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Pre-Court, Dec. 17-20
Right now it is about 11:30 PM on Tuesday night,
Dec. 20 in Kudymkar, Russia (about a 4 hour drive
from Perm). In the Twin Cities it is 2:30 PM also
on the 20th.
We have had a busy few days! We spent the 17th
and the 18th traveling, taking 4 flights and a 2-
hour car drive from one airport to another
(Minneapolis to Boston, Boston to Amsterdam,
Amsterdam to Moscow, 2-hr drive from one airport
to another in Moscow, and Moscow to Perm). We
actually arrived in Perm about 12:30 AM on the
19th. The flights were uneventful. On the flight
from Boston to Amsterdam, we were on a plane which
had personal video monitors, so that each
passenger could pick his or her own movie, music
or game. On the flight from Amsterdam to Moscow,
we had the unfortunate luck to be seated in the
very last row of the airplane—in seats that did
not recline. Altogether we spent 27 hours
traveling to Perm. Clara and I did not sleep much
at all on the flights, but Sean and Kim got a bit
more sleep. Prior to the flight to Moscow, our
plane was delayed almost an hour because there
were a couple of passengers who did not board the
plane, but had checked their luggage in. The
baggage handlers had to take all the luggage out
of the plane to search for and to remove the
luggage which did not have passengers on the
flight. Fortunately, it seems that we made up a
great deal of lost time in the air, as we did not
arrive very late in Moscow.
The only somewhat anxious time was at the airport
in Moscow. We had been told to not fill out the
customs declaration paperwork on the plane and
just to go through the “green light” area of
customs (nothing to declare). As we were the last
ones off the plane (and we had to wait for Sean to
use the restroom on the plane), by the time we
deplaned there were no other passengers in the
area for us to follow and we did not see where
the “green light” area was. Fortunately, we did
see the sign for “Passport control” written in
Russian and I had learned enough Russian to read
the sign. We followed the signs to the lower
level and stood in line to present our passports.
We could see that beyond the passport control area
was the customs area. After picking up our
luggage (we were very relieved that it all
arrived), we followed the green sign (it wasn’t
actually a green light) and the customs agents
just waved us through—a piece of cake!
We then waited for our Moscow contact to show up,
holding a sign for our names. We had been told
that the contact wouldn’t show up until about
5pm. We were told to just trust that he or she
would show up. She did and she was very
sweet and conscientious. She accompanied us to
another airport (with a car and driver) and helped
us exchange some money (about $60 to have on hand,
also to have in case we needed to pay extra for
our “heavy” carry-on bags—we didn’t) She also
helped us check in and made sure we knew where our
gate was. I scrambled to find a gift for her in
our luggage before it was checked in. I am glad I
bought a few extra gifts. Giving gifts to
people who help you is a customary business
practice in Russia, showing them that you
appreciate their efforts.
The flight from Moscow to Perm was on a very
small, old plane. There wasn’t room for our carry-
on bags above the seat, but they were able to be
squeezed in under our seats. This was a very
Russian flight. No English was spoken.
The “snack” was unlike any snack I’d had on a
plane before. There were 2 choices—smoked meat or
smoked fish (note—not “cooked” but smoked!) along
with a few accompanying items. I had picked the
fish, not realizing that it was “raw.” I wasn’t
hungry enough to eat it, so I just ate the
accompanying items. The seats on the plane also
seemed of a very old style—not only did the seat
backs not recline, but they actually could be
folded forward. During landing, the seat backs on
all the unoccupied seats folded forward.
In Perm, we were met by the 2 drivers and by the
interpreter whom we had
met during the summer Journey of Hope program. We
were taken directly to an apartment in Perm. The
apartment, on the 9th story of an older building,
is owned by the coordinator's mother, "G". The
apartment has a small kitchen,
a toilet room, a bathroom (with no toilet), 2
bedrooms and a living room. "G", a very sweet
grandmotherly lady, who is a teacher for
hospitalized school children, was there to greet
us (and this was after 1 AM!) and show us around
the apartment. She had prepared a few items for
breakfast the next day for us (bread, yogurt, meat
and cheese). There was also a plentiful supply of
bottled water. We were exhausted and slept until
almost 11 the next day (when "G" came back!).
About 12:30 PM on Monday, our interpreter, the
drivers and
our coordinator came to pick us up to take us to
Kudymkar,
the small city near Yura’s orphanage. We did not
bring all our pieces of luggage—just enough for a
couple of days. Plus we needed to bring items for
Yura and most of the gifts for various people.
Prior to leaving for Kudymkar (about 4 hours by
car from Perm), we had lunch in Perm. When we got
to Kudymkar, we had to register at some office to
get permission to see Yura at the orphanage. From
there we had another 40 minute drive to Yura’s
orphanage. When we got to the orphanage, Yura and
a few other boys were waiting outside. We said
hello to Yura and went inside to meet with the
orphanage director. This meeting (at about 6:30
PM) was very short. I was pleasantly surprised at
the neat and comfortable conditions of the
orphanage. We were able to take Yura with us back
to the hotel in Kudymkar (on Wednesday we will be
going back to the orphanage so Yura can say
goodbye and so that we can ask some questions).
