Dog Fight

Wednesday, 16 May

Wednesday at 11:00 AM was our scheduled appointment with the SDA; the State Department of Adoption and Protective Rights of Children. This is the first official step in our adoption activities, and without their approval, we would be headed back home without Masha…so it’s a very important step.

We got up early on Wednesday, made a cup of tea, checked email and uploaded the Tuesday blog entry. We showered and dressed for our SDA appointment (skirt and blouse for me, slacks and a shirt (no tie) for Mark. Our driver Sergei picked us up promptly at 9:30, and we got into downtown Kiev by 10:20.

There I a beautiful church next door to the SDA, so we walked around a bit and enjoyed the beautiful day. They say that May is the best time in Kiev, and I think I believe them. It was unusually warm (high 80’s the last could of days), but sunny and beautiful. The chestnut trees are all in bloom and they’re everywhere. They are gorgeous, but if you have allergies, be sure to bring antihistamines!

Just before 11:00, we went with our translator Sveta to stand outside the side door to the SDA to wait. They have a unique system. No lobby, no waiting room. At your appointment time, you stand outside in this little courtyard and wait for someone to come out and call your name. Can’t imagine doing it in winter or in the rain…..if you’re coming during inclement weather, be sure to dress appropriately and bring an umbrella!!

Tatiana, one of the SDA’s translators, came for us promptly at 11:00, and ushered us up a flight of stairs to a small office. She introduced us to the social worker in charge of preparing referrals, who confirmed that we had met Masha during a holiday hosting program last year, and checked a couple of details to be certain they had pulled the correct file. Then they told us that we had our referral, and that the paperwork would be ready for us the next day between 5 and 6.

After that, they asked us a couple of additional questions. They asked us if we had any contact with Masha since she had left, if we had sent letters, package, or had phone calls. We kept it simple but explained that we had sent letters and packages, and that we had recently received a phone number, and had spoken with her last week.

Then they asked if we had told her we were adopting her. That took us a bit by surprise; later Sasha, the leader of our facilitation team, told us he wasn’t aware of anyone being asked that question before. He seemed pleased with our answer, which was “We told her that we would like to, but that there were many steps and permissions we needed, but that we would try. We also asked her if she wanted to be adopted, and she told us yes.”

Note: those of you who are coming after us, please check with Sasha or you facilitator to followup on the *right* answer if you get asked this question…I understand that the connection between hosting and adoption is a very sensitive subject in Ukraine.

Overall, the workers at the SDA were very very nice, and seemed truly happy to be connecting us with our future daughter. They smiled a lot, and had a very gentle and kind look in their eyes.

After our appointment, we waited a bit for Sasha. We went with him on a couple of errands and then to an American-style coffee shop, where I had a CAPPUCINO! I was in heaven…coffee here is mostly Nescafe instant, so I’ve switched to tea for my caffeine buzz. While I was a little disappointed that the French press coffee wasn’t available, a triple cappuccino gave me a really nice fix.

After the coffee, we walked back to the car, and Sergei drove us back to the apartment. We spent the rest of the afternoon chilling out. We walked around a “flea market” area and to the neighborhood grocery to pick up some juice and snacks for the train trip. This was our first “on our own” adventure, and we made it through successfully.

The evening was uneventful until about 10:30 when we heard a huge ruckus on the sidewalk below the apartment. We heard a dog snarling and barking like crazy, and we hustled onto the balcony to see what was up. Our view was obstructed by a tree, but it sounded like quite a nasty dogfight. The funny thing….there were tons of people hanging around, but no one showed any concern until the owner of one of the dogs showed up. What happened next was unclear, but man grabbed the aggressor-dog and shouted very loudly and angrily. He yelled for a couple of minutes, then dragged the dog away down the street. We are still very unclear whether he was yelling at the people or the dog, or of what he was yelling, but it sure wasn’t sweetness and light!

The owner of the attackee-dog then gathered around his dog (a pretty mid-sized reddish-blonde long-haired dog). Someone brought a flashlight out so they could check to see if he was ok; apparently, he was, as they put his leash back on and he trotted off.

When everything settled down, we headed off to bed.