Amanda in Moscow

Chapter 2: airplane to apartment

We had a choice of an omelet or (can't remember what they're called - french pastry, rolled with sweet filling) and I just got one of each, not knowing what Amanda would like. The answer is - neither, thank you very much. She took a bit of the roll, but that was it. She finished the orange juice and was asking for some more (she also had some water earlier - the girl just continually wants to drink!). I decided to have her wait as she had probably had enough, but the soldier boy asked her what she wanted and then proceeded to go back to the flight attendant and got a whole container of apple juice and filled her sippy cup 3/4 full. Hmm, not sure I'm happy about that, but we'll see. As soon as he had fallen asleep, Amanda had to go "peeseet", so we woke him up and went back. Got settled in our seats again, and a bit later she was saying, "Mommy, kak'ut" (sounded like cockatiel without the "eel") and I wondered if we needed to go to the bathroom again but decided to wait to be sure. The guy in front of me turned and spoke through the seats, saying she wanted me to turn it. Turn it? Yes, turn it, right now. Oh, toilet! Ok, that's what I thought. We woke up soldier boy again and back to the toilet where she did a good job with kak'ut. We got back to our seats and the guy in front of me asked if I didn't understand her. I said I was learning. He then gave me a short biology lesson - "peet" (or something like that) means she is thirsty, and that leads to peeseet, and yest (yeast) means she wants to eat, and that leads to kak'ut. Ok, thanks for the overview! It was nice of him to help, and it's been wonderful the Russians who speak English that God has put in our path. I had brought a banana along and she did eat that, which I was glad of. Later, she was getting feisty and went into her playful screeching routine (the rest of the plane was trying to rest) and he turned around and spoke Russian to her, telling her to be quiet, etc. Of course, the obedient Russian child said "Dah" and quieted down. I should tape record some Russian saying "Be quiet, be a good girl" so I can just fire it up when needed! We rested and got a bit of sleep and soon we were landing. She did look out the window some during the flight and enjoyed that, but otherwise she gave no indication that her ears bothered her or that we were even in a plane. She wasn't thrilled with the noisy landing but I tried to reassure her all was well.

We waited for our luggage and she again got into the Run Away from Mommy game. When the stroller came out I strapped her in that and Katerina was nice enough to help me by pushing her while Elizabeth & I got the luggage (and Reese in her stroller, of course). We went out and were met by...no one. So, we sort of circled the luggage and I put Katerina on the task of pushing Amanda around us in the stroller. It took about 20 minutes maybe until a Russian guy approached us with a sign with our names. I know the translators are busy with parents coming and going, sometimes on the same day, but I hate going with these Russian drivers without a translator to tell us what is next, how long it will take to get there, and not being able to ask if we could stop to get something to eat, or how about the kids having to go to the bathroom! I didn't think about it, but Katerina did a great job, as the wait time in the airport and then the l-o-n-g drive across Moscow took 2 hours? 3 hours? Maybe not, but that's now it seemed. I'm surprised Katerina didn't have to go to the bathroom.

