This is the view from our hotel window (11th floor) taken during the several minutes the sun was shining. Note the numerous apartment buildings of approximately the same size. There are extremely few single family homes here. This is our hotel. Note the letters are nonsensicle (sp?). Also note euro trash poser in lower left.

Saturday, January 26, 2008

Saturday Night in Khmelnytskyi

We had a couple of nice visits with the boys today. It's been great being able to spend time outside with them. We've settled into a comfortable routine, and the days go by pretty quickly. By the time we walk back from the orphanage in the morning, usually making a couple of stops along the way, have lunch at "our" restaurant across the street, and return to the hotel, it's not long until it's time to head off again for the afternoon visit.

We are so appreciative for all of the comments sent to us in response to the postings and (especially) photos. Keeping this blog has been a real comfort to us and helped us to continue feeling connected to those back home. We miss our family and friends so much, and can't wait to bring the boys home and see everyone soon.

Thanks for keeping us going!

Love,
Ellen & Chris

These are scenes from our walk between the orphanage and the hotel.

Looking down at the open air market
An official building Cars decorated for a wedding - we saw several weddings today.
The statue of Bohdan Khmelnytskyi for whom this city is named. Apparently he is also considered a father of Ukraine after having lead a Cossack uprising against the Poles.

In truth, Nickolai is always more into the packaging than the product itself. He enjoyed the bottle more than the bubbles.


Tour de' Kmelnytskyi here I come! Andrei likes to go fast down hill. Needs some work to climb the Khmelnytskyi Alps.


Friday, January 25, 2008

Today's update appears after the latest round of photos. You will probably have to click on "Older Posts" at the bottom of the page. Dosvidanya

Khmelnytski government building/Communist Party HQ


The grand foyer of the government building with the Communist Party inside. What's missing is the smell.


Ellen mastering Bi-lingual laptop for ages 4& up


"Yo Tough Guy!! Who you callin' shorty" - Nickolai


Andrei and unidentified American hand.


Clerk at Fox Mart - Internet star, he can spot Americans from a mile away


Friday Pictures

Just another average day in Khmelnytski. Wake up, brew coffee in hot pot, no filters, eat a piece of ham, some bread, bottled water...then get a cab to the orphanage. We had the boys out twice today and it was really great! There's a family of stray dogs that live on the grounds and it's kind of nice knowing they're there.

We agreed today that we would probably rather stay here then spend time in Kyiv as we feel better about walking around here and find the size (pop. 250,000 vs. 5,000,000) more manageable.

We walked back again after the morning visit and stopped in a couple of stores. It was colder today with snow in the air. We picked up a "bilingual laptop" toy we hope to use to great affect. Afterward we had lunch at Cafe LeMon across from our hotel. This is three days in a row and we've had the same waiter - we recognize each other - it is good and is now "our place". Borsch for the first time today - awesome! One disappointment - at the electronics store a clerk approached and said "May I help you?" He said he didn't overhear us talking, but that he just knew we were Americans. One of us may have cursed and then we took his picture and told him he'd be on the internet in America.

The boys are really terrific and Andrei especially has warmed to us. He comes across as sweet, but we saws signs of mischief. It's funny how boys (men) are the same everywhere - Andrei broke wind and we thought he'd pee his pants he was laughing so hard. Both boys are starting to pick up some English words.

We go to court either Monday or Tuesday - there will be pictures. After that there is a 10 day waiting period. Following the waiting period, we can take the boys full time at which point we'll head back to Kyiv for embassy paperwork and Ukrainian passports for the boys.

Time for dinner -beef jerkey, peanut butter crackers, bottled water, and maybe cookies for dessert.

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Miscellaneous

We had a nice visit with the boys tonight. It was the first time Nickolai showed signs of ever tiring, and Andrei told us he had to go to the bathroom - a most encouraging sign.

While we consider things inexpensive,and gas is only a little more than at home, we must remember that salaries here are meager.

A couple things of note are that you must pay for the plastic bag at any store unless you bring your own. Another is the lighting. If there are 4 ceiling fixtures, 1 will be lit, 2 at most. Everywhere at night is dim.

Lesson Learned

We were late arriving at the orphanage this morning. We did not realize the boys were told to expect us at 10am. We were told that Andrei cried when we were not there, thinking we had left. This shall never happen again!

The boys were great fun. Andrei is a terrific older brother, always looking out for Nickolai. Nickolai does not care to share. That came through loud and clear.

Sunny day. We walked back to the hotel - about an hour. We strolled through a street market. Lots of fish grain and old hardware. We also stopped in a war cemetary. All 1941 and 1944. We guess when the Germans arrived and when they were pushed out. There were mass killings of Jews in this area during that time.

The sun makes a big difference though there is a gray dust covering much of the place.

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

A most wonderful and amazing thing happened

Forget everything we said about these places - except the dingy part. We were concerned about this afternoon's meeting with the folks in Krasyliv since they could decide to not allow the adoption, and had already made what should have been a routine piece of paperwork into a dog and pony show. We picked up a new intepreter and rode out to Krasyliv and were briefed on what to expect - essentially a grilling. Later we learned that part oа this was they wanted to see "the Americans" (Americanskis). Our facilitators brought "gifts" which had us concerned.

Then it happened.

