A new couple on our Tyumen yahoo group was a bit apprehensive regarding trip1. Not unlike ourselves before those that went before us told us somewhat to expect. I though I would share the highlights of each day before we get lost in Trip 2 jitters. We should find out this week the exact court date, apparently it's been scheduled by the judge for late February, just don't have the translated version in writing yet...Was it scary? Are you nuts? I was absolutely terrified from the moment we landed in Tyumen
until I held the baby in my arms.
This is how our trip went in October...
Arrived from LAX to Moscow very late Sunday night. We were met at the airport once we cleared customs and got our luggage by our driver and translator provided by our agency. They took us to our hotel and even went up to our room with us to make sure we got there safely and to make sure we would meet them in the lobby 7am Wednesday morning and gave us their cell phone numbers just in case we needed anything. They both spoke English beautifully which is more than I can say for anyone in the hotel (RUDE was the only language anyone knew at the Rossiya which by the way is supposed to be demolished any moment).
Monday and Tuesday did our own site seeing and got around on our own pretty darn well with virtually no Russian language skills to speak of. If you spend any time in Moscow visit the GUM Mall, I loved it. We went to Red Square and to the Kremlin to watch the changing of the guard, it was quite moving. There is a lot to see and you don't need a tour guide if you have a map handy and already made a list of what you want to see. All the places to eat we checked out had at least one menu in English for tourists. Most everyone we came in contact with was very friendly to us. We did not draw attention to ourselves in any way either except the one time I asked a young boy playing the accordion why he wasn't in school. I could tell he was poor so I gave him some money and patted him on the head. BIG MISTAKE! His grandmother came out from no where screaming at me and chased me from the hotel parking lot to St. Basil's Cathedral across the street. I was very happy to find a guard with a weapon to stand next to.
Wednesday we left the hotel at 7am to catch the only flight to Tyumen at 10:30am. it was about a 2 1/2 hour flight from Moscow with full meal service. The plane was quite old with round windows and open overhead storage. not much fit under the seat. The trays were metal so watch out if the guy in front of you decides to recline. I guess if you fly business class you can avoid that since there are seats across from each other with a large wooden table in between. The flight crew were very nice. We arrived in Tyumen and were met immediately by our regional translator/coordinator and driver. It was a short drive to the Quality Hotel which was wonderful. Excellent room, excellent service and a business center which was affordable for Internet service to keep in touch. A huge buffet breakfast was included also. There is an additional 2 hour time difference from Moscow. We had lunch in the restaurant with our translator after we checked in and set up our schedule for Thursday. I didn't know that Tobolsk was a 3 hour drive so I was quite disappointed in not seeing the baby once we arrived. It did give us time to learn how to use the video camera.
Thursday morning we had to be at the MOE office in Tyumen at 9am sharp. The representative was very nice. She asked us several questions, similar to what the judge may ask (why are you adopting from Russia, how long have you been married, how do your families feel about this, are you taking time off to bond, how much?, who will watch baby when you are at work, etc.). She had our dossier already so maybe she was just seeing what we would say. She did show us a picture from her database of the baby when he was 2 days old which is priceless to me! She didn't have a color printer or know how to convert it to a jpeg and email to me although I offered to help so she printed it out black and white. It's still priceless. She filled out some forms and we were on our way back down 5 flights of stairs so the MOE could sign off then back up 5 flights of stairs again to get the rest of the paperwork we had left there. We left immediately for Tobolsk. We arrived about 12:30pm. We went to the only hotel in Tobolsk and had lunch there until the baby home director called our translator on her cell phone to say the baby was now awake from his nap. It was just around the corner. That is when the total panic set in for me. We walked from the car to the front steps and saw care givers outside with some toddlers in a huge playpen and strollers all bundled up getting some outside time. We went upstairs to the director's office. We had brought a military duffel bag full of donations as instructed by our agency. Each orphanage is different on what they need and your agency will let you know. We took several pairs of shoes, socks, outfits, children's medicines and toys. The director was very happy and even told us we brought too much. Her name is Svetlana and she is very nice. She is the director and head doctor there. There are 2 other female doctors and 1 male doctor there so 4 doctors total. I took pen sets, a nice watch and silk tie for the doctors as gifts. There are 7 care givers so I took each a bracelet. We were told to bring gifts on both trips for the doctors and caregivers although many people either brings gifts on one or the other trip or on neither, it won't effect your adoption. As far as donations for the baby home they can always use clothes and socks as well as developmental toys. A monetary donation would be greatly appreciated also if you do not want to carry more baggage. Had we known they would have been happy with money it would have saved us close to $100 in over weight charges from Moscow to Tyumen. Anyway, the director sat us down in her office which is quite nice and went over everything she knew about our baby. Information our agency did not have. She told us how he came to be in an orphanage, circumstances of his birth, all information known about his parents and his medical information and accomplishments etc.
