Zdrastvweetye from Luhans'k

Hello from Luhans'k. Today will mark our 6th trip to the Children's Home where Yan lives to visit with him. We get there everyday around 3:00 pm and stay until 6:00 pm. It takes us about 35 minutes by taxi to get to the village where Yan lives. The driver waits for us until 6:00 pm and then takes us back. He is happy to take us to the bank or supermarket if need be. For this service he charges $20 (US)/day. When we get back to the hotel, we usually try to make a few phone calls and then go to dinner. After dinner, we usually wash some of our clothes (in the sink) and watch a DVD before crashing. The people at the hotel have been very friendly and helpful.

We got a new translator yesterday who is a secondary school teacher in Luhuns'k named Valerie. She specializes in teaching children English. She spent the better part of 2 1/2 hours yesterday working with Yan, Karen and I on how to communicate. It has been challenge - one that requires our understanding some basic Russian phrases to communicate and constant repetition with Yan. We all worked very hard on our first day with Valarie as she pushes all of us. We brought a book of nothing but simple words and phrases used with children and the Russian translation spelled out phonetically. It has been a life saver. We think Valerie will be with us until our court date this Friday. Not sure about next week. It is great having her around to help us out. Yan was counting to 10 in English yesterday - so we are making some progress.

When we went to see Yan yesterday, he had pictures that he drew for Karen and I. He was very proud of them. It was raining out so we had to stay inside all day. It figures as this was the day we brought him a basketball. We looked for a baseball & glove or football (American), but could not find either. The Children's Home does have a basketball backboard and hoop, but the kids only seem to use it for climbing. Every ball they see they kick. Yan is no different. I am sure he will be kicking that basketball in no time. He is a lefty by the way.

The other children have become used to seeing us each day. They like to follow us around and help us help Yan. There are many children in this home (over 100) aging from 6 - 17 yrs old (I believe). The children have separate dorms and classrooms depending on their age and share a common playground. So Yan's "groupa" of eleven 6 year olds is the youngest group at the home. He is very close to one of the other girls in his group named Julia. When it is nice out, we spend a fair amount of time with him in the playground. He is a typical 6 year old - loves to get on my shoulders or be spun around until he gets dizzy.

Before we left the US, Karen made a neat photo album for Yan with pictures of our house, dogs, cousins, aunts, uncles, friends and of course, Babushkas. Yesterday, we showed Yan the album for the first time. He really enjoyed it and went through it several times. We think he understands the book, but are not sure that he can grasp who all the children are (cousins, neighbors, etc.). One thing that was very funny was his interest in the Sabakas (dogs). That's right, Sydney, Ellie, Daisy, Callie, Rudy, Lexie, Donovan and Sophie were the hit of the album. He told Valarie he loves dogs - whew! He also told us that he has never seen the ocean nor has he ever been to a zoo. Guess there will be a lot of firsts for all of us.

I tried to include a few pictures. Here are a couple more pictures of Yan, a picture of the hotle we are staying in, a typical home along the road headed out to Yan's village and a picture of the main street just outside the Children's Home. We will try to send another update in another day or two. The internet cafe in Luhans'k is not always up and running. We are well, enjoying each day with Yan, missing home and enjoying hearing from all of you! Dasveeyidanya - K&M

Our hotel

Homes along the road

Main street outside Children's Home