Things are going almost too perfectly (except the locals still make fun of us :-)). We had our first meeting with the orphan court inspector on Wednesday afternoon (1/31). It turns out that this woman was the woman who headed the court session on Monday. This meeting was very informal and she was extremely nice. Our translator, Daiga, was there once again to help us all communicate. The questions were rather routine. The inspector wanted to know how we were spending our time with Kristine. We told her we've been spending most of our time taking Kristine to the bus stop for school and picking her up afterwards. We did mention giong out to eat once or twice and said we spent time with our Latvian friends, Ilga & Janis (it was good to name drop Ilga's name because the inspector knew of her). The woman asked why we didn't request to have Kristine miss school while we were here. We told her that we had been told that she must attend school so we didn't think keeping her out of school was an option in our case. We added that we thought it was important for her to keep up with her school work so she agreed. It's actually been nice having her go to school because it gives Robert and me some time to catch our breath. The only pain is that we have to pick her up around 2:00 so it's hard for us to go exploring to far because we have to make it back in time. We plan to do some fun things this weekend.
Okay, back to the inspector visit....
The inspector asked Kristine some questions and we were stunned when Kristine told her that she didn't feel comfortable asking us for food. WHAT???!!! Of course, Robert and I jumped in and reminded her that she didn't appear shy when it came to asking for fruit rollups, cereal, juice, bananas, sausages, or the many other things we've let her pick out at the grocery store. The last thing we need is the inspector thinking that we don't feed the girl. Kristine later clarified her statement and said she was shy on the inside. WHATEVER!! That made absolutely no sense and the inspector just chuckled and continued with her questions. The inspector went on to ask Kristine certain questions about her past and the tone of the conversation began to change. Kristine began to become withdrawn somewhat. We had to remind her that the orphan court is only looking out for her best interest so they have to ask her all kinds of questions. She understood and reluctantly continued answering the questions. All in all, it was a very positive meeting. Daiga called us afterwards to tell us that she had a good talk with the inspector and she is very supportive of our adoption. She was concerned that we might be worried that things didn't go well. Actually, we weren't worried at all because but it was nice of her to take the time to reassure us.
This morning we met Daiga at a notary office so we could sign the Power of Attorney document allowing me to handle things on Robert's behalf since I'll be traveling alone for the next trip. The notaries here are not like those in the U.S. Here they are more like attorneys and also have the power to draft and negotiate agreements. Our process this morning was quick and painless. Daiga was there to translate the document for us so we could be sure all was in order. We are so thankful for her help and would be lost without her!
Yesterday evening, we met with the children's home director, Ilga G. We met our friend, Ilga L., at her work so she could drive us from there to the children's home. This was a good time for us to deliver some gifts we brought for the director, her staff and the children. We brought the director some coffee and chocolates and brought the kids some board games and candy that they could all share. Our meeting was really nice and informal. We mainly wanted to know if there was any additional information in Kristine's background that we should know about. The orphan court had asked us if we had reviewed her documents and at that time we hadn't. We want to be able to state that we have seen her documents when we have our next court session on Feb. 9th. The director pulled Kristine's book which includes documents about the circumstances surrounding her arrival at the children's home, etc. It turns out that Kristine has already shared most of the information with us but it was good to hear it from an official source. The director was very supportive of us and a kind woman. It helped that she and Ilga L. are friends so we could all talk informally. Kristine's case is pretty straightfoward and she sees no reason why things won't move along as planned. We also used this opportunity to ask about Olegs. She reassured us that she has submitted the documents to get him cleared for adoption. The court that handles those cases is very backed up so it could still take 6 months to a year for him to be free. When it's time for Olegs' case to be heard, he will be asked what he wishes so he'll be able to say that he wants to come with us. He will have his 12th birthday in March and once kids turn 12 they have more say in the process and their wishes are given more weight by the courts. We just told Ilga G. that we already feel like a family and she shared that she noticed such a big change in the children after they spent time with us. She agrees that it would be a positive thing for us to adopt both children. She even commented that we already look like family. We finished the conversation by inviting Ilga G. to America. Ilga L. is trying to convince her to learn English so she can be a chaperone for one of the future hostings. We told her we'll be happy to show her America if she comes one day. It was just so nice to meet her and for her to see in person how we interact with the kids. Kristine was with us and then Olegs popped into her office for a hug and kiss before we left. I think she can see that we all share a genuine love for each other and hopefully, she can share this with the court when the time comes. One other happy thing is that she surprised us by saying Olegs can spend the entire weekend with us. She had previously said it would be better if he didn't stay overnight. That means he gets to spend the night on Saturday!! We are SO excited because it's been hard on him knowing that Kristine is with us while he can't be. We'll be meeting him at the bus tomorrow morning along with Ilga L. & Janis. Ilga & Janis are going to show us around Jurmala, the beach resort area where they have a vacation flat. We won't be venturing out into the water, but it will be neat to see. Then we're supposed to go to a huge restaurant called Big Lido where they have an ice skating rink. I've never ice skated before but told them I'd try. I figure everyone's already laughing at us anyway, they might as well laugh at me while I try to skate. So far, Robert said he's not going to skate but maybe if we apply some heavy peer pressure he'll change his mind. :-))
Here's some random info about our experience. I'm at the internet cafe trying not to take too long so this is in no particular order.
