Dima's Adoption

I just wanted to share with you, our adoption story.
We started out  looking at Lithuania and became frustrated with the  time frame it took to complete the adoption process and the
total lack of communication from the Agency. We decided in April
after some heavy soul searching to look at other programs. It was a real education!  We were looking for a program like Lithuania,
beautiful children, two small trips, something affordable and a quick referral. We originally wasted two months looking at young children in Estonia and came to the conclusion that there are not healthy children of a very young age in Estonia available for adoption. Most had FAS or other issues.
 
To our surprise we found Moldova. It just reopened
and when we looked at the program it was very similar to Lithuania. Two short trips or one long one. The first to go to court and
adopt and then return 17-20 days later to get the child and return
to the U.S.
 
We received our referral right up front by looking
at available children and their health records thru Adoption Patch. The children
range from 18 months to six years. We chose a 3 year old boy.

We sent our dossier in mid June for the little boy
and started the wait process. It didn't take long, on July 15th we
got a call to me in Moldova by the 23rd of July. We rushed around
and arranged travel and read up on Moldova.
 
We were very pleasantly surprised by Moldova- the climate was very
warm and they are one of the 15 republics of the old
Soviet Union.  There is a strong Russian influence and the country
is very safe. We were surprised by how modern the city of Chisinau was
compared to U.S. Cities.  It had very modern grocery stores were you could find anything you needed. We had heard that most Eastern Countries were not very modern , but I must say we found toilets every where  we went, bottle water and many fruits and vegetables.

The children our beautiful and mostly of Russian
decent. Their children are very fair skinned and have blond,
brown, red and dark hair. Their is very few gypsy children and the
children seemed very healthy. A few had crossed eyes and special
needs but the majority were very healthy. It seemed the ratio of
the girls and the boys were the same and we saw a few twins The
Orphanage we were our son was at was one of three in Chisinau and had
150 children up to six years of age. The orphanage was very clean and the children taken care of,  however like most orphanages, they probably don't

get a lot to eat other than the milk/bread soup they eat. Our son
liked to eat the food we brought. He ate an apple, two pears and
me crackers in one visit and would have ate more if we had more
food to offer him.

We started going to the grocery market to buy him more
food for our visits. We were told not to give him too much
because they were not use to the food. We chose to give him fruits,
thinking it would be best on his stomach. We visited twice a day for two
hours each  visit. We immediately connected with him and he
became very affectionate. We played with him and some of his
friends in his group. The children were starving for attention -
the caregivers  don't seem to play with the children but rather just
watch them. They would wear the same clothes for two days and
than be changed into something else. On hot days (95 degrees in
July) they would run around in their underwear. Our son was wearing a
hat and girls pants one day- we had a good laugh because he looked so
cute.

We went to court on the fourth day, which took about an hour
and half. They basically read our home study asked a few questions,
asked if were were read his medical. The court was very old and
run down, and probably the same from the soviet days, they hand
wrote everything because there are very few computers but they all
have cell phones. We were asked to leave the court and in twenty
minutes invited back to hear the decision that we were approved. We
celebrated and went to the orphanage and then out to dinner. We visited
for two more days until we had to say our goodbyes. We were very sad-
we are now waiting the 17 day appeal process and will return to
pick him up.  Our next travel date is Mid August.

Posted 8/5/03

The Country of Moldova is very beautiful and green.  Their main exports are
wine and sunflower seeds.  It is an Agriculture economy and the have fresh
vegetables and fruit everywhere.  The city of Chisinau is very modern.  They
have modern grocery stores, malls ( not exactly like ours, they have small
glass cubicles in a building that represent stores), and very good
restaurants.  The dollar goes a long way and you can get dinner for two for
$10-15.   They offer apartments that are very large with two bedrooms, kitchen, bathrooms (yes they have normal toilets), living room for $45.00 per night or you can stay at the Hotel Dedeman (New *****  Five Star Hotel) from anywhere from $85.00-$170.00 per night. 

The Dedeman is in a great location and offer what a four or five star here in the U.S. would offer. The offer winery tours Monday through  Friday - we might do one on the second trip.  We really didn't get out into the country side- it seems more rural and poor  The Translator is around $30.00 per day. & Driver $25.00 per day. 

The orphanage we went to was right in the city.   It was located in the
middle of some large apartment buildings and it was a two story building.
It looked small but it was quite deceiving.  It actually had several wings
to it and each child is placed in a group of 10-12 children with two
caregivers.  Our child was in group Three and they were on the second floor
of the orphanage.  From what we saw it looked like a typical preschool room,
minus the posters and toys.  There was a TV with the cartoon network. They
have small tables where they eat, mats for naps and a separate room for
bathing and sleeping.  We did not get to see the room.  We are told they eat
three times a day.  It is sort of like a milk bread porridge.   They get
fresh fruit occasionally from the Orthodox church .

All of our visits were outside on the orphanages grounds.  The grass is not cut (its like that all over Moldova) but they  did have a very old monkey bar set.  The children get to go out two hours in the morning and two hours in the afternoon with their group.  We were only allowed in the orphanage  a few times and don't expect to get a tour.  You will get to meet the doctor ( I doubt she had medical credentials) but anyway, she will read you in Russia your child's health records from the day they enter into the orphanage and your

translator will give you the details.  It is pretty much what you got in
your medical.  You will find out if they had been sick with the flu or
bronchitis.  They don't have growth charts or records like that but we are
told we will get a copy of the records on our second trip.  They do tell you
the blood type and any tests that were preformed.