There is only one hotel in Kudymkar, with basic,
but spacious rooms. We have a 2-bedroom suite.
Kim and I are in one bedroom and the kids are in
another. Both rooms have a sitting area and a TV
(Russian shows, of course). Between the rooms is
a large entryway with a couple of small
refrigerators and a bathroom. All of the toilets
are flushed by either pulling a knob or pushing a
button on the top of the toilet. The toilet paper
is very rough and I have learned that you can’t
assume any place necessarily will have toilet
paper. We have been to a couple of restrooms that
did not have toilet paper. Fortunately our hotel
room did have toilet paper—but only one small roll
(the hotel gladly sent up more when we asked for
it). At both the apartment and at the hotel, the
doors are locked in such a way that you need a key
to get in or out! It is a little strange to need
a key to get out of a hotel room.
After checking in to the hotel, we went out to eat
at the “better” of the 2 restaurants in town. We
had some meat and vegetable salads (not at all
like American salads, but tasty) and some kind of
mixed meat dish. We also had ice cream with
chocolate sauce for dessert. And we had juice and
tea or coffee. Ending a meal with tea is
customary here. I also tried again the smoked
salmon (it doesn’t taste too bad, but the raw
texture would take some getting used to). It was
too much food and a very long meal. I don’t think
we returned until about 10 PM. I couldn’t fall
asleep until almost 1 AM and then I woke up at 3
and didn’t really fall asleep again.
This morning (Tuesday, the 20th), after eating a
breakfast of yogurt, bread, cheese and meat (which
had been purchased for us the evening before), we
met with our interpreter, who gave us instructions
on what to
cover in our speeches at court and what kind of
questions to expect. The court proceeding is very
formal. I am glad that I had requested a copy of
our home study to look at so that we would know
what the judges and “witnesses” had read about
us. Kim and I spent some time working on our
speeches and then at 1pm we went to have lunch.
The “good” restaurant was closed for the day, so
we went to the other restaurant. We ate out with
our interpreter, the drivers and usually the
coordinator.
I don’t know if I have ever had such a drawn-out
lunch. I think it was 3:30 when we left. Lunch
and dinner both seem to take about 2 hours and are
served in many courses, with new silverware for
each course. Of course we ate too much food and
were wondering how on earth we could manage to eat
again at dinner time. One of the items I
particularly liked was their dessert pancakes
(Bleeny or Bliny)—they are rather like crepes. We
are not paying for anything directly—I assume that
all these expenses come out of the fee we are
paying.
After our late lunch, we returned to the hotel and
Sean, Clara, Yura, Kim and I played several games
of “spoons” and a game of UNO. We had a lot of
fun! Then we all rested for a while. At about
6:30pm, our interpreter showed up with the “social
inspector”
who basically chatted with us a little bit and
asked Yura a couple of questions. It was all very
friendly and very low key. Apparently, she is one
of the “witnesses” who will make a recommendation
to the court, primarily on the basis of Yura’s
status and of our home study paperwork. An
interesting cultural taboo: Don’t shake hands
over a threshold! When Kim held out his hand over
the threshold between two rooms to shake the
social inspector’s hand, the social inspector
refused his hand by making a motion for him to
come into the room. At this point, I had remember
reading about this social taboo and told Kim—
“Don’t shake hands over the threshold, it’s
considered bad luck.”
After this meeting with the “social inspector” we
went out to eat at the same restaurant as in the
afternoon, but this time we only had a salad and
dessert and coffee (other people had more, so it
was still a two-hour affair). Yura is really
loosening up with our family. In fact, he and
Clara are acting in true brother and sister form—
picking on each other at the table, kicking each
other under the table, etc. One interesting note—
at all 3 meals in Kudymkar so far, we have run
into the same American couple who is here to meet
a 2 year old boy. They hope to come back in a
couple of months to adopt him.
There was another interesting incident at this
meal (or rather I should say an interesting
character!). During the meal, a man (I’ll call
him “Big Shot”), came up to me and leaned down
very close to me and started talking (in Russian
of course). The only word I could make out
was “children.” I told him in Russian, “I don’t
understand Russian. I speak English.” He then
went over to our interpreter, "A" and started
talking to her.
Apparently he was upset that the restaurant did
not allow people to smoke when children were
present. That really surprised me because 1) It
seems almost everyone smokes in Russia and 2) We
had eaten at other restaurants with children and
people were smoking. A little later, the group of
men that was with “Big Shot” stood up and went to
the small dance floor and danced with each other!
That’s right—it was just men dancing with men.
I got the feeling this was unusual,
even for Russia. Then, according to Sean, “Big
Shot” motioned for Sean to join him at his table.
