An Afternoon with "The Girls"

Sunday, October 17, 2010 - "Breakfast with Moises" was filled with laments this morning. Steve was dumbfounded to hear of the Gamecock's loss to Kentucky. He did not get to watch this game on the Internet because it aired, in Ukrainian time, beginning at 1:30 am or so.

We had made plans on Saturday to participate in a Sunday cooking class at 12:00 noon at the orphanage. It was not a class that Sara was in but she was planning on trying to attend with us. She would normally have a dance class during this time. When we arrived on campus, we saw Sara walking with a group of kids away from the orphanage but she saw us and ran over to hug us and tell us that she was going to her dance class after all. (As I mentioned before, Sara has a talent for dance but she also has a passion.) We went on to the cooking class and on the way there ran into sweet Ola (being adopted in Myrtle Beach & speaks a fair amount of English). She showed us to the classroom but we were told we would not be able to participate in the cooking class this time because, at the time we arrived, a class of young children would be coming soon and they would be too distracted by us. We were disappointed and decided to head back to the hotel. As Ola followed us out, she showed Summer a set of stairs bordered by "slides." (See photo of Ola and Summer sliding down the "stair slides.")

As we exited the building, Ola said she was going to the playground. For Summer's sake, we decided to follow her. The girls had fun on what we will call the playground but it was ancient by American standards with overgrown weeds, lots of dirt and even some broken glass around some of the equipment! Our first encounter with the reality of an orphanage "playground" was a couple of ping pong tables. I am not being trite at all but they truly looked like they came out of a Flintstones episode with a huge rock slab on top of two wedges of rock holding up the slab. (See photo of Summer and Ola apparently imitating "The Thinker.") There also was a series of gymnastic types of bars that had been painted and repainted many times. (See Ola and Summer showing their strength on the bars followed by a photo of Moises demonstrating his keen sense of balance.) The girls had running races and then got on some swings. We then said goodbye to Ola and told her we would see her after 3:00 pm when we returned for our official visiting time.

We walked back to the hotel a different way that gave us a more up-close view of the rows of apartment buildings that dominate the local housing market. They are everywhere and, according to Sergei, these are their permanent homes because they do not rent these apartments, they own them. (See photo of Steve, Summer and Moises amongst the buildings.) Steve was also fascinated by a nearby convenience store since his company serves the gas station industry but there were no gas pumps, only a store. It appeared to be a pair of mismatched modular buildings attached to each other with poster ads plastered over them. (See photo of Steve and Summer in front of store.) We went inside and it was quite small and narrow but two very sweet ladies greeted us so we bought some sweet treats out of a 50/50 mix of a case of sweet tooth and obligation to reward their kindness.

We returned to the orphanage in the afternoon and saw Sara outside just returning from dance. We received enthusiastic and lingering hugs from Sara and her friends and walked out of the cold into the warmth of the building. (Yes, the local government FINALLY cut on the gas heat a few days ago so we can now enter the building and actually take our coats off!) As usual, we spent our time with Sara and her wonderful friends. We encountered Olga in the hall who complimented Summer's blue glasses and said she would like a pair just like these because blue is her favorite color. She tried them on. (See photo of Olga wearing Summer's glasses.)

We again went to Sara's room which has now become a gathering spot for all of her friends when we arrive. I shot a great photo of the three roommates. (See photo of Sara, Alainia and Christina - pose is totally their idea because, as I said, they LOVE to pose.) Sara's roommates requested photos with us. (See photo of Steve with Alainia and Christina followed by a photo of Alainia and me.) I then requested a photo of OUR growing family and it turned out to be a good photo that I just may have to frame back in the States. (See our framable family photo.)

Tomorrow (Monday) is THE DAY!! We will go to court to hopefully be cleared as parents and as a family to adopt Sara. WOW! And this journey all comes down to this moment on this day at 12:00 noon in a town I never heard of until one year ago, Severodonetsk, Ukraine. We are told that Steve will primarily be questioned but that Sara and I will speak as well. A little scary but A LOT exciting!

And, as for the teaser at the end of Saturday's blog entry, you will just have to deal with more suspense because I cannot reveal the answer at this time because the answer has been, shall we say, updated. You have seen photos of Sergei but, trust me, you have not seen "The Sergei" until you see "The Sergei" in tomorrow's blog entry. So, tune in then...for the rest of the story...

Sunny