Remembering Moscow - Day 5

When Andrei called Wednesday morning for our decision, we were thrilled to tell him yes. We were going to visit Irina again that day, but first we had to go get our medical exams done in Moscow. They are required before we can file our case with the judge. We saw 8 different doctors who asked us questions, drew blood, and did a basic physical exam. There were some funny moments, and this provided some much-needed comic relief.

The funniest one was toward the end. One doctor drew some blood, and another brought in two cups with screw-on caps. They looked just like those cups used for a urine analysis, and I was about to ask where the bathroom was when Andrei told us we need to spit in the cups. I've never heard of such a thing, but apparantly they can do a TB test from that. Andrei went on to say to get one "way down deep." He pointed to Steve and said, "He'll show you," and then he left. I busted up laughing. I think part of my laughter was a release of some pent-up emotion, but another part was because I can't do that. Steve proceeded to make that "lovely" noise that all of us women despise and made a deposit into his cup. I finally got up from the floor where I had been laughing uncontrollably and got a lesson in spitting. It felt like that scene in the movie Titanic. With some coaching from Steve, and between outbursts of laughter, I made that "lovely" noise. Steve said, "GREAT! Now just spit it in the cup." The problem was that even though I did exactly what I was supposed to do, there was nothing in my mouth to spit in the cup! I truly just can't do it. I finally just did a regular spit of saliva. It wasn't exactly "way down deep," but it was the best I could do.

After the medicals were complete, we went to the orphanage, where Andrei did some more work, and then McDonald's again for another 3:00 lunch. I still wasn't hungry, though. Tuesday, I figured it was due to nerves, but on Wednesday, that wasn't the case. I figured it out though. I was constantly carsick everytime we got in the car, which was alot, and I got better after we had stopped for awhile. The constant starting, stopping, and swerving were just too much for me. I moved to the front seat, but that only helped a little bit.

When we played with Irina, she was more at ease with us, and we had a really good time. The language barrier is still an issue, but pointing and demonstration work pretty well. We played "Pease Porridge Hot," and she picked up on the words really fast! We did lots of high and low 5s and 10s. And we laughed alot. She is such a joy and is the SWEETEST little girl we have ever met. She has just captured our hearts.

When we got back to the apartment, Steve was antsy to go see more of Moscow, but I needed to lie down, so Steve went on his own. The Metro is really good and easy to use once you get the hang of it, so Steve went to Red Square and took pictures of the Kremlin and St. Basil's Cathedral.