Amanda was enjoying looking out the window at all the trucks going by around us, but at one point she just rested against the window. I pulled her back and she was cool and clammy. I felt bad that I had let her rest against the cool windows (it wasn't as warm inside this van as the last one, so the windows weren't frosted over), and couldn't tell if she was wet from sweat or from the window or what. Then she sort of fell asleep hard - I called it catatonic. The she sort of sat up, looked blank, and proceeded to lose the banana and apple juice in her stomach. I grabbed the airsickness bag which I had taken from the airplane (yea for me! mostly I took it because she had enjoyed playing with hers earlier) and got the next batch in that. She finished and Elizabeth gave me some wet wipes. Amanda rested against me and then gave me a big smile. About 5 mintes later, we repeated the cycle - catatonic, dead rest, sit up, panic look with waving hands and upchuck into the sack. The third time wasn't quite as obvious so I didn't have the bag ready, but after that we mostly hit the target. I thought she was done and dragged the suitcase from the back and changed her wet(!) pull-up and messy clothes for nice clean dry ones. She had another round or two of throwing up but didn't have much in her stomach and we hit the bag, so no problem. She pretty much rested in my lap after that, not feeling well (although giving me big smiles at times). I tried to ask the driver how much longer (pat minoot? 5 minutes?) but he didn't understand. Finally he said something that meant 2 minutes and 10 seconds later we were pulling over and Oksana was there. So, a quick scramble to get the kids' coats back on (Amanda was so unhappy about that) and we went into a government for the medical check. We were in a waiting room with other American parents so briefly said hello as they were on their way out. There were two older Russian teenagers going through the check (a girl and a boy) and Elizabeth found out that an American couple was adopting them. They had adopted the younger sister (special needs - not sure what type of special needs) and then found out about the siblings, so are now adopting them. Yikes! That seems like quite a challenge! It seemed to take a long time for us to have our turn (maybe another hour?) and the secretary finally gave Katerina a pen and paper, and Reese too, to occupy them. Amanda started feeling better and she did some drawing too. Finally the doctor (Russian but spoke English very well) said who's next (Reese or Amanda) and I said how about Amanda. So into the room and he told me to take all her clothes off, but leave them on the exam table where she could see that they weren't being taken away. He said that the orphans are usually quite proud of their new clothes and would be very unhappy to have them taken away, so we wouldn't want to cause any unneeded concern. He left the room and a few minutes later came back. He had a great way with Amanda and she wasn't scared of him at all. He said often the children only see the female caregivers and are scared of men. At one point she gestured to her upper lip and chin and pointed at his while asking him to feel his beard and moustache. He complied and she smiled at the texture of his whiskers. He basically checked her over head to toe, listened to her heart, looked in her mouth and ears, and checked her weight (only 26.5 lbs!) and height (36 1/2 inches). He said he didn't want to look more, or deeper, but that I should have her see an ENT when I get her home, as the children in the orphanage trade sickness around and her tonsils are inflamed. They don't have to be taken out but should be looked at. The implication I got was that if he looked too much into it and found that she really needed attention, he would have to report it and she wouldn't be able to go home immediately, so maybe better to just get her on her way and have it looked at in the US. Ok, no problem doc! And he said her strabimus (sp? lazy eye) would probably need surgery but it only takes about 10 minutes and a few days of recovery, so not a problem. I told him we already have appointments lined up. And that was it! Reese's turn, and from the sound of it she was not as happy with him as Amanda was. All the while, Oksana was doing paperwork for both girls. They checked Elizabeth's e-mail to see if the tax forms had been e-mailed, but no luck. So, back to the van, with another major game/struggle to get Amanda's coat back on. Finally I asked Oksana to help! She and Elizabeth were talking and seemed oblivious to the struggle, so I said, "I know it's not your place, but she only listens to Russians at these time, so please help me!" So, Oksana started talking to Amanda and the obedient Russian child settled down and let me get her coat on. *sigh*

We got in the van and Oksana said that I needed to go to Elizabeth's apartment and wait and Oksana would come back in an hour with a taxi, to take me to my apartment. Just what I wanted to hear, as it was now 6pm Kemerovo time and we hadn't eaten since the airplane food. I think Oksana needed to get to the Embassy sooner rather than later, but really have no idea why I had to wait. So, to the apartment, and all the luggage and kids had to be taken up all the stairs (naturally, lots of stairs) to the building and then in the elevator. The driver did help (Oksana had left us by then) and Katerina again pushed Amanda in the stroller. Up to the apartment where the apartment coordinator met us, although her English was pretty sparse. There were workmen and a cleaning lady, and the coordinator explained that it would be 20 minutes before it would be ready, and I thought she said we should go away and come back in 20 minutes. I just about lost it. I said, "Can't we just sit here on the couch and wait? We need to just be here!" She called the office and handed me the phone so the lady could explain that it would be ready in 20 minutes. I said can't we just wait and she said yes, of course, we could stay there, so, ok! I just wanted to be in my own apartment where I could feed us and just be, but tried to make the most of it and showed Amanda the view from the large windows (22nd floor). The coordinator showed Elizabeth some things around the apartment, and Reese, who is only 2, was getting into everything. There didn't seem to be much that worked without problems in the apartment, either. She said she'd send someone back to check out why the DVD player didn't work, Elizabeth had a heck of a time trying to get the keyto the apartment to work, the TV and cable box were touchy and could be "reset" by just one little finger on the wrong remote key, rendering the TV useless. Also we couldn't figure out how to make the instructions work for the overseas calls that were supposed to be free. Before 20 minutes were up, we had lost the TV and the kids were pretty restless. FInally Oksana showed up and Elizabeth & I struggled with how to get the door to the apartment (deadbolt) open. I said, "Great, we're locked in this apartment with no TV, no food and no way to use the phone! I don't know what I did, but finally I got the deadbolt retracted and the handle turned. I was pretty grouchy with Oksana and told her it had been a long day and it was 7pm Kemerovo time and we hadn't eaten all day. She checked out the phone and told Elizabeth that she had to press 1 and then the 8 and 10 and 1 and the number, etc., she called and told the office to send someone to reset the TV, and then she said the taxi was waiting. Another struggle to get Amanda's coat on, and Oksana did help with that, telling her she needed to be a good girl, and down to the taxi.

