Privyet Ukraine

Hello- we made it safely to the Ukraine. Svetlana was at the airport holding a sign-Nicole Ash-Jess Wiener. Instantly we saw her as we exited past customs. She is more beautiful then we imagined. Her English is perfect and without any hesitation we all hugged. She escorted us out of the airport where our car and driver Igor were waiting. On our way to our apartment we stopped at the "market" t0 gather groceries for a few days. That was quite an experience. Fresh veggies, fresh baked goods, and plenty of meat. It was interesting that they had a small exchange booth for money at the store, and a little shop where you could get fresh squeezed juices. You pack your own groceries with as little amount of bags possible. Arriving at our hotel we felt a sense of relief. We were exhausted especially after we managed to get all of our suitcases up to the 4th floor. Actually it was not difficult we used a tiny 1 person elevator! Our apartment is 1 block from the center of town. It is a very old building with character however our apartment is newly renovated. We have a/c, and a washing machine. We opened a bottle of wine, relaxed and got to know one another. The night was gone before we knew it. Today Sveta ( now she is Sveta) took us to the bank where there was just one gal working, and then we were off to a place called "Pirogova" which is a village of museums from different regions of Ukraine. Had a traditional lunch which is really dinner here, consisting of cold soup called "kroshka", meat(pork) and potatoes. Delicious. Home by 4ish, and then met with Dr. Yuri, who will be our Doctor here in the Ukraine. He was extremely informative, very likable, and will be ready to travel with us when we need him. Tomorrow we will go to the State Dept. to find our our appointment time for the 20th. Apparently it is posted on the wall of the 1st floor. We are told that appointments for adoptive parents are between 9am- 4pm. It is a very exciting and nervous time for us as you can imagine. Just finished dinner11:30pm (crazy) but wanted to give a quick update from us. Dobrah Nochi...Goodnight!