Wednesday, July 2, 2008
"I'm sorry Murray and Donna, but you are the last team to arrive...."
Well, today was our last day of being “tourista”. For those of you who are Amazing Race fans, it was not a good day for us. More on that later.
We woke up early again around 5:30 a.m., and headed out the door by 8:00 a.m. Took metro to Kyiv Percherskva (caves) Lavra (senior monestary). See link on our list of links. Overall it was a very moving experience. Tourists and Orthodox pilgrims alike flock to see the Lavra. Set on 28 acres on grassy hills along the Dnipro River, the monestery’s tight cluster of gold domed churches is a feast for all eyes. For Orthodox pilgrims this is the holiest of the holy land. It was founded in 1051 by Greek St. Antoniy after Orthodoxy became the official religion in Kyiv Rus. Looks like lots of action was happening around Kyiv at the turn of the 1000 century (See notes on St. Sophia & St. Michaels). Caves were dug out where the monks lived, studied and worshipped. When they died, their bodies were preserved without embalming by the caves cool temperatures and dry air. Their bodies are mummified to today, hence worshippers believe them to be holy men.
We started off by joining other worshippers in a very small church just outside the walls of the lower lavra, where one priest blessed us on the head with a “hat” and then another anointed our forehead with oil. Women were chanting a song over and over again, and many people prayed in front of icons. It was very crowded but a very moving experience for us.
We proceeded to the Church of the Raising of the Cross which is the entrance to the first set of caves. Tourists are allowed only in some parts of the caves, as other areas are closed off to monks and orthodox clergy. We walked in completely dark passages, all but light by thin bees wax candle we were holding. The passages were very narrow and low, so Murray had to watch his head. You could see the mummified monks clothed in vestments behind glass. It was somewhat chaotic in the caves with worshippers moving from one monk to the next kissing the tombs, and lost in their religious ecstasy, the candle fames could easily have set head scarfs on fire. Hence we did not stay long in the caves.
From the Lavra we made our way to the statue of Rodina Mat (Nation’s Mother or formerly called Defence of the Motherland Monument commemorating the Great Patiotic War, WWII). The 62 m tall statue is also nick named “Tin Tits”. Looking over the Lavra churches, it was no doubt intended to symbolically give an impression of Soviet domination over the Ukrainian church. See photo of Murray paying homage to this great woman!
So, if we were in the Amazing Race, up to this point we would have been right in the middle of the pack. But things went wrong when we decided to cut across country to get to a different Metro station and see a different area of Kyiv. We ended up lost on a winding side street. We both were very tired (and cranky) from all the walking in the mid day heat. In the end, we hailed a cab to take us to the metro---less than 5 min ride for 40 hyrvnia---got very ripped off. Had we arrived at the check-in this day, Phil and some Ukrainian divchenka in traditional garb (i.e. with stilettos, tight low-cut jeans and short shirt and no bra) we would have definitely been the last team and eliminated from the race!
We were both exhausted when we got back to the apt that we slept from 6-8 p.m. Murr woke up and thought it was already the next morning and freeked out a bit.
We are getting messages of well wishes from friends and family back home for our appointment tomorrow. Your support means a lot.
One observation….Kyiv has more cars than it can handle. Cars park everywhere---on the street, or on part of the street and part of the sidewalk; on the sidewalk; in flower beds. And there isn’t a single parking meter to be seen. Looks like this city is missing out on some major revenue, and then loss in parking controls.
We woke up early again around 5:30 a.m., and headed out the door by 8:00 a.m. Took metro to Kyiv Percherskva (caves) Lavra (senior monestary). See link on our list of links. Overall it was a very moving experience. Tourists and Orthodox pilgrims alike flock to see the Lavra. Set on 28 acres on grassy hills along the Dnipro River, the monestery’s tight cluster of gold domed churches is a feast for all eyes. For Orthodox pilgrims this is the holiest of the holy land. It was founded in 1051 by Greek St. Antoniy after Orthodoxy became the official religion in Kyiv Rus. Looks like lots of action was happening around Kyiv at the turn of the 1000 century (See notes on St. Sophia & St. Michaels). Caves were dug out where the monks lived, studied and worshipped. When they died, their bodies were preserved without embalming by the caves cool temperatures and dry air. Their bodies are mummified to today, hence worshippers believe them to be holy men.
