DAY 38/39 ---LAST DAYS IN KIEV!

Hello out there Team Chaos fans!

This will be my last transmission from Ukraine before we board our flight to the USA tomorrow morning!  Yuri will pick us up at 0730, and our flight leaves at 1050 AM from Kiev for JFK. So excited!!!!

I am sitting here listening to my Euro-Ukrainian Techno/Dance mix playing in the background, and reminiscing about all that has happened up to finally get to this point.  Thank you to everyone for your support, encouragement, and your prayers.  Without your thoughts and the Grace of God, I don't know how we could have had the patience to get through all our many adventures.   I laugh as I read through some of our old posts and think about all the road trips back and forth to Zaporizchya, adventures with the Rebecca, Ava, and the Babushkas, playing with Max when we first met him at the orphanage, and the nervousness in the pit of my stomach when we arrived for our appointment at the SDA when we first saw his picture.   It all seems SO long ago!   I'm chuckling as I look through the pictures of Ava not sleeping, and the pictures of Yuri, Helen, and Oleg--who did so much to make everything go smoothly under a difficult system.   

Ahhh well, I guess it is time to close this chapter of our journey with our last day's adventures in Kiev....I have been pestering Yuri to go to the WWII museum  for some time now, and today we finally went.   I was supposed to go yesterday, but Natalie's son Eli (formerly Maxime) got sick with a nasty staff infection in his foot.  So they spent their last hours in the hospital before leaving Kiev with Eli getting cleaned up and shots of penicillin (ouch!).

The WWII museum in Kiev is quite large, and has both outside and inside exhibits.  Today's weather was questionable, as threatening rain clouds hovered overhead all day--but luckily never dumped on us.   

When you first arrive at the museum you are immediately captivated by a giant gleaming metal statue of a woman standing in a victory pose, with her sword stretching toward the sky, and shield protecting the surrounding city.  She is a symbol of "The Motherland", and a great landmark in Kiev as you arrive from the airport.   From the base of the statue you can see all the beautiful gold roofed  cathedrals in the city.   Below the statue is a massive carved stone statue exhibit commemorating the many men who fought and died in defense of their homeland against the invading German Army.  The rest of the outside exhibits are positioned along a loop which displays countless tanks, artillery, and aircraft exhibits all beautifully restored.  

The Inside of the museum was truly fascinating.  The focus of the museum was not only on the battles, equipment, and combat stories that took place during the intense fighting around Kiev and the greater Soviet Union, but it also focused on the lives of the civilians who were lost, displaced, or exterminated.   There were several rooms dedicated to the Ukrainian Jews. Their population was almost entirely destroyed by the Nazis during the Ukrainian Holocaust.   There is an erie map of Ukraine forged out of black metal in one of the rooms, which has red lights illuminated in hundreds of small villages on it's surface.  The red lights are illuminated as markers to towns in Ukraine which were completely annihilated by the Germans--wiped off the face of the earth.  Pretty sobering.  There was also a guillotine in the center of the room.  Pretty scary.  Other exhibits included a neat description of the liberation of Kiev, and the famous Battle for Stalingrad (1942-1943).   Some of you may be familiar with the movie "Enemy at the Gates"--- I did not know this, but the famous Vasily Grigoryevich Zaytsev was from Kiev City!  The Ukrainians vehemently say that "Wikipedia" is all wrong about his place of birth.   Not sure which is right, but  his rifle and memorabilia were on display at the museum.  I took a picture for all the Hoo-ya's in the audience....

Max loved the whole museum experience.  He was fascinated by the planes, and all the artifacts the museum had to offer.  He ran from exhibit to exhibit saying OOOOHHHH! (pause, then look in another direction) OOOOOH!  He was very good actually. He didn't try to grab things too much.  I was impressed.  He was very adamant about walking next to me and trying to be good, without me holding his hand.  He would put his hands in his pockets in protest when I would notice him a little too close to a motorcycle or rifle display.  It was so funny!   We steamed on into the afternoon, skipping his nap on purpose-- I want him to go right to sleep tonight!

After the Museum, it was getting close to dinner time.  Yuri and I made plans to meet up for sushi at one of his favorite local haunts the "Arena".   Arena City is a large high end mall, which is in the center of Kiev, and houses a shopping mall, art center, several nice restaurants, and the famed "Arena Nightclub" (the night bar & dance scene hotspot).   We had dinner at the Arena restaurant blow the club, and it was actually some pretty good sushi!  No Yuri, not as good as Japan ---but nothing ever quite is....Max ate some miso soup, and I ordered him some chicken which he ate a few bites of.  He was not particularly interested in eating.  Instead he was interested in taking apart the screws holding the menu together---it captivated him for most of the meal while Yuri and I chatted.  He loves taking things apart.  One can only hope that someday he will learn to put things back together as well....  After dinner, it was bed time for Max, so Yuri drove me home, and we settled all the bills for the apartment so I wouldn't have to deal with the landlord in the morning.  The apartment was very reasonable for $100/night in Tolstoy Square w/ cable internet connection!   I highly recommend it....just not the one with the piano!   

Max is bathed and in bed now.  He only protested for 10 minutes tonight!  So, I'm off to pack our ONE bag (YAY), and then try to organize Max's carry-on.  I have decided to bag the idea of taking the portable DVD player and my laptop in my carry-on.  I put them in my suitcase--Max isn't really interested enough in them, and they are a pain to schlep through security while keeping Max under foot.  So we are opting to travel light---I am just bringing some great toy cars I bought him ( the doors open and close, wheels turn, etc. ), some coloring books and crayons, and a magna-doodle.  The rest of the space will be taken up by extra clothes incase of vomiting or whatever, and medicine--yes I am planning to dose with Tylenol and Dramamine.  The Tylenol is in case his ears hurt with the pressure changes, and the dramamine is to prevent the extra outfits from being used!  It's only 9 1/2 hrs --we can survive anything that long (that's what I keep telling myself anyway!).    I will let you know how it works out. 

  Well that's it for Team Chaos in Ukraine!  Our next transmission will be from Va. Beach.  For all of you who were wondering---Yes, we will continue the blog when we get back to the states.   We know that the adventure is really just beginning as we welcome Max into his "forever family", transition Max to the USA,  get him seen by a specialist in the USA, set him up with a sign language program.  There is so much left to discover!  If you want to enjoy the ride with us--stay tuned! 

Love,

Sam (signing off from Kiev!)