Adopt Ukraine

We made it

The Pizzi's — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 10:20:11 GMT

The final entry for those of you die hard followers. We made it home- not without incident- but we are home. The flight, believe it or not, was really not bad. Katya was so excited on the first leg of Kiev to London, that her face never left the window. She stared and laughed the entire 3.5 hour trip. The break at Gatwick was well appreciated. We went immediately to the play center and took turns venturing out while she flipped and rolled and climbed. The flight out to Dallas was also pretty quiet. She fell asleep about 4 hours into it and stayed out until we landed. The trip through immigration was uneventful. No one was in line. The officer took us straight in- and in that wonderful Texas fashion- went through the papers and had everything stamped within about 30 minutes. Then it was on our way to the rental center- again- she was so fascinated by the bus ride- there were no issues. We started our hour drive home and she fell asleep. Unfortunately about 3 miles from home, the car in front of us swerved and rolled upside down into a ditch. We (and the car heading toward us) immediately stopped and started to handle the situation. Pam was flat on the ground, under the car trying to calm the driver- Paul was on the far side trying with another man to get the car door open. The other woman was on the phone to 911. Katya was asleep in the car...yeah... when it became clear that the men couldn't get the car door open- Paul went back to the car to check on Katya. She was bloodcurdling screaming and had once again gotten herself so upset that she had thrown up all over the car. So Paul got the honors of cleaning that up!! Once the police arrived and took over, we finished the final few miles home. Once we walked in- we were greeted by all the animals, who were very excited to see us- only Katya, despite all her reassurances that she liked animals, ran screaming from the house. It took about 90 minutes to calm her down and get her into the house.

By the next morning, she was sleeping with the husky. So ends our journey- and to quote others- our journey has only begun. Thank you for your support and well wishes!

Paul, Pam, Jake & Katya

WE'RE GOING HOME

The Pizzi's — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 10:39:17 GMT

just not Thursday! (more on that later) First a little dancing..... We have it! We have it! Her passport and her visa!!! (The all important golden challis)

Today started early- with us sitting in the medical center at 7:45am. At 9:30 we were finally invited in to see the doctor.... but to pass the time during this wait- we met Steve and Melissa (all you FRUA folks will know him at the guy who is adopting the three little boys- with the fabulous YouTube video- and the boys are even more adorable in person!) It was pure coincidence- and we had a great chat! The physical was less than exciting. He measured and weighed Katya, checked her lymph nodes and pronounced her healthy. ($85 for that?!?!) Then we had to wait on the paperwork - but we were on our way by 10am.

Straight to the embassy- we headed up to an empty window, where a clerk was waiting. She took all our paperwork and told us to wait 10 minutes. In 10 minutes, a consular officer invited us to a little office. He went through the papers, asked a few basic questions and said if we were willing to wait 30 minutes- we could leave with her visa. We waited and before 11am, we walked out with her visa. It was clearly a unique day- as he said the system wasn't overly busy and could process it fairly quickly! YAHOO- TRIUMPH- going home!!!!!!!

Until we called the airlines! No seats available out of Kiev on Thursday- 1st class only (only an additional $5000!!!) NOT! So we accepted seats for early Friday morning- and called our other airline who will take us from London to Dallas.... eh, they have no seats on Friday- maybe we should consider Thursday or Saturday. ARGHHH!!!! However, in our rounds of escalations, we stumbled across a senior manager, who found it in her heart to find us some seats- and we will be on home ground by dinner on Friday!!!!!!!!!

Tomorrow we will clean up the apartment and pack everything- getting rid of all the excess food and stuff we have accumulated over the past 5 weeks. Then we'll try to purge some of Katya's eternal energy. Maybe a good nights sleep will help her on the flight. Oro pro nobis (pray for us)!

We will update the blog again Saturday when we get home- and tell you how it was! Otherwise- thank you for reading- we hope you found it helpful and insightful!!! Good luck to you all!