We started off by joining other worshippers in a very small church just outside the walls of the lower lavra, where one priest blessed us on the head with a “hat” and then another anointed our forehead with oil. Women were chanting a song over and over again, and many people prayed in front of icons. It was very crowded but a very moving experience for us.
We proceeded to the Church of the Raising of the Cross which is the entrance to the first set of caves. Tourists are allowed only in some parts of the caves, as other areas are closed off to monks and orthodox clergy. We walked in completely dark passages, all but light by thin bees wax candle we were holding. The passages were very narrow and low, so Murray had to watch his head. You could see the mummified monks clothed in vestments behind glass. It was somewhat chaotic in the caves with worshippers moving from one monk to the next kissing the tombs, and lost in their religious ecstasy, the candle fames could easily have set head scarfs on fire. Hence we did not stay long in the caves.
From the Lavra we made our way to the statue of Rodina Mat (Nation’s Mother or formerly called Defence of the Motherland Monument commemorating the Great Patiotic War, WWII). The 62 m tall statue is also nick named “Tin Tits”. Looking over the Lavra churches, it was no doubt intended to symbolically give an impression of Soviet domination over the Ukrainian church. See photo of Murray paying homage to this great woman!
So, if we were in the Amazing Race, up to this point we would have been right in the middle of the pack. But things went wrong when we decided to cut across country to get to a different Metro station and see a different area of Kyiv. We ended up lost on a winding side street. We both were very tired (and cranky) from all the walking in the mid day heat. In the end, we hailed a cab to take us to the metro---less than 5 min ride for 40 hyrvnia---got very ripped off. Had we arrived at the check-in this day, Phil and some Ukrainian divchenka in traditional garb (i.e. with stilettos, tight low-cut jeans and short shirt and no bra) we would have definitely been the last team and eliminated from the race!
We were both exhausted when we got back to the apt that we slept from 6-8 p.m. Murr woke up and thought it was already the next morning and freeked out a bit.
We are getting messages of well wishes from friends and family back home for our appointment tomorrow. Your support means a lot.
One observation….Kyiv has more cars than it can handle. Cars park everywhere---on the street, or on part of the street and part of the sidewalk; on the sidewalk; in flower beds. And there isn’t a single parking meter to be seen. Looks like this city is missing out on some major revenue, and then loss in parking controls.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Hangin in Kyiv
It's been a weekend of getting oriented in Kyiv: figuring out where the markets are, learning the Metro (including how to avoid vertigo when going down 250 metres escalators at 45 degree slopes), watching Al Jazeerah TV news channel (without doubt best news channel I’ve seen), touring some sights.
What are highlights of the weekend? (1) Meeting our facilitator and family and enjoying a dinner at their apartment. (2) Going to church as St. Michaels with a bishop officiating along with 6 priests and a dearth of deacons…those Orthodox priests must have a light workload over here (j/k). (3) Touring St. Sophia Cathedral and being able to touch a piece of the thousand year old floor of the original Cathedral. (It was built in 1017-31 to celebrate Prince’s Yaroslav’s victory to protect Kyiv from tribal raiders. Think about all the people who may have walked over that tile…) (4) Walking around Kyiv and enjoying its modern post-Communism environment and how it changed since Donna visited in 1987. (5) Settling in our apartment and catching up on some sleep even if we are waking up at 5 a.m. (6) Recovering Donna’s lost bag fully intact. (7) and Riders smoked the Eskimos (see Rider link on our blog).
Amusement for Sunday was provided by Murray. It was mid-afternoon, at Volodymyrsky market, hoping to pick up a few things, hop back onto the metro and have lunch, as we both were getting peckish since not eating since breakfast. And we were both getting tired after standing in church for 3 hours plus lots of walking/sightseeing. When we bought “4’ eggs for tomorrow’s breakfast we were surprised to find the lady placing each egg carefully in a thin clear plastic bag, to which she handed over to Murray while Donna paid the equiv of 40 cents. Why 4 eggs and not a dozen? We don’t know if we will be staying in Kyiv or for how long after the adoption appointment on Tuesday, so there is no point buying too much food at this point for the apartment. Murray was feeling quite tired
by this time, and hungry, and as the temperature was getting warmer outdoors, his top two buttons in his shirt were undone, but his tie was still on, and one side of his shirt had come out of his pants. Needless to say by the time we hopped back on the metro to go back to our apartment, the people gave him strange looks as he looked more like an afternoon drunk carrying a bag of four eggs. It was a sight to see. (And the eggs made it home safely.)
