Still in Kiev...

Preeviet!  We are still in Kiev.  Actually this is our last evening here as we head out to Maripol near Donesk tomorrow afternoon to settle in to our new apartment (at least until we get our bearings).  We have possibly located a little girl that we are going to go to the orphanage to gather more information about the true possibility of bringing her into our family.  The news is getting brighter but as we are learning there is never any certainty here in Ukraine.  This is both what makes it fascinating and terrifying.  Kind of like life in general.  Since we have no new information to share I wanted to share some pictures of our experiences in Kiev.  Of course we have pictures on phones and cameras so forgive any mishmash that occurs in future blogs jumping back and forth.

To start here is a map of Ukraine.  Right now we are in Kiev, the capitol and will be flying about 1.5 hours further east to Donetsk and then driving about 2 hours to Mariupol.

Following I am going to attempt to recreate our time here with photos and captions.

Rob and I in front of the Ministry where all adoptions are overseen and St. Andrews Cathedral.  Our first apartment was right up the hill from this spot.  This was the first afternoon when we arrived.  As you will see in later pictures it was snowing and the snow coupled with the beauty of the city created the impression of being inside a snow globe.  It is so surreal it is like being in an Epcot exhibition.

This is St. Micheal's Cathedreal (Michalevsky) I am not sure I got that spelling correct...most of what we are learning is verbal and definately things get lost in translation.  Rob and Susan our facilitator are posing in the center of the square right up the hill from our current apartment.  Next blog will let you visit a Ukrainian apartment.

Here is Susan and our translator Diana in the same square.  Diana has been as awesome as Susan and Alexander Ivanovich who you will be introduced to in future blogs.  Diana was with us during our meeting with the ministry and really helped us advocate for ourselves during this meeting.  She has also shared with us what it was like growing up in Ukraine during the fall of communism and Chernobyl.  Diana has a very special place in our heart.

Susan and Rob in front of the stairs to St. Andrew's.  Susan has been instrumental from beginning the process back home to making our journey as smooth as possible.  She has not only been our fearless leader but also an amazing hostess while in Kiev.  Her experience and understanding of the country have made this trip truly magical.

Arriving in Kiev.  As you can see we are a bit jet lagged but more than a little excited to have arrived at our destination and to be at least in the same country as our angel baby.  Thank goodness for the English subtitles...with the time differences and non stop travel pure Russian would have been difficult.  We are slowly learning how to read important signs or at least use context clues to figure them out.

Stay tuned for blogs that will introduce you to the cuisine and local market in Kiev, our apartment and some other photos of our stay here.

Dobrey Nochee, Pakah!  (Good night and bye)