(Pictures from our kitchen: Pic 1 - the view I wanted to take. Pic 2 - hmm, maybe sticking my arm there is not such a great idea. Pic 3 - where she wanted to stand. )

We went about 5 minutes maybe and got out, up just few steps and into my apartment building. 16th floor, apartment 109. The building has a guard and a security code to get in, and my door was easy to open, so I felt better about all of that after Elizabeth's experience. Oksana checked out the phone and we made sure I was able to call her and then she left, after telling me that the next day, Thursday, was a day of rest and we would have our Embassy appointment on Friday. I made some oatmeal (the foods I'd brought were instant oatmeal, a jar of peanut butter, granola bars, nutri-grain bars, and a package of instant soup, and an apple from Kemerovo). Amanda wasn't interested in the oatmeal, although I left some in a dish and she did go back later and have some, and I cut up the apple and she had some of that. I found out when she spit it out that she was not a fan of apple skin. Well, I'm ok with that, so I peeled that off. I gave her a bath which she thoroughly enjoyed, even getting her face all wet with the washcloth and sponge. I'm guessing that she will take to swimming lessons without too much trouble! Then we settled down to sleep and she slept about 8 hours, waking up at 4am (8am Kemerovo time). I tried the oatmeal again, but she still didn't want any of it. So, she had some apple and crackers. Not a great breakfast but I didn't have much else as she also turned up her nose at the nutri-grain bars. I called home, reaching Mom & Dad, and my brother-in-law in Virginia. It was nice to talk to family, and good to reassure that there were no problems, just an inability to connect to the internet.

Amanda let me take a shower, although coming in to talk quite a bit. She busied herself playing with the colors and coloring books and magazine, etc. I made the soup for lunch, which she really enjoyed! I tried to take her bowl to put more in, and she frantically tried to scrape the last dregs into her spoon and into her mouth, while I was trying to make her understand she would get some more!

At 10am we laid down for a nap and she slept for an hour and a half. The internet guys showed up and got me connected, and then we headed out to brave the Moscow streets. It was a bit scary - not that it's dangerous, but would I be able to find our apartment building again? Would I be able to get back in the door? Would I be able to navigate the streets with the stroller and not put her in any danger (especially with her penchant for leaning over in the stroller, practically falling out)? I had a piece of paper with my address, the apartment coordinator's phone number, etc, in my pocket to make sure we would be ok. As we were leaving, the lady next door was going into her apartment. She asked if I was in that apartment, and after I affirmed she said she would clean it, since we were leaving. I asked her to show me how to use the washing machine and she did. I took my money belt (which I had originally left, not knowing that people came into the apartment!) and we left. As I was walking down the street, I realized I had just taken a stranger's word that she was the cleaning lady and had left her in my apartment. Well, she did know about the washing machine and lives next door, so hopefully my laptop, etc., will be there when I get back! We walked to where I thought Old Arbat street, which is a touristy area, would be (my building is on New Arbat), and although nothing looked familiar, I continued and then found the familiar start of the street, with the vendors selling the nesting dolls. Success #1! I found the vendors with the sports dolls and picked up the Nebraska one that my sister Patty had requested (Success #2! I had worried that with the weather the street vendors might not be out). The weather was very mild, so I didn't even worry much about Amanda keeping her mittens on. Great day for a walk - I was very thankful.

Then we headed toward the Kremlin in what I thought was the correct direction. Busy, wet, dirty streets with lots of traffic, but soon the familiar walls and buildings appeared. Success #3! We had to go down many understreet walkways, with lots of steps (great), and it was easy to get turned around as to which exit to take, but I guessed correctly and came up across the street right by the "official" entrance. Dawn had been our tour guide on trip one, and I hadn't paid enough attention to how to get to the public area, but as I walked along things looked familiar. Here is where we walked down the steps into the park, there's the Tomb of the unknown soldier, there's the "Guy on a horse" statue, and ah yes, there's the entrance! There was a large blue structure in front on the Gum department store which hadn't been there in October, and as we approached I saw that it was an outdoor ice-skating rink. We walked closer to St. Basil's and took the obligatory adopt-from Russia picture in front of the cathedral. I was able to get some decent shots just holding Amanda on my hip and holding the camera out myself, which made me happy. We walked away with Amanda pushing the stroller and having a grand time.