Of course, Sean did not go. A few minutes
later, “Big Shot” came over again and spoke to
"A" again. Now, "A" is a young, slim, blond and
very attractive woman, who I’m sure, gets her fair
share of annoyingly attentive men, but this guy
was creepy! He spoke to her for a couple of
minutes, leaning in incredibly close, even patting
her shoulders as he was talking. "A" was visibly
uncomfortable, but spoke to him politely.
Apparently “Big Shot” was some kind of “important”
police official who had just received a promotion
and was out celebrating with friends and our
little group with children was putting a damper on
plans to smoke as he and his friends drank and
made merry. I’m sure “Big Shot” and his friends
were glad when we finally left.
Shortly after returning to the hotel, I met with
our interpreter and the coordinator to go over the
gifts which would be
presented the next day. I had put the gifts into
gift bags, but some of the gifts were to be given
by the coordinator more discreetly (like to the
judge)—so no
gift bags for those gifts! They both
seemed pleased with the gift choices I had made.
Most of the gifts were given out in Kudymkar.
Court Day, Wednesday, Dec. 21
I didn’t sleep a wink last night. I think it was
the combination of the time difference and the
anticipation of the court proceedings.
The court proceedings lasted almost 2 hours. The
court room, in an old building with uneven floors,
was very small, with just enough room for the
judge, the “prosecutor,” the court recorder and a
few people. In addition to the court officials
and ourselves and our interpreter, the
social inspector attended the entire proceeding
and then the orphanage director and Yura attended
part of the proceedings. The proceedings began
with formal introductions (Kim and I were given a
particular format for introducing ourselves) and
then I began a “speech” in which I talked a little
bit about my background, especially as it pertains
to children, our summer hosting experience with
Yura and how much we wanted him to be part of our
family. After I spoke, the prosecutor had a few
questions for me, mostly dealing with things like
how Yura’s behavior was during the visit. But
there were some off-the wall questions, too, such
as “I noticed in the pictures of your home that it
is a big home with a big yard and gardens. Do you
have people help you with your home and yard?” I
said, “No one but my family. My son mows the lawn
and both children do some of the housework.” Then
it was Kim’s turn to speak and he mostly spoke
about our finances and what we can provide for
Yura, ending his speech with a formal statement
asking for the 10-day waiting period to be
waived. The prosecutor asked him a couple of
questions, too. I don’t remember the exact order,
but the Social inspector gave a speech in which
she made the sad case that no family in Russia
wanted to provide Yura a home. She mentioned that
Yura’s father, had called the orphanage and spoke
with Yura, asking him not to go to America (and it
sounds like he tried to persuade Yura by saying
Americans would do bad things to orphans). He
promised to visit, but never did. Yura had no
visitors during the time he was in orphanages
(about 2.5 years). There were no relatives that
could take care of him. His mother’s whereabouts
where not known. His father and many of his other
relatives (Grandmother, uncles) drank and could
not provide care for him. There was no mention of
siblings. Additionally, although he was on the
regional and national data base of adoptable
children, there were no Russian families
interested in adopting him. Her speech was
difficult to listen to—Yura has faced so much
rejection; I almost wanted to cry. The Social
inspector also mentioned that she had met with us
and thought that we would make a good family for
Yura.
In addition to the social inspector, the orphanage
director also spoke about Yura and his attitude
about us after the summer visit. At some point,
the judge read a lot of papers about
responsibility, emphasizing the responsibility to
register Yura with some consulate and also to do
post-placement reports with our agency. I think
Russian people are very concerned about the recent
negative publicity about a couple of Russian
children who have been killed/abused by their
American adoptive parents. Yura was also invited
later into the court room, basically to ask him if
he wanted to be adopted by us.
After all of this “evidence” was presented, the
judge left the room for about 10 minutes to type
up her decision. She decided in favor of the
adoption and also to waive the 10-day waiting
period. All of a sudden, we were the parents of a
12 year old boy—just like that.
After the court proceeding we had another 2-hour
lunch and then went back to the hotel for a short
nap. We then had to take a quick trip to the
official who was making up an amended birth
certificate, showing us as the parents. After
this, we went for an all-too-quick visit to Yura’s
orphanage. The coordinator had gotten treats for
the
children and we also brought gifts for the
orphanage director and the social worker (we will
be making a donation to the orphanage for the
coordinator to buy a Karaoke machine and perhaps
some board games
for the orphanage). We had an opportunity to
speak with Yura’s caretaker and the social
worker. Yura’s caretaker, Nina Nikolaevna, is
the “mother-figure” to a group of 9 children, boys
(all boys?) close to Yura’s age. She says Yura is
an average student (but excels in math and has won
math competitions), who is sometimes messy, but
willingly helps with chores. She says Yura is an
active boy who is very funny and very sociable. He
is not aggressive and not easily offended. He
isn’t ill often. She also gave us a typical
school day schedule for Yura (the orphanage is
right next to the village school): 7:45 Up,
followed by morning exercises, including running
around the building 3X. Then they have breakfast,
followed by school until about 2 or 2:30, at which
time they have lunch. After lunch, they have
about 2 hours of sports or other activities.
