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R eceivin g th eir U S citizenship 8-21-00. From left: Lisa, Leyna, Vlady, O lena and John Calice. south of Kyiv by car, depending on the weather or on how safely your driver can pass the multitude of slow- moving trucks and bicyclists on the narrow, two-lane highway — a veritable obstacle course. As if the prospect of meeting our children for the first time was not enough to fill my stomach with butterflies. We drove past Cherkasy Children's Home #1 that evening. At our hotel, we had dinner and tried to get some rest. The next day was October 27. An impression from my journal describes it best: "... a rooster is crowing so it must be time to get up. It seemed to begin crowing at 7 a.m. I have been awake since nearly 6 a.m. This is the second time I've felt cold in Ukraine and both times have been indoors (the first time was in the corridor of the Adoption Center). I crouched in the shower this morning, hugging myself for some warmth, because I was so terribly nervous and frozen. I was glad to get it over with so I could stop shivering ... I think today is the day we will meet our children." "The orphanage," I wrote further, "is nestled in a residential area along the Dnipro River. You drive down a narrow, bumpy road with houses on both sides and then there it is. The buildings look new and there is playground equipment, mostly monkey bars. It is sad to think they had to build such a place, but I am thankful for it if our children are there, waiting for us ... We have to dress up again today. We will go to the Cherkasy City Hall, to the Board of Education, and to the Children's home after that. My tummy does not feel so great this morning ... so far I have eaten most things because I have been so hungry ... I think I am experiencing the most culture shock here. No matter how much Ukrainian blood is flowing through my veins, Cherkasy seems like another universe..." It was a mild October day; a soft carpet of fallen leaves covered the ground. When we arrived at the orphanage, we walked through the iron gates and the doors for the first time. My stomach was doing cartwheels. There was a group of small children walking with a caregiver to a play area. Near the heavy front door, a cat was looking at us and purring cautiously. Just inside was a set of stairs going up in opposite directions. We entered the director's office and sat in front of her desk, not facing her, but facing sideways — an arrangement that would become familiar in time. After our meeting with her, we walked to a bright, spacious room on the upper level. We met three children, one of whom was the girl in the second photograph — the three year old, black and white photograph given to us by the director at Kyiv's Adoption Center. I fell in love with Olena instantly. As she played with her toys, she made sure she kept me in view. But in the back of my mind I was mulling over a problem. We had wanted to adopt a sibling pair, and Olena had no siblings. The issue was resolved that day. While we were watching Olena practice her dance for an autumn recital, we spotted Leyna and Vlady. We fell for them as hopelessly as we had for Olena and there was no longer a problem. John and I looked at each other and agreed without words. These children were our children now. It would certainly not be easy, but no other solution was possible. Later, I wrote in my journal, "Today I met my kids. I think that sentence says more than I could write Видання C оюзу Українок A мерики - перевидано в електронному форматі в 2012 році . A рхів C У A - Ню Йорк , Н . Й . C Ш A.
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