Last day in jerjinsk

Today we spent another day in the car going from agency to agency gathering paperwork It was boring but we actually saw a decent government office. It is the one where you go if your kids have to give up their property to leave the country. We were there for awhile and they wrote a letter to the committee in Ukrainian and then had me write what it said in English (with Tyler's help) and then sign it in my normal American signature. Just about everything else I have signed (except for Visa slips) have required that we write our last (familia) name first like they do in this country.

We just tried to go to the orphanage to see Vovo but they have moved him to a santitorium which I think is to prevent him from being taken to camp with the other kids. Oksana was talking about how she was going to ask the director to do that so that the Mechams wouldn't have to travel so far out in the country to visit him. Anya also told us that she will be working with the Mechams when they come. She is the girl who has been doing the work for Oksana. I really like her and trust her, at least as much as you can trust anyone here. They have a different definition of honesty I am afraid.

It is impossible to go and see Vovo at the Sanitorium. They told us it was forbidden. We also found out that the family who is "adopting" Vladik is really doing more like Foster care and only will raise him until he is 18. The mom seemed like a nice lady and I hope they will give him a good start to as happy of a life as you can have in Ukraine. They already have Ruslana, and Anya (her sister) has refused to go with them. She will probably stay at the orphanage with Alina and the others who are boycotting adoption.

I also learned that the orphanage will allow the kids to stay unitl they are 18 and at the one that Vovo is at it is 23. So it is not the grim "they are on the streets at 16" that we thought. Overall the statistics that we read about the orphans of Ukraine do not seem to apply here in this region. We tried to find some orphans on the street to contrast with those who are adopted and there doesn't seem to be any homeless, jobless orphans that anyone can identify. My impression is that being an orphan is not as bad as I expected and being a regular Ukrainian citizen is worse than I expected.

We are planning to get the passports tomorrow. I told the boys to pack their stuff and they did all by themselves. They folded all their clothes and put them nicely in their suitcase and then put the toys and DVD player in their backpack. They picked up trash on the floor in their room and even got out the vacuum and did that on their own. I am so happy that I am getting to raise these boys. Some days it seems like it will be hard and other days it feels like it will be a breeze.

I will keep blogging as this adventure has just begun. I am sure that we will have many things to write about in the future.

I wish that I felt more sad to be leaving this city. I asked the boys how often they want to come back. They said once in 10 years. That made me a little relieved that we don't need to make a trip to Ukraine for 10 years. Maybe by then Bryan will have a wife and want to come back to see where he served his mission and they could go with him :) hee hee hee.