We decided not to visit Katya today because this will be her last weekend with her friends (and she knows that).   She can make her goodbyes- play in a routine - eat cabbage soup (ick) because MONDAY at NOON- she will be leaving with us.  Plus we had to get ourselves organized- get the donations ready (we have 4 33 gallon garbage bags full of clothing, supplies and toys) going to the orphanage Monday.  (So for those of you who asked why we kept it so long... WE WERE TOLD TO!  We agree with you but Svetlana wanted to wait til the actual pickup day in case something goes wrong- and then we would have nothing to give a new orphanage.  I can understand her logic but it seems a waste.  Either way- we will be happy to get it out of the apartment!!)  Anyway- we have everything organized and ready to go.  We pulled out 2 outfits for Katya from the donations- that gives us enough to get her home washing every other day.

Let me say a heartfelt thank you- to all of you- whom we don't know- who have sent your well wishes and thanks during this journey.  It has made the blog well worth keeping up.  We have tried to include information for both our family and PAPs as we know that during our run up journey- we were reading every blog we could find that provided some sense of accurate information.  To cover some of the most common questions we have been asked:

1)  Medical Insurance- that requirement was stopped about 2 years ago- and is not required either in advance, for landing or during your stay.  I would ensure that your personal health insurance knows you are traveling in case something happens.  I put them, as well as all my credit cards I was planning to use, on notice.

2)  Credit Cards- they are accepted in BIG stores/restaurants primarily in the downtown area.  (TGI Friday's/Il Patio actually take American Express too- but otherwise, everyone else is a VISA and sometimes MASTERCARD society) Once you get outside of Kreschatik- it is a cash based society.  However, we DID NOT carry all of our cash  with us.  There are banks with ATMs on EVERY corner.  Again, alert your bank that you will be traveling and using your ATM.  Lots of the outside ATM's only offer up to 500 RHP which is only $100... a waste given you will be charged $4 to get it.  The ATM's INSIDE of the banks will offer up to 1000 RHP ($200) on screen or up to 2000 RHP ($400) if you type it in.  YES- the first selection is to do the transaction in English.

3)  Where is the SDA?-  If you are looking at a map of Kiev- look at the river on the left side where the riverside green parks end- you will see St. Michaels (Mykhailvs'ka pl).  The small road that juts off NW is Andriivs'kyi uzviz / Deslatynna.  The SDA is at the corner of the road, just across from St. Andrews church.  (see earlier blog entries for reference pictures)

4)  VISAs- No- you are not required to have a visa to enter the country.

5)  VIP service at the airport- personally I wouldn't use it.  It only took us 15 minutes to get through the line- and they were fine with the money we carried and that we were here for adoption.  Unless you have never traveled outside the US before and are not confident of your skills, would I spend the $130-$180 per person to use the service.

6)  The 2008 Quota- confirmed with Natasha and Svetlana- it has been eliminated!!! YEAH!!!  They are happy as well!

7)  English/other languages- there a very few folks here that speak English- learn basic Russian- EVERYONE here understands it.  At minimum, learn YES, NO, Please, Thank you, Smoking/No Smoking, How much?, Bill/Check, and Toilet.  Some practice rounds of charades- daily phrases, before you leave home, will help you as well!! To communicate with your child (as most are bi-lingual- Russian/Ukrainian)- learn Hungry, Thirsty, Toilet, Hot/Cold, Nauseous/Sick, Do you need help, Yes and NO!  Another good idea that worked for us- is that if you want to learn what something is called from your child, learn one or two words that are clearly NOT what it is- for example, we learned elephant and bear.  That way- you point to what ever it is (from a crayon to a shirt) and ask "Sloan?"  (eg elephant?).  She will laugh and correct you with "Nyet.....XXXX"  then repeat it a couple of times- she will help you with your pronounciation.  We have learned juicebox (souk) , candy (ba-shoop), and other critical words for her that way.  

8)  Meeting/Playing with your child- depending on the age... Katya is 5- so our first meeting, we brought food and a small stuffed animal.  The initial meeting is not very long- and you have to make a good impression quickly....lots of smiles and gentle natures.  On your first play date, bring something that is age appropriate.  What we brought that worked best over the weeks included an inflatable beach ball that looked like a globe (two uses in one!!), bubbles, coloring/sticker books, hair clips, Cereal (preferably something sweet like Frosted Flakes..called Snowies here)- this way it lasts longer than a piece of candy and is still sweet and Juice boxes- they tend to live on water or apple juice- so something sweeter like pineapple or grape is a good change.

9)  Independent adoption in the Ukraine (because we thought about it!)- for those of you who are thinking about trying to do this without a facilitator in country- you are NUTS!  The facilitators know who to call, where to go and how to get the best response.  Yes- it is money spent- but when you consider how long it takes most people who have tried to do this themselves, versus the facilitated ones- you will make up the money in days spent in country/eating alone!  Do I think they are able to "jump the line"- in many cases yes.  Do I think they are able to make things happen when something is closed or not taking applicants- ABSOLUTELY.  Also, check out your facilitator- there seems to be 16 "BIG" facilitators in country- they have several to numerous translators working for them.  The bigger facilitators all know each other and seem to have a great relationship.  It was because of Svetlana (our facilitator) that we were able to do a 5 week trip during the Christmas holidays!! 

If there are any other questions that need to be answered- please feel free to send me a comment- as you see, I don't post them- and will be happy to include the answer in my next blog entry.