We missed our weekly call to Snezhana's school yesterday, so we placed it today instead. She said she had received the candy and jeans we sent 2 weeks ago, but the jeans were too big! AHHHH!
How will I be able to cloth her for our trip home when I can't rely on the size jeans being correct???! :) I have bought "skinny jeans" for her return home trip, so hopefully those will fit her better than the Walmart jeans we mailed her.
She said it was snowing and cold, but that she had boots! We did not send her boots, so I tried to ask her who gave her the boots, but she did not understand.
She said she was "helping for Christmas" and we deciphered that to mean she was helping decorate the orphanage for Christmas. I told her we had put up our Christmas tree, but she giggled and said she did not understand. You see, "tre" is their word for the number 3, so explained that I did not mean "adin, dva, tre" but rather a green tree that grows outside. I told her in America we put lights on trees for decoration. I tried to tell her in several different ways, but she still said she did not understand. I will just have to take her some pictures!
We will most likely finish decorating our tree tomorrow night, surround it with the wrapped gifts, and get some pics of the family by the fireplace to take with us to show S & D when we arrive.
Does anyone know if kids believe in Santa in the Ukraine?
I said my goodbyes at the office today and spent the past 2 days training the temp for my 3 month replacement. We had a two hour lunch at Benihanna's today; then I clearned about my personal stuff and made my rounds to say goodbye.
I work in a small Christian workplace (of mostly women) and everyone has been very supportive of our adoption process and will be praying for us every step of the way. My boss is also a personal friend and we follow each other closely on facebook! :) Have a good Christmas in OK, sweetie (since we're not in the office, I can call you that, right?? ;) )
I called my mom on the way home from work. I doubt that will be our final goodbye since she was also at work. I told her our travel plans so she knows where we'll be and when.
I also called my Gma, who lives in Cali, and found out that she will be visiting my cousins in Las Vegas for Christmas and will get to see the newest baby, a girl who was born this summer!
I guess the only one left to call is my sister.
I'll go over and visit one of my best friends later tonight, as she is going home for the holidays and I will not be seeing her again until we return from our first trip.
The 18lb box arrived from our agent, so I need to unpack it and see how to fit it into our already very full luggage! :)
Yolka is tree ;)
ReplyDeleteDeed Moroz (Grandfather Frost) is Santa, and he comes on New Years w/ some girl, I forget her name...
at our girls orphanage they had a Christmas tree and i can't remember if it was lit but it did have ornaments. the italian folks who were there adopting the same time we were arranged for "santa" to come one of the nights we were all there. i don't think it was foreign to them. some of the kids also enjoyed attaching strings of silver garland to teh ceiling using spitballs. they enjoyed that until they got until trouble and had to stop. my daughter margarita just said the tree had lights and decorations and that santa did come. she remembers things well. :)
ReplyDeleteMelissa, the kids here do see decorated trees. They're now in all the stores, but their "Christmas" is on January 6/7 for the Russian Orthodox calendar. They know who Santa is, mainly because of American movies and products that have been exported to Ukraine. I don't think the children here do Santa as big as the U.S. kids. Our facilitator and the missionary born here both said New Year's Day is a much bigger deal in Ukraine than Christmas; probably due to Communist regime for so long.
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