Trip 2, Day 19

Our appointment as the American Embassy went smoothly. There were 5 other adoptive parents there as well. Andrei was by far the "robust" child there and the most vocal--but in a happy way despite only getting a 30 minute nap in before we left. Most of our time was spent waiting. Adoptive parents move to the front of all lines. I was surprised that not everyone who worked there wasn't American, and many didn't even speak English. Once we made it past security and paid our $404 for Andrei's visa, we sat in the waiting room for probably 45 minutes. The American Embassy guy comes out and talks to all of us adoptive parents at the same time to explain the process, how to handle the paperwork, what lines to get in when we get back to the US, understand that our children are dual citizens until at least 18, etc. One thing that I learned that I did not know was that if our child does not renounce his citizenship after he turns 18 and travels to Russia during his "draft years", he could be called into military service while visiting and there would be nothing he or we could do about it. Yikes! Each of us then has our "interview" where we basically signed two documents and got our sealed envelope to take to the US Immigration in Houston. While we were all waiting for our children's American visas, we met Chad and Heather who had their embassy appointment for the afternoon. Their little boy is as darling in person as in the pictures! Afterwards our coordinator took us on a tour of Red Square. That was truly amazing. I wish I had a recording of everything Sergei was explaining because I doubt I'm going to remember it all when I look at our pictures. Andrei slept through the entire thing as by then it was time for nap #2 of the day.

The traffic in Moscow is horrendous. Not so much because of the crazy out of control driving apparently so popular in Krasnoyarsk but because of the sheer traffic jams everywhere. Our coordinator does not drive, so I asked him if he just takes a taxi whenever he need to go somewhere. He shrugs, and then gives me the hitchhiker sign and says, "I just do this when I need a ride. It's very common over here and not like hitchhiking a ride. Everyone is trying to make extra money, and they will just pull over and you give them some money and they take you if they're going the same way." He then told us he was working with adoptive parents once and their car broke down on the way to the airport, so he was trying to hitch a ride for them. The first car that stopped to help was an ambulance. The driver said he was not in an emergency situation and could take him to the airport, and the second was a police officer in his official police car. Both guys begged him to let them take them as they needed the money, but Sergei said foreigners wouldn't understand going to the airport in the back of a Russian ambulance. With all we experienced in Krasnoyarsk, we did not experience that one!

Yesterday was not a pleasant experience with Andrei. I think I triggered some unpleasant memories he had at the orphanage. Ever since we have had him with us, he has cried when he gets laid on his back and his diaper is changed. We learned to distract him with a toy and before we left Krasnoyarsk, he had about quit crying when his diaper was off. Yesterday he woke up from his nap, and his diaper had leaked from his chest to his ankles. I'm having a hard time getting back into baby mode and remembering to change his diaper before nap. I grab the wipes and start wiping his leg off. He come unglued and starts shaking. I'm beginning to wonder if that is how he got his "baths" at the orphanage with a cold "spit" bath. He is not afraid of the bathtub or water, but he doesn't like being undressed and on his back at all. He basically was a very unhappy baby the rest of the day. It was a very very long day.

We're being picked up at 3:30 in the morning to head to the airport. I feel like Dorothy--"There is no place like home!"