Day Five – St. Sophia's Cathedral

A couple of days ago, Sherri noticed an advertisement for a classical music concert to be held at St. Sophia's Cathedral tonight. So, we visited St. Sophia's this afternoon – a very impressive place, with much original since the initial construction in 1017-1031. We also found an poster for the concert there and must have asked (mostly through pantomime) three or four people before we discovered the correct place to buy tickets. That's what we'll be doing tonight.

Otherwise, a quiet day. We walked down Andriyivsky uzviz (Andrew's decent) from the old town to the lower town of Podil. This steep cobblestone street is lined with souvenir vendors and art galleries. It's super slippery, too, since we were caught in rain showers on and off all day.

We ended at the Ukrainian Museum of Modern Art – it was so empty that they had to turn the lights on for us at 3:00p! Perhaps it is simply a real devotion to 'green' practices – we also noticed that every chandelier has only one working bulb. More evidence of this conservation mindset was the scolding I received from our landlord for having lights on in two rooms simultaneously.

Day Four – History Lessons

The adoption news from our new Memphis-area friends was about the same as ours, unfortunately. They were not offered children which matched their needs. And, like us, they declined all of their referrals and chose to wait for a second appointment next week. We continue to wish the best for them.

Yesterday's disappointment contributed to our lethargy this morning – we didn't sleep well and could not get started. And, how appropriate, after a few days of brilliant sun and hot weather, it's cold, gray and raining here today. We're trying to figure out how to get some work done here, balanced against learning more about Ukrainian culture to prepare for eventual activities and discussions with the child we hope to adopt. So, we decided that a city tour would be an efficient way to gain some knowledge and have the opportunity to ask questions.

Olga, our guide, was great and we spent three hours walking around (yes, in the cold rain most of the time) and learning some history of Kyiv and Ukraine. Folklore or fact, there are some incredible (and ancient) achievements documented in Kyiv. On Volodimir's Hill, the place where the first settlements were established in 482 A.D., there is a stone with an inscription suggesting that this was the birthplace of Kyiv Rus and the Slavic culture. And there is no shortage of amazingly beautiful cathedrals, although many have been destroyed during the conflicts that have played out here. St. Michael's Monastery, built in 1108 was destroyed during Soviet occupancy in 1936. It was rebuilt in 2001 and was one of the few photos we took, during a break in the rain.
We had our first authentic Ukrainian dining experience tonight at a place that specializes in varenyky (a stuffed dumpling) and men drinking vodka from an iced bottle kept on the table. From what we saw, each diner is expected to drink at least a pint of vodka plus a few 'soft drinks' (known in the US as beer)! Shockingly, we saw no one who seemed worse for the experience. While there, we received a call from Viktoria – our second appointment is the last one of the day on Tuesday, at 4:00p. So, if you're in the US, think of us at breakfast on Tuesday!

Day Three – Appointment to Review Dossiers

We had the first appointment of the day to review the dossiers of children available for adoption. Unfortunately, we were did not accept any of the referrals due to health concerns of the children we were offered. We were able to restrict the ages of the children to four years old and younger, one of our requirements. Initially, we were shown two files of girls, three and four years old. Both were impacted by fetal alcohol syndrome. We then relaxed our original preference for a girl and were shown additional dossiers of boys. One boy had a chronic joint disease that can not be effectively treated. The second boy had recent leg surgery to correct a physical defect, but more importantly, appeared to have other health issues and a family history of mental illness. Finally, we were presented with a set of twin girls, two years old. They were diagnosed with significant developmental delays and have two older sisters with demonstrated significant mental and cognitive problems.

Clearly, today did not turned out as we had dreamed, but we were grateful when we were offered a second appointment to review additional dossiers next Tuesday. We understand that most second visits require a wait of at least a week. We hope to have better luck on Tuesday. If not, we'll be back in Nashville sooner than expected.

Despite the outcome, we felt well served by our facilitators and by the government psychologist selecting the files for us to review. Viktoria and Galena were clearly as disappointed as we were.

Tonight, we will meet a family from the Memphis area hoping to adopt two boys. Their appointment is this afternoon. We're cheering for them and hope to learn of their good news over dinner.

Day One – On The Ground in Kyiv

Well, we make it to Kyiv! We zoomed through passport control and customs as 'VIPs', led by an all-business, no-nonsense guide. We were greeted by Viktoria, an English teacher who will be our translator and continuous guide during our time in Ukraine. She is an energetic, motherly person and we feel like we are in good hands. We were pleasantly surprised to find our Kyiv apartment to be quite modernized on the inside – it's a Soviet-looking, run-down building from the outside. Galena, our Kyiv-based facilitator (bureaucracy negotiator), speaks less English than Viktoria, but certainly has our best interests at heart. She greeted us with a big, warm hug and made sure that all of the Kyiv preparations were complete.

Even on just a few hours of sleep, we were able to get our mobile phone on the grid with a Kyiv number faster than we were able to get a land line in Lausanne! We also got the internet connected in our apartment, but it's TV or internet (only one cable). But with 500 channels and only two in English, no TV isn't a big deal. We had a pizza dinner and strolled down the main boulevard (Kreschatyk) to Independence Square, the site of the Orange Revolution only 17 years ago.

We saved just enough energy to swing through the 24 hour produce/meat/fish market (no need to return there!) and then on to what must be Kyiv's fanciest supermarket. So, we're equipped and rested (sort of) and ready for our big day on Thursday.

Successful Project Management!

Well, after nearly a year of paperwork, we have been invited to Kiev to adopt a child.