We're in RUSSIA -- Trip #2
Well, Dobre Dehn Comrade! We're made it to Russia without too much difficulty, except plane seats that were too small for too long. The jetlag as usual, packed a wallop. My life would be so much easier if I could just sleep on planes. Currently we're out in the region of the orphanage.
Drove down here today. I slept while Michael rode up front. It was fine for me, a bit of a white knuckle-ride for Michael. We know they're used to this weather, but even so going 140 kph (75 mph) down frozen roads, without lane markers, in a snow storm can be a bit harrowing. There is a TON of snow here and it has been snowing off and on since before we arrived. A balmy 35 degrees in Moscow when we landed Sunday morning. Michael insists it's warmer today, my point of view is that anything below 70 is too cold, so at this point why bother differentiating....
We got to see Masha / Tabitha (M/T) for about 3.5 hours today. She is very ready to head home and was quite excited to see us. The Polaroid iZone camera we got her was a huge hit, and I had to hide some of the film for reserve. She lost her second upper tooth since our first visit, so there is a huge gap in her grin. Hasn't spouted up much, so I think the 6/7 will still fit nicely.
We have court scheduled for tomorrow afternoon, after learning Sunday night that we are spending Tuesday morning meeting with the inspector that we weren't able to meet with on the first trip. A bit of an unexpected surprise, but we're rolling with it. I suspect that since this is now our second trip here, that this falls into the category of "hoop to be jumped" and is a formality. We learned Sunday that the process is now requiring *three* trips, so at this point the camp is counting as trip #1, Nov as trip #2, and now as trip #3.
Our trip is overlapping with another family, and while it is a bit full at our host's home, it's still quite comfortable and we really appreciated having the chance to talk with the other parents about how their court adventure went. Their pep-talk was most appreciated! So then we drove down to the region Monday morning, grabbed a snack at McDonald's (where it's still home of the Big Mac, spelled in Russian) arrived Monday afternoon, spent the afternoon at the orphanage and have now checked into the "sanitarium". We got room #214, which freaked Michael out -- some Stephen King reference I think. It's bigger than last time and with less exposed plumbing. However the central heat is *overwhelming* and I suspect that we'll be using the same high tech thermostat as last time, my boots propping open the window....
All in all, still quite the adventure. My Russian brain hasn't quite kicked in yet, but we got by with M/T today. As of yet, we've got a few photos, but no way to download them at this internet cafe "in the boonies" so we'll post them when we get back to Moscow.
Hope all is well at home.
Drove down here today. I slept while Michael rode up front. It was fine for me, a bit of a white knuckle-ride for Michael. We know they're used to this weather, but even so going 140 kph (75 mph) down frozen roads, without lane markers, in a snow storm can be a bit harrowing. There is a TON of snow here and it has been snowing off and on since before we arrived. A balmy 35 degrees in Moscow when we landed Sunday morning. Michael insists it's warmer today, my point of view is that anything below 70 is too cold, so at this point why bother differentiating....
We got to see Masha / Tabitha (M/T) for about 3.5 hours today. She is very ready to head home and was quite excited to see us. The Polaroid iZone camera we got her was a huge hit, and I had to hide some of the film for reserve. She lost her second upper tooth since our first visit, so there is a huge gap in her grin. Hasn't spouted up much, so I think the 6/7 will still fit nicely.
We have court scheduled for tomorrow afternoon, after learning Sunday night that we are spending Tuesday morning meeting with the inspector that we weren't able to meet with on the first trip. A bit of an unexpected surprise, but we're rolling with it. I suspect that since this is now our second trip here, that this falls into the category of "hoop to be jumped" and is a formality. We learned Sunday that the process is now requiring *three* trips, so at this point the camp is counting as trip #1, Nov as trip #2, and now as trip #3.
Our trip is overlapping with another family, and while it is a bit full at our host's home, it's still quite comfortable and we really appreciated having the chance to talk with the other parents about how their court adventure went. Their pep-talk was most appreciated! So then we drove down to the region Monday morning, grabbed a snack at McDonald's (where it's still home of the Big Mac, spelled in Russian) arrived Monday afternoon, spent the afternoon at the orphanage and have now checked into the "sanitarium". We got room #214, which freaked Michael out -- some Stephen King reference I think. It's bigger than last time and with less exposed plumbing. However the central heat is *overwhelming* and I suspect that we'll be using the same high tech thermostat as last time, my boots propping open the window....
All in all, still quite the adventure. My Russian brain hasn't quite kicked in yet, but we got by with M/T today. As of yet, we've got a few photos, but no way to download them at this internet cafe "in the boonies" so we'll post them when we get back to Moscow.
Hope all is well at home.
posted by T. at 3/20/2006 09:28:00 AM
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