Schedule for our last trip to Russia

In less than 2 weeks here is our next list of chores before coming home with Elena.

Sep.10 - arrival in Moscow- we will see a few museums and Red Square, scout out parks and markets.
Sep.12 in the morning - take flight to Arkhangelsk
Sep.12 - get court certificate and new birth certificate for child
Sep.13 - pick up Elena (maybe--see PS below)
Sep.13 - submit for child passport to OVIR (passport office)
Sep.14-15 - paperwork in OVIR, waiting
Sep.16 - get child passport
Sep.17 - take flight to Moscow
Sep.18 - day off
Sep.19 - submit for child visa to the US Embassy in Moscow
Sep.20 - get child visa
Sep.21 - may depart from Moscow and return home!

PS: We think we'll get to pick up Elena on Tuesday the 13th, but the exact time and date depends on flight logistics, so it may be either Monday or Wednesday. 

We are officially satisfactory

The Russian judge pronounced us "satisfactory."  I can live with that.

Here we are, in all our satisfactory glory, standing outside of the Arkhangelsk courthouse.

Embrace the satisfactoriness.

The Judge Said "Da"

That's "yes" in Russian.




We're glad we're done with court and looking forward to being parents.  Now we need to learn more Russian.  Quickly.

PS: the judge was incredibley serious, and never cracked a smile...except when Teresa asked, in Russian, if anyone (meaning, theoretically, Elena) had to go pee-pee.  He didn't ask a follow-up question to that.

T+A

We have more pictures

Just a few pictures from our most recent trip.  We're now in Arkhangelsk preparing for our court hearing, but we did already get to visit Elena for two mornings in Kotlas.  We took a few pictures; here are some:

Elena noticed that both of us wear glasses. After trying, with a fair amount of success, to steal one of our pairs, she found a pair from Mr Potato Head.  She put them on herself and refused to take them off.

Up, down. Up, down. Up, down. Up, down. Up, down. Up, down. Up, down. Up, down. Up, down. Up, down. Up, down. Up, down. Up, down. Up, down. Up, down. Up, down. Up, down. Whew. Up, down. Up, down. Up, down....

Everyone likes the water.

There's a big dump truck just out of the picture.

Some last minute useful Phrases and Words in Russian

On this next trip back to Russia we will be 3 days in Kotlas where not many people know english so Andy and I need to be better orepared with some Russian words.  One phrase that gets you out of a jam is:  "Ya nye panimayo, ya amerikanskanska".  I can barely say it, but it means "I dont understand I am american".  Izvinitye is "Sorry."  Also I just learned "Ya nye gavaryu parruskie", meaning "I dont speak Russian".  

How about "Ya looblue lasisina,  ikra krasnaya, svinina", meaning "I love salmon, caviar and pork!"--the I want to be able to read the things I like on the menu.

We can tell Elena that she is smart and pretty, "Tih ochen umniah, krayseevayah." and ask her "Gdye matryushka, gdye koshka, gdye sabaka"?--where is the matrushka doll, kitty, and dog.  Hocheesh peet?  Hocheesh yest?  Hocheesh tualyet?  Need water, food or the toilet??

Peva pazhalsta-beer please...
Pamagitye pazhalsta- help please
Korosho-good

para spot-time to sleep

its late, time for me to sleep and we are not done packing, I cant believe we are leaving so soon!
paka-byebye

T

Hurry up and wait... actually, no just HURRY UP!

So we just got word this morning--we leave for Russia on Saturday.  That's right, this Saturday, August 20th.  We've been expecting to leave, shortly, for quite some time, so we're not exactly unprepared, but the minimal advance notice was something of a surprise.

The main reason for this trip is to appear before the court to petition for adoption.  That happens next week Friday.  However, part of the reason for the quick take-off is that, due to some last minute rule-changes we're expected to visit Elena before the court hearing (previously, we were explicitly expected *not* to visit her).  So, all things considered, I don't think we can be all that peevish about the aggressive scheduling.

Here's our schedule for next week:
Saturday, Aug. 20 - Leave Detroit
Sunday, Aug. 21 - Arrive in St.Petersburg
Monday, Aug. 22 - Fly to Arkhangelsk and then to Kotlas
Tuesday, Aug. 23 - Visit Elena
Wednesday, Aug. 24 - Visit Elena
Thursday, Aug. 25 - Fly back to Arkhangelsk and prepare for court hearing
Friday, Aug. 26 - Appear in court, then take flight back to St.Petersburg
Saturday, Aug. 27 - One day of sightseeing
Sunday, Aug. 28 - Depart from St.Petersburg back to the US

There's a two-week waiting period before the adoption is finalized, so we'll return to Russia just... about... September 11th.  More or less.

They laughed at the Wright Brothers, too

Language can be a tricky thing.

We've learned a handful of useful Russian words, to varying degrees of exactness. One that's particularly useful is ВОДА, the Russian word for "water." It's pronounced "vaDA," with the accent on the second syllable. Problem is, "vada" is kind of close to "water," which makes the word easy to remember, but also easy to accidentally mispronounce as "VAda" or even "VAta," with the accent on the first syllable.

"VAta," it turns out, is actually another Russian word (in Cyrillic, ВАТА). It means "cotton balls." So that time I bellied up to the bar, asked for a drink of water, and the bartender laughed at me? Yeah, now I know why. Or, at least, I think I do--I just hope that ВАТА doesn't have some other, secondary meaning, known and giggled at by any Russian above elementary school age.

...And if I should need a cotton ball I am set!  What is the plural though???

Anonymous Commenting

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What to do While Waiting with Pictures and Papers: an Elena Collage

We are still waiting to find out when our court date is.  Our paperwork is done.  Our official visas for 2 more entries into Russia are on our way to us.  We are supposed to find out SOON when we see the judge in Russia.  I thought we would know last week or earlier.

There are now 4 families at the agency all waiting for court dates in the same Arkhangelsk region that we are going.  I am guessing the Russians wait for a pile up and then get us all assigned together in a similar time frame.  Possibly that is more efficient, who knows.  It would be fun to travel with another family or two. 

I am hoping all is going well behind the scenes, and will eventually move forward as planned with no major unforseen happenings.

Since all we have right now are papers and pictures to mark our hopes and plans at this point, I used one of our pictures of Elena to make a fun little story collage celebrating when she hopefully/finally gets to our home.

T