The First 24 Hours

The Pizzi's — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 10:22:59 GMT

Sometimes we sit and smile at the lovely charming little girl and sometimes we wonder if they changed her out for her evil twin!! The first 24 hours have been a roller coaster ride for all three of us. Most of yesterday, with her testing her boundaries- touching, picking up and inspecting everything she can find. That's fine in MOST cases- but for the fragile china the landlord has as decorations. We told her NO...and NO...and took it away. She actually went after where we had hid it and tried to get it out. When she got her hand smacked, you would have thought the banshees had invaded our apartment.

Then of course came bedtime last night. We appreciated that she was going to be scared- so we took her to bed together- but she went into absolute hysterics. After 30 minutes of rocking and singing, she laid down completely entangled with Pam. But she wanted to play. Both of us ignored her and pretended to sleep, but she head butted Pam. Pam said "no- sleep"- she then smacked Pam across the face. So the sleeping arrangements CHANGED! Paul left the room- and Pam sat on the other side of the bed and waited for her to sleep. This resulted in MASSIVE tears eventually progressing to laughing and jumping in the bed. With a sea of "NO" and "SLEEP", she would lie still for about 10 seconds then start doing something else. Finally Pam told her to lay still or she would leave the room, which resulted in a stuffed pig connecting with Pam's face and Pam leaving the bed and standing in the doorway. OMG- nothing can describe the noise which exited that small body. Even with Pam standing where Katya could see her, she got herself into such hysterics that she threw up everywhere. We think by throwing up- she actually exhausted herself- because after changing the linens and putting her back to bed- she fell fast asleep until 6am this morning.

Today was a lighter tune. She still is being a bit "naughty"- all children at 5 are! But nothing like yesterday. Today her fascination is with the static build up in the apartment from the couch to the TV and shocking things. We were told to be ready by 10- and again we were..............(should I continue or can you guess?) We waited and waited and waited and waited.... periodically going out of the apartment, walking around, buying some milk and back again- waiting for the elusive phone call. Which never came- at 2:30, Pam called Natasha to ask what was going on. Natasha said that the passport would be available sometime between 4 and 6. Finally at 4:45, Natasha called and asked for only one of us to come to the passport office to collect it (eg she didn't want Katya there!)... so off Paul has gone- with Natasha and Svetlana returning with him to give us a better idea of the final stretch...

We've got her

The Pizzi's — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 09:15:48 GMT

It was an interesting experience- certainly not what we expected (ONCE AGAIN!). We headed out at 11 this morning- with a car full of gifts and donations. We swung by to pick up the Registrar who had to be present for the "handover". We were escorted to the Director's main office and then Pam was told to collect Katya's new clothes from the car and go and change her. As soon as Pam went into Katya's group- she came out and asked "Are we leaving?" Pam said "Yes"- and Katya stripped right there (knowing she could not take her clothes). Pam pulled out her clothes and dressed her. She did not go back to her group or her carer- she just headed straight for the door. In the meantime, Paul was filling out all the official paperwork. Pam and Katya arrived back in the Director's office- and the Director began to question Katya.

"Do you know you are leaving today?" -"yes"
"Are you happy to go to America?" -"yes"
"Do you want to say goodbye to your group?" -"no"
"No? Why?" -"Because I'm never coming back here again."
"Never? Not even to visit?" - "No NEVER"
"Not even to visit me?" - "No, I will never come back here."
(this last line was said with more conviction than I have ever heard from a child)

We finished all the paperwork and brought up the donations and gifts. The Director was LESS than appreciative (of the new leather portfolio we had bought her!) of the gift. She said in a very condescending way "Da Da..spasiba" which came across as "alright already- get out". She proceeded to chuck (literally- throw) the gift over into a corner which was piled with things that looked like they hadn't been touched in years... then take the bag Pam had the remaining gifts in- and told Natasha to just leave- she would deal with it. Pam, very resolutely, told her NO, that she intended to give each gift personally. Clearly the Director was annoyed and Natasha remained silent (as you don't contradict the Director!). The Director waived us out of the office- deciding not to pick the fight. Pam and Natasha went to visit Olga and Nina- both of whom were appreciative for the chocolates and jewelry. The Doctor actually received the gift in a manner one would expect. Saying "thank you" and wishing us well for our future, asking us to take good care of Katya. Unfortunately, Katya's primary carer was not there. Natasha and Paul both believed it would be too hard on her to let Katya go- so she was given the day off. We left her gift with Olga.