We've tried lots of new foods. Kristine introduced us to something called "doctor sausage." That's the English translation...not sure how to say it in Latvian. She showed us how she melts the pack of butter by setting it on the radiator. Then she'll spread the butter on a sandwich and add slices of the meat. We've had those sandwiches almost everyday. Robert says it reminds him of braunschweiger (sp?). Kristine also picked out some really good frozen ravioli things that are stuffed with pork instead of cheese. She said she has them with white sauce but it turns out the sauce she eats them with is sour cream. We actually tried it and it's pretty darn good. Ilga introduced us to karums, which are large chocolate covered squares with cream cheese in the middle. They are very popular treats here and they come in all types of flavors like vanilla, chocolate, nut, coconut, etc. So far, Robert and I like the chocolate ones the best. Kristine says people eat them for breakfast but we've been eating them like dessert.
Our grocery store experiences are always interesting. The store called Rimi seems to be more like our Publix in that the food selection is better and the fruit & vegetables are fresh. The other grocery, Maxim, is much lower quality but it's closer to us. The other day we went to Maxim and the checkout lady was trippin' on us big time. As she was scanning our items, she'd glance down and then look up at us out of the corner of her eye (never making eye contact) and staring. Then she'd look down again. She seemed so nervous. I don't know if she thought we were going to rob the place, or what. She even looked scared. I thought she might go get security. Good grief!!! When these people stare at us I just want to yell at the top of my lungs, WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT???!!! It made matters worse that I was paying by credit card (everyone else paid cash) so the line backed up. Then we got home and found out that the toilet paper we bought was actually paper towels. ARRRGGHHH!! I was in no mood to go back to the store, so I just told everyone that they'd just have to use the paper towels and I'd go back out the next day for the TP.
Robert had a similar incident when he went to a fishing store down the street. He went intending to talk to the locals about fishing in the area. Well, they wanted nothing to do with him. He wandered around the store and went downstairs where it turns out they had firearms for sale. He was just looking and checking prices when the clerk down there started watching his every move. He'd go to one end of the store and she'd go to the opposite end. Finally, she yelled to the other male clerk upstairs to come down so she could go upstairs. Clearly she was scared for some reason. So then poor Robert had a man staring at him. Latvians need to learn that if they want to sell things in their stores, it might be good business to actually talk to their customers and be nice. What a concept!!
Robert also had a staring contest with the guard at the American embassy. He stood across the street and the guard there stood on his side of the street just watching him. He had fun with it this time and decided to see if he could make the guard look away first. Finally, the guard did look away and was probably tired of all this nonsense. We're both trying to have more fun with it and we're staring right back at people when they stare at us. We can play that game too!!
Robert finally did have a good experience when he stopped to talk to the people who worked at one of the local optical shops (which are all over the place, by the way). He met the optometrist there and she spoke some English. They were able to talk about the products sold in Latvia versus the products sold in America. Many of the products are similar such as Acuvue contacts, etc. It was just a very nice experience and so different from the prior ones. I guess if we keep trying, sooner or later we're bound to make a friend or two.
Kristine says we talk too loud and that might be why people stare at us. When she and I go out together we play a game where I pretend to be Latvian and she'll talk to me in Russian or Latvian and I'll pretend to understand and reply in a simple "Da" ("yes") or "Nyet" ("no"). We usually get so tickled that we both wind up drawing even more attention to ourselves rather than blending in. Robert has this habit of whistling at times and it drives Kristine crazy because people stare. People in Latvia just don't whistle.
