Home | The trip there | Adoption Center Day | Touring Kiev | Court Day | Jaelynn Day | Final processing, Kiev and Warsaw | Home - at last | Packing List and revisions

While I wait for paperwork to be done.

My paperwork went to the Adoption Center and to the Minstry of Education (which oversees adoption) on Mon afternoon. Tuesday morning, I went to visit Jaelynn. Tuesday afternoon we discovered that there was a snag in the paperwork that would require my facilitator to go to Jae's birth village to get the relinquishment letter redone in the proper format. He hoped to be back by Thurs AM. Mean time, my translator and I toured and shopped for Jaelynn (since all the clothes I had brought were way to big for her!)

Since I was going to be staying in Kiev, I moved into a wonderful lady named Olga's apartment. This is a picture of the bedroom. It had the most marvelous view of a Orthodox church across the river (that I will include pictures of later in the tour). The internet cafe (not really a cafe, no food) was next door. On the ground floor of the Apt building was a group of stores, one of which is open 24-7. Another had a copy machine. One block away was a store where you could but American toiletries and DIAPERS! Money exchanges were on nearly every block. The apt is also only a short walk from the Metro station which lets you get anywhere in Kiev for next to nothing!

This is the view from Olga's kitchen. If you get the chance to let her cook for you, take it. She is a great cook and lets you try traditional Ukraine food like the normal people eat.

This was taken from the other side of the river from Olga's apt. The bridges you see on the left are the Metro and vehicle bridge from downtown. Olga's apt is in a building near the far right (NO, I can't tell which one from the picture) I'm about half way to the Lavra Cathedreal complex when I took this shot.

This is to prove that I really was there!

To the right is the Lavra cathederal. I was standing back and shooting up at a 45 degree angle. This thing is BIG!

This is the Golden Gate, a reconstruction of the original city wall of Kiev. It actually contains a part of the original wall. It too is BIG.

In the pictures to the right and below, you can see the ministry building through which the paperwork had to be processed, luckly handled by the facilator, and, I think, St Catherine's cathedral. It is near the market called Andresky Spoos.

This a picture of Adresky Spoos, an outdoor craft and tourist market, held every Saturday. This picture isn't from my day at the market as it rained and rained all day. I still shopped (what did you expect!), but it was a miserable day. My advice to any prospective shoppers is to wear good walking shoes when visiting the market as the street it is held on is ALL up or down hill and made of cobblestones. In some places the sidewalk is made of cobblestones too. Not fun in the rain!

Court Day