Pixter
Today was a special day since it marks the end of our 14 day bonding period with Kristina. Igor picked us up a little early so that we could stop at the notary and sign the documents that petition the court for an adoption hearing with a judge. We then drove our usual 90 mph to the orphanage in Poludino where Igor dropped us off (thankfully, he stopped the car first) and then continued on a further 30 kilometers east to the town where the court is located.
We've done a good enough job of learning Russian that it has been rare that Igor spends any time with us to translate while we bond with Kristina. We're not conversational, but we know enough phrases and statements that we're very comfortable around her without a translator. Kristina has taught a few words, such as "GROO-sha" for a pear she was eating one day and "ro-DINK-ka" for a birthmark on her forehead.
When we walked up to the door that we usually enter we could hear children singing. The large music room is adjacent to the walkway and the door. Once inside, Kristina came running up to us. She had been in the music room with the other children and evidently spotted us entering the orphanage. We then headed for the playroom for our visit.
Since this was the special 14th day of the bonding period, we'd brought the 'heavy artillery' of toys, a handheld electronic plaything called a 'Pixter'. We had a hunch that it would be a big hit with Kristina, and boy was it ever. When she got an earful and an eyeful of the tunes and graphics that it produced, she was just enraptured with the thing.
The built-in programs are all about drawing, coloring and connecting dots to produce pictures, so there wasn't any language barrier for her to deal with. Kristina once again proved herself to be a quick study and soon was managing the menus and activities like a seasoned pro. It was quite a contrast to previous bonding visits since she was quiet and focused on learning this toy. Robin and I just relaxed, cuddled Kristina and gave her encouragement as she pursued this new and exciting challenge.
1 comment:
Hi Cara.
Thanks again for your kind and warm comments. It's truly gratifying to 'meet' and share experiences with others making the same sweet journey.
We think it's wonderful that you're also setting up a blog for your adoption trip. When we see all the precious children here, there's the hope that if these blogs influence even one person to start a similar journey of their own, then it's worth every bit of effort.
Alla is our coordinator as well, and she is just terrific. Such a caring and compassionate person. She helped us through our first adoption journey to bring Julia into our lives in December 2004 and she is now helping us with Kristina.
We had not heard that the wait for a court date is turning into such a lengthy amount of time. We mentioned it to Igor and he felt that we would probably have our court date set for this coming Monday. It probably depends on the region I would imagine.
Robin will be staying for the entire trip and the jury is still out whether I will return early or stay for the whole thing.
I think I saw a post you made on one of the Yahoo adoption groups inquiring about Internet access and speeds. It seems things are changing rapidly in Kazakhstan. When we travelled in 2004 we were lucky to get a 28K dial up. This time we have a 56K dial up and Igor tells us that they are now offering DSL service (in Petopavlovsk, at least). He himself just had it installed at his apartment.
Robin and I were wondering what your adoption timeline is at this point. If you'd like to discuss in email, please feel free to reply to Robin's account which is cr4cr@yahoo.com.
Good luck to you as well and God bless.
Greg & Robin St. George
Post a Comment