Then we piled into the car and Katya immediately grabbed the ziploc...thankfully the Dramamine worked beautifully- and she was not sick at all. She chatted and laughed the entire way home. The passport was not complete- so Alec took us back to the apartment. Natasha said to be prepared for early tomorrow as we would collect the passport and head to the medical center.

We went home and went to lunch at TGI Fridays- we ordered her beef soup (very similar to her normal lunch) and a variety of food (chicken, bacon, cheese, rice, potatoes, sour cream, honey mustard, barbecue sauce, guacamole). Envision a table full of appetizers. She tried a little of everything and we got a good idea of what she liked and disliked. We then went for a walk to Independence Square where she took pictures with Santa and rode a pony. The pony ride started with bloodcurdling screaming- and ended with her laughing and chatting. Glad she did that on a well trained small horse!!

We are now back at the apartment watching Russian cartoons and listening to her dissertation which has not stopped since we left the orphanage!!! We've had a few moments where she grabs things that are not hers or sneaking into the kitchen trying to get food. But she is quickly learning what is hers and what is not...

What a long walk

The Pizzi's — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 09:33:26 GMT

We decided to go see all the sights that we never got around to today- with a plan for lunch at the only Mexican in Kiev. We started in the Black Market and headed to lower Podil...we saw church after church after church. Onion domes glistening. We found the Mexican literally hidden in a back street. We ordered Carnitas and Nachos. It wasn't bad- but once again, not what we were expecting. On a Sunday afternoon- we were the only people in the restaurant that maybe had 12 booths. We tried to give the waitress advice on how to better translate the menu, and she seemed appreciative and pointed it out to the manager. We crossed Podil and headed for the Funicular, to the upper city. We walked across to St Sophia and paid 2hrg to get on the grounds- only to find it was 20hrg to get into the church itself!!! So we wandered back out- and then down the hill towards the Opera House and the Golden Gate. We stopped for drinks at a little cafe- again to be dismayed with what we ordered. Pam ordered (in Russian) black tea with lemon and received a tea that had a strong smell and taste of peach and honey. Paul ordered the "Americana" hot chocolate... and just like Jake- ended up with Hersey's syrup in a cup. We wandered back across the city to see the university, more churches and LOTS of statues. After 5 hours of walking and 5-6 miles up and down hills, we were both exhausted and voted on coming home! (Plus it was getting dark anyway!)

Sleepy Saturday

The Pizzi's — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 10:52:44 GMT

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.

One month and counting

The Pizzi's — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 11:56:49 GMT

Today is our 1 month anniversary in Kiev- and it looks like we may not even make 5 weeks!!! We went to the Immigration Office and Justice Department this morning- had lunch then went to collect Katya. We took her to the passport office and had her biometrics done, then took her back to the orphanage. Svetlana felt that we would have our passport on Tuesday and that we should be out of here by next Friday (if not earlier!!!) Yahoo! Evidently she has connections at the embassy as well- when Pam suggested it would take 3 days to get the visa- she shook her head and held up 1 finger..."no- 1".

We are picking up Katya for good on Monday at noon. If todays trip was any indication- it may be good we have her for several days before we get on the plane- because she was WILD once we got out of the orphanage. Waiting in the passport office, she was running and jumping, touching everything, inspecting EVERYTHING...it was physically not possible for her to sit still. Natasha was not surprised- and said it is normal because she gets very little exercise at the orphanage. Bless her, Natasha tried desperately to reason with Katya to get her to be quiet and sit down- but it was not possible. Pam had her fill and took Katya by the hand and asked Natasha to translate EXACTLY what she said.... I'll save you the details- but needless to say Katya sat quietly for the remainder of the wait.

