After the party, we piled back into the van and headed back to Matveevka. At the Internat, we were fairly confined to the canteen area because of Max's leg. I have seen many pictures of it and it is smaller than what I had imagined. Now it is let the games begin time. We had some bounce balloons that have a rubber band handle. The kids used these in every way; as soccer balls, punch balls, volley balls and even ping pong balls. We played games for the afternoon and it was my time to have fun with Maksim.
Midway through the afternoon, Max wanted me to come to his classroom. The class was watching a video of Beethoven (a film with a hero dog character that looked like it was made in the early 1980s). I watched the video with him and noted the different titles in the room. Most were older films in VHS format. Jenia helped me ask the teacher if it was OK to add to the collection. The teacher said it was OK and I made a note to stop by a video kiosk to pick up a variety of kid comedies and educational videos.
Max gave Cindy and me a tour. He climbed the stairs to the room that he shares with 10 other children. The beds are made and the room is picked up. There is a chore chart on the wall, but Max does not want to explain the chores. Also on the wall are new cabinets. These were the fruits of our fund raising last fall.
There are many children at the Internat who live there like a boarding school. One was Sergey. He spoke English well and he was very polite and pleasant with us. In the afternoon, he told us that he was leaving to spend the evening with his mother and that he would be back to see us on Sunday evening. He had only one short day per week to spend with one parent.
Saturday ended with dinner at Matveevka. Maksim was able to eat dinner with us. This was the first day that I had been able to be with him since April 2006.
On the wayback to the hotel we stopped by the mall. There was a grocery store. I bought minutes for my cell phone and we got groceries. We went back to Hotel and crashed.
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Saturday, February 24, 2007
The Birthday Party
The kids climbed out the van like a circus act. Max got some grease on his hands in the van and we were looking for something to get him cleaned up. McDonalds has two stories. They have a party room on the second floor, but our group was too big for it. Instead they reserved a number of tables together and we had our own area. I distributed the party supplies that we brought. Each child got a hat and a lay. I brought over 1 pair of disguise glasses and gave them to Max. We decided against the noise makers and I showed everyone the Happy Birthday Banner. I put the banner and a center piece on Max’s table.
McDonald’s throws an excellent party. There was a host that took our food order and totaled the charges for the event. I went downstairs to pay and they got the festivities started. They first had a group game that was similar to musical chairs. The children gathered in a circle and slapped the hand of the person next to them based on a rhyme. At some point, one person would hold their hand back and the other would be out.
They had all the children gather around Max and started to build a wall out of paper drink cups. The wall got quite high before it started to fall. Once one section fell, the kids knocked down the whole wall. There was simply a mess of cups below the table. Then the game changed. Whoever could create the tallest stack of cups would win. The kids went to work on stacking the cups and they were cleaned up in no time. I was impressed.
Bring on the food and cake. The happy meals are the same as any other McDonalds; cheese burger, fries and a drink. Max did have cream Birthday cake. He told Jenia that one of his favorite things about McDonalds was the French fries or Chipsee as they call them.
McDonald’s throws an excellent party. There was a host that took our food order and totaled the charges for the event. I went downstairs to pay and they got the festivities started. They first had a group game that was similar to musical chairs. The children gathered in a circle and slapped the hand of the person next to them based on a rhyme. At some point, one person would hold their hand back and the other would be out.
They had all the children gather around Max and started to build a wall out of paper drink cups. The wall got quite high before it started to fall. Once one section fell, the kids knocked down the whole wall. There was simply a mess of cups below the table. Then the game changed. Whoever could create the tallest stack of cups would win. The kids went to work on stacking the cups and they were cleaned up in no time. I was impressed.
Bring on the food and cake. The happy meals are the same as any other McDonalds; cheese burger, fries and a drink. Max did have cream Birthday cake. He told Jenia that one of his favorite things about McDonalds was the French fries or Chipsee as they call them.
Friday, February 23, 2007
At Matveevka - The Pre Party
This was our really big day. We got up early and had a breakfast buffet at the Intourist. We took a taxi to Matveevka and all of us squeezed into one. It was a 15 minute ride to the Orphanage.
