Day 4 – The coveted SDA Interview and more...

Today was a big day in terms of progress. We have been waiting months for the much coveted and precious appointment/interview with the SDA. I was a little anxious about the interview (the unknown) but our coordinator said in her sweet voice “No, is OK.”.  And it was OK.

We were picked up by our driver and our coordinator about 7:45 a.m. for a 9:00 appointment. We needed to go into the heart of the city to the SDA office. We passed lots of apartment buildings very similar to the one we are staying in. They all seem to face into a courtyard of some sort with playground equipment for children and a place for people to gather and chat. More about that later.  This is just one of the many apartment buildings we passed on the way into the city.

 

We drove through the oldest part of Kiev on the way and saw so many beautiful buildings. It was interesting to see the different architecture and building materials along the way. There were these beautiful brownstone buildings next to brick buildings next to cement exterior buildings next to this gorgeous brown marble building (that was the Intercontinental Hotel, very nice but I’m guessing very pricey!). The architecture reminds me of Europe.  Some of the buildings are in bad shape, some have obviously been restored and some new construction is in process.  Nothing unusual there.  Here are just a few of the pictures we snapped from the car.

As we arrived at the SDA building, this gorgeous church was off to the left.

We waited 5 minutes for the building to open and entered via a side door with another couple from Italy.  We were quickly called into an office where we met with a young lady.  She had V's file in front of her on the small table.  She asked for our passports and compared them to our paperwork.  Our coordinator then introduced us and we were asked to tell her about ourselves.  We talked about how long we'd been married, about our son and his activities, that we both worked for the same company and we were very excited to expand our family.  We were asked how we knew about this child.  We talked very briefly about the fact that we hosted him last summer for 2 + weeks.  She then proceeded to give us very basic information regarding his birth date, where his orphanage is, how long he has been in the orphanage, the fact that he has no siblings and how he came to be in the orphanage.  Very high level.  And most of it we already knew.  She then asked us if V asked us to adopt him or if this was our decision.  We very quickly stated this was our decision and we were not asked.  Simple answer.  She then told our coordinator that our referral was granted and that it would be available tomorrow afternoon after 4:00 p.m.  The entire interview was probably less than 5 minutes.  The photo album I couldn't find?  Yeah, never opened.  But glad I found it anyway!

We then went up the street to make some copies of various documents in the file.  We returned to the SDA office with the copies, we waited in the car while our coordinator ran the originals and the copies inside.  Our coordinator stayed downtown while our driver took us back to the apartment.  All in all, a non-event.  But a very important non-event.  All told, we were back at the flat by 10:30 a.m.

Tonight we will get a call from our coordinator laying out what comes next. We will obviously pick up our referral at 4:00 p.m. tomorrow.  We don't know yet if we will travel to V's town tomorrow evening or the morning after we get the referral.  Sooner is better for me!  I will post when I know more. 

Above I mentioned the court yards that most buildings face.  Here is a look at our courtyard from the kitchen window. I love to sit in front of that window and watch the people. Many of the older folks sit outside for an hour or so and visit. There are mothers and fathers with heavily bundled up children.  Some are pulled on old fashioned runner sleds.  And today I saw an older gentleman pushing a baby carriage through the snow on large thick wheels (think back wheels of a tricycle). 

The lady in the white hat comes out every day with her dog. He carries his own leash and has a ball or some other toy that he throws for himself and chases. It's really quite entertaining!  She usually visits with 3-4 other folks and then goes on her way.  Her dog is usually ahead of her carrying his leash in his mouth.

As I watch the people go in, out and walk on by, I wonder what their lives are like. How our lives are different. What changes they have seen in their lives.  They seem to move slower here, they seem to have less stress. We all (I in particular) could take a lesson from that.