And for those of you PAPs out there- ZIPLOC...bring SEVERAL ziplocks on the first few car trips. We have to give Katya credit- she tried VERY hard- but about 5 minutes into the ride, she became silent and pale....we rolled down windows and took off her coat- but it just didn't work. Luckily- we had already shown her the bags- and she grabbed one! We have already stopped at the pharmacy to pick up some Dramamine for Monday!

Where do we begin?

The Pizzi's — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 12:58:23 GMT

We started this day in eager anticipation. Natasha had told us to be ready by 9am but plan on leaving around 10am- as that was when we could see the judge. By 9.15 we were sitting in the lounge...and sitting....and sitting...at 11.41 Pam's phone finally rang. Alec was coming- please hurry to the courthouse. So we went- and pulled up outside an official looking building (which was NOT the courthouse)- no Natasha. After a cigarette, Alec called Natasha- only to be informed we were at the wrong building. We flashed down the roads to what we had come to recognize as the courthouse. We didn't even get out of the car before Svetlana and Natasha piled in- a quick instruction in Russian from Svetlana to Alec and we were off again....back to the same building we had stopped at earlier. Natasha told us to wait in the car- so we waited...and waited...and waited. About 60 minutes went by, when Natasha came out and told us to come in- we were marched past the waiting lines into the office of the Podil Registrar (Ukraine version of a County Clerk). Pam had not closed the door when Natasha instructed us to go back out the door and wait...and wait... and wait...(30 minutes) Then we were told to go have lunch as the office was now closed (1.20pm). We walked down to Double Coffee with Natasha, Svetlana and Alec- and at 2pm, Svetlana promptly jumped up and left. Natasha said she didn't want to keep the Director waiting- so we hurriedly paid the bill and walked back...to (yes- you guessed it) WAIT... probably another 20 minutes when Natasha came out to collect Paul- (leaving Pam to sit with the aggitated masses waiting in the line for another 40 minutes)....Paul was taken to one of the junior clerks who MANUALLY created the documents requesting the birth certificate to be made. Then the clerk made a copy of Katya's original birth certificate and created her new one (typing with two fingers in Cyrillic on a Western Keyboard!!), while Paul petioned the Director to actually get the new birth certificate. After reviewing everything, Paul realized that Katya's birthdate was incorrect on the certificate- so they had to start all over again! The entire group came out, collected Pam and shot off to the next location (for those of you keeping time its now 3pm). We pulled up to the next location, which we were informed was the Social Security office. Svetlana jumped out and instructed the rest of us to stay in the car....(this wait was even more painful because Paul, Pam and Natasha were crammed into the backseat of a small Audi 4).. and wait we did- for another 20 minutes... Svetlana came out, jumped in the car, and we were off again- as Svetlana and Natasha traded documents. Our next stop was the Passport Office- HURRAY- as we were eager to get out- we were told NO once again and instructed to remain in the car- only this time Natasha took our passports to prove we were actually sitting out in the car...and sitting... and sitting... at 5:20, Natasha almost dropped Pam out onto the street after having napped against the car door. Given the windows were completely fogged up, the car was freezing cold and both of us had urgent need for a potty break, we were eager to be on our way. Natasha stated that we could do no more tonight- and to plan on leaving the apartment around 9 tomorrow morning.

What amazed both of us- was it appeared (and was confirmed by Natasha) that most of the offices we went to today, were not receiving people. Evidently Svetlana, once again, proved her might- by booking appointments with people who were otherwise unavailable! I would HATE to consider trying to do this independently or even with a less connected facilitator- it would be a nightmare!

So tomorrow we (Paul, Pam and Natasha) will be going to the Department of Justice while Svetlana goes to the Department of Immigration. We are due to meet up at the cafe near the orphanage for lunch and then take Katya to the Passport Office to have her biometrics done. Her first ride in a car since she was an infant- that should be fun!!! We have the barf bags ready- as we have been informed that most children get carsick on their first couple of rides!~ Stay tuned!

