Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Day 4 - Picked Up Referral and Leaving for Region

We had fun day walking around and seeing some sights.  Last night we had pizza at a "fancy" restaurant.  We had to rely on our knowledge of Italian to order because the menu was in Russian and Italian.  Today, we ate crepes filled with apples in the mall.  Delicious! 

We noticed some interesting things about the mall:
  • People do not smile.
  • There is a shoe/boot place in every corner.
  • The people walking around look like they are in a fashion show.  Women wear miniskirts with high heal boots.
  • Man carry "purses" or European carry all if you watch Seinfeld.  : )
  • The mall is very quiet.  People speak quietly and there are few children around.
  • Not very many people on cell phone or texting.
  • There is no access for people with disabilities in the mall or anywhere in the city.
  • There is little diversity.
    • We have seen one black person
    • No people with disabilities
    • Most people are thing and attractive
After the mall we went to the SDA to pick up our referral to visit "Grady's" region and meet him. We are leaving tonight at 9:00 PM and will arrive tomorrow at 10:00 AM.  Please pray for safety and rest.

4 comments:

  1. Your observations are familiar with what we noticed too. After we picked up Erika, we were in a restaurant and there was a teacher in the restaurant with several college students. He was American. He noticed our trouble getting her in the restaurant. He asked if we were American. He knew, because we couldn't help those silly American smiles. :)
    He then said, "You know, I have never seen a Handicapped child here." He asked us about Erika, and then, he asked his students, "What do you think about there not being any access for the handicapped?" The all shrugged and said, "They didn't really care, or know much about it."
    One of the girls said, "Out of sight, out of mind." I think the teacher, who was young, was a little disturbed by that.(he was in his 20's and most likely just beginning to think about life outside of himself)
    We went on to have a discussion with this group about where orphans and the unwanted of society wind up in Ukraine. Many of the kids had no idea. Very sad.

    And to be fair, many of those in our own country don't know either... and if we didn't have FEDERAL laws to FORCE access, we most likely wouldn't have it.

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  2. I am excited to follow your blog. It was this time last year that m and my husband adopted 3 babies from the Ukraine. We now have 10 kids. I see you live in Allen Texas. We are moving to Dallas area next month. It would be nice to meet you when you get back home!! If you know of any good are's of Dallas to live in, please let me know!! We are praying for you guy's!! livingmylifeonthewildside.blogspot.com

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  3. HiGuys! I'm glad you're on the way to "Grady's" region. Your observations about the mall are almost exactly what we experienced in Inner Mongolia and Bejing. Do you have your cashmere coat ready?:) I am looking forward to hearing about your train ride; please post pics! We're still praying for you and we'll keep checking to see how you're doing. Isn't it nice to get away from all the holiday chaos? Blessings to you, Michelle G.

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  4. You're right on all those things! Funny.

    I sure miss it though.

    Can't wait to see pics of your little guy :)

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