Tuesday, February 2, 2010

hello again!

I am back at the internet cafe. we had a good visit today with Artiom, who we will call Ari for short. he is a very happy little boy, he especially loves Rich and Shane because he is facinated by men i think. today the nannies told me 'no more eat, no more drink" apparently the box of raisens i gave him yesterday worked their way through and they decided i couldn't feed him anymore :) they also said the dr was mad that he sat on the floor in the music room. they watch you like a hawk when they go through the room,and they don't smile either. i went to a little chicken vendor this morning and bought a chicken leg for the dog at the orphanage, i gave it to her (the dog) before we left, it was smoked, so i hope they give it plenty of water!

Ari loves playing with the cars i bring, he zooms them down the piano, and we zoom them back to him. our cabbie was late today, so our visit was only 1 1/2 hrs. i thought for sure we were going to die today on the way to the orphanage, our nascar taxi driver was the craziest yet. seriously. i figured i had a 50/50 chance of making it to the orphanage today :) crazy.

so about our apartment. I really like it, its very conveniently located to shops and vendors and a bank. there are always lots of people out and about. we do have to go down a kind of dark alley to get in, but so far no problems. the beds are sort of gross too, like a big peice of molded foam in the shape of a bed... blankets are pretty bad, so we don't look too closely. and i have to say there are cock roaches. that was unexpected, and a little creepy at first, but then i caught one and put it in a glass and said it's my only pet in ukraine :) there are only 2 bowls and 2 towels so we all have to share. BUT its cheap. $50 a night, verses the Intourist is 70 for small , really small room and 117$ for a medium. to me i would much rather be in our own apartment living like everyday people here. I have to say, i don't think i would ever have my child escorted home (not that you can here) because its really important to experience where your child is from, the people , the culture etc.

still have not heard about interpol. serge said call him tomorrow, maybe he will know something then. we didn't bring as much $ as we probably should have, and we had a MAJOR unexpected expense the other day for being in this region/court, so we really have to watch the grivna. Our new motto is 'GOTTA WATCH THE GRIVNA'.

I will have shane post some more pics now. I miss being caught up on all the RR news, I don't know whats going on and who has families now. I am still waiting for serge to come to the orphanage so I can show him the pics of the kids on my list. its a good thing i have the pics because when i told him the names the other day, he shook his head and said they aren't the real names and he didnt know who i meant. For Naya's mom, I did say the little girl with dwarfism and marina perked up and asked "she got a family?! Oh, thank God".

more later.

jodi

5 comments:

  1. so happy to hear things are going well.
    Praying Serge gets good info on your interpol tomorrow. Talked to hubby while you were updating :) hope to talk t you soon :)
    hugs,
    really miss you!!

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  2. Let me know if you want me to update u on whats going on over at RR! Sounds like you guys are doing well though. What do your kids think of this experience? So cool you gave the dog a chicken bone! I hope nothing holds you guys up and you can get home sooner that later!!!

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  3. Hey! Glad you like your apt and things are going well. Tell Serge and Marina I said hello and that Sophia and Anastasia are doing well!

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  4. Oh... from looking at your photos.... I'm sooooo glad we were there in AUGUST! :)

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  5. Your little boy is so precious! Thanks for looking in on Naya for us. I know you probably won't get the chance but if you do tell her that her Mommy and Daddy love her and are coming just as soon as we can.

    Blessings,
    Grace

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