They led us down the hallway to a music room. It is pink with sheer curtains. There are several little chairs set up and a wooden puppet theater at the end for plays. There was a VCR and TV in there also. There were two Persian type rugs laid out next to each other in an open area and that is where you play with the child. We stood there quite nervous camera in hand as they brought him it. I finally understood that special moment when a Mother sees her child for the first time. His doctor's name is Olga and she brought him over and placed him in my arms. She told him in Russian that this is your Mommy and Daddy. He reached for me and that was it. We played with him for close to 3 hours maybe a bit longer. We made a great video of him playing with us and by himself. Towards the end he was babbling and laughing. When it was time to leave they let me carry him across the hallway into the nursery and put him in his crib. They allowed me to give him one toy, a small blanket and small photo album for his crib that will be only his. The other toys we brought we left in the common area with the playpens for all babies to enjoy. As we were leaving I asked to speak to one of his caregivers. I wanted to see more of the area where he spends the majority of his time. She was very friendly and showed me the walkers, swings, feeding table (it looks like 2 high chairs facing each other but lower to the ground like a coffee table), bath tubs (YES! they don't just get put in the sink!) and little potty training chairs that look like dog food bowls. Unfortunately I had run out of film so I will get pictures of those special areas when we go to court hopefully soon. Other than pictures of the baby, I only have pictures of the director and her office, the music room and outside of the baby home. Once we left the nursery we went back to see the director again. She and the social worker took turns watching us for the first hour and then just left us alone with him. They will both testify in court and wrote reports to the judge on how we interacted. We then left and drove back to Tyumen. This particular director I'm told only wants you to visit for 1 day for 3-4 hours at once. I know in Tyumen I've been told you can visit for 90 minutes in the morning and afternoon for 2 days but Tobolsk is different.
On Friday we walked back to the MOE office and signed documents she gave us and she had them notarized then we flew back to Moscow in the late afternoon and stayed at a wonderful apartment at the "Government House" that sits across from the Kremlin and is next to a river. There is a grocery store with all types of food and drinks and baby stuff right in front so it was nice to shop and just relax for a couple of nights cooking our own food and watching TV.
Sunday we flew back to Los Angeles via New York, I don't recommend this route. For trip 2 we will stay an extra day in Moscow if need be to fly direct to LAX.
Yes we packed too much stuff! No you do not need 2 outfits per day or 6 pairs of shoes. I now know I can get by with very little, especially since the apartment we will be staying in has a washer and dryer. If we had done anything differently I think I would have put an extra roll of film in my purse before leaving for the day, packed less clothes and useless books I never even opened and definitely NOT stayed at the Rossiya no matter how breathtaking the view from our window was of St. Basil's Cathedral at night. I would have come home a day earlier and paid the difference to fly home non stop!
One more thing, I learned that everywhere we stayed, the windows open fully and there are no screens so be careful. Good luck to you on your first trip soon and thank you so much for the positive thoughts. I have it on good authority that the infamous judge was indeed back to work today (1 day early!) so I think we will have a firm court date very soon, weather permitting.
Deborah
PS Sorry this is so long.
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Tuesday, January 31, 2006 1:42 PM
Subject: Re: [AllThingsTyumen] New to the Group and Wondering
Deborah,Thank you for responding. I've heard that things are beginning to " move along" again. We were supposed to leave for our first trip today but were delayed because of the weather.I suppose I want to know what the trip was like. My husband and I are both fairly well seasoned travelers, yet, we feel a bit anxious about this trip. Was it scary? Were you met as promised? Did you pack too much? Not enough? Anything you wish you'd done differently? How did the Baby Home visit/s go? Did you take gifts? I know I sound terribly nosy but I am just trying to get a feel for how this will go. I've read everything I can get my hands on but have not been able, until now, to make contact with someone who has been there recently.I am sending positive thoughts to the judge "Get back to work! Families are waiting to be completed! Waive the waiting period!". It will come soon.Thank you so much--C
bdwess@comcast.net wrote:
Hi,What would you like to know? We were in Tobolsk (Baby Home) the beginning of October for trip 1 and STILL waiting for a court date! The judge in Tobolsk took 7 weeks off and is returning supposedly tomorrow.Let me know if I can answer anything for you. Deborah
