This post is all about me...
4 years ago
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Day 4
Day 4. What an awesome day. Alec picked us up at 9 am, we went to pick up Lana then we went to the toy store. It is not like the Toys R Us back home. They had a few toys but very generic and not a whole lot of selection. We got a little Lego robot guy, a soccer ball, a bigger lego thing that can be made into a bobcat tractor and a bunch of other things, a ball for the little ones and some hot wheel cars to. Then we picked up a snack at the grocery store. Now for the hour and half drive to see the oldest boy. We get there and he is playing in the sand box with 3 other boys. He sees us and walks over. We say hello and handed him a brand new soccer ball so we went to an open area and played a little soccer. We had a great time. He loved to kick the ball around and we think he is going to be our sports kid. He is very coordinated and has a pretty good kick. It was then time to eat lunch with him. We were served Russian borsch, which is a soup made out of beets, noodles with patty of meat (which was really good), a bowl of mixed vegetables and warm tea. After lunch we went back out to play soccer and some of the other boys joined us. The oldest boy did not want them to play with us, he wanted us all to himself which was very cute. After a while Lana told us to come over in the shade and put together the Legos (please don’t ever buy him Legos!). He was interested at first but it did not take him long to loose interest so Eric and I tried to entertain him and put together this thing. Needless to say it did not get done and tonight we disassembled it and are giving it to the orphanage tomorrow. Max was really warming up to us but it was time to go. We gave him his black lab stuffed animal, which he loved and named Jack. He told Lana he wanted us to be his parents but he is not ready to leave the orphanage. We think he just wants us to come live there with him! He gave us both a kiss when we left and said he would see us tomorrow. We wish we had more time to spend with him. He is a very good boy and if we could understand him we think he would be very funny. He is kind of a clown. Our drive to see the little ones was pretty uneventful, except for the guy standing on the side of the road openly peeing facing traffic! Lana told us after we got to the baby home that the little girl asked one of the caretakers if her parents were going to be there today to see her. Hopefully she will understand that we are coming back for them. Lana seemed to think that the girl is very smart also (so it isn’t just us bragging!). Again, she went right to Eric! We brought a big trash bag this time with all of the stuff we had for them and she really wanted to go through it to see what was in it. The little boy on the other hand was delighted just to play with the ball, he is a very happy boy and smiles a lot. The girl stopped when she saw the photo album we put together. Eric went through the pictures with her and from that moment on she did not let go of it. We went outside and she would not put it down. Any of the caretakers that went by she would flag them down and show her Papa & Mama! We had dinner here with a nice couple from Branson that are on their first trip to adopt a son. They are leaving tomorrow so we are on our own Friday, Saturday then home on Sunday. Hopefully you aren’t getting too bored with all of our details.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Day 2 & 3
Day two was a very, very long uneventful day. We drove 2 1/2 hours to see the oldest boy and when we got there we found out that he was at camp! The orphanage feels like it is out in the middle of nowhere. We talked to the secretary and the doctor and got some info on him so it was not a complete waste. We then went to the division of social services and met the lady that is going to stand up for us in court and say it is OK for us to adopt the oldest boy. We headed back to Usserisk to the baby home but were early so we stopped for pizza at a pizza place that was just like anything you would see in America, if you did not look at the menu there you would have thought you were in America! We had a great visit with the little ones. We think they are getting very comfortable with us. The girl just LOVES our cameras. She is very smart, it does not take her long to figure out how to work things.
