No passport

As many have already determined we didn't get Vova's passport yesterday as we thought we would. The first part of the day went as expected. I finished up at the hotel, met with the driver and went to pick up Vova. The last few minutes at the orphanage were quiet and quick. Vova had to change clothes, collected some things he made for his sisters, we took a few pictures, and then we were gone. We didn't really talk to anybody else. The ride to Simferopol was really quiet. I wasn't sure if he didn't know what to say or if he was thinking about what just happened.

We went to the passport office first, of course they didn't have the passport. But they said to come back at 4:30. So we went to get some lunch and see about train tickets. Lunch was nice. Our driver took us to someplace we hadn't been yet and the food was good. We ate a lot though in anticipation of going on the train (there isn't much food on the train). Then after making a stop at one of the driver's friend's house we went back to the passport office. After waiting almost an hour with all sorts of thoughts of possible outcomes rolling around in my head, 4:30 came and went. The driver made a few calls and we headed back to Jonkoi. There the driver arranged a hotel room for Vova and myself, he showed us where everything was (store, restaruant, etc.), and then he left.

So then this was the first time we were together without anybody else. Interestingly, the first thing he did was make his bed (the sheets are not already on your beds in the hotel rooms). We weren't very hungry because of the big lunch, but I asked if he wanted to go to the store. He said yes and so we did. Guess what he wanted: Coke and junk food, imagine that. Well, I thought, what the heck. When we got back to the hotel, we tried to get some games working on my computer (some of the keys don't work right now) but we really couldn't find anything. Afterwards, he finally settled down and we watched a movie I had bought for the train.

When the movie was over, we tried again to play some games again without success, and then finally around 10:30 we decided it was time for bed. During those 4 hours, Vova really made me think of Jeffery and his friends when they come to our house for sleepovers. As some already know, boys don't sleep at Jeffery's sleepovers, and I learned the routine during the last one: drink some soda, eat a snack, play some games... We went through that same routine last night. It was kinda fun.

Today we will try again to get Vova's passport and then head to Kiev. Unfortunately, passport delivery is not guaranteed on a particular day, so we may go through this routine a few days. Either way, we are finally together.

Our quest will continue at noon (5:00am back home), so hope and pray for the best.

Jeff