Mail 10 - June 8th
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Mail 10 - June 8th |
June 8
We had court today, and the most important piece of information is that we were granted the adoption! We now have a 13 year old daughter, Nelly Margaret Delmatoff, birthday 9/2. The judge made us swear in court that we would get married, so I guess we have to, since we swore. He didn't however, pin us down to a date. :-) Bill cracked the courtroom up by telling them that if the judge had time to marry us now, that might expedite things!
The court was an experience. There is no indoor plumbing at this courthouse, and so in all our nervousness, Nelly and I had to keep running out to the outhouse. There is a big cage in the middle of the courtroom. It looks like a giant cat carrier. I guess it is a cell for if you get out of line, as there is a chair in it. Of course, Neil found that quite interesting. The judge had a run in with another facilitator, and has been very crabby lately, hence our cancelled Friday and Monday dates. HE granted us the adoption, but I must travel tonight, on the overnight train, to Nikolaev to get Nelly's original birth certificate and hand carry it back to Chernihiv region. Basically, these regions are as far as you can get and still be in the same country. Nikolaev is down near Odessa on the Black Sea, Chernihiv is in the north, where Russia, Belarus and Ukraine meet. I will be on a night train from 7 pm tonight until 6 am tomorrow, then in a taxi for an hour, then in a vital records office, then reverse the process. Our translator, Dima is accompanying me. We splurged and got a first class cabin on the train. It's only $30 (regular ticket is $5) and is not "first class" as we know it, but the door locks and there are bunks. We have tentative reservations to return to PDX on Saturday afternoon, 7/11, but since the apostille is off on Thursdays, the Embassy doesn't issue visas on Fridays and no one works on Saturday mornings, I doubt we will get to use those reservations. Bella and Bill and Nelya are bummed. Neil couldn't care less, and I am worried about other things, but the truth is, we'll be home soon, and then it won't matter.
I like Ukraine, but not as well as I liked Russia. We have had fun, but it's hot and smelly and I'm tired and I'm toting around kids, so it's not the most fun I've ever had. However, building our family in this way has been so wonderful. Nelly is a doll, and other than a few easy to fix things (sticking your used fork in the mayonnaise jar, littering) she is perfect. I wish I had so few faults! I'm sure Bill wishes I had so few as well. I must go meet Dima at the train station - more later with details about the second trip to the orphanage and observations of Kiev.
Lots of love to all of you - Liz