But on the positive side, the “excessive drinking” seems to be helping Murray better pick up Ukrainian Cyrillic alphabet. He is getting pretty good at the Metro and station names especially.
We also had a visit at our apartment from a Doctor who helps support families in international adoption. He spent well over one hour with us going over the possible medical diagnoses we may expect in the adoption file for each child. He told us some things we already knew, and also other things that will help us to better understand what conditions could be treated, not treated, or not accepted by Canadian immigration standards. He also gave tips on what information to look for in the files that will be presented to us at the State Adoption Agency (SDA). He helped to assure us that in many cases the medical conditions could be dated and/or overly exaggerated in the files and that seeing the child(ren) would give much better information.
We have one more day of touring on Monday (Caves Monestary), before July 1 and our appointment. We haven’t been notified of the time of our appointment. So, as everyone is back in Canada celebrating Canada Day, think of us, and send your well wishes and prayers this way.
What are highlights of the weekend? (1) Meeting our facilitator and family and enjoying a dinner at their apartment. (2) Going to church as St. Michaels with a bishop officiating along with 6 priests and a dearth of deacons…those Orthodox priests must have a light workload over here (j/k). (3) Touring St. Sophia Cathedral and being able to touch a piece of the thousand year old floor of the original Cathedral. (It was built in 1017-31 to celebrate Prince’s Yaroslav’s victory to protect Kyiv from tribal raiders. Think about all the people who may have walked over that tile…) (4) Walking around Kyiv and enjoying its modern post-Communism environment and how it changed since Donna visited in 1987. (5) Settling in our apartment and catching up on some sleep even if we are waking up at 5 a.m. (6) Recovering Donna’s lost bag fully intact. (7) and Riders smoked the Eskimos (see Rider link on our blog).
Amusement for Sunday was provided by Murray. It was mid-afternoon, at Volodymyrsky market, hoping to pick up a few things, hop back onto the metro and have lunch, as we both were getting peckish since not eating since breakfast. And we were both getting tired after standing in church for 3 hours plus lots of walking/sightseeing. When we bought “4’ eggs for tomorrow’s breakfast we were surprised to find the lady placing each egg carefully in a thin clear plastic bag, to which she handed over to Murray while Donna paid the equiv of 40 cents. Why 4 eggs and not a dozen? We don’t know if we will be staying in Kyiv or for how long after the adoption appointment on Tuesday, so there is no point buying too much food at this point for the apartment. Murray was feeling quite tired
by this time, and hungry, and as the temperature was getting warmer outdoors, his top two buttons in his shirt were undone, but his tie was still on, and one side of his shirt had come out of his pants. Needless to say by the time we hopped back on the metro to go back to our apartment, the people gave him strange looks as he looked more like an afternoon drunk carrying a bag of four eggs. It was a sight to see. (And the eggs made it home safely.)But on the positive side, the “excessive drinking” seems to be helping Murray better pick up Ukrainian Cyrillic alphabet. He is getting pretty good at the Metro and station names especially.
We also had a visit at our apartment from a Doctor who helps support families in international adoption. He spent well over one hour with us going over the possible medical diagnoses we may expect in the adoption file for each child. He told us some things we already knew, and also other things that will help us to better understand what conditions could be treated, not treated, or not accepted by Canadian immigration standards. He also gave tips on what information to look for in the files that will be presented to us at the State Adoption Agency (SDA). He helped to assure us that in many cases the medical conditions could be dated and/or overly exaggerated in the files and that seeing the child(ren) would give much better information.
We have one more day of touring on Monday (Caves Monestary), before July 1 and our appointment. We haven’t been notified of the time of our appointment. So, as everyone is back in Canada celebrating Canada Day, think of us, and send your well wishes and prayers this way.
Friday, June 27, 2008
Bitaemo Kyiv!!
Got up in morning after a pretty good sleep. Found out that Donna’s pack got left in Vancouver. Got all ready to leave Frankfurt on the plane and everything, when low and behold, the plane was not working. So, everything and everyone from that plane had to transferred to another plane. This was the second delay we had traveling with Lufthansa. So the lesson is: Maybe the German trains run on time, but so far both our flights on a German airline left an hour late.
