A Home for Natasha: Adoption in Process

Today is the day our Natasha leaves the orphanage. Her adoptive parents, a wonderful couple from Atlanta, Georgia are packing up right about now, preparing to check out of Hotel Rostov and then head to the Ministry of Education for official documents. Next stop, to the orphanage to get Natasha and then to *Rostov International Airport* to catch Aeroflot to Moscow and the US Embassy there.

I'm toying with the idea of heading to the orphanage to capture the *goodbye Natasha* scene among staff there. This little girl is beloved and her leaving is bittersweet. Mostly sweet.

Enter SnowMaiden. Natasha had a starring role in the holiday festivities, December 2007. She played SnowMaiden opposite Father Frost. Natasha was perfect for the role. Admittedly she had little competition, being the only girl in a group with 13 boys. Back in Atlanta, three older brothers are waiting for her. Goodness, one girl and three boys. Think she'll be okay with that?


Last June 1st, the children presented a program for the first day of summer. Natasha starred as a little chick but here she is sitting and enjoying the event.


Natasha has a daddy now. He could well be the first man who has ever held her. And, as you can see, she's positively smitten.

On the other hand, Natasha has been held more than the typical orphan, is my bet. Much of her early years were in the hospital for surgery after surgery. Surely male physicians and staff held her there from time to time.

What a smile. This was yesterday at the end of naptime. Does Natasha have any idea what today holds for her? I wonder. Her parents asked me to explain that she would be leaving the orphange today. I wonder if she could grasp that last night was her last sleep in that little bed. That she would be leaving the orphanage today with her very own mama and papa. And they would be taking her Home.

Rather than heading to the orphanage, I think I'll just stay here and work on things. I'm weepy just writing this. Yesterday's photos will have to be enough on this story. . .

We love you Natasha! And we congratulate you on beginning a new chapter in your young life. But one word of advise young lady: If you expect to march around your little classroom in the US and get chosen SnowMaiden without any competition, you're in for a surprise! But I'll let your parents explain all that to you.

The Award for Outstanding Creativity: The 8th of March

Yesterday was Women's Day here in Russia and that means flowers. Or chocolates. It doesn't take a whole lot of creativity to give a handful of daffodils to someone. Come to think of it, that's exactly what I did, the recipients were delighted and that worked for me. But some creative souls have a need to be different, to be unique in their gift or in their presentation. Below are two prime examples.

To paraphrase Sir Walter Scott, Is there a woman with a soul so dead that to herself has never said, "What I want most is a chrysanthemum elephant. Either that or floral giraffe." Well, here you go. . .here's one of each. Hard to beat that for a one-of-a-kind gift.

The clever fellow on the crane here, Mr Crane, wins the prize hands-down for presentation, for thinking outside the box - or rather, outside the building. For the rest of the story, go to English Russia. By the way, at that site you'll see a soldier joining the honoree, Juliet perhaps, on the balcony and shooting down at Mr Crane. Admittedly, Soldier is shooting only film at Crane but my guess is that they're not rivals for the affection of Juliet.

Say, why not have a look yourself and post your speculation here.

The Eighth of March - National Women's Day

The Eighth of March is in full-swing. Here are some photos from the street.

In search of the perfect flowers for his wife, his daughter and granddaughter.

Picking out flowers for the women in his life - wife, mother, daughter.


See 8th of March live and in person!

Fruit works too as a gift. This is a sweet sight, a young man with flowers probably for his mother and grandmother. A bunch of daffodils in his hand.

Tulips for sale, locally grown from 85 rubles to 150 for a bouquet of three. (24.67 rubles to the dollar today, anybody got a calculator handy?)

What a nice grandmother. I asked her about the 8th of March holiday when she was young, back during the war. She said they were busy giving bread to the soldiers.

A clever story, How to Treat Women on Women’s Day, in today's Moscow Times.

You Did WHAT in the Army?

So, what did you do in the army, if it’s not a secret.

I was chatting with my taxi driver and, as per usual, looking for some language practice. Most Russian men have served in the military and that makes for good conversation.

I danced, he answered, glancing in the rearview mirror.

You danced? You danced? Why?

Because I was good at it.

No, I mean, why did you dance as a job in the army?

Because I was good at it. I was in the dance ensemble and we performed for the troops.

Eventually I came to understand that Mr. Driver served in the army not as a pilot, a gunner, a mechanic, a photographer, certainly not as a chaplain – but a dancer. And his dancing was during a time of conflict, during Russia’s war in Afghanistan.

We danced to bring joy to the troops, make them laugh. War is a terrible thing and they needed happiness.

You know, now that I think about it, I believe one of our presidents served in the army as an actor.

That’s right. He played the saxophone.

Well, no, that was someone else. I’m talking President Reagan. He was an actor in the army.

The idea of serving ones country as a dancer was new to me. Of course entertainers such as Bob Hope have always made special tours to encourage the troops. But dancers in the army? This was a paradigm shift.

As the taxi neared my destination, I thought about you, dear blog readers. And thought you might like to meet this nice man. Happened to have my trusty camera along and he happily posed for a photo.

So there he is – Army Dancer, Retired. Oopsie, I didn’t manage to get his name. But chances are that his name would be Sasha (short for Alexander) or Seryozha (short for Sergey) or Vova (short for Volodya) or Zhenya (short for Euvgenie) or Vlad (for Vladimir). Because that’s what maybe 85% of the Russian men are named.

Now it’s your turn: Had an interesting conversation with a driver? How about a surprising job in the military?

Primaries on Russian Television

Happenings USA are of much interest here in Russia. Below are images from yesterday's news, the primaries in Ohio and Texas.

In the USA, they are heading toward the results of the second "Super Tuesday."

From Washington, correspondent Ariel Cohen (sp?), In the USA, they are heading toward results of the second "Super Tuesday." Did you know John McCain speaks fluent Russian? Either he does. . . or the translator does.

And Barack Obama also speaks Russian. Well okay, that might be the translator. From Washington with special correspondent Ariel Cohen (sp?).