Cindy recognized the facility in the distance by its small water tower. Larissa met us at the door and welcomed us into the canteen area. We set down the party supplies that we brought with us and sat down. This is where one spends most of the time with the children. I was ready to see the little guy right away, but Larissa had to be hospitable and serve us tea first. She gave us a warm welcome and explained that the bus to take the children to McDonalds would be ready in an hour. Alona came down to be with Julie and Mark. After I gulped down the very sweet black tea, we were able to go to Max’s classroom.
We entered the room and Max was sitting and smiling. He was still in his cast from hurting his ankle and there were crutches on the side of the room. I went over and gave him a big hug. He had the sweet teacher and she introduced us. The parents were in the front of the room and there was an awkward silence as they were waiting for us to do something. We had at least a half hour before the bus. I started with an American Culture lesson and told the class that we had two very important things to learn. The first was high five. I started going around the room giving the kids high five and the rest of the parents joined in. Once that lesson was complete I moved onto the second. I showed the kids the finer movements of the Good Job Knuckle Nock. It is very important that they learn the soft touch.
Two minutes later the awkward silence returned. I then remembered the party favors. I ran back to the canteen and retrieved the bag. I brought some kazoos in the shape of airplanes and colorful frogs that can jump. I passed them around. It was easy to play with the frogs, but they did not know what to make of the kazoos. I picked one up and started playing Happy Birthday. Then they got it. All of them went into a stirring rendition of this classic melody. At least that is what my heart heard. My ears heard quite a ruckus and Cindy was trying to keep the noise level down.
This kept everyone busy until it was time to get ready for the bus ride. Then they all disappeared to get their coats and we went outside to wait. I was carrying Max piggy back style. While we were waiting, I was teaching him left, right, backwards and forwards as he rode on my back. The bus arrived and 20 people piled into a van the size of a tall delivery truck. I rode in the front with Mark and the driver. We were surprised to see, let me say art not appropriate for children, taped to the front dash.
Cindy recognized the facility in the distance by its small water tower. Larissa met us at the door and welcomed us into the canteen area. We set down the party supplies that we brought with us and sat down. This is where one spends most of the time with the children. I was ready to see the little guy right away, but Larissa had to be hospitable and serve us tea first. She gave us a warm welcome and explained that the bus to take the children to McDonalds would be ready in an hour. Alona came down to be with Julie and Mark. After I gulped down the very sweet black tea, we were able to go to Max’s classroom.
We entered the room and Max was sitting and smiling. He was still in his cast from hurting his ankle and there were crutches on the side of the room. I went over and gave him a big hug. He had the sweet teacher and she introduced us. The parents were in the front of the room and there was an awkward silence as they were waiting for us to do something. We had at least a half hour before the bus. I started with an American Culture lesson and told the class that we had two very important things to learn. The first was high five. I started going around the room giving the kids high five and the rest of the parents joined in. Once that lesson was complete I moved onto the second. I showed the kids the finer movements of the Good Job Knuckle Nock. It is very important that they learn the soft touch.
Two minutes later the awkward silence returned. I then remembered the party favors. I ran back to the canteen and retrieved the bag. I brought some kazoos in the shape of airplanes and colorful frogs that can jump. I passed them around. It was easy to play with the frogs, but they did not know what to make of the kazoos. I picked one up and started playing Happy Birthday. Then they got it. All of them went into a stirring rendition of this classic melody. At least that is what my heart heard. My ears heard quite a ruckus and Cindy was trying to keep the noise level down.
This kept everyone busy until it was time to get ready for the bus ride. Then they all disappeared to get their coats and we went outside to wait. I was carrying Max piggy back style. While we were waiting, I was teaching him left, right, backwards and forwards as he rode on my back. The bus arrived and 20 people piled into a van the size of a tall delivery truck. I rode in the front with Mark and the driver. We were surprised to see, let me say art not appropriate for children, taped to the front dash.
From Kyiv to Zaporozhye
The flight to Zaporozshye is on a twin engine plane carrying 50 people. It looks like a plane from the 70s. There is no emergency exit door and one enters through the cargo hold. The flight is run by a regional airline to Aerosvit and was actually quite comfortable for a prop plane. Most of the people on the flight were business people with an average age of 50. There is a morning flight from Zaporozshye to Kyiv with a return in the evening.
