We left the train station at 9pm and arrived in Voronezh at 8am. We both hated the train ride. Same as before: hard. bumpy, loud. This time we were served supper. Pork cutlet with rice, cucumber and tomato slices. We were also given a bag containing Vodka, apple, bread, condements and yogurt.
From the train station, we went to the hotel. It reminded me of something you see in old movies: A high security hotel to hide us from Tatiana. A large concrete building surrounded by an 8 foot tall concrete wall, with a steel gate. We were not allowed to take pictures of the hotel.
We had to write a letter to the Governor of Voronezh, asking him to make Tatiana stop interfering with our adoption of Marina. Inna told us she does not have a good reputation in Voronezh. We were told not to talk about the adoption while we were in the room because we didn't know who would be listening.
Finally, it was time to go to the orphanage to see Marina. But first we had to stop and see Alla. A repeat of last time..reviewing her medical report and our chance to ask questions. WE were then brought to the play room. As soon as Marina saw us, she started crying. She really didn't want to play with us, but started to loosen up somewhat. We played with bubbles, which she really enjoyed, and we actually got her to start laughing and heard her voice as she repeated "pop pop" as she poked the bubbles with her tiny finger. About 45 minutes after Marina was brought to us, they came for her to have lunch. They let us see her play group. We took some pictures of the kids playing with the bubbles we brought...they loved it. We were shown her bedroom with all 24 beds. They pointed out Marinas' bed...#2. I took a pictue of it for her scrapbook. They then called the kids for lunch...it looked like cabbage soup.
Then we went to lunch. Kevin finally had his hamburger and fries. I had chicken. After lunch we went out shopping. We were not able to find an umbrella stroller, but we found a nice stuffed dog for Marina. We then went back to the hotel, picked up some snacks and headed back to the orphanage. Again, Marina was not happy to see us. She was brought a snack of dry pancake and red juice drink. We gave her some goldfish crackers we had brought with us and she loved them. She finally loosened up enough to play with Kevin and the stuffed dog. We left at 6:30, when Alla went home. We will return at 3:30 tomorrow. Then it was time for supper..Burger and fries again.
We left the hotel to leave for breakfast at about 9:30am. kevin ordered a hamburger and fries, but hte burger had creamy italian dressing on it. We brought it back, but they just scraped the dressing off the bun and gave it back to him. I had a sm fruit salad, a carmel croissant and a chicken kabob. I can't wait to go back to Moscow to get a real brbeakfast.
We went back to our room until 3pm, when we headed back to the orphanage. When they brought her into the room we were in, she started walking to me, but she started to cry. She seems to be bonding more with Kevin. he is so good with her. We spent about 2 hours with her today, and hopefully, we can bring her back to the hotel with us tomorrow.
Tonight, we picked out the outfit Marina will wear to leave the orphanage. A pair of blue jeans with a purple sweater and socks. We went to the usual spot for supper. Kevin had his usual burger and fries, I had fried ravioli, which was a chicken mixture wrapped in pastry and then fried. We got pies, cake, and fruit salad for breakfast for tomorrow morning. I can't wait to get back to Moscow...to have a shower, and real food. The water here in Voronezh is either cold or slightlu warm and yellow/tan. They don't have the heat on in the hotel, making it too cold to take a cold shower. Also, umbrella strollers are nonexistant.
Back