It's the 9th

The Pizzi's — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 16:30:42 GMT

and our working day is officially over- which means Katya is officially OURS!!! Not that she is sitting here in the apartment with us- but we are one step further. We traveled to the notary office this morning to swear the statement to receive her passport. Evidently Svetlana spent most of the day at the Passport Office- and hopefully this will mean a good chance of passports soon.

We traveled to the orphanage and played with Katya. Lots of cuddles today- and she didn't seem to understand why we were leaving her behind today. We told her that she would come with us soon and that seemed to suffice. We did manage to find the measuring tape- and got her measurements- for your curious folks (feel free to shop away! Remember she will grow fairly rapidly when her nutrition changes)

Waist: 25"
Hips: 27"
Inseam: 15.5"
Arm: 12.5"
Neck to waist: 14"
Total: 42.5" tall

She has fit well into the 6x clothes we brought for donation.

A quiet couple of days

The Pizzi's — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 14:56:33 GMT

Yesterday was Christmas- so everything was closed. It was amazing, because there were lots of people out walking- they just didn't seem to be going anywhere. We went for a walk and found some other malls that we vowed to check out Tuesday. Other than that- we sat around watching the Discovery Channel- and thought that wouldn't be interesting enough to put in the blog!

We went this morning to see Katya- after two days off, we weren't sure of our reception. The last time we skipped two days (after the clothing return!) she wasn't very pleased. Today, we played and goofed- of course she tried, as she does everyday, to "push her limits". Today she decided she was going to take her dolls to the toilet because they had to go. A firm finger pointing out of the bathroom was all it took. She seems to really enjoy being tickled. She will get one of us to chase her and the other person to be her "safety". Paul chases her around the room, pinning her down with tickles, then she escapes running to Pam screaming "MAMAMAMAMAMA"

Lunch itself was very interesting. We've grown tired of the local fare and decided to stop at a restaurant on the way home. While translated loosely into English- you are never really sure what you are getting. Pam ordered a Caesar Salad only to receive Coleslaw with Shredded Chicken and chopped tomatoes in it. Paul played it safe, ordering Roast Pork, only to receive a Grilled Pork Chop.... All of it was very good- just not what we were expecting...We went back to the Italian for dinner!

After lunch, we went back to our found shopping areas- and Paul managed to find a Stella (a copy of Mayan Glyphs) done beautifully- as well as an Inter jersey for Mauro. We finally decided on presents for the Director and Natasha- as we were at a loss for both of them.

Tomorrow we are heading to the passport office to fill out the initial paperwork- turns out we can't pick up the order until Thursday morning- as all of tomorrow must pass first. Fingers crossed that we will have her passport Monday- allowing us to go to the American Embassy sooner than thought!

Happy Christmas Eve- Take Two

The Pizzi's — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 13:34:32 GMT

It's Christmas Eve here in Kiev - so we get to do it twice. We wandered to another shopping mall that we heard about called "Globus"- and managed to find a Rainforest Cafe...eh..Ukrainian style. The menus may have been in "English" but that didnt help much. Pam ordered a Demfry- to receive potato pancakes and sourcream. Paul ordered Potted Meat- and received pork and potatoes stewed in a pot. (Paul got the better end of the deal!) The menu did not reflect any Rainforest Cafe we have ever been to- with the primary meals being sturgeon, eel, caviar and squid.... eh- no. Everything closed at 8pm and won't be open tomorrow- so we went to the grocery store to ensure we had enough to keep us fed tomorrow! Paul wants to get out tomorrow morning and take pictures when no one is up... by the way- the temperature has continued to decline- with the average low being -17C and the windchill being more than -25C. Anyone with travel in January (TAMI!)- had better pack warmly!!

CHAOS!!!

