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Our driver is a magician. Slava is a very interesting man. Kharkivo (pronounced har-it-sho) is only 15 km from the Russian border. Slava rented a car from a Russian and drives it in Kharkivo for a living. He could not make enough money for him, his wife, 2 daughters and grandson.2000 (c) Angela W.
The car is purple and does not have a scratch. His driving is very, very inventive. He finds traffic lanes on a street that I did not see. He has not hit any pedestrians but it has been close. However, I have never felt any fear because I know the car is rented. It feels like Slava has the driving under complete control so I just relax and enjoy the amazing ride. Some people go to an amusement park for a ride like this. The roads are beautiful in Kharkivo but when we go to back to the village of Zeleyi Guy, potholes are numerous. He still manages to drive very fast though these dirt and holey roads.
Almost all the drivers are men. I am not quite sure why. But my translator said something that makes me think woman are not encouraged to drive. Anyway, I think the driving is aggressive over here because the drivers are male. (grin)
We have heard the ducks, geese and chickens in Zeleyi Guy but I have yet to see them. I did spot one cow. It does seem mandatory that meals include cabbage of some kind but that is fine with me. Also the meat has greatly varied from Beef, Chicken, Pork, and Fish. I discovered that we are eating a healthy "pregnant" woman's diet where we are staying. This is not a big surprise since everyone at the spa is pregnant. The spa gets calcium into the ladies via sour cream. We have had several meals now where they serve sour cream that the ladies eat out of a cup with a spoon.
The dogs at the spa have figured out that I am a soft touch. They wait for me to come out of the dinner hall with some food. They are so cute.
Slava found us a great restaurant for lunch yesterday. I am still not sure what I ate, but it was great. It did involve mushrooms and beef. I have noticed that most people seem to do fluid intake differently there at home. My translator and Slava might drive a cup of coffee with a meal where I want a couple of glasses of ice tea or some pepsi. So far I have not found any Pepsi over here. It seems to be just coke. Ugh! Oh well, we are getting plenty of tea. Part of breakfast consistent of as much hot tea as we can drive.
After lunch we (Slava, translator, Mom, friend... Anyone who has been here... imagine 5 people in a car..grin) went to a notary. The notary was busy and told us to come back at 1800. So we went to visit Natasha. Well... actually I went on a shopping spree first. Slava dropped up off at a department store. Once the sales clerks realized that I was serious about buying clothes they started pulling things off the rack. I kept saying yes and they put the clothes back. I don't know why I thought they would understand english. Anyway she now has 5 outfits, boots and a nice coat. We then went to the hospital and tried on the clothes.
Natasha got a little too excited. She was asking over and over "are these for me?" The boots did not work so our translator ran back and exchanged them for a larger size. The multiple outfits and 3 people (me, my mom and friend) were too much for here. She tried on outfits then ran into the hall to show the nurses. She was running down the hallway and screaming at the same time. She was also breathing very heavy from excitement. She refused to take her new boots off. She wanted to keep them and the clothes but the nurses asked us not to leave anything new because it would get dirty. TRANSLATION - "Don't leave the clothes here.". The nurses were very polite but I know an order when I hear one. I also learned that anytime someone told me to sit down it was an order.
I finally got the boots off her and into the box. She started almost to cry. I hit the box and said Natasha. She seem to understand that I was not taking the boots away and that they will still Natasha's boots. She then recovered her good humor but she was still very, very hyper.
She screamed with excitement every few seconds for any reason. The nurse came in a told her to be quiet. She would slow down for a minute but then start the excited screaming again.We decided it was past time to leave and told everyone good-bye. Natasha grabbed my hat and ran down the hallway. She stood there watching me. Someone told her to say goodbye to Mama and she ran down the hallway into my arms. I picked her up and she put my hat on me.
More of this Feature
• 22-Oct: Home
• 08-Nov: Home
• 26-Nov: Kiev
• 27-Nov: Kiev
• 29-Nov: Kharkiv
• 30-Nov: Kharkiv
• 01-Dec: Kharkiv
> 02-Dec: Kharkiv
• 03-Dec: Kharkiv
• 04-Dec: Kharkiv
• 05-Dec: Kharkiv
• 10-Dec: Warsaw
• 13-Dec: Home
Related Resources
• Adopting from Ukraine
• International Adoption - Index
• Meet Natasha (photo)
• Natasha at Home
• Single Parent Adoption
Natasha then asked our translator in a very pitiful voice when she could go home. She wanted to go with us. Our translator explained and I think Natasha became resigned to being left.
When then went back to the notary at 1800 where we had to wait and wait and wait. The notary looked at me and told my translator that I looked tired. I finally signed a document and it was notarized.
We went to dinner and bed was very welcome. It case I have not mentioned it, the place we are staying is very comfortable. We have hot water, electricity and food. The beds and bathroom are nice.
I forgot to mention a few items about Natasha. She was abandoned on the number 24 bus on the south side of Kharikivo in 1998. The bus driver found her after the last stop. Over 600,000 people live in the area surrounding that spot. She was taken to the police station and they issued a birth certificate. A doctor guessed her age and named her. They turned her over to the hospital where she stayed several months until a spot at the orphanage opened up.
Her skin is very clear and health looking. She looks white to me. Her eyes are brown and who knows what her hair will look like. She has a buzz cut for some reason. It feels like am I petting a porcupine when I touch her head.
Angela W.
Kharkiv, Ukraine
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