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| Natalie Anne Stoesz 3 yrs old |
Ground hog day again. We rise, shower, eat and zip off as if in a go-cart race. We arrive at the orphanage cramped, having picked up two more passengers on the way. It is the director’s husband and their granddaughter. He reeks of alcohol. It is probably from the night before and quite acceptable here. Today we have our fourth and fifth visits with Natalie. Our routine is almost the same, with new variations and improvements each day. Our Russian is more than laughable but not enough to get thru to Natalie. She understands and is understood, but seldom speaks. Kris and I are quite confident that this will be overcome in time. We say our good-byes and notice that she is reluctant to join her groupa. Still, our hugs are a bit forced, but getting better each time.
I think we are speaking to her in a language far greater than Russian.
Afterwards, we go shopping and chuckle at the 11 people standing behind the deli counter. Funnier still are the four KGB looking guards speaking to each other on walki-talkies in a grocery store the size of a tiny Walgreens’s store.
When we arrive back at the flat, Nikoli and Nadia’s granddaughter is there for a visit. She is so sweet and is eating up every ounce of affection we give her. With both of her parents working in Moscow since she was 2, this seven year old is cared for by two sets of grandparents. Her care is good, but she responds as though a bit deprived from “play-full” attention. I’m’ not sure who is getting better therapy, the gran-daughter or Kris, who gobbles up the hugs and kisses from Ira.
I think we are speaking to her in a language far greater than Russian.
Afterwards, we go shopping and chuckle at the 11 people standing behind the deli counter. Funnier still are the four KGB looking guards speaking to each other on walki-talkies in a grocery store the size of a tiny Walgreens’s store.
When we arrive back at the flat, Nikoli and Nadia’s granddaughter is there for a visit. She is so sweet and is eating up every ounce of affection we give her. With both of her parents working in Moscow since she was 2, this seven year old is cared for by two sets of grandparents. Her care is good, but she responds as though a bit deprived from “play-full” attention. I’m’ not sure who is getting better therapy, the gran-daughter or Kris, who gobbles up the hugs and kisses from Ira.
With 3 pigs singing, “who let the dogs out?"Shrek (being viewed on the laptop)
is almost over and it’s my bed time.
is almost over and it’s my bed time.
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| Our host family, Nikoli & Nadia along with George and Inna |
Points of peculiarity:
Lugansk is a city with a façade. On the outside you mostly see the stress of time and the elements. To the passer by, it seems as though all is bleak and run down. On the inside, you will find well-maintained and presentable flats. They are dated in their décor and present with a different style from a previous era. The people are the same, outwardly showing like a bag lady, but beautiful on the inside. Some are selling potatoes, seeds, or bread on the street corner, but can smile and show gold from ear to ear. Not to say it’s easy to get the people to smile.
They are a troubled nation, with a rich history of rulers and war. They have the gift of natural resources far above any other nation its size (speaking specifically of Ukraine now) and cannot capitalize on it. Their leaders are somewhat the same as before perestroika in their expectations of receiving personal gain. Therefore, the black market thrives as a larger part of their economy.
The pitfalls of this society lies in wanting a great leader to pull them up, when no honest ones are to be found. It is amazing to me that they continue to allow so few people to have too much power. It is a plan destined to fail to greed. Their parliament is corrupt with the good-ole-boy mentality lining each other’s pockets, instead of allowing the free market to drive and motivate the economic machine.......... or so it seems from what we learn through Georgiy.
If they could eat ideology, they’d all be fat.
They are a troubled nation, with a rich history of rulers and war. They have the gift of natural resources far above any other nation its size (speaking specifically of Ukraine now) and cannot capitalize on it. Their leaders are somewhat the same as before perestroika in their expectations of receiving personal gain. Therefore, the black market thrives as a larger part of their economy.
The pitfalls of this society lies in wanting a great leader to pull them up, when no honest ones are to be found. It is amazing to me that they continue to allow so few people to have too much power. It is a plan destined to fail to greed. Their parliament is corrupt with the good-ole-boy mentality lining each other’s pockets, instead of allowing the free market to drive and motivate the economic machine.......... or so it seems from what we learn through Georgiy.
Kris:
We are waiting to meet Natalie for the 4th time. We saw her yesterday and spent about 45 minutes with her in the morning and 2 hours in the afternoon. We first met/saw her in Inna’s office. She is very shy! They told us about her past medical history. Galena, the doctor, told us what they knew about her. Natalie has been at the orphanage since September 25, 2002. She was actually dropped off by her grandmother at the hospital because she was very sick. Natalie spent 2 months in the hospital before she arrived at the orphanage. She was sick with pneumonia and had rickets. Once Natalie arrived at the orphanage, she was in good health. At birth, Natalie weighed 3 kilos which is about
6 1/2 pounds. She is normal on the growth charts; 75% height and 50% weight.
6 1/2 pounds. She is normal on the growth charts; 75% height and 50% weight.
When we played with Natalie yesterday,
she was very quiet,
but has happy eyes and a nice smile that warms your heart.
The 2nd time we met with Natalie, she started to warm up a little. She is very quiet. They say that she is melancholy and gets tired quickly. I did not think she was “melancholy” as the meaning I know. She loved the doll we gave her. Such a simple doll we bought in Kyiv. When we purchased it, we did not realize on the back is a button to push and it talks. The doll says “mama”, "papa” and laughs and cries. When Natalie saw the doll, she was so excited! It put a huge smile on her face. We played blocks and looked at books. She likes to see our reaction to everything. Natalie points in a book or at a picture and we say what the picture is.
She makes the cutest faces; with her mouth open and her eyes so big!
Bubble Time
Bubble Time
We spent a lot of time with Natalie today as well. She likes to test her boundaries with us. She enjoys taking out stuff and putting all the stuff back in its place Puzzle out of the box, puzzle in the box; she is an organizer! She starts out only getting one toy at a time, then, by the end of our visit, she will get out all the toys. Then we put them away. That’s what we do; take out and put away, take out and put away.
Today nurse Natasha measured Natalie. We will get o take Natalie out shopping tomorrow. It is probably her first time out of the orphanage since she arrived. We enjoy her very much!
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| Nurse Natasha measuring up Miss Natalie |
The city of Lugansk; it is a very gray, dirty, depressing looking city. It sometimes looks deserted; like maybe after a bombing. The facades of the buildings are worn and old and not maintained. The steps up to the buildings are falling apart and the stucco and bricks on the sides are falling apart.
The “flat” we are staying at looks like something you would see in lower downtown Denver in the
warehouse district and ready to be torn down. The staircase up the 3rd floor flat is cold, dark and smelly. The flats are very small but adequate. The city has no street signs and I always get lost. It is a good thing we are not driving. The language looks and sounds so foreign to me. The streets are filled with many bumps, potholes, water and mud, it seems there are no efforts to maintain the streets. Our driver, Sasha, has to maneuver to miss as many holes as possible, and he does a darn good job at that! I think I have only seen 1 gas station so far and Sasha’s gas tank is always on empty.
I hope we can go back to the Internet Cafe soon to receive emails from home! I am so home sick right now. I need to have connections with Amanda and Alex. I miss them so very much.
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