Well, the girls have been here for almost six months now, and everything is going great! They have fully integrated into the family, and it is like they were always here. They tell stories sometimes about their life before, and it brings tears to my eyes each time I think about the things that they endured. They are finally LOVED and SAFE!
Kristina was able to start at our private Catholic school in the fall, and I am homeschooling Anastasia until her english is more understandable. One of the pitfalls that we found was that neither girl knew how to read or write (barely even in their own language). So it has been a long, difficult summer for them with the ESL tutor. We literally had to start from scratch with them. They didn't know basic arithmetic, so we've been using some Kindergarten through 2nd grade materials to try and get them going. Kristina is in a special program at school that allows for her to catch up to the rest of the class, but she progressed tenfold when she started formal schooling (I think socialization has a LOT to do with that!). We're hoping for Anastasia to start in January, so keep your fingers crossed!
Both girls are very motivated to learn, and have gotten involved in some school activities. Anastasia has two 8th grade girls tutoring her on Thursdays after school, and both Anastasia and Kristina are running cross country (I am coaching this year). It is good for them to get physical activity because they sort of pigged out on every food that they could get there hands on for the past few months. They dont have much where they come from, and in fact were starving before they entered the orphanage, so the sheer abundance that we have here causes them to go overboard sometimes. They will quite literally eat an entire flat of strawberries or cherries in one sitting. The grocery bills have been ASTRONOMICAL!! It has slowed down now, but I still find them closet eating out of habit sometimes.
I will update more as I can, but rest assured, everyone is doing GREAT!
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Day 39
Thursday, May 20, 2010. Alexey picked us up at 9:30am. Nastya was there, so we said our goodbyes, and then we were off to the airport! We waited for check-in to open, then stood in line forever and got our boarding passes. After dropping off our bags, we headed upstairs to the security checkpoint. It was busy. Sardines in a can would have been more comfortable. There was no apparent line, just people all crowding close to the front. This line was about 90 minutes long, no air conditioning, and people quite literally on top of you. Once we were through, we headed to the Passport Control line. It wasn’t long- maybe 10 people in each line, but it took a really long time. They started announcing the boarding for our flight. Pretty soon, it was the last call for boarding, and we were still in line. It looked as if they were questioning each individual for 10 minutes before stamping the passport and letting them through. It was excrutiating, and we still weren’t halfway through yet.
By the time it was our turn, we approached and Jerry gave the officer all of our passports and the visas for the girls. He stared at them for about 5 minutes before asking for the adoption decree. No problem- we had it in our hands. He read the entire thing, slowwwwwly. The whole time, Jerry is trying to tell him that our plane was leaving without us. This took about 15 minutes. Again, the announcement for the last boarding call for all remaining passengers on our flight. We were really getting upset. The officer told us to follow him into a separate room, where another officer had to write everything down, by hand, into a small book. We tried again and again to tell them to hold our plane, and they were getting nervous because we were getting so upset. I really think they had no idea what they were doing. Finally, they handed us our information back, and we literally ran to the boarding gate. Luckily, there were quite a few people that still hadn’t made it through the lines, so the plane was held for about 15 minutes.
The flight to Paris was nice, about 3 hours and easy. We landed on time, and made it through the airport with plenty of time to make our 1 hour connection (flying business class really helps, since you get to go to the front of the line!). We went to the Air France business class lounge, and the girls loved it since all of the food and drinks were free.
We boarded the plane, and the look on the girls faces was priceless when they saw our seats! They could fly comfortably, put their seats back all the way and sleep, and had plenty of room to relax with the tv and video games that are provided. It was a very nice 11 hour flight. About 30 minutes before landing, they asked us if we would be home tomorrow. You have to understand that the last two times that they came to America, it was 48 hours in travelling time, and it took us 24. When we told them that we would be home in 30 minutes, they were bouncing up and down with joy!
We landed and went through customs, gave them our sealed envelopes, and then were ushered into a room for secondary screening. It looks like Immigration has really beefed up security lately, because according to other adoptive parents, they normally just stamp the passports and say “welcome to America”. We were in the Secondary Screening area with
many other people for about 2 hours before they finally stamped the passports and told us that we could leave.