Going through Ukrainian customs was a breeze and the 75 pairs of shoes made it through with no hassle. Leonid, our drive, was there to meet us at the airport, and as soon as he spotted Murray in the crowd and connected him his name as “Long”, he chuckled! It was close to 1 hour to drive to our apartment. Traffic is quite horrendous in the streets of Kyiv, although we have experienced more hair-raising drives in our travels through the Philippines, and other parts of SE Asia.
Our apartment is in downtown Kyiv, with a combined living/bedroom, small kitchen, bathroom with a washer/dryer combo. There is a huge grocery store next door where we stocked up on food, and Murray wanted to try out other Ukrainian beers beside the Slavutych he’s used to getting at Folkfest. The weather is sunny and warm. We are spending the evening relaxing in our apartment, still somewhat tired from the jet lag.
Driving through the streets in Kyiv, many sights looks familiar to Donna who was here in 1987 (St. Sophia Sobor; St. Andrew’s Church, Dynamo Stadium), although the place has c
hanged dramatically with many, many more new, luxurious cars on the streets, more colour for signs, people dressed very nicely, and more Soviet style propaganda replaced by Ukrainian nationalism---blue & yellow flags (take note of the banner on our blog), signs proclaiming “I’m Ukrainian”, or “For Ukraine”, etc.
After all the effort we’ve put into this adoption process for the past three years, we can hardly believe that we are finally in Ukraine!
Going through Ukrainian customs was a breeze and the 75 pairs of shoes made it through with no hassle. Leonid, our drive, was there to meet us at the airport, and as soon as he spotted Murray in the crowd and connected him his name as “Long”, he chuckled! It was close to 1 hour to drive to our apartment. Traffic is quite horrendous in the streets of Kyiv, although we have experienced more hair-raising drives in our travels through the Philippines, and other parts of SE Asia.
Our apartment is in downtown Kyiv, with a combined living/bedroom, small kitchen, bathroom with a washer/dryer combo. There is a huge grocery store next door where we stocked up on food, and Murray wanted to try out other Ukrainian beers beside the Slavutych he’s used to getting at Folkfest. The weather is sunny and warm. We are spending the evening relaxing in our apartment, still somewhat tired from the jet lag.
Driving through the streets in Kyiv, many sights looks familiar to Donna who was here in 1987 (St. Sophia Sobor; St. Andrew’s Church, Dynamo Stadium), although the place has c
hanged dramatically with many, many more new, luxurious cars on the streets, more colour for signs, people dressed very nicely, and more Soviet style propaganda replaced by Ukrainian nationalism---blue & yellow flags (take note of the banner on our blog), signs proclaiming “I’m Ukrainian”, or “For Ukraine”, etc.
After all the effort we’ve put into this adoption process for the past three years, we can hardly believe that we are finally in Ukraine!
Thursday, June 26, 2008
The Travails of Travels....
Guutentaag from Frankfurt!! We are in Europe!
Our flight arrived in Frankfurt at 11:20 a.m., just about the time Murray predicted our arrival with the 1 hour delay leaving Vancouver. We then flew right over Fort McMurray. (Natasha and Kara: We asked the pilot to beep his horn when he flew over. Did you guys hear it?)
Our flight went over close to the north pole, and it remained bright and sunny the entire 10 ½ hr trip. Our seats were on the outside of plane, but near the stairs going down to the toilet rooms---yes these were located “downstairs” on the plane-----and people waiting for their turn would take up rather “loud” conversations with other travelers. So we got little sleep on the flight and arrived in Frankfurt quite tired, only to discover that Donna’s backpack got left behind somewhere. So we are waiting for her stuff. But don’t worry, she looks pretty good in Murray clothes as long as she rolls up the legs. Actually Donna was smart enough to exchange sets of clothes between her bag and Murrays....he did not give any pants!
We certainly do hope Donna’s backpack will catch up with us in Frankfurt so we can take it with us when we clear customs in Ukraine. We already learned of other families whose bags did not make it with them, and ended up with missing stuff from their bags because they weren’t present when Ukrainian customs went through them. I’m not so concerned about my clothing and personal items. It’s the adoption related stuff, and stuff we have for the kids that I wouldn’t want to go missing.
