Mamainwaiting isn’t a mama in waiting anymore. She’s the proud mama of Ducky, a happy, healthy three and a half year old redhead.

Last week Mamainwaiting (AKA Diaper Diva) decided to start blogging again. Finally.

She’s been wanting to write down all the details of her adoption of Ducky starting with her trips to Russia. It’s an incredible story and I am so glad that she’s doing it.

Not only will this be the personal story of one woman’s adoption journey, but a great resource for those thinking about international adoption. Here is an excerpt from a new post about the orphanage, which was a two hour drive from Perm.

The orphanage was not in the city of Perm. It was two and a half hours from the city in a small town called Bereznicki. Our driver, Artur, would drive us there and it was arduous trip on a bumpy two way highway. The Russians drive very fast and jut their cars out when they want to pass a car in front of them to make sure there are no cars coming the other way. It is terrifying.

Our drive was broken up by a stop at a petrol station about halfway there. We would go inside where there was a rumpled but cozy little restaurant/bar, where we were served hot tea and pastries. After a few days, the proprietors let us use their special bathroom, which I think was a privilege.

Our translator on our first trip was named Olga. She was a very large and friendly white Russian who was a trained linquist. Since there are very few jobs, she was happy to pick up cash being a translator. She was a warm and funny woman who definitely towed the Soviet party-line. She was disparaging of the Russians who had immigrated to the United States, and seemed to think that struggling in life made you strong.

Olga reminded me of a character in a Checkhov play. She seemed to be in a marriage of convenience with a kindly man who provided well for her. They had a house and her evenings were taken up fixing up her garden which seemed to be her pride and joy. Each day when we met her, she would tell us about her plants and vegetables and how well they were doing. Since the sun set late, there was a lot of time to work in the garden in the spring and summer.