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This is the toilet in the orphanage and also represents most public toilets you'll come across here. No toilet paper, soap or hot water. For families coming after us don't forget lots of small packs of disposable Wet Ones and Kleenexes! |
I'm not blogging a lot these days since our routine has remained much the same as we wait for word from our interpreter/contact. He works on our case here with the beauracrats, to get things moving, then goes back to Kyiv to work on other cases while we're waiting for things to happen. He returns about once a week for 1-2 days. Things move VERY SLOW here. We're mostly on our own but we don't mind! We visit "S" daily and with each visit we are getting closer. We love this kid more and more and he gives us harder hugs each time before we leave. Today he gave us 2 hugs a piece! We can also tell he has a good sense of humor. We get a great work out each morning since he never wants to stop playing soccer. Today we also had a tickle fight then everybody decided to dog pile on me! He's still eating like a monster - today we brought a special treat..a cherry pie from McDonalds. It was gone within 5 seconds along with the 2 tangerines, a cup of yogurt, a juice box and some potato chips (bacon flavor are the most popular here..hey don't knock em until you've tried em!). I also found a hacky sack yesterday at a tiny store I discovered just by chance. This kid's an expert dribbler but had never seen a hacky sack before. Had to show him how to use it. We also taught him "Duck, Duck Goose" today. Since I didn't know the word for Goose, it became "Duck, Duck, Parrot". He picked up on it immediately then wouldn't stop playing. We also played Freeze Tag which I think he has played before. He's fascinated by anything electronic and begged and begged me for the small calculator I carry in my purse. I had to say no but told him we'd buy one and bring it to him tomorrow.
Even though he sure plays dirty soccer, we also have to remember how fragile he is. Today he crashed into a chair at the orphanage when we were playing soccer. I knew he was hurt since he was holding his head and not moving but did not cry. I tried to comfort him but he waved me away. When we FINALLY get home with this guy, you'll notice me making a big deal over every single scraped knee, twisted ankle or bruise he receives - it's part of bonding with him and showing him how much we care and that we'll always be there for him. Many kids in orphanages don't cry when they need something...since crying doesn't get them anywhere due to the high ratio of kids to caregivers. They have learned not to cry. So we have to TEACH him that we care about him and will protect him.
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