Snack at 4:30, Homework from 5-7, dinner at 7,
followed by free time until 8:30, then they have a
second snack and can watch TV or play games until
9:40 when they get ready for bed. Bed is at 10
PM. In the winter, one of the favorite sport
activities is cross country skiing. In the summer,
the children also do gardening to provide some of
their own food.
The subjects Yura has been learning at school are:
Math, Russian, Komi Language, Komi Literature,
German, drawing, sports and skill classes (like
woodworking). The Komi language is a regional
language that apparently Yura can speak. The
orphanage social worker said that when Yura spoke
with his father on the telephone, he spoke to his
father in the Komi Language. We did learn that
his father and mother are unmarried and that they
are “rather young” (under 40).
After we chatted about Yura, we got a very quick
tour of some of the orphanage—we saw the homework
room and Yura’s group sleeping room. We snapped
as many pictures as we could in the short amount
of time we had. I felt sad for Yura—he has had to
endure so much loss and then he had to say good
bye to his friends and caregiver. But at least
this loss comes with a greater gain—a forever
family! After leaving the orphanage, we left for
dinner. During dinner, we ran into the other
American couple again (the ones visiting the 2
year-old). They mentioned that their adoption,
which they hope to complete in about 2 months
(meaning they will make a second trip back in 2
months), may be more involved due to the merging
of the Perm and Komi-Permyatsky regions (Kudymkar
is in the Komi-Permyatsky region). Apparently the
merger, which is happening slowly, will probably
entail the adoption process in Komi-Permyatsky
converting to the Perm process. In Perm, the
medicals done on the adoptive parents must involve
8 specialists, instead of the one general
practitioner like we had and the 10-day waiting
period after the court appearance is almost never
waived. I’m glad we are adopting before the
change!
After dinner we drove to Perm (where some
paperwork will be completed), arriving at about 1
AM (a 4-hour drive).
Perm, Thursday, Dec. 22
Today was fairly uneventful. Galena came at 10
and made a little breakfast. After that a new
interpreter arrived. Our interpreter for the next
couple of days has a 4 year-old son and just works
with
adoptions now. She likes the schedule which
allows her alternating blocks of days working with
days off. She had been trained as a teacher and
her husband had been trained as an orthopedic
doctor (or some kind of “bone” doctor), but he
does some other kind of more lucrative work now.
Apparently teachers and doctors are among the
lowest paid professions in Russia! She told me
a doctor in Perm might make 4000 Rubles a month
(that’s only about $142 a month, which might also
be about the same as the rent of a 2-bedroom
apartment).
Our new interpreter took Yura to get passport
pictures taken and
when she came back, she took everyone else’s
passports to have some other kind of paperwork
done. Our first interpreter, "A" and our
coordinator are working on some papers
for us ("A" is translating documents to take to
Moscow). We also found out that tomorrow, Yura
has to have a lung X-ray to check for
tuberculosis. Apparently this is a new standard
procedure.
"G" made a simple, yummy lunch (ochin fkoosna—
very tasty!) of chicken soup with vegetables,
meatballs and a zucchini side dish. In the
afternoon, the new interpreter came back and we
went in shifts
to the mall (only 1 driver today). We
bought a few miscellaneous items, including a
couple of Russian cd’s (one for Yura and one for
Clara—she liked a singer she had heard on TV—
Vladimir Meladze or something like that), a couple
of Russian translation DVD’s including Treasure
Planet and Jumanji (which we hoped will work on
the computer—we knew they probably wouldn’t work
on the DVD player. Unfortunately, they did not
work on the computer). I even bought some soft
toilet paper (the toilet paper we’ve seen
everywhere here is more like fine-grit sandpaper!).
At 6 PM we saw the “Chronicles of Narnia” (in
Russian, of course). We had planned on taking
Yura to it when we get back (only Clara had seen
it). We probably still will—at least Yura will
understand it, having already seen it in Russian.
One interesting difference between the Russian
movie experience and, aside from the language, is
that we paid for specific, reserved seats.
After the movie, we had a quick bite (actually I
was the only one who had a quick bite—sushi at a
Japanese fast food restaurant at the food court)
and left to return to the apartment.
Perm, Dec. 23 (Friday)
Today was a fairly relaxing day. It is almost
beginning to feel like a vacation—no cooking, no
major cleaning, no laundry! And Yura didn’t need
a lung X-ray after all. Apparently they thought he
did because on a very old test he had had a 7 mm
reading, but subsequent tests were less than 5 mm
(I guess there is a concern for TB if it is over 5
mm).
Galena made breakfast and a late lunch. In
between, we stopped at the notary to have papers
notarized giving the power of attorney to the
Orphanage director regarding money in
Yura’s “orphan savings.” Apparently, when
children leave the orphanage, usually at about 16,
but possibly as early as 14, they are given,
according to our interpreter, about 100,000 Rubles
(approx. $3500) to help them get started in life.