Many of our family members and our close friends were there to welcome us with balloons and open arms. It was quite the homecoming. After hugging and crying a little, we all headed back to the house for appetizers and nice conversation. Two children richer, many experiences and stories to tell, and much more knowledge about our new daughters’ backgrounds and cultures. We were finally, after 6 long weeks, HOME!
By the time it was our turn, we approached and Jerry gave the officer all of our passports and the visas for the girls. He stared at them for about 5 minutes before asking for the adoption decree. No problem- we had it in our hands. He read the entire thing, slowwwwwly. The whole time, Jerry is trying to tell him that our plane was leaving without us. This took about 15 minutes. Again, the announcement for the last boarding call for all remaining passengers on our flight. We were really getting upset. The officer told us to follow him into a separate room, where another officer had to write everything down, by hand, into a small book. We tried again and again to tell them to hold our plane, and they were getting nervous because we were getting so upset. I really think they had no idea what they were doing. Finally, they handed us our information back, and we literally ran to the boarding gate. Luckily, there were quite a few people that still hadn’t made it through the lines, so the plane was held for about 15 minutes.
The flight to Paris was nice, about 3 hours and easy. We landed on time, and made it through the airport with plenty of time to make our 1 hour connection (flying business class really helps, since you get to go to the front of the line!). We went to the Air France business class lounge, and the girls loved it since all of the food and drinks were free.
We boarded the plane, and the look on the girls faces was priceless when they saw our seats! They could fly comfortably, put their seats back all the way and sleep, and had plenty of room to relax with the tv and video games that are provided. It was a very nice 11 hour flight. About 30 minutes before landing, they asked us if we would be home tomorrow. You have to understand that the last two times that they came to America, it was 48 hours in travelling time, and it took us 24. When we told them that we would be home in 30 minutes, they were bouncing up and down with joy!
We landed and went through customs, gave them our sealed envelopes, and then were ushered into a room for secondary screening. It looks like Immigration has really beefed up security lately, because according to other adoptive parents, they normally just stamp the passports and say “welcome to America”. We were in the Secondary Screening area with
many other people for about 2 hours before they finally stamped the passports and told us that we could leave.
Many of our family members and our close friends were there to welcome us with balloons and open arms. It was quite the homecoming. After hugging and crying a little, we all headed back to the house for appetizers and nice conversation. Two children richer, many experiences and stories to tell, and much more knowledge about our new daughters’ backgrounds and cultures. We were finally, after 6 long weeks, HOME!
Day 38
Tuesday, May 18, 2010. As it turns out, the delegation that shut down the restaurant last night was because the Russian President was actually staying at the hotel. We found this out when leaving to go to the US Embassy, since there were Russian Secret Service all over the place. We waited out in front of the hotel for Alexey, but apparently all of the streets were closed down because of the President. So we waited… and waited… and waited, and all the while the Secret Service stared at Jerry since he was the only one who looked different. They probably thought that he was a Cuban assassin! After a while of the Secret Service apparently being very nervous, the manager of the hotel asked us to please step inside or go for a walk. We could no longer wait outside. So we went walking down the street and let Alexey know where we were headed. We ran into him, and he took us to the Embassy.
When we got to the Embassy, Anastasia had to be fingerprinted. Normally they only do this with ages 14 and up, but there was a problem with the system so we went along with it and had them do what they had to do in order to get the visas. They were issued to us with no problems, and we were finally DONE with all paperwork!
It took us almost 2 hours to get back to the hotel (about 4 miles away) because of the road closures, but we were happy that we finally had everything in order to go home on Thursday!
