Trip 1 – Day 4 (morning)

Wow, it’s hard to believe that our trip is more than half over. We only have 2 more “real” days in Moscow, and then we leave our apartment bright & early Saturday morning. I believe we’ll be picked up around 8:30 to head to the airport. Our flight doesn’t leave until 1 or 1:30pm but Aeroflot asked/told us to be there 3 hours early again. I doubt it will take that long to get to SVO but with this crazy traffic, I guess you never know.

I don’t want to think about having to leave Iliyah on Friday… No matter how bad the 8 dr. physical exam for me & Norm could potentially be later this week, leaving our little guy behind is going to be waaay worse. Everyone seems to be reporting back that the physicals are no big deal at all. I hope that’s true!

I’m actually starting to write this post Wednesday morning as we wait for Katia & Anton to pick us up. I usually write in the evenings but we have some time to waste before we head out to the orphanage. I guess you guys are tired of seeing pictures of Iliyah’s arms & hands! Our friend Jeff said he thinks we’re just adopting a cute arm and I had a special request from my sister to post his little feet as well. I’ll do my best to get photos of his little piggies but I also don’t want to be scolded by a caregiver for removing his socks.

I know there are some people reading this who aren’t familiar with how adoption in Russia works, and there are also families traveling soon who may have some questions about what to expect. I’ll try to answer some of this now.

Q – Why can’t you post pictures of Iliyah? We’re not allowed to post his pictures on the internet until after our court date. This is to protect his identity and privacy.

Q – Why can’t Iliyah come home with you on Saturday? In Russia, at least 2 trips are required in order to adopt. The first trip you meet and officially accept the child. The 2nd trip is for the court date. There is a mandatory 10 day waiting period after court before we can pick Iliyah up from the orphanage. Some families decide to go home for the 10 days and return to Russia to get their children, thus making 3 trips total to Russia. Others wait in country during that time, making their 2nd trip 21 or more days. Financially it could be a wash because you either have to pay for 2 plane tickets OR 21+ days lodging & food. I think most familes make the decision between 2 or 3 trips based on their personal situations at home. Some have children at home to return to, some don’t have very much leave, etc. Norm & I haven’t decided yet what we’re going to do. But having Iliyah’s orphanage so close to Moscow is a definite plus. If we wanted to, we would be able to visit him during that 10 day wait period. BUT..we would also have to pay for a driver & translator to get us there!

Q – Are the apartments really THAT hot?? YES, absolutely! It’s is sweltering in here and I’m one of those people who is constantly shivering, so that’s saying a lot. It’s 30 something degrees outside and we have the windows & balcony door open. I’m walking around in a tank top and “lounge pants” and I’m still hot. Make sure you bring light clothing to wear in the apartment if you want to be comfortable.

Q – Is there anything else I should know about the apartments? Definitely bring a network cable with you that is at least 25’ long. The 2 cables we had in each apartment were both extremely short & neither worked. Bringing our network cable from home has proven to be invaluable.

Q – Do the apartments have dryers or just washers? The 2 we have stayed in only have washers but there are a few that have dryers. My only advice here is to make sure you have your apartment manager demonstrate how to use the washing machine! All of the dials are in Russian, and the temps in Celsius!! The dials especially make it difficult to figure out how to use the machine.

Q – Is the traffic really that bad? Yes! We were actually very lucky in this respect up until yesterday. Then it turned miserable!

Q – Is the driving really that bad? Anton, our driver, has been wonderful. I’m terrified of the drivers around us but Anton is great. I have no idea how he drives when we’re not in the car though!

Q – Do they really create their own lanes when driving? This is a resounding Yes! If there are 4 real lanes of traffic, expect there to be about 6 lanes of cars packed into them! Also, parking spaces can be created out of nothing as well. Cars are parked on sidewalks and sometimes in the middle of the street! It’s organized chaos. That’s the best way to describe it. Somehow, though, they make it work.

I guess that’s it for now. Katia & Anton will be here in about 30 minutes. Wish us luck for another successful meeting with baby Iliyah!

Karyn & Norm