We hope to have a court date assigned to our case today, and once that happens, things will begin to quiet down until court. We have a lot to be grateful for because the last time we did this in 2004, it was January, we were stuck in a room of a hotel, and the “Internet Cafe” we used was about 6 computers competing for about 56.0 mbps. Needless to say, we were bored out of our minds.
 

This time, it’s so much easier with it being summer. The weather’s been pleasant, with the occasional showers we Seattlites are accustomed to, and we have a very roomy apartment with all of the creature comforts of home (without the furry creatures, of course…but with a/c, Internet, and a washing machine) that’s within walking distance to Little Person’s orphanage.

Kramatorsk is a lot smaller than Donestk, but it’s stocked with all the essentials. There’s a main shopping district where we can buy Little Person some clothes and toys (I have to remind myself to bring our measuring tape with us today so I can measure Little Person), and lots of grocery stores and shops so we’ve actually had meals in the apartment here…thanks to yours truly who uses cooking as therapy (and Sunday was a HUGE cooking day for me, let me tell you).

Our days have been filled with going to see Little Person in the morning and in the late afternoon…and in between those times, we’ve been running to the notary and checking out the city–so we’ve been pretty busy. So far, we’ve only watched one movie on our laptop because by the time 9 pm rolls around, we pretty much fall into our beds from exhaustion.

Mr. Na has been so awesome on this trip, you can’t even imagine. I mean, ok, we broke down and got him a Nintendo DS right before the trip–so he’s been playing Wall-e and Cars and Monster Trucks everywhere we go…but c’mon he’s six! I STILL remember the time my mom dragged me to Germany when I was six…and I was bored to tears. Watching Hong Kong Phooey in German is NOT FUN FOR A SIX YEAR-OLD! Thanks Mom!

When we all walk around together, though, Na’s got his eyes wide open…enjoying the sights.

One sight we see every day that we’d never see at home is the inordinate amound of stray dogs and cats roaming around. They’re as plentiful as squirrels and for the most part, they don’t bother anyone. Mr. Na calls them all “spares”, as in “Look Mama, there’s a spare cat over there…” or “There’s two spare dogs over there…ewwww…what are they DOING????” Er, um…moving right along…The only thing we can’t stand is the broken glass everywhere–that, coupled with the muddy paths or uneven pavement, makes it hard to navigate.

This weekend, we’re planning a trip to Donetsk–Mr. Na’s birth city–which is about an hour away by bus. We hope to see a Donetsk Schacter soccer game and take Mr. Na to his orphanage–and maybe even bunk for one night in that dark, dank hotel that we called home in 2004.

Well, I’m going to close now, and leave you with some pictures! I’ll post some more of our surrounds later.

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