Vlad picked us up this morning around 9:30 to take us to the Department of Education. There was less traffic than he expected and we got there early. So, he took us to the Donskoy Monastery, which was around the corner from the DOE. It's a Russian Orthodox monastery, in the middle of a neighborhood. It's very unassuming, but once inside the grounds it's amazingly beautiful. We did not get the full story from Vlad, but apparently when they were constructed, monasteries served as fortresses to the city of Moscow. The chapel/cathedral itself at this monastery appeared to be built in the 1700s or earlier. We've posted some pictures below. Unfortunately, we were unable to take pictures in the actual church. Needless to say, there is nothing like in the U.S. There were some amazing statues in the far back of the monastery, on the back wall, that were taken from the famous Temple of Christ the Savior when it was partially destroyed. They were amazing and Vlad remarked on how few people knew about the treasure (and how they were not preserved or protected from the elements). We lit a candle for Kristina and each said a silent prayer for her well being.
Shannon was pretty nervous this morning, so the monastery side trip really helped calm her.
The trip to the Department of Education was pretty uneventful. We received our official referral and then set off for the orphanage, or "baby house" as they refer to them here. It was about a 30-40 minute drive, but probably only 10-15 miles from the DOE. As we said yesterday, traffic here is pretty miserable. As an aside, I'm struck by how Russians drive basically the same cars that Americans drive, with a few Eastern European exceptions. There are a ton of Land Cruisers and Audis here, not to mention Mercedes and Range Rovers. I've spotted a few Tahoe's and Caravans, too.
The orphanage was in a nice part of town. According to Vlad, it was in an area that the Czars used to hunt centuries ago. Who knows whether this is true, but it definitely was in a wooded area that was quite pretty. It was very quiet and peaceful and did not have the same feel as some of the other "big city" areas where we have been. In general, Moscow has a lot of green space for such a large city.
We will post pictures of the orphanage later, but for the time being you'll have to use your imagination with the help of my description. Although it had a cast iron fence surrounding it, it looked like part of a church or school. The orphanage was surrounded by playgrounds and play areas, complete with yard gnomes. I half expected to see a putt-putt course.
Inside, it reminded me of a church nursery or childcare center in the U.S. It was much nicer/cleaner/ more modern than I expected. According to Vlad, there are approximately 50 children ages 0-4 at this baby house. Oddly, in the two hours we were there, we saw and/or heard only one other child.
Pretty immediately inside the orphanage we were ushered into a playroom, much like the room Sam goes to at St. Francis. We had to remove our shoes to keep from tracking dirt on the carpet where the "children crawl", as we were told. A couple minutes later, a woman brought Kristina into the room. I captured those first moments on video, which we'll definitely share once we know she's ours. She was darling.
She smiled and immediately took to Shannon, even reaching out to her hand. We were able to play with her for about 30-45 minutes in that room, much of the time we were alone with her. She's teething and loved putting things in her mouth. She never cried or seemed upset. The biggest smiles came, though, when we gave her back to the woman who brought her in the room. I thought this was a good sign; she recognized the love and care given by that woman.
Oddest thing about the visit to the orphanage was that Kristina was dressed as if it was 30 degrees inside. Seriously, she was wearing 3 layers of [ill fitting] clothes, and a pair of thick tights that were pulled up to her arm pits. It looked like Sam dressed her . . . out of our dress up clothes!
She really was precious, though, and we hated to give her back. She had to eat lunch and then take her afternoon nap, which is why our time was limited.
After spending time with her, we met with the head of the orphanage and the orphanage's doctor, who they said was a neurologist. Of course we couldn't understand what they were saying, but their demeanors were both very friendly and welcoming. Vlad translated for us as we discussed Kristina's medical history, as well as her parents' history/ the circumstances of her being given up for adoption.
We will get to see her again tomorrow for about an hour or so, and then twice on Thursday and Friday. We can't wait to get our hands on her again.
After we got back to the hotel, checked e-mail, sent medical information to the adoption clinic at UAB, we went back to the Red Square/Kremlin area for some more sight seeing. We visited a museum dedicated to the War of 1812 - not that war of 1812, but the war commemorating Napoleon's invasion of Russia/Moscow and his ultimate defeat. Admittedly, neither of us knew anything about this war before going to the museum, but now know what an important role it played in Russian history. This week is the 200th anniversary of that war. There were some awesome artifacts in the collection. It would have been nice if the descriptions were in English, rather than Russian.
We also witnessed the changing of the guard at the tomb of the unknown soldier. Below are pics of that, along with our visit to the monastery and the museum. We hope you enjoy them.
We'll send more info. tomorrow.
The Monastery
the enormous statues at the back wall of the monatery
garden near the Kremlin
Changing of the Guards
It was surreal to see them walking like this - taking large steps with their legs parallel to the ground. We have only seen this in pictures and videos of marches in Red Square.
Some of Napoleon's guns - Ted took some great pictures for Ward!
Amazing pictures! Cannot stop crying...she is beautiful.
ReplyDeleteSo excited for you guys! Can't wait to see her. And I might have missed something - is her name Kristina at the orphanage or is that the name you decided on?
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