John's Blog
Thursday, July 29, 2004
Friday running around
Friday, July 30, 2004
Today, we got up at 7:20 (since I woke up 20 minutes after I intended the alarm to go off). I couldn’t get the shower water heater to turn on, so we had cold showers. (I think it had something to do with the low water pressure at the time.)
Then, we drove over to the notary, and waited for Vika to get some paperwork started over there. (A notary here is sort of a cross between our notaries and our lawyers.) After the notary, we drove to the city hall to get some paperwork going there. (During most of these trips, we just waited in the taxi, while Vika worked her magic.) Then we headed over to the orphanage to get some papers we needed. Vika found out that a previous couple had bought a replacement ink cartridge for the orphanage’s printer, but it didn’t work! So, we took the box that it had come in, and added to our list the purchase of a new ink cartridge (which would then allow them to print out some of the things we needed!)
So, after another trip to city hall, we actually got out and signed some papers. (There may have been another city hall trip in there, but I think it was only 2.) These papers were a petition to the city to allow us to adopt, as well as changing the names of the children, and requesting to wave the 30 day waiting period. (I might have missed something, but those were the items that I cared about enough to remember.)
Now, we had some waiting to do, so we headed to the grocery store to by some food for the next day or two. I really like food, and could spend a few paragraphs on our trip to the store, but my blog entry is already going to be quite long. Maybe I’ll add some food information in one of the comments if someone requests it.
After the store, we went back to our rooms, and Vika cooked some of the Ukrainian breaded meat thingies that we bought. (Think ravioli without sauce, and with pork and beef instead.) We enjoyed some talking over the meal. (Vika is very good at striking up conversations with people, which is a big plus, since I’m sure that her friendliness has helped us quite a bit in the course of our paperwork.)
Around 2:30, Dmitri (or Dima, I’m never sure which I should call him), came to see us before he headed back to Kiev. Since we now know that we are adopting 3 children, we payed the extra money for the other 2. Dima was very happy for us, and we enjoyed chatting with him for several minutes. We had to be at the notary by 3:00, so we couldn’t go to eat with him, like he wanted us to do. I guess we’ll see him again before we leave, since routine is that he will bring us the final papers and take us to the airport. (That sounds like it is at least 2 weeks away, if things go smoothly.)
We got to the notary at around 3:00, and stood in a small, open hallway with a bunch of Ukranians who were waiting to get in. I got the impression that they weren’t very pleased when Vika just walked in (we waited in the hall still). After a bit, one of the ladies asked me something or other. Using my incredible language skills, I eloquently told them that I didn’t understand anything. (Ya ny’pinyemiao) They accepted this, and I sort of figured that they were trying to figure out who was in line first, and who had appointments, etc.
When Vika came back out, all she wanted was our passports, so we had to wait a little longer. She came back out again, and it was only to wait with us. But just a few minutes later, we were let in, and the lady notary took a little time filling ledgers with Ukrainian cursive writing. (It is rather interesting to watch. For some reason, it seems that they write slower than we do, but if I were to time it, I doubt that it would be the case. When I watch Vika write her signature, it looks like she finishes the first couple of letters, the goes back and starts by writing inside those letters, then extending out past that again. It might just be a signature-thing, but my curiosity is up, so I keep watching when I get the chance.)
Anyway, after the ledger and official papers were ready, Shelly and I each signed once on 2 very official looking sheets of paper, then twice in the ledger. One document was to for the city, and the other for the NAC. Both of them had something to do with requesting that they complete the adoption process.
It was near to 4:00, now. Vika asked us if we wanted to go to the orphanage, even though the children might not be available until 5:00. We said yes, but first we needed to pick up the printer cartridge. A nice little store with a lot of crayons, brushes, paper, pens, rulers, glue, copy machines, etc. was the place to go. The quickly found the cartridge we needed, and we payed 195 grivna for it (almost $40 – quite in line with U.S. prices).
Back at the orphanage, we gave them the cartridge, and this one worked! Woohoo! The secretary-like lady that we talked with was thankful, and she talked with Vika for quite a while, since we had to wait for the children to come back from wherever they were.
