Greetings from Tver, Russia!
My apologies for not updating this sooner. I sent some personal emails, and that process took more time than I anticipated (uploading some photos) using the computer and internet access of the hotel.
We (my sister Cindy and I) flew to Atlanta on Saturday, February 3, 2007. Our flight was at 0600, so we had to be up and at it early! We had no problems getting to or being in Atlanta. Except for a long layover: 7 hours!
Our flight to Moscow left on time, and we actually arrived an hour early in Moscow. Even with the tailwind, the flight still took over 9 hours. We survived by sleeping (ok, catnapping), reading, watching movies, etc. When we arrived, we had no problem with customs and immigration. We did have a short wait for the folks at CHI (due to early arrival), but they did indeed meet us at the airport in a timely manner. From there, we proceeded directly to Tver. Due to the long flights and our early wake-up, Cindy and I both fell alseep in the car on the way to the hotel. I feel bad that I missed some of the scenery, but these things just can't always be helped. Ultimately, I am not here for the scenery. When we got to the hotel, we checked in, went to our room, and went straight to bed! [We arrived in Moscow about 0930 Sunday morning, were picked up at 1110, and were in our room at 1430.] Since we slept so early that day, we were awake during the Russian night. This worked out very well! Sunday evening in the States was the Superbowl. Well, those of you who know us well, know what huge football fans we are, so we enjoyed most of the first half, with German commentators! As Cindy says, when it comes to football, who needs commentators?! We pretty much missed the second half, but we were tired again and fell asleep.
Monday morning, we got up at 0700, got ready and headed down to the hotel restuarant for breakfast. I had heard that the breakfast there was good, and I must say it really is! They have these sauage things that are very yummy, and the eggs (served similar to a cross between scrambled and baked) are also good. Alexei and Marsha (our driver/Russian bureaucratic guru and interpreter) picked us up shortly after 0900. We went first to the Ministry of Education where I signed forms to officially agree to visit the referral (my Katie-to-be). From there, it was off to the baby home!
Teremok is the baby home that Katie is at. One of the absolute fortunate things about this home is that it is actually in the city of Tver! It only takes 15 minutes to get there! When they first brought Katie in to see us, the doctor was letting Katie hold on to her fingers to help her walk in to see us! They had this yellow cat and dog outfit on her and a big white bow in her hair. Yes, I did get a picture of her first coming to see us, but that needs to wait until she is officially mine. We proceeded to the play room where we got to spend about two hours with her. We took several toys with us to encourage her to interact with us. We did the bubble thing, and that worked to a certain extent, but she really liked a 'tool kit' that is a shape sorter that resembles 'whack-a-mole'. It makes sounds and has lights when the appropriate shape is 'hammered' through its spot. Her favorite shape was the yellow flower. She also liked the pop-up toy where you have to push a button, slide a tab, turn a knob, etc. We took some younger developmental toys (a big triangle of beads, sliders, spinners; a twisty-bendy worm; and a crab) which were ok as far as she was concerned, especially the spinners on the big triangle. Before we knew it, time was up.
So, back to the hotel we went. Since we hadn't slept as much the night before, (too bad for Lovey) we took a nap and then headed out into the city of Tver. Jeana, I can't thank you enough for the map! It was a HUGE help. We went to one of the chicken places and ordered hamburgers. I should have worked a little harder at learning the language, but we managed to get pretty much what we wanted. After our dinner, we headed to Olympus Mall. We decided to pick up some simple snack stuff and some bottled water. Then we explored down that main shopping strip. Because it was getting pretty dark, we couldn't find the nested doll store that Jeana mentioned. We decided that the next day, we would go during daylight time so that we could readily find the places that we wanted to go.
On Tuesday, we again headed to the baby home in the morning. Once again, we got to spend about two hours with Katie. However, we also spoke with the Social Worker of the baby home. I was incredibly nervous about the questions that would be asked. Surprisingly, the dogs were a big issue. Note: NO PICTURES of family pets will go to Russia again. I wanted to include them so that Katie could see them and start to get used to them. Oops. My bad. It was also surprising that Cindy being the person to stay with Katie seemed to be an issue. The biggest question was why Cindy wasn't working. I explained that Cindy's job was to take care of Katie while I was at work; that way, Katie had one-on-one attention and care vs. being in a daycare setting. That seemed to be a good enough answer. Once we were done with the Social Worker, it was time to totally focus on Katie-to-be! Yeah! She was so much more active with us that day. She actually knew that she could lift one side of the 'whack-a-mole' to get to one of the shapes that was already 'in', especially her favorite: yellow flower. It was all too soon time for us to go. We were crushed when we realized that we had forgotten to pack the disposable camera. Typically, the caregivers are able to take a few pictures of Katie's daily life and routine so that we have something from her time at the baby home. It was rather heartbreaking that we wouldn't have those pictures. However, the more important thing is that she would soon be home!
It was to our surprise that we were given the chance to go back today! First, we went to the notary's office to notarize my agreement to adopt this referral and another form. Then, it was off to the baby home again! We made certain to pack the camera this time (even packed it in our bag the night before!) so that we could leave it for the caregivers. Today was a very different visit. We decided to leave all of the toys at the orphanage, so we didn't have toys to help her interact with us. When she was brought into the playroom today, we could tell right away that she was tired. It was good to hear her cry just a bit. I know that that sounds funny, but she hasn't been very vocal (ok, not vocal), so hearing her cry was a bit comforting, but only for a moment. I just held her to me, rocked her, and patted her, and she fell asleep in my arms! She is a little snuggle-bunny! We only had an hour, and it flew by!
Then, it was back to the hotel. It is hard leaving her behind. However, I hang on to the knowledge that I will soon be back to bring her home! In the meantime, I know that the people at the baby home will do their best to care for her. I can ask for nothing more. Tomorrow, I will see the judge, and hopefully have a good idea on when the second trip will be.
Tonight, Cindy and I had dinner in the hotel restuarant. We tried to focus on Russian things, and enjoyed our meal tremendously! We didn't venture out today. It is cold (-19 C), but it's not the cold that stops us. The snow stops us. They don't believe in cleaning the snow off of the streets, nor the sidewalks. Cindy's shoes are not the best for that type of condition. The boots that I got have been very good, but even I have been slipping around some. After two treks into the shopping area, we decided not to risk our knees again.
I am looking forward to tomorrow. We will get to see some of the sights in Moscow. Then, on Friday, we will be heading home. Next time, we will be heading home with Katie!
Till then,
Christy
