The Comforts of Home

Dave sez, Today was another slow day. We didn't have any plans other than stopping by the SDA office between four and five this afternoon to pick up our referral for Masha. Pretty simple. When we were bringing the boys home there were at least a half dozen or so couples waiting right along with us. usually there is at least one couple that is picking up their referral and then jumping on a train for a sixteen hour trip to the orphanage where their new son or daughter is. Cathy and I have been very fortunate and spoiled. Our three children are from an orphanage here in Kiev. We get to stay in town, in a very nice apartment near the center of everything. Most everything we need or want is within walking distance, or we can get there by bus or Metro (subway). Some of the more important trips like the notary, court, doctor's visit and the US Embassy, we'll get a ride to. I feel for the folks that come from the states, and Kiev is just one leg of their journey. Because, their journey is going to be more complicated than ours. Court may be in the region where their child is, But they may have to come sixteen hours back to the Embassy.

 

Parliament

Our apartment is just a five minute walk uphill from the SDA office. At the top of the hill, there is a small park across from the police and fire department. There is a cathedral at either end of the long building that houses both forces. Our apartment is behind the Hyatt; which sits across from one corner of the precinct houses. There is another hotel on the other end. Next door is the Diplomat Academy, then Parliament and the other cathedral.

 

 

This is the parking lot outside the Diplomat Academy, Parliament and the cathedral. Across the street to the right out of the photo is the small playground and park. The flags seem to mark what looks like a barricade.

 

Past all this, behind Parliament, is a long stretch of what looks like, from the outside, offices and apartments. There is a courtyard and then another stretch of building that ends at St. Andrew's Cathedral. When we were here bringing Justin home, they were laying the sod in back of St. Andrew's. We spent a lot of time walking down past St. Andrew's to the grocery, the bazaar and Roshen's Chocolate store. On Monday after our first SDA appointment, we saw a mural on the walk down to the grocery.

 



  

Today, that mural was being touched up.

 

This morning, we decided to walk up a little farther to where we spent a lot of time when we were bringing Ethan home. We went to the Billa grocery there. The store is in the downstairs of a building that houses a pharmacy and a cosmetics store. It looks like there are some offices on the upstairs floors.

 

Today we went back to the SDA and got our referral for Masha. This is our permission to visit her while we wait for our court date. We will go see the same judge we saw bringing Justin and Ethan home. We will ask to for permission to adopt her; to be change her name and to be named as her parents on her birth certificate.

 

 

On our trips here to Kiev, we've seen Domino's, near the grocery. Today we decided to stop in. What we find here, is that Kiev is an international city. We say, "English?" and most every one will say, "A little". There are comforts from home, like Domino's, McDonald's, Pepsi, Coke, just to name-drop a few. The challenge I've found is the ten-days between the court appearance and the court decree. That's when I start thinking about home. There's plenty of downtime. Once we have the court decree, there's so much activity, getting Masha's birth certificate, her passport photo, her physical, her visa from the Embassy. All that activity, there's really no time to think about being homesick, or to miss the creature comforts from home.

 

 

Tomorrow, we see Masha for the first time since we brought Ethan home. With everything going on here, we have not been able to Skype with her since before the Olympics. It will be so good to see her again!