Day 32 – Quite a day. And all before noon...

Surprisingly, we all had a pretty good night on the train. We must be getting used to it I guess. Alex slept pretty well but is still very tired over all. V slept like a log, he was just plain out cold. And yes folks, we now have 2 people in the house who snore...

We arrived back in Kiev a little after 7 this morning. The sunrise on the way into town was beautiful. Unfortunately we were unable to capture it since I didn’t plug the camera into the computer to charge up before we left flat number 1. Strike number one.  And we took a lot of silly photos in the car yesterday. I think that is what happens when you’re cooped up 4 in a back seat for an extended period of time. We were very silly!  Strike number 2.

We were met by the head coordinator at the train station and then quickly said goodbye to the coordinator who had been with us so far. She handed over a file of paperwork as her work is now done. I bought her a few gifts and then tucked some cash for her inside one of the gifts. I know she will be appreciative.   

We quickly headed out for V’s doctor appointment and then yes, more paper chase. We made one quick stop at a notary public on the way to the doctor. V was asked quite a few questions, had a physical and received one required shot. We left there with (surprise!) another stack of papers. We then made one more stop before we went to the State Department of Adoption (SDA). We waited in the car for both of those stops. It had now started to snow the biggest most beautiful snow flakes I think I have ever seen.  They were easily bigger than the size of a US quarter.  Next stop the US Embassy. Our head coordinator gave us several packets of papers to take in with us in addition to the stacks I had. Some were copies, some were originals. I get nervous leaving originals like the only birth certificate we have now for V. I will be on my guard tomorrow to make sure that original is returned. Wonder how you get additional copies of a Ukrainian birth certificate if you need it later in life for whatever reason?? What happens if heaven forbid I lose the thing?? Oh well, I guess I’ll deal with that later. I have enough to worry about right in front of me. I don’t need to go borrowing trouble...

The head coordinator told us where to go once we were inside the embassy, what to do with the packets of paperwork and some questions they would ask us. Trust me; it’s nice to set expectations! Then he said with a smile “I’ll be waiting for you in the car.” Now that was a first! You don’t go very far here without your coordinator either leading the way or right at your heels. It’s become quite comforting actually says ‘Miss Independence’ and ‘Miss I’ll do it my way thank you very much’. I know many of you will find that statement surprising; it certainly has been a surprise for me as well.  I have learned to go with the flow and do what I am told when I am told to do it.  And to trust that they know what they are doing.  Alex seems to be having a harder time with this than I am.  He is always asking me where we are going next, what are we doing next, how long will it take, etc.  I just keep smiling and saying "I don't know." or "Head coordinator's name here will tell us what comes next.". or "When we're told to.".

At the Embassy, our coordinator walked us straight to the front of the line at the door. No excuse me, please, or thank you’s. We had to wait just a few minutes and then the head coordinator opened the door, ushered us in and off he went. They checked our passports, entered our names into a ledger, we emptied our pockets and then we walked through a metal detector. From there they wanded each of us and looked at Roberts belt. Finally we were cleared and all the passports and the few belongings we had were returned to us. You are not allowed to take anything into the Embassy except essentials like your passport, money, paperwork, etc. No cell phones, no cameras, etc.  

We walked from that small building through the courtyard into the actual Embassy building, up the steps and through the door (remind me when I get home to tell you about the lock on that door.  All I can say is OMG! and sure wish I had a camera!). I walked smack into a long line down the hallway in front of me. As I started to look around a little (saying in my mind “Where’s my coordinator again?”), a nice young man took one look at me and (IN ENGLISH!!) said “Do you need the adoption department?” Am I obvious or what? I laughed and said “Yes please.” He told me to follow him and lead us down a long hallway. He then told us to turn left at the end of the hallway. And there we were. With a room full of people, we walked straight up to the window, pressed the bell for service and a very nice lady came to the window. She asked for our passports and then went to find our file. This took literally 30 seconds or less. Inside the file was our paperwork for the I-600A we applied for way back at the beginning of September. She asked for several documents; all of which were in the packets that our coordinator gave us. She then reviewed the documents that David sent us via email to fill out ahead of time. After much stamping of documents and yes, more signatures, we were given a payment slip, told to pay at window #9 and return tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. with the receipt from window #9. We were also given one more form to fill out and bring with us tomorrow. We went to window #9, paid our fees and then back out of the Embassy we went. Done. In 20 minutes or less. 

From there we headed to the market to pick up a few things for the next few days and then off to the flat to settle in (and shower!!) until Friday. It’s the same homey flat from the first few days of trip number 1. Love it!! We are all tired out but very excited that the massive paper chase is almost over. We are all looking forward to home. If all is well with the paperwork at the Embassy, we will have V’s VISA tomorrow and the paper chase will be over! At least the paper chase on this side of the ocean. There is a little more to be done at home but it is nothing compared to the last 9 months. But as I look at those 2 boys with their arms around each other’s shoulders, talking to each other in totally different languages but some how getting their point across on the first attempt, I KNOW every single minute of it was well worth it!