My sister met us at the Mojo Cafe this morning, with a shopping bag full of gifts from Russia and Holland. She has a knack for great presents; she bought my son a Russian hat with a Communist Party pin on it and Beatles’ nesting dolls. Form daughter: Russian girl nesting dolls (10 pieces from big to teeny tiny) And for me she got a book about Anne Frank from the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam.
My son loved his presents, especially the John, Paul, Ringo, and George dolls. "I’m just glad you didn’t get me a tourist t-shirt, I hate those." he told her.
My sister is jet lagged and full to bursting with the excitement of the last week. Her epic trip to the orphanage outside of Perm was probably the biggest adventure of her life. She will return in 4-6 weeks to bring her beautiful little red-headed Svetlana/Sonia/Ducky back to Brooklyn. What a turn their lives will take then.
Although my sister’s e-mails were incredibly informative, hearing her stories face to face really brought the trip alive. Every day they traveled over two hours each way by car to the orphanage out in the country. They would sit in the large, sunny music room and play with Svetlana. My sister got to know Sveltlana’s caregiver, a very nice woman named Oksana. For most of her visits, she didn’t see any other children. "Where are they keeping them?" she wondered.
Finally, she got to see Svetlana’s room, where she lives with 10 other children and two caregivers. The children sleep in playpen-like cribs and are not allowed to go on the floor ("It’s dirty"). They are not encouraged to crawl and explore: this can make for temporary developmental delays, which usually grow out of quickly.
The driver and interpreters they met were helpful and
very nice. One of them said: "We are very happy that you come to take
care of the children that need homes." My sister gave him a FDNY
baseball cap and T-shirt. "I will always have it and remember you."
The Russian gifts caused quite a stir in the Mojo. My daughter had her nesting dolls arranged in size order on the cafe table. A few children gathered around to stare at the colorful wooden dolls. My daughter wants to bring them in for "Share," the PS 321 version of Show and Tell. Yesterday she said she was hoping that my sister would just swoop Svetlana out of the orphanage and bring her home. "Maybe she just didn’t tell us because she wants it to be a surprise."
Undoubtedly, over the next few days more stories will come out, more descriptions of this experience, which was unlike anything my sister has ever done. How often do you go half way across the world to meet your daughter, the child you will nurture and love for the rest of your life?