Internet was down.....but we're back!

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.

друг (droog) - Russian for friend

Yesterday was Father's Day.  And it started out like most days here.  I woke up, had breakfast, and watched some old shows on the TV....yesterday it was old episodes of Bones (usually it's The Shield...so that was a relief)....and yes, Bones was subtitled in Arabic right in the middle of the screen.  After a couple of weeks you don't even notice them that much.  I walked to the orphanage and was sweating when I got there.  It was really hot.  Ruslan was happy to see me.  He got dressed, had his snack, and we were off to our table in the backyard.  While he was eating his banana and drinking his juice, I was proud to show him that I remembered the glue stick (which I had forgotten the day before).  This promoted the idea of doing some crafts.  He dug through the plastic shopping bag (that I use to tote all of our supplies in) looking for some crayons.  Then he remembered that he kept them over night and went upstairs to grab them.  When he came back, he dumped the box on the table and only 3 crayons came out.  A red, a blue, and two pieces of yellow.  He then motioned to me that the other kids had broken the other crayons and got really upset.  After I assured him that it was okay, and that we can get more crayons, he started to color with what we had.  It took a little over 45 minutes for him to start to cheer up again.  Just as we were starting to talk and joke with each other, a really nice Ukranian bird decided to drop the old #2 on my shirt.  It wasn't a big one, but enough to get his point across.  I chuckled a bit, but Ruslan was all business.  He dug into the plastic bag and grabbed the baby wipes we use to clean the table/hands/faces, etc. and handed me one to clean my shirt.  Someone once told me that when a bird poops on you it's supposed to be good luck.  I never thought so, but I'm starting to believe it.  The rest of the visit was very good.  He cheered up and was able to joke and play like nothing happened.  When I left, he was in a really good mood and so was I.

I walked to the store and ate my standard meal (stuffed cabbage and either rice/mashed potatoes) but had to fight a little with the lady who served me.  She really wanted to put sour cream on my cabbage, but I didn't want her to.  She kept insisting, but in the end, I won and was able to eat my cabbage w/out the room temperature sour cream.  I picked-up some crayons, a box of molding clay, and a backpack for Ruslan.  Karen and I wanted him to have something to put his activities in for the plane ride and I didn't want to carry the plastic bag back and forth anymore.  When I got home I was able to skype with Mason and Karen for Father's Day as well as my father, mother, and grandma.  It was my mom's birthday so Happy Birthday Mom!

This morning was pretty much a repeat of yesterday (they actually showed the same episodes of Bones...which I watched again).  The big difference was that I packed all of our supplies in the backpack instead of the plastic bag =].  I'll admit, it was a lot easier to carry on the walk.  Ruslan was so excited to see the bag.  With a big smile on his face, he asked if it was mine.  I told him it was his and then he giggled as his smile got bigger.  He put his shoes on quickly because he wanted to get outside to investigate it.  Once outside, he dug through every compartment and laughed when he found the wipes in their own little pouch.  He ate his banana and drank his juice.  When the other kids came outside, he called over to a little girl who he really hasn't gotten along with.  While she was on her way, he looked up at me and asked it it was okay.  I said sure.  When she got there, he showed her his bag and let her color with his new crayons.  He was playing with his stickers, and even though I don't know any Russian, I'm positive he told her that they were a gift from his mama.  When the teacher saw the girl at our table, she called her back to the group.  With some protest from her and Ruslan, she got up and left.  We played for a little while and then he took out the camera.  He called back to the girl and to her friend and they both came over.  They played really well together and even let me take a couple of pictures of the three of them.  When the teacher called the girls back, Ruslan asked if I could leave and come back tomorrow at 4:00 p.m.  I said sure and packed up our stuff.  We said our goodbyes and as I was walking out I could see Ruslan playing with the two girls again, all three of them were really happy.  Although our visit was shorter than normal, it was really good to see him making an effort to be friendly with the other children from the orphanage.  From what we'd seen up until now, and what the orphanage workers have described, Ruslan has been an orphan within the orphanage.  Today, however, he has friends.  And a family.  So long for the "orphan" title.....it no longer applies.