The Pizzi's — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 10:12:58 GMT

We decided to take some presents for all the children in Katya's group- given Monday is Christmas here. We bought some dolls, dinosaurs and matchbox cars at the Black Market yesterday- and then took them with us today. Katya's teacher (Mikalina) said we could given them out- and it created an absolute chaos. Katya helped us give them out- and before you knew it, the kids were ripping into the packages, throwing plastic and paper everywhere. Out of nowhere, Olga appeared- and was clearly dismayed that we had caused such chaos- and we were quickly escorted out of the room. It was pretty final- as Mikalina told the children to "thank Katya's mother and Father".

We played and goofed some more- and at the end of our time, we headed back to her room. When we opened the door, all the children were sitting quietly on the floor. The moment the children saw us- it absolutely erupted in the room. Children started shouting and jumping- running up to us- running around the room looking for their toys. Did I say LOTS of shouting!?! Mikalina (nor ANY adult) was anywhere to be found. One little boy bopped Katya right in the nose- and it started to bleed. She immediately ran right behind Paul, screaming at the little boy who had chased her there. Pam took a deep breath and separated the two- lifting the little boy back into the room with 13 other screaming, jumping, punching, CRAZY children. She shut the door behind her- locking her in with the other children. Paul blocked the other side of the door, helping Katya settle down. Luckily within about 5 minutes, Mikalina arrived with the lunch lady (and their lunch). She IMMEDIATELY regained order with about 3 words. Once the children were eating, she came outside- and busted up laughing with us. It was a new moment of appreciation for her job!! We decided to buy her a big box of chocolates to go with the necklace we bought... she deserves it!!

For those of you asking about the orphanage, we've included the nameplate and pictures. Don't ask me to pronounce it! The orphanage is comprised of 6 buildings that all look the same, surrounding a giant playground, and cares for about 200 children (aged 1-16). The bottom picture is Katya's building- and the lower floor windows closest to the camera is her group's room:

The "Black" Market

The Pizzi's — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 14:43:07 GMT

In our research, we found a new type of market... the "Black" market. Literally... Randolph would have shuddered at the blatant lack of regard for copyright laws... If one were inclined, you could purchase 15 movies for $5 ($.33 each!). And I am talking new releases which are still in the theatre. We were able to find "I am Legend", "National Treasure", as well as many others. On the next row- Versache, Polo, you name it- it was there- in all of its fakeness! Then you came to the software section... Windows- sure $10... Adobe- no problem $10... You name the software.. server or PC- the latest and greatest version- $10. The market went on for miles and miles- row after row. Kitchenware, office supplies, electronics, clothing, music...

We have an ETA now for next week. It appears that we will collect our court order on Wednesday and take it to the registry office. We will need to get her new birth certificate and national ID issued. Once we have this, we can go to the passport office on Thursday. Natasha thinks it will take 4-5 days to get the passport. Once we have that, we need to get her physical at the American clinic- and take the documentation to the embassy. They require 3 days from submission to visa- so we are looking at being done on the 21st or 22nd! (amazing given we bought our plane tickets for the 24th!)

Wow- who left the freezer door open?!?!

The Pizzi's — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 10:21:57 GMT

We were excited to hear the sun was due to make an appearance today (given we have not seen it since our arrival)- and awoke to big fluffy snow flakes pounding outside. But something happened to that LOVELY -4C we had been living with....its now -11C with a wind chill of -20C (for you non-metric fans, that equates to -3F!!) As we walked to the orphanage- both of us pulled up coats to our eyeballs and hats to our nose- leaving about a 1/4inch gap to see through.... DANG!$#^#&$ Neither of us are very fond of the cold- and laughed all the way during our 2 mile walk about how neither of us could feel our fingertips or toes.... Yes- Mom- we have pulled out the silk undies!!

The visit was in itself pretty much the same- although Katya seemed a bit miffed at us for not visiting yesterday. We played catch and then started singing the "ABC" song- after the 4th rendition, Katya joined in to our surprise. F seems to be a sticker coming out as 'eh' and no distinction in the LMNOP bit...