As we left the square I saw a sight that made me even happier - McDonald's! I hadn't noticed that on trip one. We walked over and then I saw the madhouse inside - tables full and lines at the counter. Next door was Sbarro which made me just as happy. I got a piece of pizza, an apple juice for Amanda and the most wonderful beverage for me - a Pepsi! I was so thirsty and really needed the caffeine lift. As soon as we were at the register to pay, Amanda announced she needed to peeseet. Why didn't I think to put pull-ups on her,

just in case! I took our tray to the table with the stoller and our coats and hoped they were safe, then off to find the bathroom, which had a line of 5 women in front of us. A guy came out of the men's restroom, with no one in that line, so fine, that works. We went in, locked the door and did what needed to be done, washing our hands well afterward. Everything was still at the table and we thoroughly enjoyed the pizza. I thought later that maybe Amanda didn't get enough - I probably should have gotten two pieces. As I got us ready to leave, michievous Amanda personality kicked in and she ran away from me, so another struggle to get her to stay, get her coat on, get her in the stroller. We got out of Sbarro and I had to hang on to the hood of her coat to keep her from trying to thrust her body out of the stroller. She also insisted on sticking her hands out as I tried to push her up the wheelchair ramps (only one side of the stroller wheels would work) on the stairs to the underground walkways, which put her little fingers in danger, but she wouldn't obey. I kept saying that she would "speet" (sleep) when we got back. It's difficult to discipline a child who doesn't understand when you say that she's going to be in so much trouble when we get back home! I stopped in at the tiny 24-hour grocery store close to the apartment, but it was kind of crowded and hard to tell where everything was, so I didn't even get my list out. I found the produce and bought an apple and a banana, and then found the counter where I could buy a coke and we headed out. (Should have gotten some apple juice! Duh! Still learning this mom thing.)

I found the apartment no problem, building code no problem, elevator no problem, apartment door no problem. The cleaning lady was long gone, and I found she had put the dirty clothes through the washer! The previous night after Amanda's bath, I put her dirty (throw-up) clothes in the water to sort of rinse out, and they were still wet on the back of the tub, so she figured that was the need and took care of it, and also set up the drying rack (which I had seen earlier by the side of the fridge.) So nice of her! And my laptop and everything was still in its place. =)

I put Amanda right in her pajamas and to bed, as I had told her (hoping she understood), but then realized it was 5pm and although it was 9pm Kemerovo time, she was probably transitioning, and I needed her to transition, and did I really want her to be up at 2am? So I turned on the TV and we stayed in bed, snuggling and watching TV (I'm such a tough disciplining mom - will have to work on that - shouldn't make statements that I can't back up!) Then we got up, had some more soup, a bath for Amanda, more coloring, etc. and then to bed about 8pm. I had forgotten that the guy who was registering my Visa was going to bring my registration slip by, so was suprpised when the door buzzed at about 8:10. You have to register your Visa within 72 hours of arriving in a city - the apartment people arranged for that for a $50 fee (it always has a fee to register). Then back to bed and we fell asleep - until the phone rang at 10:30pm. The lady was asking how the apartment is and are there any problems. I told her that I had asked for someone to show me how to use the washer and no one had addressed that but the cleaning lady had helped, and also that I was supposed to have English TV channels but only 30 channels and they are all Russian and no one had addressed that. She didn't seem to understand very well (why would you have the survey person whose English isn't very good make the survey call??). I also said it was pretty late that she was calling, and she sounded surprised. "It's late to call?" "Yes, I think so!". Back to bed where I realized that Amanda was sleeping so hard that she hadn't woken to go to the bathroom and had wet the bed. I used my new knowledge of the washer to wash the three top sheets and moved her to a different part of the bed while I tried to get back to sleep. Then, at midnight, another call! This time an apartment guy saying, sorry for the late call, and do I have a crib in the apartment? Yes, I saw a fold-up crib in the closet. Do I need it? No. Ok, thanks, and sorry again for the late call. I remember I said something pretty crabby to him, then tried to get back to sleep but wasn't very successful. I tried to watch the end of a movie on my laptop, but the Media player said there was a problem and the plug-ins were disabled, and it wouldn't play. Grrr! Windows Vista piece of crap (personal opinion). I finally got to sleep, and at 5:30 Amanda was awake.

End of day one in the apartment, and end of this "chapter"! Amanda had been great, playing and only seeking a little attention while I'm constantly on the computer! Bad mom!

That's all for now - we're off to find the McDonald's by Old Arbat for breakfast? lunch? Hard to tell - we're just hungry! =)