Trip 2 - Days 1 & 2

Been running non-stop since Oleg picked me up at the airport in Kyiv yesterday (Monday) a.m. and we immediately drove to Sumy. Good thing Cher and Becky weren't in the car as we made record time and if I ever wondered what a ride on the autobahn must be like, I'm now certain! Arrived to scorching heat of 43 C, which converted is around 109 F, which coupled with Ukraine's humidity made it sweltering! Arrived and went straight to orphanage and got Natasha/Yuri and went to get their new passports in motion - more involved now as the govt has implemented a scanned version like we use in the US, so it takes longer to complete. We had lunch at the pizza/supposed Mexican place (Potato House) and I swear, I need to get behind the counter and show these people how to make salsa! They have all the ingredients to do so yet somehow the menu is void of the stuff. I repeated a mistake I made on the first trip and ordered a "burrito," which had I been smart and remembered how intensely flavored it was with fresh parsely, I would've punted... not that smart. So sure enough, I get the "burrito" and was virtually brought to nausea by the amount of fresh parsely that was squished into this flour tortilla! Slow learner.

That night we had a going away party for the kids with many of their teachers attending - great night. Got to hear Pasha play his flute - amazing talent that kid's got! Natasha's dance teacher was there and emphasized what a great dancer Natasha is and was happy to hear we've got her in dance this fall. Really neat to see how much these teachers genuinely love the kids - Dale, who regularly visits orphanages in Honduras while working down there, took a moment to address all of the teachers and express what a difference he sees in the kids from Sumy, confident, capable... LOVED. It was very heartfelt and I'm sure meant the world to these teachers - most of whom are losing their jobs this fall as the main Sumy orphanage for older kids is being converted to a private school.

I hit the gym this a.m. and was disappointed that Igor was not there, though did enjoy having the entire place to myself - could do those loud pppsssssssttttt noises with each rep which we all wish we could do but out of consideration for the other gym rats, we refrain!

Next came a frustrating 3.5 hour ordeal at the bank - Oleg did his best to navigate through the bureaucracy, but nonetheless, this guy at the bank was set on making a simple transaction virtually impossible!

Natasha/Yuri invited Masha and me to their biological father's apt for a final "dinner" (lunch)with them - we went expecting their Dad and his fiance Lena to be there, but found they weren't planning to attend and were at work, but had prepared us a delicious meal of borsch, salad, salmi and bread, mashed potatoes - and Masha and I brought a cake. Lena's 17 year old daughter Ira was there and helped serve the feast to us. Their apt is on the 7th floor of a building and there is no lift (elavator) so by the time we arrived at the top, I was drenched - and then without A/C in the apt, I just got worse. At one point during lunch (think steaming warm borsch [cabbage soup - I love it, Cher not so much so she's glad she was conveniently not able to attend said fiesta], warm mashed potatoes - I was shocked when the kids offered me a cup of boiling hot tea!), sweat pouring off my forehead and face, Yuri/Shaun grabbed a dish towel and mopped my brow, so observant. Once again, I was leveled in humilty to see that this little family lives in an apt that's less than 1/2 the size of the apt I'm staying in. Soon after our meal, we headed to the lake (with the slide and trampolines) and fortunately, mother nature felt pity for me and delivered a full blown thunderstorm with blasts of lightning and buckets o rain - we walked to the lake from my apt (Natasha/Yura/Ira/Masha), and had to sit out a downpour in a storefront for about 20 minutes. But once at the lake, it cleared and was just right and felt good to get in the water to cool down. Really fun to see how close the kids are with their "step sister" Ira and I learned they've known her for over 5 years. She's a sweetheart and seems excited for them and supportive of their futures in America. You might recall from earlier posts that Natasha/Yuri's Dad is engaged to Lena (Ira's Mom) and they will be married in October.

Finished off the night exposing the kids (both mine and Gledhill's) to sushi, at the restaurant situated in the front of our apt building. Neither Dale or I had been there and were very impressed with the quality of the food - while the service and turnaround time was horrible - took forever to get our food, but once we did, it was great. Barring the slow service, Cher would've loved the food (much more Japanese than just sushi) and would've been a regular. I was impressed with Shaun's willingness to experiment and he tried a piece of my spicy tuna roll... and liked it! He also tried miso soup with lots of tofu and seaweed and liked it - Natasha isn't as daring and backed down from each.

Sorry for the lack of photos - I will download many tomorrow or the next day. I'm cramped for sleep time as Oleg is taking the Gledhills and me to Kyiv tomorrow - Gledhills have completed all needed paperwork here in Sumy and will remain in Kyiv until they're finished - meanwhile Oleg and I will drive back to Sumy tomorrow evening as we're still awaiting passports here in Sumy which we're hoping will be ready Thurs/Friday a.m. Then we too will kiss Sumy goodbye and race to Kyiv. Masha will stay with Ashley and Shaun and take them bowling and to get mani's and pedi's (not Shaun), until I'm home.

Shaun came into my room just now (the only one with A/C) and asked if he can sleep on the couch as it's markedly cooler in here than in the other bedroom - he'll probably freeze as these kids NEVER get to sleep with A/C. As ever, I'm blown away with how tough and resilient they are!

Nite!