Friday, July 16, 2010

Ukraine Adoption - Day 11 (Sumy)

Today, Matt (who to date has held the title of chief cook and bottle washer [literally, in addition to hunter/gatherer]), has taken the helm as scribe of yesterday's adventures in Sumy. Part of the adoption process includes the adopting family giving the orphanage a gift. In our case, Viktor, the Director, told me he wanted our gift to be a lawnmower as he wants the lawn on the compound to resemble those of the White House. We drove to the neighborhood Husqvarna dealer and after reviewing the various options, Viktor selected a handsome electric mower which we were able to transport in the back of our little Toyota Corolla-sized car. Once back at the orphanage, Viktor and his operations pros set about the work of sourcing several 100' powercords and then invited the entire group (Cher, Masha, me and kids) to see the mower in action - see above!

Next on our list of to-do's was a return to the river nearest the orphanage for some swimming. Above is Dima hucking a front flip from the svelt platform situated in the mud and providing a nearly stable base from which to perform tricks. I'm continually amazed and inspired by the resourcefulness of these kids as they make the most of what they've got or nature has to offer them. In the above photo, the trained eye will notice a small board propped against the diving platform - this board, encrusted with rusty nails on it's side, is the "stairway" which we used to climb atop. This requires dexterity and coordination, and works perfectly and how fun to watch each of the kids scurry up the plank - and funny to see how concerned they were that I might break the plank as I followed them. This day was quite warm with little breeze so the water felt refreshing. Fish nerd that I am, I'm blown away by the amount of life lurking in this river - literally millions of "guppy-sized" fish cruise in massive schools along the shores and whenever we're swimming, they tickle our legs - and you wonder why Cher refuses to get in? Speaking of sweet, adorable, pregnant Cher - she is such a good sport as she does her best to support the kids in whatever activity they want to do, and yet yesterday proved to be a long, hot day for her sitting beneath a tree's shade, talking with Masha and Jula. She really needed a nap and it would've been nice for her to be in an air conditioned locale, but she toughed it out. I hope to have her wade in the water next time to help cool her core body temperature (and will convince her that the guppies exude positive growth energy for babies in mommys' tummies).


Above you see Yur performing a backflip - this brings back funny memories for me of Nate, who at age 5 or 6, in SoCal, was enamored with the idea of trying a backflip on the tramp. One day I walked into the backyard to see this brick of a child attempting such, only to land flat on his head in an extremely neck-breaking-like manner. Not surprisingly, he worked through the mechanics and soon mastered the trick. Yuri has shown the same persistence and athletic aplomb as he pushed through his fear and nailed the backflip - going bigger and farther with each attempt. Somehow, I think Nate and Shaun will do just fine...


Ah, and now I must write of things fishing. Above is Pasha with one of a few "perch" looking fish we caught with his new fishing outfit. As alluded to above, this river teems with life and I'm trying to learn of the various fish types and members of the proverbial food chain. There are numerous bugs, both surface and in the water, many frogs (some big and brightly colored), tadpoles, the aforementioned guppies, a smaller fish than the above perch, and then these perch, which live in deeper water (I've not seen them hitting the surface for flies, as there is so much nutrition below, why would they?). Pasha is showing all signs of sharing the same madness I do for fishing and we're already planning trips in Utah to get him into some quality fishing. This is an exceptional young man and I'm grateful we'll be able to continue our association with him as I know he will be an on-going influence for good with Natahsa, Yuri (and me).
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The Gledhill's (still without their luggage) arrived with Oleg in Sumy late last night and we will rendezvous with them today. Thanks to Oleg for the quick turnaround time in getting our paperwork with the SDA while he was in Kyiv - he's proving to be the Energizer Bunny and blows us away with his work ethic and tenacity. We got home to the apartment, and per a special request by Momma Prego, I prepared her a meal of saturated french toast with fresh fruit and the requisite Ukrainian "salad:" tomatoes and cucumbers, drizzled with balsamic. Another good day indeed.

1 comment:

Wendy said...

Matt!! You are a fabulous writer!! Love, love, loved this post!
I am writing the SAC newsletter and would like to direct folks to your blog. Are you all okay with that?