This Reminds Me

Keith and I know the names of exactly four residents of St. Petersburg, all Buckner-affiliated.  St. Pete is an eight-hour train ride from Moscow, a city of 10M inhabitants.

So today in Moscow, whom do we see among the 10M?  Yes, one of the people we know from St. Pete!  While eating lunch in the Starlight Diner – in walks Natasha from St. Pete, here soliciting a donation from Lincoln Motors for orphanages in St. Pete.  To say we were stunned would be an understatement.

Naturally, we had to visit with Natasha bit before we left for the American Embassy to register Julia for U.S. citizenship.  (She’s a citizen when the wheels of our plane touch U.S. soil, BTW.)  And whom did we meet in the Embassy?  One of the scores of adoptive parents we’ve grown to know these 22 months on the adoption.com Russian Adoption Parent Board!  We heard the mother calling to three-year-old “Summer,” and I thought, “That sounds familiar.  How many parents are naming their daughters ‘Summer?’”  So I asked where she was from, which was Georgia, and then I knew for sure and blurted, “You’re RainyinGA from adoption.com!”   She knew us as beckyww and keithww; we had a happy time comparing notes.

There were 20 – 25 families waiting with their kiddos in the Embassy office.  A few older than Julia; most younger, none younger than 14 months since the rules have changed.  Far more boys than girls.  At least three families with much older children at home now refilling an empty or soon-to-be-empty nest.  Several families with sibling sets.  At least two families on their second Russian adoption trip.  One two-year-old boy wearing a blue sweat suit that his mother informed me cost $150 at the nearby mall.  He’d thrown up on his clothes in the car; they dashed in the mall to buy “something simple” to wear to the Embassy.  “Wow, stuff is expensive here,” commented the mother.  We agreed that we prefered to shop at our American fashion center – Target.

Before we left the Starlight Diner, Natasha asked Julia what she liked best about Red Square: Lenin’s Tomb, the beautiful grounds, the Kremlin, the young Pioneers demonstrating, etc.?  Julia’s answer?  “The fountains.”  Yes, the child is half monkey (climbing fiend) and half fish (water entranced).  Here’s a picture of her splashing in a fountain outside the Starlight diner today.

It’s a world of laughter, a world of tears Its a world of hopes, its a world of fear
Theres so much that we share  That its time we’re aware
Its a small world after all

Thank you, Walt.  We agree.

Our Buckner translator drove us to Red Square today.  We toured St. Basil’s Cathedral, a marvel of 500-year-old architecture.

Shearer Hills Baptist It Ain’t….

We stopped in a working Russian Orthodox church, the Kazan Cathedral, to light candles.  Juia knew knew not only to light the top wick but also to light the bottom wax to affix the candle to the holder.  She was baptized Russian Orthodox last year by a priest who visits the children’s home monthly.  While we will encourage her to make a believer’s profession in Jesus Christ, we also respect what she’s been taught to date.

Julia joined a group of children throwing coins over their shoulders while standing in a fixed stone compass on the grounds of Red Square.  As they throw the coins, they make traditional wishes that they be able to return to this spot one day.  I noticed an elderly babushka behind the children, quietly collecting the coins in a plastic sack (which cost one ruble at any store, BTW.)  I’m thinking the Babushka Collective might have originated that tradition.

North, South, East or West  – Throwing Stuff is Always Best!

As you’ve probably noticed – we’re able to post pictures again.  Keith bought a cheapie digital because as he rightly stated, “We’re only going to be here once.”  He also got a cord to transfer pictures from his cell phone.  Here’s one of her on the St. Pete to Moscow train night before last.

Choooo-Choo…zzzzzzzzzzzzzz…………………..

Moscow is believed to have been founded in 1147 by Prince Yury Dolgoruky.  It now boasts a population of 10M, including two misplaced Texans and one very small Russian.  We are hoping to see more of the city tomorrow, before the hustle and bustle of Embassy appointments on Monday and Tuesday.

The Kremlin grounds are a riot of exquisite color.  We tried to get in today, but workers were on a lengthy “coffee break.”  We hope to get in tomorrow.

We arrived in Moscow early this morning, having taken the electric sleeper train from St. Pete.  The sleeper train is sort of like a giant moving barbecue smoker – low, constant indoor heat; guys with beer bottles standing around; and smoke residue everywhere.  If you’re old enough to walk in Russia, you’re old enough to smoke.  One of our Buckner workers told us there were two types of restaurant sections here – smoking, and chain smoking.

Julia was seemingly unaffected by it.  After no nap and hours of crying, she fell asleep before we left the station, and slept soundly all night.

Watching the countryside zoom by the windows was very cool, especially with the full moon.  Unfortunately, our digital camera went kaput.  We’re hoping it’s the battery.  We’re getting a new one tomorrow.

We got her American Embassy-approved physical in Moscow today, then collapsed at the hotel for a 4.5 hour nap, badly needed by all three of us.  She began whimpering when she awoke.  I think it’s those “sleepy times” that remind her most that she’s no longer in her “dom” (home.)  A snack and cartoons before a good evening walk chased the blues away.  We found a park with play equipment and $2 hotdogs maybe 1 mi. away – liking that.

Julia’s first bath last night was very entertaining – for all of us.  At first, she refused to get in the water with a repeated “nyet nyet nyet.”    I expected this reaction, and quckly lifted her in and plopped her down with a “da da da.”   She looked very surprised – the water was nice and warm.  She loved the bubble bath.  Stuck her face down in the water (there are swimming lessons in her future.)  She had a lot of caked-in dirt, so, we changed out the water and added more bubbles.  Tonight I had no trouble getting her in the tub.

Tomorrow we’re seeing Red Square.  We’re hoping Lenin’s body isn’t out for a cleaning – we’d like to see that, too.  If our digital camera isn’t working, we may break down and buy a disposable print camera (shudder.)   Sunday is up in the air.  We’re going to talk to our Buckner workers tomorrow and see how fast we can get the U.S. Embassy paperwork done, and getting her registered at the Russian Embassy.  Kind of a drag being here for a weekend.  Moscow is more expensive than St. Pete with none of its charms.  It’s way more Soviet and much less European.  Though Keith will find interesting things to see and do within walking distance of the hotel, I know that.  He always does.  He is about 10′ from me, ironing wet jeans to speed their drying.  We’re not so much “staying” here as “camping” here.

Live a little this weekend.  Try some bubble bath.  Go ahead – put your face down in it.