Visa’s (tourist, not credit card) – Received from the NY Consulate on Thurs., March 6. Yay! I’m slightly concerned though because they left my middle initial off of it even though it’s on my passport and the Visa application we submitted. Our agency doesn’t think this will be a problem. I certainly hope they’re right!
“New Money” - Picked up from bank on Wed., March 5. We need this to pay our driver, translator, 8 dr. medical, IA doctor, yadda, yadda, yadda. Again, slight concern here because there are a few bills that have creases in the middle. None, however, have any weird stamps or writing on them so I’m really hoping they’ll all be accepted. There was chatter on the FRUA board at some point about people ironing their $$ to make it more crisp and to get rid of the creases. Ummm…I’m a little scared to actually try this myself. Norm is terrified at the thought of me ironing anything, much less money. I’m a bit of a clutz and with my luck, it would only end in catastrophe. Any suggestions or thoughts about the creases? Am I thinking about this too much or might I have problems once in Russia? The creases aren’t terrible but are noticeable.
Camcorder – Bought today! Quickly realized two things: how technically challenged Norm & I are…and how much reading instructions actually helps. Heehee! We’ll probably post a test video in a few days just to make sure we know what we’re doing BEFORE we get to Russia!
Groceries – Bought today! Thanks to Ana’s Notes on Trip 1, we bought tuna, Easy Mac, individual soup packs, coffee singles, granola bars, shout wipes, and a few other things. I didn’t get everything I wanted, but this is a great start.
Who Loves Baby translation – I’m meeting our volunteer translator at Starbucks Tuesday evening, with our albums and thank you cards in hand. She is also VERY familiar with Moscow and is going to give me tips about the areas our 2 apartments are in.
Pen Pal Letter – Written today! My church sponsors an orphanage in Sierra Leone, Africa, called the Child Rescue Center or CRC, and I belong to the Pen Pal Ministry. Every few months I write to an amazing and beautiful 14 year old girl named Alfreda, whose parents were killed in Sierra Leone’s civil war. She knows that Norm & I do not have children (yet) and has told me that she and her friends pray daily for God to bless and entrust us with the care of one of His children. I had the honor of writing Alfreda tonight and telling her that prayers are indeed answered, as Norm & I are traveling in 7 days to meet our child! I know she will be thrilled.
FBI Fingerprints Notarized! We actually had the prints taken back in January and received the clearance from the FBI in February. Somehow we overlooked getting them notarized & apostilled. Oops! No biggie since we don’t need them for the first trip, but we will for the 2nd/3rd. So, we had them notarized yesterday and one of us will drive down to Richmond for apostilling so we can hand carry them to Moscow.
Trip 1 Payment to CSS – another oversight! Notice a theme here? A small payment (relatively speaking) was due when we were told about our trip 1 dates…and I never sent it in! Doh! I did mail it Wednesday of last week and K. confirmed they received it Friday. Phew!!
Oh, and I also bought an English-Russian translation book today and have been having fun studying up on new phrases and words. Fun stuff! (seriously!)
After church tomorrow I get to engage in more retail therapy – I mean errand running – which every adoptive parent is subjected – I mean entitled – to!
Paka!
Kar
Prayers for our Children
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4 comments:
Kar you got so much done so far. As for the money I have washed and ironed money. Luke warm water tiny bit of soap. Then I put it into the microwave for about 20 seconds to dry it a bit then a hot iron.
The funny thing is that I think I only did this once to see if I made the bills crisp and no other good reason. It works try it with a dollar if you are nervous.
Joy
Everybody seems to really obsess over the money thing - we sure did - and from the other end of this journey, I think it was overblown a bit. You do need clean, newer bills without major creases or any tears, but I'm not convinced that the money has to be so pristine as to warrant ironing it.
Once you hand your cash over to your guide and/or driver, they certainly aren't gentle about the way they handle it. It gets folded and jammed into a pocket without a second thought.
I also wouldn't fret too much over $5 and $10 bills. We used $20s almost exclusively.
Wow, you've gotten a lot done! Sounds like you are almost ready to go. This time next week you'll be in RUSSIA! I'm so excited for you!
I'm glad you posted your list! I need to go back through and see what else we need to add that we did not take on our first trip. Where did you find the Russian-English dictionary? This is something I would love to have on our next trip!
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