Oh, another interesting thing is that we keep hearing these birds that sound like seagulls. It's just strange hearing them here because it's so cold, but they sound just like the ones at the beach in Florida. Also, we've seen a couple of Latvian kitties. The cats don't play around either. They all have a place to go and have their thick wool coats on. Even the kitties look at us strange and run away from us. We're just Americans and there's no way to hide it, even the animals can sense it.
I don't have time to reread this so it's probably full of mispellings, etc. Gotta go get ready to pick up Kristine at the bus stop!
Atta ("goodbye"), for now!!
Okay, back to the inspector visit....
The inspector asked Kristine some questions and we were stunned when Kristine told her that she didn't feel comfortable asking us for food. WHAT???!!! Of course, Robert and I jumped in and reminded her that she didn't appear shy when it came to asking for fruit rollups, cereal, juice, bananas, sausages, or the many other things we've let her pick out at the grocery store. The last thing we need is the inspector thinking that we don't feed the girl. Kristine later clarified her statement and said she was shy on the inside. WHATEVER!! That made absolutely no sense and the inspector just chuckled and continued with her questions. The inspector went on to ask Kristine certain questions about her past and the tone of the conversation began to change. Kristine began to become withdrawn somewhat. We had to remind her that the orphan court is only looking out for her best interest so they have to ask her all kinds of questions. She understood and reluctantly continued answering the questions. All in all, it was a very positive meeting. Daiga called us afterwards to tell us that she had a good talk with the inspector and she is very supportive of our adoption. She was concerned that we might be worried that things didn't go well. Actually, we weren't worried at all because but it was nice of her to take the time to reassure us.
This morning we met Daiga at a notary office so we could sign the Power of Attorney document allowing me to handle things on Robert's behalf since I'll be traveling alone for the next trip. The notaries here are not like those in the U.S. Here they are more like attorneys and also have the power to draft and negotiate agreements. Our process this morning was quick and painless. Daiga was there to translate the document for us so we could be sure all was in order. We are so thankful for her help and would be lost without her!
Yesterday evening, we met with the children's home director, Ilga G. We met our friend, Ilga L., at her work so she could drive us from there to the children's home. This was a good time for us to deliver some gifts we brought for the director, her staff and the children. We brought the director some coffee and chocolates and brought the kids some board games and candy that they could all share. Our meeting was really nice and informal. We mainly wanted to know if there was any additional information in Kristine's background that we should know about. The orphan court had asked us if we had reviewed her documents and at that time we hadn't. We want to be able to state that we have seen her documents when we have our next court session on Feb. 9th. The director pulled Kristine's book which includes documents about the circumstances surrounding her arrival at the children's home, etc. It turns out that Kristine has already shared most of the information with us but it was good to hear it from an official source. The director was very supportive of us and a kind woman. It helped that she and Ilga L. are friends so we could all talk informally. Kristine's case is pretty straightfoward and she sees no reason why things won't move along as planned. We also used this opportunity to ask about Olegs. She reassured us that she has submitted the documents to get him cleared for adoption. The court that handles those cases is very backed up so it could still take 6 months to a year for him to be free. When it's time for Olegs' case to be heard, he will be asked what he wishes so he'll be able to say that he wants to come with us. He will have his 12th birthday in March and once kids turn 12 they have more say in the process and their wishes are given more weight by the courts. We just told Ilga G. that we already feel like a family and she shared that she noticed such a big change in the children after they spent time with us. She agrees that it would be a positive thing for us to adopt both children. She even commented that we already look like family. We finished the conversation by inviting Ilga G. to America. Ilga L. is trying to convince her to learn English so she can be a chaperone for one of the future hostings. We told her we'll be happy to show her America if she comes one day. It was just so nice to meet her and for her to see in person how we interact with the kids. Kristine was with us and then Olegs popped into her office for a hug and kiss before we left. I think she can see that we all share a genuine love for each other and hopefully, she can share this with the court when the time comes. One other happy thing is that she surprised us by saying Olegs can spend the entire weekend with us. She had previously said it would be better if he didn't stay overnight. That means he gets to spend the night on Saturday!! We are SO excited because it's been hard on him knowing that Kristine is with us while he can't be. We'll be meeting him at the bus tomorrow morning along with Ilga L. & Janis. Ilga & Janis are going to show us around Jurmala, the beach resort area where they have a vacation flat. We won't be venturing out into the water, but it will be neat to see. Then we're supposed to go to a huge restaurant called Big Lido where they have an ice skating rink. I've never ice skated before but told them I'd try. I figure everyone's already laughing at us anyway, they might as well laugh at me while I try to skate. So far, Robert said he's not going to skate but maybe if we apply some heavy peer pressure he'll change his mind. :-))
Here's some random info about our experience. I'm at the internet cafe trying not to take too long so this is in no particular order.