We spent the afternoon walking around “Romer” area in Frankfurt; many of the buildings had not been destroyed during WWII, so there are plenty of interesting old buildings to see as we walked around the cobble streets. With little sleep and jet lag, we were wavering in the afternoon, and decided to stop for a coffee. There are lots of bakery style coffee shops in Frankfurt with tasty treats. It was interesting trying to explain to the server that Donna wanted decaf latte and she did not understand. A customer standing next to me called someone and said “decaf”. She got off the phone and said “decaf is impossible”. Okay, let’s add lots of milk to the latte instead! Murray himself is quite into the German beer. PROST!!!
Our flight arrived in Frankfurt at 11:20 a.m., just about the time Murray predicted our arrival with the 1 hour delay leaving Vancouver. We then flew right over Fort McMurray. (Natasha and Kara: We asked the pilot to beep his horn when he flew over. Did you guys hear it?)
Our flight went over close to the north pole, and it remained bright and sunny the entire 10 ½ hr trip. Our seats were on the outside of plane, but near the stairs going down to the toilet rooms---yes these were located “downstairs” on the plane-----and people waiting for their turn would take up rather “loud” conversations with other travelers. So we got little sleep on the flight and arrived in Frankfurt quite tired, only to discover that Donna’s backpack got left behind somewhere. So we are waiting for her stuff. But don’t worry, she looks pretty good in Murray clothes as long as she rolls up the legs. Actually Donna was smart enough to exchange sets of clothes between her bag and Murrays....he did not give any pants!
We certainly do hope Donna’s backpack will catch up with us in Frankfurt so we can take it with us when we clear customs in Ukraine. We already learned of other families whose bags did not make it with them, and ended up with missing stuff from their bags because they weren’t present when Ukrainian customs went through them. I’m not so concerned about my clothing and personal items. It’s the adoption related stuff, and stuff we have for the kids that I wouldn’t want to go missing.
We spent the afternoon walking around “Romer” area in Frankfurt; many of the buildings had not been destroyed during WWII, so there are plenty of interesting old buildings to see as we walked around the cobble streets. With little sleep and jet lag, we were wavering in the afternoon, and decided to stop for a coffee. There are lots of bakery style coffee shops in Frankfurt with tasty treats. It was interesting trying to explain to the server that Donna wanted decaf latte and she did not understand. A customer standing next to me called someone and said “decaf”. She got off the phone and said “decaf is impossible”. Okay, let’s add lots of milk to the latte instead! Murray himself is quite into the German beer. PROST!!!
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Heading Out
A-minus 6 days. A week from today is our appointment at the SDA. We spent today packing up and getting things ready as we leave tomorrow. We got everything we planned to take into one backpack each, one carry on each, plus one huge duffle bag of 75 pairs or DAWGS kids shoes, and other stuff for the orphanage. It's been a few years since we last traveled internationally, so we had to remind ourselves of what we really needed for this trip, verses what would be nice to have. So that meant limiting the clothes we are taking, pouring shampoo and soap into smaller bottles, and going over the medications twice to make sure we had everything we needed---for us and the children. With the commotion around the kitchen island getting the bags packed, the cats could sense there was something going on. And they even slept on one of the bags. Should we just pack them up with us!
Thanks to everyone for vistis, emails and phone calls, sending us prayers and good wishes for our journey ahead. We really appreciate all your support and encourage during this time in our lives. We also want to thank everyone who's helped us to get ready for this adoption----everything from doing translations, finishing the deck, "kiddifying the house", cleaning the house, designing our blog banner, driving us to the airport.....and so much more!
We been wating for this day to come for so many years, that it's hard to believe its finally here. "Pa Pa" for now (Ukrainian for "bye bye") and we'll be in touch again from Frankfurt & Kyiv. We love to read your posts on our blog.
Thanks to everyone for vistis, emails and phone calls, sending us prayers and good wishes for our journey ahead. We really appreciate all your support and encourage during this time in our lives. We also want to thank everyone who's helped us to get ready for this adoption----everything from doing translations, finishing the deck, "kiddifying the house", cleaning the house, designing our blog banner, driving us to the airport.....and so much more!
We been wating for this day to come for so many years, that it's hard to believe its finally here. "Pa Pa" for now (Ukrainian for "bye bye") and we'll be in touch again from Frankfurt & Kyiv. We love to read your posts on our blog.
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