Day 10....... Slow and Easy

Today felt like a day off! We relaxed at the apartment……… no appointments, papers to sign, errands to run (we made our daily stop at the market for water and bread yesterday). Galya and Kostia were here promptly at 3:30 for our daily ride to the orphanage. We gave them a few little gifts that we brought for them and for their adorable 2 ½ year old, Maya. Galya, among many other entrepreneurial skills, is a volunteer for Life To Orphans (http://www.lifetoorphans.org/) and is an amazing advocate for this orphans here in Sevastopol and the surrounding area.

Our visit with Angela today was relaxed and fun. We talked again about the upcoming court appearance (we don’t have a date yet but hope to have it next week) and the fact that we need to finalize the selection of her middle name. Angela _______ Thomas! We’re hoping to have “Sin” (her Korean last name) be her new middle name. We told her about the research we had done and that the name Sin, also spelled and pronounced “Shin”, which we prefer, has strong historical ties to Korean history…… Many other Shins, have been poets, artists, Buddhist monks, historians, and most importantly the General who founded a large province in South Korea, a name she can be very proud of. She nodded, and then asked if we had already signed the paperwork….. We laughed and told her of course not. A name is a very important thing and a decision we want her to be a part of. We decided to let her think about it and discuss it again another day. We took a map with us today to show her where Korea was…… She wasn’t familiar and doesn’t seem to consider herself Asian at all…. We find this curious but understandable.

The rest of our time was spent with all of the girls playing Uno, doing cartwheels, snacking on cookies we had brought from the market and then reading a little at the end.

A quick meeting with Lubov, requesting permission to take Angela out both Saturday and Sunday. She said OK!!! We then asked for a list of items that might be needed such as toiletries etc….. We’d like to start bringing a little something with us each day that we know all the girls will benefit from.

Back at the apartment, Pam created a unique Ukrainian-Mex concoction….. Len, being easy to please and a “good eater” threw out one compliment after another….. We ended our dinner with talks of how the meal would have been perfect with our favorite TJ’s Lime Salsa and Flaxseed Chips and a little dollop of Len’s homemade guacamole. Ole! Len cleared the table and went to the freezer, pretending to grab a pint of Graeter’s vanilla ice cream.