
Forming a family through international adoption.
I called Vlad this morning and confirmed that they did find the medical form. It was in Elena's apartment in Kiev. He will submit it today at 3:00 p.m. Hopefully we will hve a referral letter tonight or tomorrow. After talking with him, I went to the internet cafe for lunch and emails. On the way back, I picked up some fresh fruit as a thankyou gift for the landlady. I got back to the apartment about 2:30p.m.
I hung around the apartment waiting for Vlad to call. About 7:30, I started calling him but could only get his answering system. The phone system here is HORRIBLE. So I gave up and went to the small cafe 2 blocks down the street to have dinner. I finally had some chicken pizza that John bragged about. It was very good.
After dinner, I returned to the apartment and relaxed for the night. There is this really annoying little guy on one of the music stations. He reminds me of Charlie Chapman. The music, stage props, and him are soooo annoying. I have the flip the channel everytime he comes on. He does this 5 minute comedy routine then waddles off the stage. 5 minutes too long for me.
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Rambling...
I've had the chance to talk with a lot of people in Ukraine. Some of the stories they tell me about the government and police blows my mind. This place is very corrupt in all levels of government. I'm not gonna list any names because it would be dangerous for them. Its not any one person who tells me stuff here.. but many folks. So I'm apt to believe the stories to be true. Let me just put it this way.. I'm glad I live in the USA. And for new folks traveling make sure you set up a contact system and should you fail to keep in touch with family at home, make sure they know to call the embassy here and report you as missing.
Don't get me wrong.. Ukraine has a lot of promise to truly be a democrated country. But right now there is no justice in Ukraine. There is only a semblance of justice. And most court decisions that are made are not enforced. So if you sue someone and win, it means nothing. They can just laugh in your face and continue to take advantage of you. This country needs to do some serious house cleaning from the top down. There are good people in Ukraine. I've met a lot of warm and kind people. But those people aren't in a position to make a difference. Its like people are repressed by corrupt officials.
Side note - If liver disease doesn't kill these people then lung cancer will. I can't wait to wash the cigarette smell out of my jacket. They open the vodka as early as 9:00 a.m. and a lot of the cafes are like walking into a bowling alley.