That is actually more than I thought they would
get! Anyhow, by signing the paperwork, the money
will go the orphanage rather than back to the
government. After the notary, we stopped at a
travel agency (actually had a “bank teller” set up
with its agents) and purchased Yura’s domestic
ticket for the trip from Moscow to Perm
tomorrow. After that, we stopped at a
workshop/gift store and picked up a few gifts.
One of the things I purchased for us was a set of
nesting dolls, Matryoshka dolls. I also picked up
some inexpensive painted wooden whistles to give
to all of Yura’s new classmates when we visit his
school in Rogers (he will be attending 5th grade
in the afternoons and I will be homeschooling in
the mornings). After lunch, we relaxed a bit and
then the kids and I went bowling while Kim and the
interpreter went to get Yura’s passport. After
bowling we went out to eat at the same restaurant
we ate at on Monday prior to leaving for Kudymkar
(this restaurant has menus in English--although
the waitress did not speak English). The driver
had to go back to the bowling place to pick up the
interpreter, so we placed our order by ourselves
and everybody except Kim got what they wanted (but
Kim liked his meal any way). I think this meal
was the earliest dinner we have had yet—we were
home by 7 PM. We were all tired—Clara went to bed
shortly after we got back. It is only 9 PM now
and I have nodded off several times while writing
this.
Perm, Moscow Dec. 24
Another fairly relaxing day. We had no plans,
other than breakfast, until almost 1 PM. So, in
the morning, we read and played games. Clara and
Yura love to tussle with each other.
Our first interpreter, "A" stopped by with
additional papers for us to
take to Moscow. At 1 PM we went to play Billiards—
with Russian Billiard tables (longer than American
tables with narrower openings on the pockets)—much
more difficult! I pretty much just chatted with
our interpreter while Kim and Sean played on one
table and
Clara and Yura played on the other (but, I
wouldn’t call what Clara and Yura played
Billiards!). On the way back, I stopped at a
drugstore to pick up some nasal spray for Sean and
noticed that the items on the shelf were all
behind glass cabinets. You had to ask an
attendant to get your item for you. I also
stopped at a tea/coffee shop and picked up some
tea (or “chai” as they call it in Russian). Kim
and the kids were taken back first to the
apartment, so when the interpreter and I arrived,
they had
already eaten.
Shortly before 5, the driver and a taxi
showed up to take us to the airport for our flight
to Moscow (Perm Airlines). When we arrived in
Moscow and picked up our bags, we waited in
a “meeting area” for the Moscow contact
to show up. While Kim went looking for him, a man
walked up to me and in a fractured conversation, I
figured out that our contact had sent someone else
to pick us up. When Kim returned, he was a
little concerned that I hadn’t clearly identified
that the driver wasn’t someone trying to take
advantage of us, so Kim pretended he didn’t know
our hotel (Hotel Russia) and asked if we were
going to the Marriott. The driver said, “No. Hotel
Russia,” which made us feel better.
It was about an hour’s drive to the hotel. Our
hotel is very near the Kremlin (and Red Square and
St. Basil’s Cathedral), so it was exciting to see
these historic landmarks all lit up at night. The
3-star Hotel Russia is huge—about 2700 rooms
(apparently this behemoth hotel is going to be
demolished in a year to make way for smaller, 5-
star hotels which will not obstruct views so
much). Anyhow, when we got to the hotel, we had
to pass through security, just like at the
airport. We had to have 2 rooms down the hall
from each other, one with 2 small beds and another
with 2 small beds and a sitting area. Sean and
Yura are in the smaller room and Kim, Clara and I
are in the larger suite. As I was writing this, I
received a call (at 10:20 PM!) from our contact.
We
will be taking Yura for his Moscow medical (for
the Visa) on Monday and then we will go to the
American Embassy on Tuesday. Tomorrow, our
main “sight-seeing” day, so we plan on visiting
Red Square and the Kremlin. Moscow time is 9
hours ahead of Minnesota.
Dec. 25—Christmas in Moscow
Last night, shortly after I finished writing,
there was an incredible fireworks display right
outside our hotel. Our vantage point, 10 floors up
and across from the Moskva (Moscow) River was
perfect. I don’t know how the kids slept through
all the noise, but they must have been tired. In
the morning, we had a buffet breakfast at the
hotel and then Kim and I went to the business
center to use the internet. It was quite a
challenge, even without the language issues,
finding the business center in this large of a
hotel. We finally got a maid to walk us directly
to it. Kim and spent about 1 hour each online
and, ouch! It was expensive—about $40 total. I
doubt we will be going online again here. Early
in the afternoon, we left to go on a walking tour
of the Kremlin/Red Square area, planning on having
lunch prior to visiting the Kremlin. The Kremlin
is like a Russian fortress—a walled structure with
palaces, towers, churches, arsenals and more. Red
Square (and St. Basil’s Cathedral) are just
outside the Kremlin. The name, Red Square, by the
way has nothing to do with communism, but comes
from the old Russian word for “beautiful.” To our
great disappointment, the Kremlin was closed! I
guess there is some kind of children’s holiday
preparations. As I understand it, part of the
plan is to have many orphans visit the Kremlin,
see special performances and get some candy and
oranges from Putin (it will probably be closed to
the general public the entire time we are here).