Day 3 down. Nothing seems to amaze us anymore. We left the hotel at 8:00 am again with just our driver Alec, who cannot speak any English, to pick up Lana. We didn't go but a mile and he got stopped by the police. They do things alittle different here, they stand on the side of the road and flag you down if they want you to stop. Alec had to show his papers and then they made him get out and gave him a breathelizer. We just laughed, of course this would happen when we were alone without anyone that could speak English! We picked up Lana and headed to the baby home. On the way there we saw a women on the side of the road changing her pants (she was standing there in her UNDERWEAR!!!!!). No problem though (ha, ha), it didn't even phase Lana or Alec. We tried to go by the toy store but it was still closed. It is crazy here though because when you walk in the building you expect to walk right in the store like in America but when we walked in the building with the toy store you first walk through like a grocery store and the toy store is down the stairs! Crazy! We finally got to the baby home and when they brought in the kids they were still kind of shy but the girl went right to Eric and gave him a hug and sat on his lap (she definitely has the daddy's girl thing down already). It was a very good visit and we were glad to see how they were at a different time of the day. They loved playing with the cars and coloring. The little boy sat on Becky's lap for a while and cuddled. Poor thing is so congested though, he must be miserable but acts just fine. We traced their feet and hands and will measure them tomorrow. Before we left for the long ride to see the oldest boy we both used the restroom and sure enough it did not have a toilet seat. When we got in the car Becky asked Lana about it and she said that they did not put seats on the public toilets because that is gross and you aren't supposed to sit on public toilet seats anyway. Makes sense right! She said they do have toilet seats in their home though. For living in such a poor area they seem to do things to stay clean. We see all these people crouching on the side of the road like baseball catchers behind home plate and when we asked about this again she acted like we were crazy and said "what else would you do, you can't sit on the ground because it is dirty". Again, makes sense right! We had a good ride to the oldest boy's orphanage. We thought it was such a sad place when we saw it yesterday but the people their could not have been more wonderful. As we walked up the drive all eyes were on us. The girls upstairs were all looking out the window saying Hello to us and speaking to Lana asking questions about who we were. The boys that were playing outside started showing off to get our attention. They have only had one other adoption out of this orphanage. The oldest boy was outside riding a skateboard with a lady holding onto him. He saw us and smiled but was of course very shy. We gave him the cars we brought and that made him light up. I don't think he will let those things go now. He held onto them and played with them the whole time we were there. The director insisted we eat lunch with the boy (a real Russian meal). It was interesting. They serve a huge meal. We had vegetable & meat soup, bread (homemade), a warm tea (they like everything warm here) with dried fruit and sugar in it (it was really good), a squid salad that looked something like a potato salad here and cabbage and meat. Eric ate just about everything! The boy was a great eater and had very good table manners. He ate everything with this huge spoon very well. He played with the cars while we finished eating. We then got in the car with the director and the boy and took a tour of the village (it is a little village so it did not take long) then we went to a little place for ice cream. Alec the driver hit a manhole that was open and we thought he popped the tire but he didn't! The director went in to see if we could get ice cream while we waited in the car and the boy kind of freaked a little (he had tears in his eyes). He liked the ice cream but when he started to drink his apple juice box he said he did not feel good (we think he just ate his ice cream to fast). We then toured the city a little more and he really wanted to go back to the orphanage. He was not ready to go with us he said. He played with his cars some more when we got back and hammed it up for the camera. He said we could come back to see him tomorrow. We think that he will have a hard time leaving the orphanage because so far this is the best home he has known and they are like a family to him there. He seems like a very healthy, strong and very sweet boy. The other children and caretakers seem to like him too. We will head to the toystore tomorrow morning then to go see the oldest boy first and the little ones after 3.
Day 3 down. Nothing seems to amaze us anymore. We left the hotel at 8:00 am again with just our driver Alec, who cannot speak any English, to pick up Lana. We didn't go but a mile and he got stopped by the police. They do things alittle different here, they stand on the side of the road and flag you down if they want you to stop. Alec had to show his papers and then they made him get out and gave him a breathelizer. We just laughed, of course this would happen when we were alone without anyone that could speak English! We picked up Lana and headed to the baby home. On the way there we saw a women on the side of the road changing her pants (she was standing there in her UNDERWEAR!!!!!). No problem though (ha, ha), it didn't even phase Lana or Alec. We tried to go by the toy store but it was still closed. It is crazy here though because when you walk in the building you expect to walk right in the store like in America but when we walked in the building with the toy store you first walk through like a grocery store and the toy store is down the stairs! Crazy! We finally got to the baby home and when they brought in the kids they were still kind of shy but the girl went right to Eric and gave him a hug and sat on his lap (she definitely has the daddy's girl thing down already). It was a very good visit and we were glad to see how they were at a different time of the day. They loved playing with the cars and coloring. The little boy sat on Becky's lap for a while and cuddled. Poor thing is so congested though, he must be miserable but acts just fine. We traced their feet and hands and will measure them tomorrow. Before we left for the long ride to see the oldest boy we both used the restroom and sure enough it did not have a toilet seat. When we got in the car Becky asked Lana about