I think I’ll start a new blog entry for our visit with the kids, so hang onto your seats!
Today, we got up at 7:20 (since I woke up 20 minutes after I intended the alarm to go off). I couldn’t get the shower water heater to turn on, so we had cold showers. (I think it had something to do with the low water pressure at the time.)
Then, we drove over to the notary, and waited for Vika to get some paperwork started over there. (A notary here is sort of a cross between our notaries and our lawyers.) After the notary, we drove to the city hall to get some paperwork going there. (During most of these trips, we just waited in the taxi, while Vika worked her magic.) Then we headed over to the orphanage to get some papers we needed. Vika found out that a previous couple had bought a replacement ink cartridge for the orphanage’s printer, but it didn’t work! So, we took the box that it had come in, and added to our list the purchase of a new ink cartridge (which would then allow them to print out some of the things we needed!)
So, after another trip to city hall, we actually got out and signed some papers. (There may have been another city hall trip in there, but I think it was only 2.) These papers were a petition to the city to allow us to adopt, as well as changing the names of the children, and requesting to wave the 30 day waiting period. (I might have missed something, but those were the items that I cared about enough to remember.)
Now, we had some waiting to do, so we headed to the grocery store to by some food for the next day or two. I really like food, and could spend a few paragraphs on our trip to the store, but my blog entry is already going to be quite long. Maybe I’ll add some food information in one of the comments if someone requests it.
After the store, we went back to our rooms, and Vika cooked some of the Ukrainian breaded meat thingies that we bought. (Think ravioli without sauce, and with pork and beef instead.) We enjoyed some talking over the meal. (Vika is very good at striking up conversations with people, which is a big plus, since I’m sure that her friendliness has helped us quite a bit in the course of our paperwork.)
Around 2:30, Dmitri (or Dima, I’m never sure which I should call him), came to see us before he headed back to Kiev. Since we now know that we are adopting 3 children, we payed the extra money for the other 2. Dima was very happy for us, and we enjoyed chatting with him for several minutes. We had to be at the notary by 3:00, so we couldn’t go to eat with him, like he wanted us to do. I guess we’ll see him again before we leave, since routine is that he will bring us the final papers and take us to the airport. (That sounds like it is at least 2 weeks away, if things go smoothly.)
We got to the notary at around 3:00, and stood in a small, open hallway with a bunch of Ukranians who were waiting to get in. I got the impression that they weren’t very pleased when Vika just walked in (we waited in the hall still). After a bit, one of the ladies asked me something or other. Using my incredible language skills, I eloquently told them that I didn’t understand anything. (Ya ny’pinyemiao) They accepted this, and I sort of figured that they were trying to figure out who was in line first, and who had appointments, etc.
When Vika came back out, all she wanted was our passports, so we had to wait a little longer. She came back out again, and it was only to wait with us. But just a few minutes later, we were let in, and the lady notary took a little time filling ledgers with Ukrainian cursive writing. (It is rather interesting to watch. For some reason, it seems that they write slower than we do, but if I were to time it, I doubt that it would be the case. When I watch Vika write her signature, it looks like she finishes the first couple of letters, the goes back and starts by writing inside those letters, then extending out past that again. It might just be a signature-thing, but my curiosity is up, so I keep watching when I get the chance.)
Anyway, after the ledger and official papers were ready, Shelly and I each signed once on 2 very official looking sheets of paper, then twice in the ledger. One document was to for the city, and the other for the NAC. Both of them had something to do with requesting that they complete the adoption process.
It was near to 4:00, now. Vika asked us if we wanted to go to the orphanage, even though the children might not be available until 5:00. We said yes, but first we needed to pick up the printer cartridge. A nice little store with a lot of crayons, brushes, paper, pens, rulers, glue, copy machines, etc. was the place to go. The quickly found the cartridge we needed, and we payed 195 grivna for it (almost $40 – quite in line with U.S. prices).
Back at the orphanage, we gave them the cartridge, and this one worked! Woohoo! The secretary-like lady that we talked with was thankful, and she talked with Vika for quite a while, since we had to wait for the children to come back from wherever they were.
I think I’ll start a new blog entry for our visit with the kids, so hang onto your seats!
