Today was a day of smooth sailing at the doctor’s office and Embassy. We awoke at 6 am and were on the road at 6:29, headed to the train station to intercept S’s passport that was arriving from Donetsk. Then it was off to his doctor’s appointment. I found a pretend doctor’s kit at the grocery store last night so used it to explain what was going to happen today. Nothing painful, no blood tests or x-rays and I planned on declining any vaccines until we get to the U.S. We waited for about 1 ½ hours at the doctors’ office to be seen. S is so content and patient! He doesn’t get squirmy, even though I know he’s bored. He played with my cell phone games for a while, did some mazes I brought along, watched some TV, learned who the President of Ukraine is, played with a toy transistor radio I bought him, but never once complained. We had been the second group to enter the clinic and sat down in a long wooden hallway with chairs lining both sides. During the 1.5 hours we were there, the hall had become packed with people, many who had screaming children in their arms. Finally Lana knocked on one of the doors and I guess, demanded service, since we were ushered in shortly thereafter. S was weighed, measured, and a cursory exam was done by a very nice young doctor who had a great demeanor with kids. He made S laugh a few times then asked him, “Do you know your mama and papa’s names?” S said no. ( OK, we need to work on this since he needs to know this for the Embassy interview!) The doctor also asked him what his name was and he gave his original last name. (Ooops!) He was deemed healthy and we were off to the next appointment.
We arrived at the U.S. Embassy around 10:30 am. For the first time, I felt very proud to be an American in a foreign country……….. I’m usually trying to hide my identity and avoid other Americans! The line of Ukrainians trying to get some type of American visa was horrendous! It snaked out of the parking lot and down almost an entire city block. Most of the people standing in line looked like students. Our agency contact, Lana, escorted us right up to the front of the line, all eyes turned our way and we were immediately let in! The embassy is not ornate or obvious like some of other foreign embassies I’ve seen ……… probably for good reason! Security was tight and little S got his first “wanding”. I was not able to bring anything into the embassy except my paperwork. No briefcase, phone, camera, computer, purse, nothing. Not even our interpreter which was ironic since I interfaced with all Ukrainians within the embassy today. The one thing missing from the Embassy was a picture of Barak Obama???? Who can tell me why this is? The paperwork in the Embassy wasn’t bad and only took about 45 minutes. We then paid our fee for the visa ($401) and we were given an appointment for an “interview” tomorrow at 2 pm! Yippee!
I think S could sense my excitement at things finally moving along! I requested to our driver that our next stop be the Air France office, since I felt confident enough to finally buy S’s ticket to America! Things continued to go our way, as I was easily able to book the little man on my flights home and his fare wasn’t as bad as I had expected ($811, fully changeable). Ye Haw!
On the drive back we practiced with S so I’m confident he now knows his parents’ names :-) . Today he asked me twice, “Kag-da Amerika?” (When America?). I showed him the calendar and reiterated he now only has 2 days to wait! Let’s pray things continue on this course.
The rest of the day was relaxing. We walked around the open air market a bit and I bought a Ukrainian woman’s shirt that I can wear at International Day at G and S’s elementary school next year. I still can’t find a mini Ukrainian flag even though I asked everyone at the market place.
As we were walking back to the apartment, I spied a little calico cat that popped her head out from under a building. I knelt down to call her and she came walking over. She looked like death warmed over, poor girl, but she was very friendly. She was skin and bones and had stopped grooming. S reached down to gently pet her head. Cats have a certain smell when they are sick, old and circling the drain..….......this one had it. I told S, “Nyet, bo-lin.” (No, sick) and we moved on to the next building and went into our apartment. We took the elevator to the 8th floor, went it and began putting together a “Transformer” toy I bought S for being so brave during his doctor’s visit today. We then realized we purchased the wrong size batteries for the toy so immediatley headed back out to the mini market to exchange them. We open the door and who is waiting for us?!? The poor kitty!
We had showed her an ounce of kindness so she somehow slipped into our building and ran up 8 flights of stairs. I was astounded! “OK, let’s give this kitty her last meal,” I said to S, “Ma-la-koe!” (Milk). S got so excited I think he thought I wanted him to bring the pathetic kitty inside. He ran into the hallway, scooped her up like a baby on her back, legs and tail everywhere, but she didn’t fight back or try to scratch him. She just went with it and was in our foyer in 2 seconds. S then ran to the fridge to get the milk! I couldn’t pour it fast enough for him. I’m so happy he’s a cat-lover! Unfortunately, the girl was unable to drink, although she really wanted to. She began retching so we set her up outside our door with her cup of milk and a torn t-shirt. Hopefully one of her last nights will at least be comfortable.
We had showed her an ounce of kindness so she somehow slipped into our building and ran up 8 flights of stairs. I was astounded! “OK, let’s give this kitty her last meal,” I said to S, “Ma-la-koe!” (Milk). S got so excited I think he thought I wanted him to bring the pathetic kitty inside. He ran into the hallway, scooped her up like a baby on her back, legs and tail everywhere, but she didn’t fight back or try to scratch him. She just went with it and was in our foyer in 2 seconds. S then ran to the fridge to get the milk! I couldn’t pour it fast enough for him. I’m so happy he’s a cat-lover! Unfortunately, the girl was unable to drink, although she really wanted to. She began retching so we set her up outside our door with her cup of milk and a torn t-shirt. Hopefully one of her last nights will at least be comfortable.
Tonight S requested he take a bath, or that’s what I THOUGHT he was requesting…..as I filled the tub, he kept saying “balshoy, balshoy” (bigger, bigger). OK, so I filled the tub all the way up. Then he surprised me again. It took him a few times but without me coaxing, he put his face in and blew bubbles! For a kid who was in an orphanage for 4 years and removed from his babushka’s care at age 3, I don’t know where he gets his drive to try new things! I can only think his sister taught him these types of skills, since she was probably his primary caregiver when they lived with babushka, since babushka was ill. I’m hoping somehow babushka knows how well she did for him. His sister will never be forgotten by our family for her role as well.
Spookie Nookie! (Nighty Night!)
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