it and she said that they did not put seats on the public toilets because that is gross and you aren't supposed to sit on public toilet seats anyway. Makes sense right! She said they do have toilet seats in their home though. For living in such a poor area they seem to do things to stay clean. We see all these people crouching on the side of the road like baseball catchers behind home plate and when we asked about this again she acted like we were crazy and said "what else would you do, you can't sit on the ground because it is dirty". Again, makes sense right! We had a good ride to the oldest boy's orphanage. We thought it was such a sad place when we saw it yesterday but the people their could not have been more wonderful. As we walked up the drive all eyes were on us. The girls upstairs were all looking out the window saying Hello to us and speaking to Lana asking questions about who we were. The boys that were playing outside started showing off to get our attention. They have only had one other adoption out of this orphanage. The oldest boy was outside riding a skateboard with a lady holding onto him. He saw us and smiled but was of course very shy. We gave him the cars we brought and that made him light up. I don't think he will let those things go now. He held onto them and played with them the whole time we were there. The director insisted we eat lunch with the boy (a real Russian meal). It was interesting. They serve a huge meal. We had vegetable & meat soup, bread (homemade), a warm tea (they like everything warm here) with dried fruit and sugar in it (it was really good), a squid salad that looked something like a potato salad here and cabbage and meat. Eric ate just about everything! The boy was a great eater and had very good table manners. He ate everything with this huge spoon very well. He played with the cars while we finished eating. We then got in the car with the director and the boy and took a tour of the village (it is a little village so it did not take long) then we went to a little place for ice cream. Alec the driver hit a manhole that was open and we thought he popped the tire but he didn't! The director went in to see if we could get ice cream while we waited in the car and the boy kind of freaked a little (he had tears in his eyes). He liked the ice cream but when he started to drink his apple juice box he said he did not feel good (we think he just ate his ice cream to fast). We then toured the city a little more and he really wanted to go back to the orphanage. He was not ready to go with us he said. He played with his cars some more when we got back and hammed it up for the camera. He said we could come back to see him tomorrow. We think that he will have a hard time leaving the orphanage because so far this is the best home he has known and they are like a family to him there. He seems like a very healthy, strong and very sweet boy. The other children and caretakers seem to like him too. We will head to the toystore tomorrow morning then to go see the oldest boy first and the little ones after 3.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Day One at the Baby House
Good evening (at least from here),
What a day! We started out leaving about 9:00 am to go to the Ministry of Education office. We were told that she is really busy and probably would not ask us any questions but they were wrong. She grilled us on what we did and did we ask to adopt three and several other questions. It is very unnerving when someone else is telling you what that person is saying and then telling them your answers. She gave us permission to see the children though and all was good.
I was going to use the restroom before we left the building but when I walked in and saw that their were no toilet seats or toilet paper I decided I could hold it! Irina then took us on a tour of the waterfront (the Sea of Japan) and through a little museum. We then went back to the hotel and changed clothes and ate lunch. We headed to the baby house to see the youngest child. The scenery on the drive is much like what you would see in Augusta, very hilly. Luckily the roads are not like that and we made it there without getting sick. When we got to the baby house I didn't know what to expect, it is kind of in the middle of town (the town is pretty run down).
We went up a couple of flights of stairs into the directors office and were told that SURPRISE - the little girl is still there! I kinda freaked for a moment because we only brought stuff to do with the boy. They were just getting up from their naps and had to eat a snack and put on new clothes first. We heard the little boy from down the hall crying, supposedly someone that normally wears normal clothes was in a white coat and he thought they were a doctor and he was going to get a shot. When they came in Irina took the boy on here lap and the little girl went right to Eric because he had animal crackers and markers & paper. I spent about 15 minutes with the caretaker writing down all the info I could on the kids. They said that the girl was a leader and loved to play with dolls and play doctor. She said the boy likes cars and horses. Everyone then left us alone and we sat on the floor to color with the kids. Neither of them would really even look at us. The boy was a little more social then the girl. They said we could bring the kids outside to the little playground and since they turned the A/C off in the room once we got in there I told Eric that we should take them outside. That was the best move ever. I wish I had thought to bring the cable to our video camera. Once we put them on the slide they just lit up. They are very, very cute and very smart. After a little bit the girl was more interested in the video camera and regular camera. I showed her how to work the regular camera and she was just snapping away. We then went through my purse and of course she was questioning everything but I couldn't understand a word of it. We then went back inside and colored
more. By then they were already comfortable with us. It was so cute because when we were leaving the girl didn't want us to go and asked if we would be back tomorrow. So far that made the whole trip worth while!
What a day! We started out leaving about 9:00 am to go to the Ministry of Education office. We were told that she is really busy and probably would not ask us any questions but they were wrong. She grilled us on what we did and did we ask to adopt three and several other questions. It is very unnerving when someone else is telling you what that person is saying and then telling them your answers. She gave us permission to see the children though and all was good.