I find it ironic that we are in Moscow with a
recent former orphan and can’t get into the
Kremlin because of a program for orphans! So, we
decided to walk around the GUM, a large emporium
with elegantly utilitarian architecture—it rather
reminded me of a fancy train station, with steel
and glass construction. We then had lunch at a
nearby restaurant (more expensive than we planned
because almost all of us needed a second beverage—
no free water in Russia and the glasses that
soda’s are served in are only about 8 oz glasses.
Some places don’t even have ice).
After lunch, we walked around the outside of the
Kremlin, stopping at the tomb of the unknown
soldier. Nearby was some kind of little grotto
where people were wedging coins into cracks in the
rock (and some people were trying to dig coins
out). As we passed by the entrance to the Kremlin
at the Kutafya gate, a tour guide asked us if we
wanted a tour of the Diamond Fund, a section of
the Armoury Palace, which houses the most valuable
gems in Russia. So, we went on the very
informative tour and saw some breathtaking, eye-
popping, jaw-dropping gems and jewelry such as the
diamond-encrusted Coronation Crown of Catherine
the Great and the 190-carat Orlov Diamond, given
to her by a lover trying to woo her back to him
(it didn’t work). Unfortunately, picture-taking
was not allowed. On the way back, which took
quite a while (due in part to the size of the
Kremlin and in part to getting lost), we were able
to get a look across Red Square towards St.
Basil’s cathedral, the onion-domed iconic image of
Russia. Actually, we have a closer view from our
hotel, but still it was special to see it across
Red Square. Special, but cold! I’m glad we could
break up our walk today with stops in shops and at
the Diamond fund—it seems chillier today than
yesterday. Although, we have been told that this
is an unusually warm winter.
Shortly after we returned to our hotel at
about 6 our Moscow contactcalled to
see if he could come in an hour to prepare
paperwork for the embassy. He came and we filled
out some simple paperwork. Tomorrow is the
doctor’s appointment and then in the afternoon we
might do some sight-seeing further out (Old Arbat
St. and House of Books).
Moscow, Dec. 26 (Medical)
After breakfast at the hotel
the driver, came with the contacts's wife to
take Kim, Yura and me to the medical appointment.
The wife, although her English was very limited,
was there to handle some of the details for us.
The children’s hospital was extremely busy as was
the doctor doing the medicals for adopted
children, so we had a bit of a wait. As we were
waiting, I saw at least 4 other American couples
there with children. We chatted quite a bit with
one couple from Tennessee who had adopted a 7 year
old boy in June, and were back adopting a 9 year
old boy and his 13 year-old sister. Whew! Also
while we were waiting, I needed to use the
restroom (only called “toilet” here). I should
have turned around when I walked in. Let’s just
say I was shocked by the sanitation conditions in
a public toilet at a hospital. Oh, and I got to
experience using newspaper instead of toilet paper
for the first time. When we finally were called
for the examination, Kim, Yura and I entered the
examination room and met the doctor, who spoke
very good English. Poor Yura had to strip to his
underwear and was visibly embarrassed, standing
with his hands in a “fig-leaf” position. We also
noticed what we thought was just a rash on his
neck was actually over much of his body—he was
recovering from the Chicken Pox (at least that
will be one less vaccination he will need).
Fortunately, he was no longer contagious. The
doctor pronounced him in generally good health and
needing only the Rubella and Hep. B Vaccinations.
The doctor and Kim and I signed the medical
paperwork and we were off again.
In the afternoon, we started out with a plan to
walk around the Kremlin, stopping at an
underground mall food court for lunch and then
continuing to the bookstore, Dom Knige (House of
Books), to buy books for Yura and for Nadia
McEachern (our Pastor’s recently adopted daughter
from Russia). Well, the way we were going to walk
was blocked due to the Orphan’s program, so we
took a long way around and didn’t eat lunch until
2 PM. We got food from a Sbarro’s Italian fast
food buffet line for about $80—expensive even for
the large amount of food we bought. Yura’s eyes
were definitely bigger than his stomach! He
couldn’t finish the 2 large pieces of pizza and
the chicken/pasta dish he selected, but started in
on his dessert, which Kim took from him, since he
didn’t touch the chicken/pasta dish. Kim even
tried to put just a little bit of the food in
another plate for him, indicating if he ate just a
little bit he could have the dessert. He refused,
so Kim ate his dessert. Yura definitely has a
stubborn streak. And I learned my lesson—say “No”
to large quantities of food.
After lunch we had to pay 10 rubles apiece
to use the toilet near the food court. That’s
about 35 cents a piece.
We then continued for about 15 minutes—in
the wrong direction! As we were consulting a map,
a man stepped up to us and said, “Taxi?” We
gladly accepted a ride.
