Sorry folks....the internet was down and I haven't been able to post in a bunch of days. And.....not much has changed. I'm still doing the wake-up, eat, watch TV, visit the orphanage, eat at the store, walk home, watch more TV, and go to sleep routine. Now that the internet is working again, I'll probably throw some internet into the mix as well....just not sure where to fit it in?!? There has been some improvement on the TV though, I found another movie station that plays some English language movies with (you guessed it) Arabic subtitles...and there is a German station that plays about 30% of the EuroCup games. I've even caught myself doing some English commentary alongside the German. I think mine is better, but I don't understand the German so it's hard to tell.
My time with Ruslan each day has been awesome. He greets me with a hug and kiss....and a HUGE smile! And then it's time to go to "our" table. We've been getting better at communicating with each other, especially when we talk about the trip home and what we'll do when we get there. He's really, really, really excited to have pizza and ice cream and to go swimming. He's already indicated that he doesn't want to wear any floatation devices, but I disagreed with him (we'll see how that goes...he can't swim on his own yet). We've been practicing writing his name in preparation for school and also writing out the names of the members of our family. Without fail, whenever he writes "papa" in English he giggles and points to me and says "rara" (the "p" in Russian is pronounced like "r"). Just a little game we play. The other big topic of our conversation is his birthday....which he is REALLY excited about (btw..it's on Monday... and he'll be 10). Monday also happens to be the last day of the waiting period. The timing is pretty awesome....Happy Birthday! Welcome to our family! Actually, Tuesday will be the official day, but close enough! Don't tell him, but Karen and I got him a couple of lego toys for his birthday. He seems to really like to put them together, and take them apart, and put them back together. From what I've seen, Ruslan has also been doing really good with the other kids in his group. Depending on who his caregiver is for the day, sometimes other kids are allowed to visit and play with us. When that happens, Ruslan has been able to share his stuff, talk and laugh with them, run and play, and be really nice to the kids. On these days, which are the exception rather than the norm, we usually spend about an hour by ourselves before the other kids come over. Then they hang out with us for about 30 minutes and then he usually has so much fun that he wants to run off and play with them rather than stay at our table. So, he usually asks me to leave right around 5:30...which I'm happy to do. He really has a good time with them and I don't want to hold him back from running and playing...he's a 10 year-old boy. I usually hang back for a couple of minutes and watch him play....it's good to see him be a kid with other kids. Most of the time I see him at the orphanage he's sitting at a table or playing with me....which just isn't the same. Before he lets me go, he always checks to make sure that I'll be back the next day at 4:00 p.m. With that assurance, he's able to let his mind focus on being a kid.
My time with Ruslan each day has been awesome. He greets me with a hug and kiss....and a HUGE smile! And then it's time to go to "our" table. We've been getting better at communicating with each other, especially when we talk about the trip home and what we'll do when we get there. He's really, really, really excited to have pizza and ice cream and to go swimming. He's already indicated that he doesn't want to wear any floatation devices, but I disagreed with him (we'll see how that goes...he can't swim on his own yet). We've been practicing writing his name in preparation for school and also writing out the names of the members of our family. Without fail, whenever he writes "papa" in English he giggles and points to me and says "rara" (the "p" in Russian is pronounced like "r"). Just a little game we play. The other big topic of our conversation is his birthday....which he is REALLY excited about (btw..it's on Monday... and he'll be 10). Monday also happens to be the last day of the waiting period. The timing is pretty awesome....Happy Birthday! Welcome to our family! Actually, Tuesday will be the official day, but close enough! Don't tell him, but Karen and I got him a couple of lego toys for his birthday. He seems to really like to put them together, and take them apart, and put them back together. From what I've seen, Ruslan has also been doing really good with the other kids in his group. Depending on who his caregiver is for the day, sometimes other kids are allowed to visit and play with us. When that happens, Ruslan has been able to share his stuff, talk and laugh with them, run and play, and be really nice to the kids. On these days, which are the exception rather than the norm, we usually spend about an hour by ourselves before the other kids come over. Then they hang out with us for about 30 minutes and then he usually has so much fun that he wants to run off and play with them rather than stay at our table. So, he usually asks me to leave right around 5:30...which I'm happy to do. He really has a good time with them and I don't want to hold him back from running and playing...he's a 10 year-old boy. I usually hang back for a couple of minutes and watch him play....it's good to see him be a kid with other kids. Most of the time I see him at the orphanage he's sitting at a table or playing with me....which just isn't the same. Before he lets me go, he always checks to make sure that I'll be back the next day at 4:00 p.m. With that assurance, he's able to let his mind focus on being a kid.
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