I was going to use the restroom before we left the building but when I walked in and saw that their were no toilet seats or toilet paper I decided I could hold it! Irina then took us on a tour of the waterfront (the Sea of Japan) and through a little museum. We then went back to the hotel and changed clothes and ate lunch. We headed to the baby house to see the youngest child. The scenery on the drive is much like what you would see in Augusta, very hilly. Luckily the roads are not like that and we made it there without getting sick. When we got to the baby house I didn't know what to expect, it is kind of in the middle of town (the town is pretty run down).
We went up a couple of flights of stairs into the directors office and were told that SURPRISE - the little girl is still there! I kinda freaked for a moment because we only brought stuff to do with the boy. They were just getting up from their naps and had to eat a snack and put on new clothes first. We heard the little boy from down the hall crying, supposedly someone that normally wears normal clothes was in a white coat and he thought they were a doctor and he was going to get a shot. When they came in Irina took the boy on here lap and the little girl went right to Eric because he had animal crackers and markers & paper. I spent about 15 minutes with the caretaker writing down all the info I could on the kids. They said that the girl was a leader and loved to play with dolls and play doctor. She said the boy likes cars and horses. Everyone then left us alone and we sat on the floor to color with the kids. Neither of them would really even look at us. The boy was a little more social then the girl. They said we could bring the kids outside to the little playground and since they turned the A/C off in the room once we got in there I told Eric that we should take them outside. That was the best move ever. I wish I had thought to bring the cable to our video camera. Once we put them on the slide they just lit up. They are very, very cute and very smart. After a little bit the girl was more interested in the video camera and regular camera. I showed her how to work the regular camera and she was just snapping away. We then went through my purse and of course she was questioning everything but I couldn't understand a word of it. We then went back inside and colored
more. By then they were already comfortable with us. It was so cute because when we were leaving the girl didn't want us to go and asked if we would be back tomorrow. So far that made the whole trip worth while!
Friday, July 25, 2008
We're Here
Hello from Russia,
We made it in OK. We got the tour of the Korean airport because we got lost. Vladivostok Air was wonderful (of course it was great because we were in first class!). We definetely stood out as Americans at the airport (I think we were the only ones). We got a little nervous at the Vlad airport because Irina was not at the airport right away to meet us. We had this taxi driver that could not speak English but he would not leave us alone. He followed us all over the place (even outside). He kept asking us to go with him, he even tried to find someone who spoke English to ask us where we were going, so we were so glad to see Irina. The drive to the hotel was an eye opener. It is a very, very poor region. Eric said he saw alot of military stuff along the way (jets & tanks). We are on our own until Monday but Irina does not want us to leave the hotel grounds. On Monday we are going in the morning to the Ministry of Education then we will go back to the hotel. She will then come pick us up after lunch and we will go see the youngest boy. They have already moved the girl in with the oldest boy and we will not be able to see them until Tuesday. It is so crazy to be somewhere where very few people speak English. At least in Korea you could find quite a few people to speak English. We hope everything is going good at home and please email us updates. Becky & Eric
We made it in OK. We got the tour of the Korean airport because we got lost. Vladivostok Air was wonderful (of course it was great because we were in first class!). We definetely stood out as Americans at the airport (I think we were the only ones). We got a little nervous at the Vlad airport because Irina was not at the airport right away to meet us. We had this taxi driver that could not speak English but he would not leave us alone. He followed us all over the place (even outside). He kept asking us to go with him, he even tried to find someone who spoke English to ask us where we were going, so we were so glad to see Irina. The drive to the hotel was an eye opener. It is a very, very poor region. Eric said he saw alot of military stuff along the way (jets & tanks). We are on our own until Monday but Irina does not want us to leave the hotel grounds. On Monday we are going in the morning to the Ministry of Education then we will go back to the hotel. She will then come pick us up after lunch and we will go see the youngest boy. They have already moved the girl in with the oldest boy and we will not be able to see them until Tuesday. It is so crazy to be somewhere where very few people speak English. At least in Korea you could find quite a few people to speak English. We hope everything is going good at home and please email us updates. Becky & Eric
Friday, July 18, 2008
We're Going To Russia!!!
We are leaving for Russia Saturday, July 26th to finally meet our children! We will be there until August 2nd. I can't believe this is actually happening now. I have to keep pinching myself to make sure I am not dreaming. If it is possible I will try to post about everything while we are over there. Thank you so much to both of our families for all the love, support and help you have given to us. Thank God that Eric has such a wonderful staff at the funeral home too. They keep everything going when he is gone without missing a beat.
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