We've tried lots of new foods. Kristine introduced us to something called "doctor sausage." That's the English translation...not sure how to say it in Latvian. She showed us how she melts the pack of butter by setting it on the radiator. Then she'll spread the butter on a sandwich and add slices of the meat. We've had those sandwiches almost everyday. Robert says it reminds him of braunschweiger (sp?). Kristine also picked out some really good frozen ravioli things that are stuffed with pork instead of cheese. She said she has them with white sauce but it turns out the sauce she eats them with is sour cream. We actually tried it and it's pretty darn good. Ilga introduced us to karums, which are large chocolate covered squares with cream cheese in the middle. They are very popular treats here and they come in all types of flavors like vanilla, chocolate, nut, coconut, etc. So far, Robert and I like the chocolate ones the best. Kristine says people eat them for breakfast but we've been eating them like dessert.
Our grocery store experiences are always interesting. The store called Rimi seems to be more like our Publix in that the food selection is better and the fruit & vegetables are fresh. The other grocery, Maxim, is much lower quality but it's closer to us. The other day we went to Maxim and the checkout lady was trippin' on us big time. As she was scanning our items, she'd glance down and then look up at us out of the corner of her eye (never making eye contact) and staring. Then she'd look down again. She seemed so nervous. I don't know if she thought we were going to rob the place, or what. She even looked scared. I thought she might go get security. Good grief!!! When these people stare at us I just want to yell at the top of my lungs, WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT???!!! It made matters worse that I was paying by credit card (everyone else paid cash) so the line backed up. Then we got home and found out that the toilet paper we bought was actually paper towels. ARRRGGHHH!! I was in no mood to go back to the store, so I just told everyone that they'd just have to use the paper towels and I'd go back out the next day for the TP.
Robert had a similar incident when he went to a fishing store down the street. He went intending to talk to the locals about fishing in the area. Well, they wanted nothing to do with him. He wandered around the store and went downstairs where it turns out they had firearms for sale. He was just looking and checking prices when the clerk down there started watching his every move. He'd go to one end of the store and she'd go to the opposite end. Finally, she yelled to the other male clerk upstairs to come down so she could go upstairs. Clearly she was scared for some reason. So then poor Robert had a man staring at him. Latvians need to learn that if they want to sell things in their stores, it might be good business to actually talk to their customers and be nice. What a concept!!
Robert also had a staring contest with the guard at the American embassy. He stood across the street and the guard there stood on his side of the street just watching him. He had fun with it this time and decided to see if he could make the guard look away first. Finally, the guard did look away and was probably tired of all this nonsense. We're both trying to have more fun with it and we're staring right back at people when they stare at us. We can play that game too!!
Robert finally did have a good experience when he stopped to talk to the people who worked at one of the local optical shops (which are all over the place, by the way). He met the optometrist there and she spoke some English. They were able to talk about the products sold in Latvia versus the products sold in America. Many of the products are similar such as Acuvue contacts, etc. It was just a very nice experience and so different from the prior ones. I guess if we keep trying, sooner or later we're bound to make a friend or two.Kristine says we talk too loud and that might be why people stare at us. When she and I go out together we play a game where I pretend to be Latvian and she'll talk to me in Russian or Latvian and I'll pretend to understand and reply in a simple "Da" ("yes") or "Nyet" ("no"). We usually get so tickled that we both wind up drawing even more attention to ourselves rather than blending in. Robert has this habit of whistling at times and it drives Kristine crazy because people stare. People in Latvia just don't whistle.
Oh, another interesting thing is that we keep hearing these birds that sound like seagulls. It's just strange hearing them here because it's so cold, but they sound just like the ones at the beach in Florida. Also, we've seen a couple of Latvian kitties. The cats don't play around either. They all have a place to go and have their thick wool coats on. Even the kitties look at us strange and run away from us. We're just Americans and there's no way to hide it, even the animals can sense it.I don't have time to reread this so it's probably full of mispellings, etc. Gotta go get ready to pick up Kristine at the bus stop!
Atta ("goodbye"), for now!!
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