A busy first week back home

Dec 2nd, 2007, Day +11

Has it only been 11 days since my last entry in the trek journal? In some ways it seems like more. In other ways, less. Sorry about the long post, but we have a lot of catching up to do.

Perhaps the one thing which makes it harder to gauge time is that our internal clocks are still working to fully adjust to the 12 hour time difference, but we’re almost there. We’re sticking to our “Early to rise and no nap” rule, so Kate and David have done better than we have. Our “problem” is that once the kids are in bed, we still have a few things to do before retiring for the night, which put blogging at the bottom of our To-Do list.









Our first week and a half home has been mostly great, with just a few 10 minute Time-Outs, and no major issues (knocking on wood, plastic, glass, and anything else to ensure things continue to go in that direction!). We didn’t waste any time getting engaged with “routine” activities at home. It helps to have other kids to play with in the neighborhood when the weather is nice. Regardless, we have all been busy and ready for bed early in the evening, even Bob (our exuberant golden retriever).

In an effort to “catch up” on our blog (no entries since returning), we’ll forego most of the details and hit as much as possible in outline form.

Thursday: Thanksgiving, Church, playing with neighbor kids, and dinner (strange foods)
Thanksgiving Day morning, we went to church where Kate and David received Monsignor’s welcome. He was talking about being thankful for what we Americans enjoy and that some people had even more to be thankful. Both were a little embarrassed, but enjoyed the extra attention. Rather than our usual family crowd, we enjoyed a smaller feast with just the four of us plus our neighbors across the street, Kevin and Andrea. The kids were real troopers and tried most of the foods on the table, but ended up eating mostly mashed potatoes with gravy and cranberry sauce. Perhaps there were just too many choices.

Friday: Meeting more neighbor kids, Doctor, I-Hop, and shopping (Terrible Twos)
The weather Friday morning was pretty nice, so we spent a bit of time outside hanging Christmas decorations while the kids played with neighbors. One family gave them both bicycle helmets and another gave them razor scooters, so there were a lot of kids out and about. The fun couldn’t last all day though. We had an afternoon appointment with Dr Lana Yanishevski at Laurelwood Pediatrics. Who’da thunk that we could find a Russian speaking doctor who would be available on the day after Thanksgiving so we could get our TN School Immunization Records up to date in time to start school on Monday? By the time we got through the exam, shots, and blood drawing, we had been at the doctor’s office for two hours. As a reward for their excellent behavior, we took the kids to I-Hop before hitting Target for some clothes shopping. Most of the “Black Friday” shoppers must have tired early, so we were able to get a decent parking place and shop without the frenzy we had seen on the news channels earlier in the day.

Saturday: First play date & more “strange food” leftovers
Saturday was cooler, but we still made it our for a play date at the park. Soccer and Football were the main activities, but both kids did try tennis. After a lot of ball chasing, they went back to the more familiar sports. Dinner was an adventure. Neither could remember which foods they did or did not like on Thursday, so there were many changes from the previous list.

Sunday: Church, Trying on new clothes, Divide & Conquer
Church again! It will be an interesting conversation some time in the future when we can discuss their first impressions of America and Americans. As far as they know, we don’t work (after all, we took all that time off for the adoption trek), we eat a lot (many big feasts), and we go to church a lot (we also took them to church while in Petropavlovsk). After church, we spent some time going through the various school uniforms and other clothing which friends have given us. There is no doubt that they like their new school uniforms more than their old ones!

We really appreciate that since we are trying to build full wardrobes from scratch. Lastly, it was time for Cathe and I do split up and tag team with the children. When they get tired (or tired of whatever we want them to do), they begin cutting up in Russian, so it becomes hard to stay focused on task. We made though, and even got both children cycled through the shower so they would be ready for their first day of school in the morning.

Monday: First day of school & First day of homework
What a day! Both kids were real troopers and both classes welcomed them enthusiastically. In addition to dictionaries, Google Translator was a real help.

Tuesday: Health Insurance and Social Security registration
Two more big steps forward! (Had to get the kids enrolled in the health insurance plan since we already had their first doctor’s visit!)

Wednesday: First school Mass, Rough day at school for the kids (Learning new rules and about how kids here play.)
We were reminded that although things are going very well, we still have many items and behaviors to address. Cathe got a frantic page from Kate’s teacher at lunch time. Kate’s lunchbox was in the cafeteria, but no Kate. Panic was short lived. It turns out that Kate had just made an unannounced trip to the bathroom. Meanwhile, out on the playground, David was caught up in some Monkey-See/Monkey-Do activities and made a few minor social faux pas. Kids are kids everywhere. A couple boys convinced him to do a couple slightly embarrassing things and got a couple laughs at his expense. Fortunately, that came to an abrupt end before any feelings were hurt.

Thursday: Early morning meeting at school, Working out with Google Translator
Thursday morning was our first meeting with the Principal and all of the other teachers to assess how things have gone the first few days. We discussed which classes the kids would be accountable for as well as what our expectations for the remainder of the marking period are. We are truly blessed to have such a supportive group of people to work with while we help the children adjust while they learn a new language and culture.

In addition, we shared some of our tips and techniques for communicating, including our “50 Questions” via Google Translator approach. Both Kate and David are very bright and are catching on quickly. They also know that they have to be constantly on best behavior since mom works just down the hall and will surely hear about anything going on. It was a long day. To celebrate, everyone had ice cream after dinner except Cathe (she went to bed early).

Friday: Meeting more neighbors, Meeting up with Lynn, and Artwork on Antares Orphans
Another great day! Since it was nice outside, a lot of folks were out for evening walks to look at Christmas decorations. We were still hanging a few wreaths, but paused to greet everyone passing by. One little girl from around the corner really impressed us. She had seen the stork sign in our yard, so she learned how to say “Welcome to our neighborhood” in Russian. Kate and David were very pleased. Just as we were wrapping up, another Memphian who had adopted from Petropavlovsk arrived. Masha had also been her translator and had sent a small package back with us.

After Lynn and her boys left, I was browsing the Antares Orphans web site (http://www.antares-orphans.com/) since we intend to sponsor a couple children with Kate looking over my shoulder. She was excited to see photos of several children who she recognized. Clicking through the activities page, we were also pleased to see her entries in the annual Artwork Contest.

Saturday: Clothes shopping, yard work, Bartlett Parade
It was a busy Saturday for us. Cathe and I tag-teamed with the kids to get more than a few things done. Since the weather was pretty warm, it gave us a chance to plant winter flowers and replace a couple shrubs which didn’t make it through the hot, dry summer. David got some brownie points for helping vacuum up leaves for a neighbor who is out of town, then continued on to vacuum up the fallen leaves in our front yard. He was excited to use our lawnmower and bagger.

After planting fall flowers, it was time to get ready for the Bartlett Christmas Parade. Neither Kate nor David had been to a parade before, so they though the marching bands and floats were pretty “Glasna” (I think that means “cool!”). He duly informed us that he wants as drum set for Christmas and wants to join the band. We’ll address that topic later!

Meanwhile, we saw several floats unique to the Midsouth: Several Elvis’ and floats made from boats: Just hang some lights on your pontoon boat and pull it along!

Sunday: A rainy afternoon, movies
After church, we swung through Costco to pick up a few things. They have now added Churros to their growing lists of things they like. While Bill was catching up on the monthly bills (and two months of data entry into Money), the kids cycled through a couple activities. Although unusually warm, it was a rainy day, so no playing outside. Instead, we watched a couple movies: “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” and “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.” Although the language was a bit beyond their understanding, the physical comedy in both got several laughs.

We still have a long way to go, but we’re all working hard to make it through the tough spots.