The Children seem healthy, a few had crossed eyes and most seem to be pretty
healthy.  I think there is a separate group for the special needs.  We did
see them out one day in their wheelchairs.   The children don't seem to get
alot of stimulation from the caregivers and the small children (1-2 year
olds) are placed in a little wooden deck that is enclosed.  (Think of it as
a big play pen).  Most of the Children came right up to us and were very
friendly.  Didn't appear to be afraid of men (myself).  The children don't
seem under weight but our son did eat whatever we brought him and would not
let it out of his hands until it was finished.  I assume he is not given
enough to eat and he just enjoys anything else that is offered than the
porridge.

Potty time is right after meals and we were told they sit for fifteen
minutes on their pots.   That may explain our sons accident after we gave
him a large bottle of water.   They do have crackers, baby food and juice in
all the Green Hill grocery stores in Chisinau.  I would not recommend
packing your suitcase full of food, since you can buy it very cheaply right
there.  By the way they don't recommend giving them chocolate.  They even have a children's toy store and shoe store in the Sun City Mall. We bought

our son a new pair of sandals since his shoes were too small.

Posted 8/27/2003
Just returned from my second trip from Moldova and Brought my son Home.  He is doing wonderful and is adjusting very well. We were the first American couple to adopt since the suspension has been lifted.  Our program coordinator and translator in Moldova were fabulous!  I would recommend this program to anyone.   We were given our referral in early June and finished the whole process by August 19th. The first trip was meeting our son, visiting the country and going to court. You have to deposit $2,000.00 with the Moldovan Government. 

When you arrive in the country you will need to fill out two custom declarations.  One declaration will have the $2,000.00 cash on it and the other will have your remaining money and any cameras or video cameras you wish to declare.  You will need to give the $2,000.00 custom declaration to your coordinator with your cash deposit.

The second visit occurred about 20 days later.  When we arrived, we
were given all the necessary paperwork and  passport of our son. We
were unable to get our son  from the orphanage until the actual day
we were leaving.  We did get to go into the country side and tour a
wine factory and have a wine tasting (highly recommend it).  Their is
a national souvenir shop that you must go to to buy your Moldova
culture souvenirs (It the City Hall Building Yellow- next to the old KGB Building.

It appears that a lot of the children are being placed.  In our sons group, one boy was going to Israel, twin girls were going to Italy and another little girl was being placed with a Moldavian family.

In Bucharest, I would stay at the InterContinental Hotel!  It meets all your needs and just across the street from the U.S. Embassy.   We did have to visit a Romanian Doctor at a cost of 700,000 lei ($30.00 )to get his physical filled out.  Our Embassy appointment was a 1:00

pm and I had to go the morning of to drop off some of the paperwork
and get the medical forms for the doctor visit.   You will need to
complete the I-600, (most of you have done a I-600A, this is the
approval and security part) the I-600 is the adoption of a specific
child.  In addition you will need to fill out a visa application for
you child.   The appointment took about one hour and we had to pay $
355.00 (for the visa).   We returned at 4:00pm to get the visa.  You
will need your latest tax return, W-2's and an employment
certificate or pay stub .  We were told wee needed three years of tax
returns and W-2's but they only asked for the past year. I would
still take three years just in case.

After we got our visa, we ate dinner at the Hotel and took a walk and
went to bed.  Our flight was at 7:00 am the next morning.  It was one
three hour flight to Paris and another 8 hour flight to Philly. 
Remember if you are doing connecting flights, you may need a transit
visa for your child.  We did not need one going through Paris, if we
did not go through Passport Control.  We transferred around the
airport using their shuttle system from gate to gate.  You do need to
show your U.S. Visa to board the flights.

Upon arrival in Philly, we went through Immigration and got his
passport visa stamped with an IR-3 Visa.   We were told he would get
a green card and we would have to apply for citizenship.  We were
told we would get something in the mail!!  I thought he got
citizenship automatic since we saw him before we adopted him, but I
need to find that out.

Anyway, I hope this was helpful.

Posted 9/10/2003

Some advise for your second trip - The Dedeman  Hotel s a  Very nice new
Hotel and its across from Sun City mall. http:://www.africancoupons.com/Moldova/Dedeman/Dedeman.asp

We stayed here on our first visit and in the Apartment in the second, the
Apartments are nice but I missed the Dedman Hotel and the room service.

In Sun City there is a grocery store and children's clothing, shoe and toy
stores.  We bought our son some shoes there and bought fruit and water for
our trips to the orphanage.  Around the block on Stephan the Great Avenue
their is a National Souvenir Shop where you can buy many Moldavian crafts ,
(ie, hand woven rugs, traditional shirts, linen, wood flasks, wood spoons,
plates etc)

In addition, we toured a winery right out of Chisinau and had a
factory/cellar tour and then had lunch and wine tasting. It was really nice.

The appeal process usually takes a day or two longer than what they tell
you, to collect the court decree and get it translated.   When we arrived we
had all our paperwork plus his passport was given to us, plus his baptism
certificate.  We were not allowed to have custody of our child until the day
we were traveling to Bucharest.   We visited each day and Picked him up on
the way to the Airport.

We too left gifts and clothes at the orphanages.   It seemed as the gifts
were not all that appreciated.  I would suggest giving a few caregivers some
Lei  (money 100 Lei is less than $10.00)

Remember on your flight home from Bucharest that your child is traveling on
a Moldavian Passport and may need visas if you have connecting flights.  We
connected in Paris and did not need one as long as we transferred through
the airport using their bus system.  Make sure you check with your travel
agent if visas are required for Moldavian citizens.

In Bucharest stay at the intercontinental  Hotel  - right across from the
Embassy.  Drop your paperwork off early and your medical will cost (700,000
Lei $30.00 ).  In addition you will need $355.00 for your visa at the
embassy.  The embassy will try to take some original documents/ Insist on
telling them you want them for your records (Adoption Decree etc.) The
Consular agreed with us and we were able to keep most of the Originals (
Decree/ Birth Certificate).

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