We chatted at lunch over Sue & Chris' most missed list on their blog- and came up with our own. Given we have been in Kiev the entire time, our experience is much different than the average adopter. We have not had to suffer through no hot water or lack of edible food; we've had fabulous toilets and washing machines everyday- and most of the local menus are available in English... although anywhere in the Ukraine, the milk is extended life and tastes pretty horrid. There is something unnatural about having milk sit in a cabinet and it being drinkable 3 months later.

Given Jake is obviously at the top of the list- we will shoot for the Top 10 more obscure things we miss:

1) Getting a group hug from collectively 20,000+ pounds of horse(s)
2) Getting woken with a cold nose in the morning
3) Being out in the country, where it is quiet- and at night, dark
4) Being able to confidently tell the difference between a carton of milk and a carton of sour cream..heck- we miss just plain old fresh milk
5) Amjad's breakfast and Babe's chicken
6) Good Mexican Food
7) Pillows that you can lay on without getting a quill stuck in your ear/eye/cheek/neck
8) Wearing 2 or less layers of clothes to stay warm inside
9) A milkshake that has more than 1:5 ice cream to milk ratio
10) Not having to change the language back to English every time we change the TV channel

"Sure...they will take a return!"

The Pizzi's — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 11:25:16 GMT

So sayeth Natasha- when we asked if we could return the clothes we had bought for Katya- given we found they were too small. So we started out at 2:30 with the thought of leaving at 3:00 to go see Katya with her new clothes... when we finally walked out at 4:50.... maybe I should recount our adventure?!?

We walked into the store, laughing about the "We speak English" sign on the front door. We stopped the first 2 or 3 store help we found and asked in Russian "Do you speak English?"- we received numerous "Nyets". We finally went to the children's department and asked "Do you speak English?"- and received a "stop" hand sign in our face- then a motion to follow her. We went into the toy section, where we were introduced to a young lady who spoke perfect English. Easy- we thought!! We explained to her the situation, and she said they would be happy to exchange the clothes and lead us to the clothing department. She explained to the clerks what the issue was- and smiled, telling us they would take care of it. The clerks found the next size up for one pair of jeans and the coat- the other pair of pants and two shirts were not available. The clerk told us (in Russian) to find something else. We were able to find the replacements in about 10 minutes. Then the saga began. The English speaking clerk returned to tell us that they needed to "credit" the pants and two shirts and then repurchase them. For some reason, the clerk didn't seem to know how to do it- so she fetched another clerk to help her. After about 10 minutes, they went to find a third clerk- who seemed to know what she was doing. She pulled out a piece of paper that required massive amounts of information. Pam pulled out her passport which seemed to confuse the clerks more- because the form didn't foresee the returnee to be anything but Ukrainian. About 15 minutes later- we were able to fill in enough of the information for the process to take place. The clerk ran our credit card- giving us the credit and charging for the new clothes... Easy! "Thank you"- "Nyet- nyet moment!" So we waited...and waited...and waited.... the clerks were dialing on the phone and finally sent a page across the floor- Floor Manager required. About 20 minutes later, the floor manager arrived and signed the sheet- that ALL three clerks had already signed. Then one clerk motioned for us to follow her- and she took off across the store. We went through the departments and up the stairs, to the store manager, who also had to sign the form. (Yes, that took about 10 minutes) Then we were motioned to follow her again. We went down again, through the store to find ourselves at a cashier desk. Then we waited again....and waited. When our turn finally came- the cashier had to refill out the form again- then enter it into a computer- but like the form- the computer was not prepared to take a return from anyone without a Ukrainian ID. She tried several times, but the computer just rejected it. Finally our clerk said "Just make something up, they are American and won't be back again!" I guess she did, because she finally gave me a sheet written completely in Cyrillic and told Pam to sign it... who knows what she agreed to!! This process took another 20 or 30 minutes. We laughed with the clerk who was apologizing profusely- I guess she never realized how hard it was to return something at her store!! Pray that they fit- as we don't want to go through that again!

