Sweet Success!

Today was birth certificate day.

It started at 3:30 am and we rolled out of town at 4:30 am on our way to Kerch, where Theodore was born. The driver nearly ran over a dog twice on the way out of town! We got to Kerch at 7am. We waited in the car until nearly eight and then went inside to ensure that we were first in line. The woman who takes care of the birth certificates was so nice! Really, this level of service with a smile is unheard of around these parts. She congratulated me a half hour later when the new bith certificate was handed over. James and I are listed as parents!

We were feeling pretty good that things went so fast in Kerch because we still had to travel to Yalta today. On the way our of town our driver made an error, turned the wrong way on a street and was pulled over by the traffic cop. The cop wanted to take his license away!! It took sooooo long to clear this up. I think some money changed hands, but I really don’t want to know. Police here are not heroes. Theirs is considered one of the lowest of occupations.

By the time this was done and we started out again the traffic had started to get heavy. It was very frustrating for me sitting in the backseat. Not only the traffic, but the stunt-driver style of driving. I’ve never been carsick before today. The hair-raising ride, plus the intense humid heat, plus not much to eat made me feel quite sick all afternoon.

We had to backtrack all the way to travel to Yalta. We were several hours late due to the traffic. This is the holiday season and Yalta is a popular destination.. It is a very beautiful city surrounded by mountains and the sea. Just gorgeous. And HOT. The administration building felt like a steam bath. I was feeling very light headed and thought I might pass out. I kept thinking of that song, Breath of Heaven, hold me together…and I would imagine a cool breeze blowing on my face.

The girl at the administration office in Yalta was friendly, but slow. S.L.O.W. I think that Zhens’ birth certificate may have been all she did today! When we were finally done our driver took me to the seaside for a stroll. I can say that I was splashed by a wave of the Black Sea. For some reason it reminded me of Lake Michigan. It was 6pm as we left to go home for the evening.

It was a hard day, but we accomplished everything that we set out to do! Success!

I’m beat. Photos tomorrow, OK?