Long Version:
Had an early departure today. Ate breakfast early, running into another family from Connecticut here adopting a little girl from the same baby home. We met up with Greg downstairs in the lobby. Jeannette and their son, Thomas, decided to stay in today.
When we got to the baby home and were waiting for the boys to come in, Serge (the driver) said we’d need to stay in the play area today. The children were doing a special presentation for/with the caregivers for Women’s Day. Boy were they cute!!
Eli came in about ½ hour after Andrey was brought in. He seemed like he might want to cry for a little bit. I wish we could somehow make him understand that we are coming back. It must be so hard- we come and play for a couple hours, tell him we are his mama and papa and keep leaving.
He loves the sippy cup now. We played for a little while and when the children came in and did their presentation, we watched it together. Love holding that little guy! He loves the music. He was very content to sit and rock in my lap as we watched the children and staff all dressed up in traditional garb. The ladies were dressed as peasants and the children as peasants and princesses- all complete with a little blob of pink on cheeks. SOOO adorable!
After the kids left, we hit the ball pool pretty hard. Eli discovered how fun it was to climb the little steps, slide down the slide into Papa’s arms, get thrown up in the air, come down to big kisses from Papa, struggle across the balls with help from Mama, complete with tons of kisses and encouragement and start the process over again. We kept this up until they came and got Andrey.
This saddened Eli- he seemed to care much for the caregiver that came and got Andrey and wanted to follow them. I danced around the room for a little bit with him- he was laughing, but still a more subdued little guy than before. Then Serge said to get our stuff- time to go- and I could take him back to the room. Tim said he’d clean up our mess and get stuff together and I could take Eli back to the room.
We walked through the halls, around the corner and to his room. I put him down and said Paka- bye to him. He watched me and waved. One of the caregivers asked him a question just as I was saying paka paka and he smiled really big and waved a lot more. I asked Serge what the caregiver had said, thinking she had encouraged him to smile. He said she asked if he had to go pee pee. I guess boys all around the world are the same, eh?
Surge, Tim and Greg had great conversations all the way back to the hotel.
When we got back, we called N and made plans. We walked to the KFC (yes folks, that is Kentucky Fried Chicken) and ordered. We didn’t get what we had thought we were asking for- but it was pretty good. We had just finished eating when N and her friends came in. We had a great lunch. M and P were very interested in what had brought us here and about our adoption process. We had fun swapping stories and learning about their lives as well.
When we finished we went to the museum. It was very interesting. You have to buy your tickets outside- off to the right of the building before you go up the steps. It costs a little more if you are going to take pictures- be sure to get the ticket for pictures if you plan on taking any.
There are 3 floors of rooms and items. The items in the museum are all to be part of the Krasnoyarsk Kye or Krasnoyarsk region- one of the largest regions in Russia- it goes the whole distance, I believe, all the way to the top of the country. Tim was a little bored after a while- but it is a great way to kill a few hours in a temperature controlled environment. It’s still pretty warm and sunny- but the afternoon was very varied- snow flurries, windy gusts etc.
We walked back to the hotel after we were done at the museum- it’s just on the other side of the bridge- very close to our hotel. We came back up to our room and tried the internet again. Apparently it is down until Tuesday- so I guess we’ll be posting a whole bunch on Tues J
We walked over to the Toy Store and whipped out our tracing of Eli’s foot. The lady pulled out the insert in the boots we were looking at- looks like it’ll be a perfect fit- so we now have boots for our son.
From there we walked up the street and around the corner to the Fujifilm store and dropped off the camera for 1 hour developing. It is quite difficult to navigate these types of things when all you have are a few greetings and your fingers for communication. Note to self- make sure you check the closing time before you drop off film and pay for 1 hour developing….That must have been what the lady was trying to tell us…..
Then we went to California Pizza, just a few doors down. We had been here on our first trip and enjoyed it a lot. The pizzas are out and we were able to point. I think we’ll have to get together with our friends and play charades when we get home. Tim and I should be able to take anyone on this- we are getting pretty good at communicating without talking. We got our pizza and saw some chocolate cake. MMMMmmmmm. It looked good. I pointed to that and held up 1 finger. She began asking me something. She repeated it, and again. Ya ne panimayu- I don’t understand. The gentleman in front of me leaned over and with a British accent asked if we spoke English. Whew!! We love running into people who understand us here. He said the chocolate cake was a brownie and they were trying to make everything just as it would be if you got it in America- so she was asking if we wanted it with ice cream on top. Nyet- no- we said- picturing the ice cream all melted before we got our pizza eaten.
The gentleman with the lovely British accent came up and introduced himself to us on his way out. Seems he owns the establishment. He was very excited to see us and talk to us and told us that Americans get a 15% discount- so, if you go to California Pizza, be sure to talk with your best American accent J
Finishing the pizza and meal in record time, we still had ½ hour to kill before our film would be ready- so we strolled up and down the streets, looking all around. I have found out why the women here walk just slightly behind the men, arm tucked in their arms. I thought it was romantic- noooo, it’s necessity. These hats with the fur around the edge are great blinders- I can’t see anything in the periphery, including Tim if I get an inch ahead of him. But it sure is warm- I’ve been so toasty on our walks!
Well, the camera shop was a challenge. The lady came out and showed us the film. No prints yet. She was talking a mile a minute and kept looking at me, as if she could will me to understand. Then, suddenly, in the middle of her verbal waterfall, I caught the word Zaftra. I remembered reading that a few days ago- it means tomorrow. So, I whipped out the dictionary Amity gave me and looked up Saturday. I showed it to her and she nodded vigorously- Da, Da- Zaftra and she wrote down 12 on her paper. So much for the 1 hour developing we paid for……guess we’ll go back after noon tomorrow.
So, home we came, watched a bit of the Princess Bride and then off to bed. What a day. I can’t believe we’ve been here for a week and a half already. It is going so fast.
Short version:
Went to baby home with Greg today. Children did a special production for Women’s day. Too cute! Came back, went to KFC with N and her friends, then to the museum. Walked back to California Pizza, ate dinner, watched movie- collapsed into bed J
Can’t believe it will be 2 whole days before we go back to see our son!
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