Wednesday, May 19, 2010. Today was a free day, so we decided to try and find the Harley Davidson in Kiev. The concierge desk told us that it was about a 30 minute walk and gave us a map. We walked for 4 hours (McDonald’s break in the middle) and still did not find it! There was almost mutiny since the girls were exhausted. We found a taxi finally, and he had no idea where it was either, so after driving around for about 30 minutes, we gave up and asked him to take us to the hotel. He had no idea where it was either! After driving about another 30 minutes, his car just stopped. In the middle of the road. Needless to say, we bailed out, paid him, and started walking. We were back at the hotel in about 5 minutes. We found out later that if we had gone 2 more blocks, we would have found Harley. *sigh*
When we got to the Embassy, Anastasia had to be fingerprinted. Normally they only do this with ages 14 and up, but there was a problem with the system so we went along with it and had them do what they had to do in order to get the visas. They were issued to us with no problems, and we were finally DONE with all paperwork!
It took us almost 2 hours to get back to the hotel (about 4 miles away) because of the road closures, but we were happy that we finally had everything in order to go home on Thursday!
Wednesday, May 19, 2010. Today was a free day, so we decided to try and find the Harley Davidson in Kiev. The concierge desk told us that it was about a 30 minute walk and gave us a map. We walked for 4 hours (McDonald’s break in the middle) and still did not find it! There was almost mutiny since the girls were exhausted. We found a taxi finally, and he had no idea where it was either, so after driving around for about 30 minutes, we gave up and asked him to take us to the hotel. He had no idea where it was either! After driving about another 30 minutes, his car just stopped. In the middle of the road. Needless to say, we bailed out, paid him, and started walking. We were back at the hotel in about 5 minutes. We found out later that if we had gone 2 more blocks, we would have found Harley. *sigh*
Day 37
Monday, May 17, 2010. This morning, Alexey arrived at 10am to take us to the US Embassy in order to get the U.S. Immigrant Visas for the girls. We realized how nice it is to hold a U.S. passport, since we were able to go ahead of the long line waiting to get in.
Once we wound our way inside and checked in, they told us that one of the papers was still missing from Washington but that it should be in after 4pm and they could give us our interview anyway. However, we would have to come back tomorrow to pick up the visas.
We had our short interview, handed them our packet of completed papers and all original documentation and then left them with our contact information so that they can call us to give us a time to come in tomorrow.
We tried to have dinner at the Italian restaurant at the hotel, but apparently there was a Russian Delegation in town and the restaurant was closed for the private event. We had made a reservation with the concierge, but there was still nothing to be done since apparently the concierge was unaware of the restaurant closure. Jerry discussed the situation with the hotel manager, who was very apologetic and said that the situation would be “investigated”, so we had dinner at another restaurant there instead. After dinner, the concierge brought us a nice bottle of wine as an apology for the misunderstanding.
When we returned to our rooms, there were gifts that the girls were ecstatic to show us! Fruit baskets, cookies and milk, brownies…. It was heaven for them! They really got a kick out of Papi complaining to the “director” (a.k.a. management), and then having the “director” apologizing profusely with gifts and an apology note.
Once we wound our way inside and checked in, they told us that one of the papers was still missing from Washington but that it should be in after 4pm and they could give us our interview anyway. However, we would have to come back tomorrow to pick up the visas.
We had our short interview, handed them our packet of completed papers and all original documentation and then left them with our contact information so that they can call us to give us a time to come in tomorrow.
We tried to have dinner at the Italian restaurant at the hotel, but apparently there was a Russian Delegation in town and the restaurant was closed for the private event. We had made a reservation with the concierge, but there was still nothing to be done since apparently the concierge was unaware of the restaurant closure. Jerry discussed the situation with the hotel manager, who was very apologetic and said that the situation would be “investigated”, so we had dinner at another restaurant there instead. After dinner, the concierge brought us a nice bottle of wine as an apology for the misunderstanding.
When we returned to our rooms, there were gifts that the girls were ecstatic to show us! Fruit baskets, cookies and milk, brownies…. It was heaven for them! They really got a kick out of Papi complaining to the “director” (a.k.a. management), and then having the “director” apologizing profusely with gifts and an apology note.
Day 36
Sunday, May 16, 2010. Nataliya’s husband, Artem, picked us up at 12:30 and drove us to their hometown which is an approximate 90 minute drive into the countryside. We got her parent’s house and were warmly greeted. It looked as if her mother had been cooking for days! We found out later that we were the first Americans that they had ever seen, and were quite nervous about meeting us. We were also the first people from Nataliya’s work that they had ever met, and she’s been facilitating adoptions for 8 years!