I now have more compassion for foreign visitors to
the United States! It is challenging being
somewhere and trying to find and to do things in a
different culture and in a different language!
The sidewalks and streets were packed with people
and cars—as bad as any traffic jam that I have
been in, except the vehicles were much closer
together here. I don’t know if it is always like
this or if this time of year, right before the
biggest holiday of the year, New Years, created a
lot of extra congestion. At least the center city
area of Moscow is brightly decorated for the
holiday.
We made it to the bookstore, which was enormous
and also incredibly crowded. Teri McEachern,
Nadia’s mom, had given me a list of books that
Nadia would probably like to have. Nadia had also
written (in Russian) the names of several books.
I wish that the whole list had been in Russian!
Teri had said that some of the sales clerks spoke
English, so they could help find the books. Let’s
just say that one of the clerk’s English was
somewhat better than my Russian. However, we did
find several books—about 30— for Nadia and Yura
(more for Nadia—Yura doesn’t seem that interested
in reading). The price wasn’t too bad—about $220
total—and they were all hard cover. Of course,
the taxi there and back ended up costing about
$40.
We didn’t do much after returning to the hotel
room, other than having a very light supper at the
café on our floor. Tomorrow is the trip to the
American Embassy!
Moscow, Dec. 27, Tuesday (American Embassy)
After breakfast today, we took a taxi to Old Arbat
Street to browse souvenir shops. I’m sure Kim
wondered how many more of the ubiquitous
Matryoshka (nesting) dolls I was going to buy. I
thought they would make good gifts for the people
watching our cats, for our nieces, etc. We all
bought some hats, too. Furry and fun describe the
hats that 3 of us bought! Kim and Sean bought the
kind with ear flaps that can be worn flaps up or
flaps down. I got a fur hat that makes me look
like I have a dead beaver on my head. It fits
right in with the Russian style, but will probably
garner a few stares in Rogers, Minnesota. Yura
got an army hat decorated with many, many pins
(and I bought one for Clara later in the day).
Clara got a general’s cap with a visor. Of
course, some of us got T-shirts and I had to buy a
few postcards for scrap books. Before returning
to the hotel, we stopped at a café for hot
chocolate, coffee and dessert. The hot chocolate
was literally “hot chocolate”—melted chocolate
served in tiny espresso cups.
At 1:30, we left for our Embassy appointment. The
whole process was very routine. We received
written instructions from our Moscow
contact, “After you go
through security, please proceed to the ticket
machine. . .pay at window #4. . .turn in the
tickets. . .to Window 6.” We then waited maybe 15
minutes for our number to be called for the short
interview. Several other Americans adopting
children, perhaps 15-20 families, were also having
Visa’s processed this afternoon. Some of the
families we had already seen at the medical clinic
the day before. Most people were adopting 1 or 2
children, babies to about 13 year olds. One
family was there adopting 3 older children all at
once! All the families seemed glad to see other
Americans and to be sharing about their
experiences. I was surprised to find out in
talking with some of the families that they never
left their hotel, except for the medical and the
Embassy appointments! When our number was called,
we stood at the window to speak with the Embassy
representative and to review information and sign
some papers, which resulted in us obtaining Yura’s
Visa and Visa packet, which we are to present,
unopened to immigration officials when we arrive
in the US (in Minneapolis). We also received
reminders to register Yura with the Russian
Consulate shortly after we return (Yura retains
his Russian Citizenship). Yura will become a US
citizen the moment our plane touches down in the
US. The Embassy official also stressed the
importance of post-placement reports to the
Russian Government (many US adoption agencies are
awaiting reaccredidation in part because of some
people not doing post-placement reports). And a
couple of scary reminders: 1. Do not let Yura
return to Russia on his Russian Passport.
Apparently it would be possible for the Russian
military to require him to serve if he is in
Russia with a Russian passport at an age near when
he could be required to serve (18, I think). The
Embassy official suggested we obtain a US Passport
for Yura for this reason and also to obtain a
Social Security number faster. (The passport is
processed in only about 6 weeks, but the
Citizenship card from INS takes about 6 months).
2. Also, it was stressed that we were not to open
the Visa packet—opening it could mean we would
have to come back to Russia. Only the US
immigration officials are to open it.
After returning to the hotel from the Embassy
appointment, we went with our contact to pay our
hotel bill and then ate an early dinner at the
Café on the same floor as our rooms. During
dinner, we watched from the café’s 10th-floor
window as probably 50 busses dropped of children
and hundreds of children streamed out of the
hotel, heading for the Kremlin, with guards on
both sides as the children filed in. I assume
that these children are the orphans for whom the
government is putting on a special program.
After dinner, Kim and I went to the GUM by
ourselves for a couple of hours (the kids stayed
in the hotel rooms). The GUM Mall, 3 stories high
with a steel and glass canopy, is laid out in 3
arcades or lines. Holiday light displays cascaded
down from the canopy—it was beautiful (we took a
few pictures). We mostly just walked around and
didn’t buy anything except coffee and dessert.