We went into a room where representatives of the Departments of Sports and Youth, Minor Age Children, Education, Social Services, Health, and a couple of others had gathered. The meeting was chaired by the head of the Town Council. After some easy questions they opened up.

We were told that all of these people had spent almost the entire day on our case doing paperwork and making phone calls. They then told us that the President of Ukraine had declared this the "year of adoption". They went on to thank us for what we are doing, asked that we take good care of their children and maybe one day they would return to visit Krasyliv. Several of the people then made brief speeches offering us good fortune and God's blessings. In essence they gave us their children. Even typing this now brings on waves of emotion. Never did we imagine this "dog and pony show" would become one of the most memorable events in our lives. We thanked them all for their warm wishes and for taking the time to be there today.

Aftward we hung out waiting for the head honcho who never showed, but during that time we learned (through our interpreter) that the head of Social Services became an orphan at age 15. We then went back to the Social Services office and enjoyed those gifts - tea, coffee, cookies and chocolate. Again, the warmth of the people and experience of enjoying good company (them speaking Ukrainian and laughing at our Russian), cookies and tea, while sitting in a stark office in a dimly lit, imposing communist style municipal building is beyond description.

We are changed.

Krasyliv Dept. of Social Services


Lenin in the main square - with all his friends


Main square in Krasyliv is closed to traffic


Our interpreter Rostick and Chris in Krasyliv


Wednesday Morning

We slept in, and the sun came out for a few minutes - most unusual. Things look better today. Andrei was outside when we arrived at the orphanage - he recognized us and came right over. We held hands walking in. Nickolai saw us and ran down the hall yelling to us. It was quite touching. We had nice play time.


We're off to the committee this afternoon in Krasiliav (I will check the spelling). Our facilitator Marina has gone to another city, so we are with Ludmillya (?) and some guy, who barely speek english (Marina was fluent). This promises to be an adventure.

Oh yes, Khmelnytski is pronounced just as it is spelled.

The Orphanage


Chris & Nickolai


Andrei


The Boys


Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Purgatory - Thy Name is Khmelnytski!

We're working on the long promised photos. We met the boys today and then so much happened. First know that this city is the definition of "dingy". Eveything is gray and dirty. Nothing is pretty - the aesthetics are most likely courtesy of communism.

Andrei just turned 5 on Jan 3. He is terrific. He greeted us by reciting a poem for Santa Claus. Nickolai is a very energrtic and active 3 year old (Sept. 5). He's a handful but seems to have a good heart. Both are diagnosed as psychologically delayed. Also Andrei had a potentially positive TB test though there are no signs of it.

From there we rushed to a lawyers office to initiate the adoption paperwork. We were told we had 30 min. To come up with names which we did - you'll have to be patient. Then to the "inspector's" office for more paperwork. This office was in a building that would be close to condemned in the USA. It also housed the Dept. of Transport and the Communist Party. Then things took a turn.

We had to head to where the boys were born to get permission to adopt them. We traveled 25km to a town with a Russian name, more dirt, a statue of Lenin, and stray dogs. There we were not given permission to adopt. After 90 minutes or so, we learned we must return tomorrow @ 4pm to appear in front of a committee with reps. From social workers, police, health dept. and maybe education. It turns out the boys' mother recently had a baby with a different man and while no one from their family has seen them in over a year, the question now is can they be separated from this new sibling. This will set everything back 1 day. I taught our facilitator the term "dog and pony show" and she found it apt.

From there back to the boys after a brief stop at court. Keep in mind our facilitator is the only one who we could speak English with. Not knowing the language is difficult, but the alphabet is what's hurting us - we can't make sense of the signs.

The boys call us mama and papa and gave us hugs and kisses goodbye. The language barrier is difficult, but we seem to communicate. More later.

Monday, January 21, 2008

Hello from Khmelnytskyi

We enjoyed a mostly frightening 4+ hour high speed trip to this city. The terrain was mostly flat, and the road mostly straight with a number of craters.

Tomorrow we go to the orphanage and are told there will be internet available to us, so hopefully some pictures at long last.

PS: Please don't ask us to pronounce this city's name.

Quite a Morning

We awoke well rested to fresh coat of slush and wintry mix. Then find the Giants won - there are no celebrations in the streets yet but there's still time.

We went to the adoption center will travel later today to see Nickolai and Andre tomorrow morning. They are 3 + 5. We understand they are 300km west of Kyiv. Not sure on the name of the city, but we've been told it is a "fashion" town and the women dress scantily.

More later. Hope to start posting pictures.

Sunday, January 20, 2008

We're Here

Well, we made it. Ellen probably got 3 hrs sleep on the plane and I got 2. We waited an hour at the airport for our ride to show up and had a long ride into and around town.

We're in a modest apartment that is clean and more than adequate. Time for sleep. More later. GO GIANTS!

Saturday, January 19, 2008

Time To Take Off

We're at JFK with time to spare, though one of us wasn't ready when our driver George arrived. You can guess who.

We're both eager to sleep on the 9hr 40min flight as we haven't had much this week.

Next stop Kyiv!

Monday, January 14, 2008

The journey of our lifetime began a year ago, and the time to travel is just now arriving. A week from today we will have our appointment at the National Adoption Center in Kyiv!