We landed at the Zaporozshye airport and immediately noticed the lack of lights. As we were landing, there were only dim lights on the side of the runway. When we pulled up to the terminal there was only one large spotlight to illuminate the area. It was more like landing at Greenwood than IND. The passengers got off and we were to wait just outside the gate for our luggage. While we waited, we met a gentleman from the SF area who traveled here to meet a woman that he met on the internet. He was eager to tell Cindy his story and I thought he was a little nervous. A luggage cart pulled up with everyone’s baggage. There was one baggage handler. When it is your turn, you give him your receipt and point to your luggage. In the dim light, he matches your receipt to the luggage tag and hands you the bag. Not a terribly efficient process. We gathered our belongings and headed towards the terminal building to find a taxi.
Jenia found two small taxis and she went with Mark and Julie in one and Cindy and I in the other. I took this as a placid endorsement of Russian language skills. The taxi was small and the driver navigated many potholes on the way to the Intourist Hotel.
Cindy stayed at the Intourist on her last visit in November. It had changed with recent renovations and the entrance was on the side of the building that faces the main street. At the Intourist, one has to pay for the room upon check in. Our room was small with two double beds located head to toe on one side of the room and a desk, refrigerator and television on the other. We got settled into our rooms and met for dinner.
I had heard about the MOOSE-TANG from Cindy’s prior trip. It is a restaurant with a WWII theme of the P51 Mustang fighter plane. The waitresses dress up in a flight line uniform and there is a life-sized front of a P51 over the bar. Cindy teased Jenia about mispronouncing the name Mustang, but the Cyrillic letters form the word pronounced MOOSE-TANG. Evidently the place brought fond memories for the girls. It was late and the kitchen had a limited selection. The girls got salads and the guys had grilled pork. I thought about how much Max likes pork and that I should take him here.
We landed at the Zaporozshye airport and immediately noticed the lack of lights. As we were landing, there were only dim lights on the side of the runway. When we pulled up to the terminal there was only one large spotlight to illuminate the area. It was more like landing at Greenwood than IND. The passengers got off and we were to wait just outside the gate for our luggage. While we waited, we met a gentleman from the SF area who traveled here to meet a woman that he met on the internet. He was eager to tell Cindy his story and I thought he was a little nervous. A luggage cart pulled up with everyone’s baggage. There was one baggage handler. When it is your turn, you give him your receipt and point to your luggage. In the dim light, he matches your receipt to the luggage tag and hands you the bag. Not a terribly efficient process. We gathered our belongings and headed towards the terminal building to find a taxi.
Jenia found two small taxis and she went with Mark and Julie in one and Cindy and I in the other. I took this as a placid endorsement of Russian language skills. The taxi was small and the driver navigated many potholes on the way to the Intourist Hotel.
Cindy stayed at the Intourist on her last visit in November. It had changed with recent renovations and the entrance was on the side of the building that faces the main street. At the Intourist, one has to pay for the room upon check in. Our room was small with two double beds located head to toe on one side of the room and a desk, refrigerator and television on the other. We got settled into our rooms and met for dinner.
I had heard about the MOOSE-TANG from Cindy’s prior trip. It is a restaurant with a WWII theme of the P51 Mustang fighter plane. The waitresses dress up in a flight line uniform and there is a life-sized front of a P51 over the bar. Cindy teased Jenia about mispronouncing the name Mustang, but the Cyrillic letters form the word pronounced MOOSE-TANG. Evidently the place brought fond memories for the girls. It was late and the kitchen had a limited selection. The girls got salads and the guys had grilled pork. I thought about how much Max likes pork and that I should take him here.
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Our Adoption - A Work in Process
Almost one year ago we hosted a child from a group of children living in an orphanage near Zaporozhye Ukraine. Since April 2006, we have tried to complete the adoption. This has been a real test of faith and God's work to develop our patience. This blogs picks up as we are completing the process.
We have received our registration number and invitation to visit the State Department of Adoption in Kyiv. Our appointment is April 4, 2007.
We hope to share our adoption experience with family and friends.
We have received our registration number and invitation to visit the State Department of Adoption in Kyiv. Our appointment is April 4, 2007.
We hope to share our adoption experience with family and friends.
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