We stopped at the Adidas store on the way home to look at picking up a Liverpool hat for Jake- only to find Paul swooning over an AC Milan coat- he did come to his senses though when he realized his father would disown him if he wore something with AC Milan on it- and decided to look for something else!

HAPPY NEW YEARS!!

The Pizzi's — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 17:50:59 GMT

What an experience! There were 10s of thousands of people- and loads of fireworks...

New Years Eve

The Pizzi's — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 09:22:29 GMT

We used the high priced public transportation system again today ($.40 ea) to visit Katya. The idea that we are permanent seems to be getting across. Katya is much more content to be told 'no', without a temper tantrum. Even the mad face is only lasting about a second and a half. The clothes we bought should have fit, but Katya isn't exactly the malnourished little orphan from Oliver Twist, so we need to talk Natasha into helping us return the trousers for the next larger size.

Our afternoon was spent learning a new custom, namely pushing to the front of every line you get into. Whether you are getting on or off of the metro, trying to check out at the grocery store, or trying to walk across the street at the light, you must push everyone else out of your way as if they don't exist. Sadly, not all people partake, and it's interesting to see the other people who are pushed out of the way sort of stand and shrug their shoulders. Oddly, if you stand your ground they seem to be taken aback at first, then move on as if nothing happened.

Wishing everyone the best New Years.

We'll see it first, so we'll let you know how it starts out.

A Mousy Sunday

The Pizzi's — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 12:00:06 GMT

We did exactly what we planned- and then some. We slept in and got some more laundry done- then headed down to the river to Arizona- where Paul answered his craving for Nachos and Pam had another cheeseburger. We then decided to walk home (about 3 miles) in the warm -1C weather. As we passed the many shops, we noticed something very strange... a plethora of mice.. everywhere. Stuffed mice, gold mice, mice magnets, mice shirts, mice mugs, mice key rings... every shop was overwhelmed with mice. (and no- they had not been that way 2 days ago) Even more strange, everyone was buying the mice (quite aggressively!). When we stopped at one shop, just to look at the mice in the display, both of us were literally pushed off the glass by other people, shoving their way to the front.

We managed to pick up a few... including one- that both of us simultaneously agreed (and without previous conversation) belonged to Randolph Attached you will find both Paul and Pam's favorites!! Clearly they belong with the upcoming New Year's celebration to bring good fortune for the new year...

A late "solo" trip

The Pizzi's — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 13:38:05 GMT

We had a 4pm appointment today because the children were out for another party this morning. We decided to give solo traveling a try- and made our way across the city via metro and tram. The tram was the only unknown- as we had no idea where it stopped, what line to get on, or how much it would cost. We made our way walking down the line until we came upon a cluster of people standing next to a pole. We hedged our bets and waited with the group- sure enough the tram came along and we got to the back of the line- watching the young men in front of us. We crossed our fingers and watched as the tram went down the turn we needed (deep sigh of relief)! What's really scary- is to transport both Paul and Pam completely across the city and back costs a whopping $.80!!

We bought some Legos and Bubbles to give a different twist to our playtime. The Legos were amusing for about 10 minutes- and she gained more pleasure in playing with the "vehicles" Paul and Pam were making. Then we went to the Bubbles- which were a HUGE hit- both blowing and catching. Then Katya decided she was going to "perform" for us- and made over 10 "takes" with the video camera of her dancing around the room- Rockettes... here she comes!

We had dinner in our local (read daily) Italian- and Paul finally bit the bullet and tried the lasagna- stating it was almost as good as he could make! Tomorrow holds no plans-- as we are not allowed to visit Katya- so I envision sleeping in, laundry, tidying up the apartment- and maybe a hike down to the river to have a good hamburger!

Someone told Katya!

The Pizzi's — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 07:49:44 GMT

We went for our normal visit today- with some concept for "hinting" at her coming to America with us- but instead, when she greeted us- she called us "Mama & Papa"... so SOMEBODY squeeled!! Today's visit went like most others- we played and colored and goofed around. When it was time to go, she was content that we were coming back.