It was an honor to meet them and share so much time together. Nataliya’s parents are wonderful, warm people. Of course, we did like the natives… vodka with our meal instead of wine, toast after toast, and sampling the many wonderful (and sometimes odd, if you’ve never been in this country and don’t know the customs) dishes that were prepared for us. Lunch slowly bled into dinner time, then cognac and cigar time… before we knew it, it was very late and we had to have Artem take us back to our hotel. The whole affair was a wonderful, enriching experience that we will remember for years to come.
It was an honor to meet them and share so much time together. Nataliya’s parents are wonderful, warm people. Of course, we did like the natives… vodka with our meal instead of wine, toast after toast, and sampling the many wonderful (and sometimes odd, if you’ve never been in this country and don’t know the customs) dishes that were prepared for us. Lunch slowly bled into dinner time, then cognac and cigar time… before we knew it, it was very late and we had to have Artem take us back to our hotel. The whole affair was a wonderful, enriching experience that we will remember for years to come.
Day 35
Saturday, May 15, 2010. Our flight was nice and uneventful. We arrived in Kiev, said goodbye to Nataliya, and then Alexey drove us to the Intercontinental Hotel. We checked in, and the girls thought they were in heaven when they got to their room. We let them relax a bit before heading to lunch and then going for a walk to get them some clothing and shoes. After returning and resting for a bit, we had a nice dinner at the hotel later, and then went for another walk afterwards.
Day 34
Friday, May 14, 2010. This morning, we were at the orphanage at 8am to sign the discharge papers, gather the girls and their things, and say goodbye to Severodonetsk orphanage. Jerry and Nataliya stayed for the signing, and then had to leave right away to travel to get the new passports. Kelly stayed and got the girls squared away.
The girls said goodbye to everyone, and there were many tears from the staff and friends. Anastasia wanted to take pictures of absolutely everything. When leaving, the girls wanted a photo of them waving goodbye to the orphanage forever.
They came to the hotel and changed into some clothing that we had brought with us, as they had to take back what they were wearing. Basically, they give you naked children since they are not supposed to take anything with them but some personal items such as photos or religious nicknacks.
Jerry got back from the first passport stop in time for lunch, and then had to leave a few hours later to travel to Lugansk to finalize everything and get the actual passports. The official in charge of this really liked Jerry and the fact that he is Cuban, so he moved it along very quickly for us (getting passports can normally take up to 45 days, but we got them in just one day!).
After he got the passports, Jerry went to the travel agency to book our flights to Kiev for tomorrow morning. Our flight leaves out of Lugansk at 7:45am, which means that we need to leave the hotel by 4:30 in order to make it there in time.
We had a late dinner at the hotel, and there was another convention there so it ended up being even later than we wanted. We were in bed by 11:30pm, up by 3:30am and out of the hotel on time. Anastasia & Kristina with the Director with one of the caretakers
The girls said goodbye to everyone, and there were many tears from the staff and friends. Anastasia wanted to take pictures of absolutely everything. When leaving, the girls wanted a photo of them waving goodbye to the orphanage forever.
They came to the hotel and changed into some clothing that we had brought with us, as they had to take back what they were wearing. Basically, they give you naked children since they are not supposed to take anything with them but some personal items such as photos or religious nicknacks.
Jerry got back from the first passport stop in time for lunch, and then had to leave a few hours later to travel to Lugansk to finalize everything and get the actual passports. The official in charge of this really liked Jerry and the fact that he is Cuban, so he moved it along very quickly for us (getting passports can normally take up to 45 days, but we got them in just one day!).
After he got the passports, Jerry went to the travel agency to book our flights to Kiev for tomorrow morning. Our flight leaves out of Lugansk at 7:45am, which means that we need to leave the hotel by 4:30 in order to make it there in time.
We had a late dinner at the hotel, and there was another convention there so it ended up being even later than we wanted. We were in bed by 11:30pm, up by 3:30am and out of the hotel on time. Anastasia & Kristina with the Director with one of the caretakers
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)