Weather in Kiev has been the same for the last few days - just above freezing with overcast skies and a little rain every now and then. All the snow is gone. We don't expect to see any sun until next Wednesday. I hear Toronto is just a sheet of ice right now!
It was a late start to the day as everyone slept in. We went out for a short walk to the park where Nathan played on the swings and teeter-totter. We could not let him do much as the play ground was all muddy. The real adventure of the day started when I attempted to use an ATM. It was looking good until the message on the screen read "You card has been retained at the request of the issuer". You can imagine the expression on my face when I turned to Martha and said "the machine just ate my card!"
We could not believe it. We both looked at the ATM thinking it was a mistake hoping the card would come back out but it did not. We went inside the bank and approached the security guard to see if he knew any English. Nope. So here I go using broken English and motioning with my hands trying to show them what has happened. They motion me to go to the office on the side and see the "Boss". So I open the door and the Boss is a tellers window. Neither lady speaks English. I motion to one lady to come out from behind the glass wall so I could show her what has happened. With my luck, there happens to be a lady at the next window who could speak English and asks what is wrong. After hearing my explanation, she says don't worry, we will fix the problem and get your card back. Just wait a few minutes. Of course, in this situation, a few minutes seems like hours. In the end, I did get my card back and the bank officials were very helpful.
Back in the castle, we Skyped with friends, families, and my office for the next couple of hours. We caught up with another family that was here with us 2 years ago - Amanda and Jeffrey. They too have returned to adopt another child. They are just waiting for the visa for their son to be completed so they can return to Trinidad and Tobago.
We made tentative plans to meet with them tomorrow. Joe
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