September 27, 2002

Inna called late the previous evening to tell us that she would be by the apartment to pick us up between 9:30 and 10:30am. We still hadn't seen or heard from her by 11am, and we were getting worried! Inna finally arrived around 11:15. She and Larissa had been all over town getting documents and paperwork finished up. We left for the notary office, where we had to sign the documents requesting Evan's new birth certificate. On the way there, Larissa and Inna presented us with Evan's passport, which Kristin quickly put with hers in her purse.

At the orphanage, Inna left us to return to town for more paperwork. Things got pretty confusing after she left, because the staff thought that we had come to pick Evan up. They wanted to know where his clothes were and where Inna was. Without her to translate, things got confused and they really weren't sure what to do with us. they gave him to us without a diaper (just tights and a shirt), and we put a diaper on him. Then we started to go upstairs, and the nurse took him again and returned with him in a cute suit. they apparently still thought we were taking him away right then.

We took Evan up to the visiting room, and before too long, a young woman came in and asked us (in English) what was going on. Where was Inna? Where were Evan's clothes? Etc. We explained that Inna had left for town and would be back, and that were weren't going to take Evan away until around 2:30 in the afternoon. She seemed satisfied, and left us along. (It looked like their assumptions had been wildly off base. Later, Inna told us that they'd thought she had returned to Kiev.)

We returned Evan to his group for lunch at noon, and waited for Inna on the steps outside. She returned shortly, and ushered us back into the orphanage to speak with a teacher who had worked with Evan while he was in his old group. We had asked to do this so that we could find out anything we could about his early life in the orphanage. The nurse told us that when she visited Evan, he always greeted her with a huge smile and open arms. She said that he was very interested in everything, and that he loved to see new things. (We'd already noticed this, of course!) She said that all of the staff at the orphanage had a nickname for him: Angel.

We returned to Galena and Aleksander's for a quick lunch. Galena started the lunch by pouring some Cognac from a bottle kept above the refrigerator. She toasted us, our family, and our happiness together. We toasted to her and Aleksander and their hospitality. It was strong Cognac, but rich and very good. We then had fried pork chops and pasta with butter, vegetables, and a mushroom soup with beans. Galena left us to eat by ourselves for the main meal, and then returned to have tea and dessert with us. She presented a long coffee roll with chocolate and cream filling, which was delicious. She gave us a toy for Evan (a plastic steering wheel with buttons where the horn would be that made a variety of electronic noises when pushed). She also gave us some chocolate bars and fruit to take with us on the plane. We gave her gifts for her and Aleksander. Then it was time for us to gather our stuff together, change clothes, and get ready to leave.

Inna and Larissa and Victor helped us load our luggage onto the van, and we sped off to the orphanage. The nurses undressed Evan, and we put on a new diaper and one of his new outfits. We'd left his socks in the luggage, and the nurses were dismayed that we were going to put on his slippers without any socks under them. They didn't seem to believe that we had left them in the van. We left some toys with them and a large box of things that Larissa had given us to give to them. We also left a large chocolate cake and a note that Inna had translated for us, telling how much we appreciated their care for Evan and the others, and how important we believe their work is.

We went upstairs for a brief celebration with the orphanage director and his staff. We presented them with the big chocolate cake/bouquet, and they served champagne. The director gave a toast, and then Lee toasted the Director and the people who had cared for Evan during the first year and a half of his life. After finishing up our champagne, Larissa hurried us off--we had to get to the airport by 3:45.

The Donetsk airport was a bit disorganized, which wasn't helped by the fact that we had a lot of bags to check. We paid a small fee for excess baggage (about three dollars), and got everything through security, then waited in the waiting area for about 45 minutes. We took the little bus to the plane, and boarded. It was terribly hot and close inside the plane, and Evan hated it. He was tired and uncomfortable, and he threw a fit. We waited on the tarmac for about 15 minutes, then, just as we were about to take off, the engines slowed down and we turned back to the loading area. We were told that we would have to switch planes.

When we landed, Lee took Evan and Kristin carried our bags out of the plane. (The baby backpack and the computer backpack.) It was cold and raining when we got off the plane. Lee covered Evan in his blanket and hat and used an umbrella to shield Evan and himself from the rain. Evan was sound asleep. We walked across the tarmac to get to a metal gate (between the runway and the parking lot), and Kristin and Inna got our bags out of a truck near the gate with help from Vitali (who had been waiting for us). We all got into Vitali's car, and headed off for Nina's apartment.

We arrived at Nina's sometime around 8:30pm. We put Evan in the crib that Nina had waiting for us, and got settled. Evan woke up just as we were about to sit down for dinner, and Nina took him to her room with some hot porridge or soup to give us a chance to eat something. Before too long, Nina and Evan were back with an empty bowl, and Evan was still wanting more. We gave him some of the potatoes that Nina had made for us, and eventually a cookie. That did the trick. He was a very happy baby, and not at all sleepy, unfortunately. We changed his diaper, then played with him on our bed for an hour or two. We then tried to put him in his crib, and he howled and wailed and screamed while we drank coffee and tea in the kitchen for about 15 minutes, then he fell silent. Another 10 minutes or so later, Lee investigated, and found Evan sitting up in the corner of his crib staring at the door and holding a phone card in each hand, holding them up for Lee to see. (It was pitiful, but also the cutest thing Lee had seen for years and years!)  Apparently, Lee had left some stuff on the table next to the crib, and Evan had collected whatever he could find. Evan started wailing again as soon as he saw Lee, definitively declaring that he was not ready for bed yet. (Later that evening, we found Lee's passport and a floppy disk in the crib.)

We stayed up and played with Evan for another couple of hours, and gave him another snack. Then around 11pm, we gave up and put him in his crib while we laid down in the bed next to it and tried to go to sleep while Evan wailed. Eventually, Evan also fell asleep, and we all got a reasonable night's sleep.