3 Days Since Court, 7 More To Go......

Today we were able to visit Victoria in the morning. Irina bought the kids (Victoria and Blake) chocolate eggs to give them. They really enjoyed these. The eggs were hollow with a toy in the center. I broke the egg up for Victoria and she ate the pieces from my hand. Also, she picked up the tiny slivers left in my hand and put those in her mouth too! Every last speck, my kind of girl! She wore the same thing she has worn the last two times I have seen her, including the strange blue headband. Blake was in the same outfit too. I don’t mind, I realize it is an orphanage and they put the kids in the best clothes they have when visitors come to see them. My pictures might start to look like they were all taken on the same day though.

Today we did bring her an outfit to try on and wear, along with her purse and gloves. We also brought shoes today, though that is not new; we brought 3 pair the other day. Blake enjoyed the pink boots we brought the other day just as much as Tori, very cute!

One of the main reasons mom brought this outfit today was because we thought it would not fit and we could leave it if needed. The outfit is 24 months; we mostly thought it would be short on her. Sure enough, 24 months fit. I think 24 months is the same as 2T? She is also currently wearing a 6 or 7 shoe size. She really loves getting dressed up! The kids also enjoyed a cookie that we got from the farmer’s market the other day. We played, colored, took pictures, admired clothes and of course; some running and throwing in the air were involved in our visit too! At least we did not get in trouble today for waking sleeping kids! It was a great visit! We go again tomorrow at the same time! =)

The ride home from the orphanage took about 2 hours, instead of 1. There had been an accident, so traffic was SLOW. The exhaust from the other cars was pretty bad; we were all not feeling so well by the time we got out of traffic. Unfortunately, it seems a pedestrian was hit by a bus.

I talked to Dylan on the phone tonight, which was very nice. He told me the weather there is nice. Here it rained most of the morning and of course was cold. Dylan and I talked for about 25 minutes. After that, we went for a nice walk with Justin and Heather (of course by the tracks and to the market). On the walk, we had a big discussion as to how much my phone call home actually cost me. First, I think we had thought $90. Then, talk of $900…. I thought well, I already called, not much I can do about it now. When we came back to the hotel, Justin asked the front desk and concluded it was only about $11. Ok, much better and I can deal with that. They just put the comma’s with numbers were we would use decimal points, that is where the confusion came in. Also, on the walk, we checked out some public restrooms. They were really pretty bad, I mean bad! I can’t post pictures of Victoria yet so…..yeah….here you go……The first photo is the men's restroom and the second is the women's.  In the women's restroom, wood is on each side of the whole for feet placement.

Orthodox Easter in Russia

Today was Orthodox Easter in Russia. Irina came to the hotel this morning and brought a Russian Easter bread called Kulich. She brought it for the families to share and also brought the two children at the hotel Easter eggs. Very sweet of her and her family, considering this was a holiday for them and a time to spend together. She indicated her mother-in-law baked the bread for us. She told us when we go to the orphanage tomorrow, we will stop on the way and get some chocolate eggs for Victoria and Blake. We also bought them some cookies when we went to the farmer's market yesterday. It will be nice to see Victoria in the morning!

Other than that, today was pretty uneventful. Irina was the highlight. We walked a lot down by the shore and the tracks. It was pretty cold today and there was a heavy mist. I checked the weather in Corona, in the 90's...ha! I am posting some pictures of mom and me next to the Easter bread Irina brought and also some of the same bread that were sold at the market yesterday. It looks much like cake or a very large cupcake, but taste more like bread. The icing is not icing as we know it.

Here is some info I found on-line about the bread: Kulich is a kind of Easter bread, traditional in the Orthodox Christian faith. Traditionally during the Easter service, the kulich is blessed by the priest. Blessed kulich is eaten before breakfast each day. It is baked in tall, cylindrical tins and when cooled is decorated with white icing. Kulich is only eaten during the 40 days after Paskha (Easter) until Pentecost.

Downtown Vladivostok

I have met some wonderful people during my adoption journey. On the first trip, I met Steve and Sharon and continue to stay in contact with them. They just recently brought their daughter home from Russia. On this trip, currently there are 6 families in the hotel including myself. As you can imagine, the days get long here. We have begun to get to know each other, share information and spend time together. Today, some of us decided to take the train into downtown Vladivostok. It was a fun day of adventure.

The front desk wrote out the information for us to show the train station for our tickets and we walked down to the tracks to catch the train. It was a nice ride along the coast of the Sea of Japan. Again, we saw the poverty of the area. The teenagers and some adults have a fun time riding for free, getting off before they are asked to show tickets and running to the car ahead before the train begins to depart again. It was amusing to watch. When we reached our stop and headed to the downtown department store, we were happy to come across a farmer’s market. It was a great experience! We bought some food items and walked around among the vendors. After, we headed towards the department store, went into some children's stores and decided to find a place for lunch. Our adventure included; Heather and Justin who are from Illinois, Amy and her dad, Randy, who are from North Carolina, and mom and me. Heather and Justin had been downtown on their first visit, so they were the leaders of our expedition. They led us to a nice restaurant that had a menu in English. After lunch, which was actually about 4:00 pm, we headed back to the train for the ride to the hotel.

Justin, Heather, Me, Amy and Randy

It was nice to get out and do something, as we are very limited here without knowing the language or having a car. Honestly, I would not even attempt to drive here…Yikes! It’s crazy enough just being driven around by our driver for legal stuff and visits to the orphanage. We won’t see Victoria again until Monday. We will go early Monday morning. Tomorrow, which is Sunday, is Orthodox Easter here in Russia. We are all hoping there will be some festivities here at the hotel or down by the shore.