Tuesday, July 8, 2008
And the most important news...
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Ukraine by Metro, Train and Automobile
After our appointment on July 1, we were not able to book a train ticket until Thursday, July 3rd in the evening. So we had all day on the 2nd and most of the day on the 3rd to be tourists in Kiev. Some of the things we did:
Traveled to outskirts of Kyiv to the Ukraine Museum of Folk Architecture where we were able to see houses from different regions of Ukraine.
Attended the Ukrainian National Opera and a rendition of Verdi’s the Masked Ball.
Unfortunately the opera was in Italian and “subtitles” in Russian so it was even hard for Donna to follow. Had to do a “google” of the play when we got home to figure out what was going on.
Went to a large market on the metro north of Kiev. The number of stores and the selection puts West Edmonton mall to shame. Of course the stores are just stalls, but it’s a good place to make a deal. And Donna was in shopping heaven.
Visited Chernobyl Museum which commemorated the lives lost including the fire fighters and army officers who went in to clean up the mess after the nuclear reactor exploded.
Climbed “Andrews Descent” (Andrivskiy Uzviz) (which seemed “oxy-moronical” to Murray…) which is an historic road from St. Andrew’s Church down to the lower town of Kyiv along the river. Along the street are vendors selling many cultural wares, so we did some wheeling and dealing on Ukrainian embroidered shirts and Donna was almost sweet-talked into the full outfit.
On July 3rd, we left our $70/night apartment…Kyiv ain’t cheap and got prepared for our overnight train ride. But first we experienced our first metro rides on a regular business day. We have been on the trains in China, Tokyo and New York and nothing matched this as far as the sardine can crowds. You get to make some really close friends whether you like it or not on the Kyiv metro trains….
Then it was on to the overnight train to Donetsk in East Central Ukraine. From there we traveled by hired car to the city where the orphanage is located. The train was quite the experience. We were booked into first class, two sleepers per cabin for the 12 hour trip. The trip over all was comfortable, although we woke often during the night to the sudden jerking of the train. It was good to watch the country side as we traveled along. Lots of wheat and sunflowers and the crop looks good so far. But I guess that info is too late for those of you who are deciding whether to plant wheat or canola back home.
Special mention is required of the bathrooms on the train. On her visits, Donna felt like one of those workers at the Chernobyl site after the explosion. There was a 2 minute time limit for exposure and the aftereffects are yet to be determined at this point. I’d hate to see what 3rd class was like…
We arrived in Donetsk at about 7 a.m. Although “Y” (our interpreter, facilitator and guide and all-around dependable woman) had requested a minivan, we were met with a car. So we stuffed our stuff in (including the big duffle bag of 75 Dawgs shoes) and hit the road. The drive included passing through some smaller towns. In some ways it was no different that driving through a town like Lashburn on the way from S’toon to Lloydminster. The countryside was quite similar to home; the only weird part was that there were no farms anywhere. I have no idea where they store their equipment in Ukraine, but they must have it somewhere because there are a lot of acres in crop.
We have been in town now for three days. All we can say right now is that things are going very well. Your prayers are working and we are forever grateful to everyone. Thanks in particular to Rev. and Jimmy…you know why. Oh, and of course, thanks to God for where were we are at this point. Hope to give you some real news real soon…really we promise.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Appointment Day!
[Note: For the time being it is best for us not to provide too much detail about the appointment process or the children that were proposed for us. This is in the best interest of the children]
Our translator and right hand woman (We’ll call her “Y” for purpose of privacy at this point) called us at 8:30 a.m. to say that our appointment at the State Department for Adoptions (SDA) was at 12:00 p.m. We met Y just prior to the appointment. Things went very well. We will be heading off to south east Ukraine very soon to meet officials and then the children.
St Andrew’s Church is right beside the SDA office so we went in and said a prayer of thanks, took a deep breath and recovered from our very emotional experience. Your prayers and good wishes seem to be doing the job.
After resting a bit in the afternoon, went to the Canadian Embassy for a Canada Day BBQ. (BTW, Murray thanks all you taxpayers back in Canada that helped pay for the free hamburgers and non-stop beer). At the event we met other Canadian families who have adopted or are in the process of adoption just like us. O Canada was sung in English, then French, followed by the Ukrainian anthem. There was a funky Scottish band playing some Ukrainian tunes. It was good to visit with other Canadian expats.
I (Murray) then tried to sleep, but there’s a lot of things going through my mind as you can imagine. Stay tuned for the next episode of our adventures in Ukraine.
"I'm sorry Murray and Donna, but you are the last team to arrive...."
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
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.