Many of the stores are internationally known (such
as Estee Lauder) and quite expensive. I am sure
only fairly wealthy Muscovites shop there (and
tourists). At one point I needed to use the
restroom (called “WC” for “Water Closet” in this
Mall, as elsewhere, along with the blunt
term, “toilet.”). The WC cost 8 Rubles to use
(about 30 cents). As I opened the door to the
stall, I couldn’t help but chuckle with surprise
at the type of toilet. The toilet was a stainless
steel fixture, flush to the ground with an area on
each side of a funnel-like depression to place
your feet. After considering for a few moments
how to approach this task, I rather inelegantly
attempted a squat and braced myself against the
wall. And then I noticed there was no toilet
paper! Fortunately, I was prepared with a packet
of tissues in my pocket. Ah, yet another cultural
experience. Perhaps I should rename this trip
journal “The Toilet Chronicles.”
Prior to entering the GUM and later when we were
back at the hotel, we saw fireworks displays yet
again. Russians seem to celebrate the New Year
like a combination of Christmas and our 4th of
July!
Tomorrow we leave Moscow late afternoon for
Amsterdam, where we will be spending an overnight
layover.
Dec. 28 Moscow to Amsterdam
After a somewhat leisurely morning at our hotel,
we packed up and got ready to go. Checkout at the
hotel was noon and at 11:50 or so, we were in the
process of getting our luggage out of the room
when a maid was standing outside the door pointing
at her watch. Kim pointed at his watch (after
all, it wasn’t noon yet), but she walked right in
anyway spouting off something in Russian. Kim
actually growled at her for being so pushy and
coming in before we had even left! One thing I
had heard and experienced first hand is that
Russians in general are pushy and brusque. The
Russian personality can be unsettling to those of
us accustomed to “Minnesota nice.” Yesterday, on
the way to the elevator, a maid was cleaning the
floor in front of the elevator area and Sean made
the mistake of doing a little spin. A man nearby
started chewing him out and didn’t stop until I
said, in Russian, “I don’t understand Russian.”
Really, Sean has been so mature and well-behaved
on this trip, I felt bad for him at the man’s vast
over-reaction to such a small thing. It must have
been one of those cultural differences (although I
still don’t quite get it—the floor was going to
have people walk on it anyway).
At 12:30, we met our driver for the trip to the
airport outside the hotel (actually far outside
the hotel!). The entrance to the hotel has been
blocked the whole time we were here because of
security for the orphan’s children’s holiday, I
think. Sergei met us and helped put our bags in a
van, but was not our driver. And our contact was
not
there either (I had asked him yesterday if we
would see him today and he said we would, so I
don’t know if something came up or he
misunderstood my question. Our Moscow contact's
English is
not as good as the 2 interpreters that we had in
the Perm area). We were picked up at 12:30 and
our flight was not until 4:05. No problem getting
to the airport in plenty of time. Wrong! We
barely made it to the checkout in time (check-out
closed 45 minutes before departure and we got
there about 55 minutes before departure). The
drive to the airport took about 2 hours and 20
minutes and then we had to go through security
just after getting inside the airport. Then check-
in took a while and we had to go through Passport
control and security yet again to board the
plane. The plane was already boarding when we got
to the gate. After we got on the plane, I pointed
outside and said to Yura, “Dasvidn, Rossiya.”
Until we meet again, Russia.
The flight was uneventful, except for Clara and
Yura picking on each other. At passport control
in Amsterdam, Yura could not go through (as he
only had a VISA to enter the US, not Holland).
This was not a surprise—we even had already
arranged for a hotel at the airport for our
overnight layover. We did however have to pick up
our checked luggage on the other side of passport
control. Kim and Sean went through to get the
bags and Yura, Clara and I waited nearer the hotel
area. When we all met up again, we ate at the
McDonalds—I actually craved the crispy fries and
flavorful ketchup of McDonalds. Of course we had
to pay about $2 for 5 packets of ketchup. Our
whole dinner at McDonald’s was about $40—probably
the most we have ever spent at McDonald’s.
However, it was the only meal we paid for today
(the breakfast buffet was included with the hotel
room and we didn’t have time to buy food in the
airport in Moscow. Fortunately they served a
snack on the plane). Because we hadn’t had time
to buy anything at the airport in Moscow, we still
have about 1500 in Rubles (about $52—maybe we can
sell them to another family traveling to Russia
because we couldn’t exchange them here).
After the dinner at McDonald’s we checked into the
Mercure hotel at the airport. We have 2 rooms
again. As Clara, who is sharing our room again,
was channel surfing, she had the misfortune to
happen upon an X-rated channel. Very explicit.
She was grossed out and I was aghast. I inquired
at the desk if certain channels could be blocked
and no, they couldn’t. So, Kim disabled the TV in
the boys’ room. Poor Yura still sat at the TV for
quite a while trying to make it work.
Tomorrow is our final flight home.
There’s no place like home.
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