Mail 17 - June 14th
|
|
Mail 17 - June 14th |
June 14
Hello!
The girls are playing with the wild kittens, Neil and Bill went to the produce market and I get my time alone with the computer. My favorite part of the day. This cafe even has Coca-Cola Light. It's warm, but it's still great! Things are going well, and very smoothly now that the end is so close. Bella has been just giggly and silly all day because she is so excited to be going to her "real home". Neil couldn't care less, except that he misses Grannny, Pappy, Barbara and Polly. I'm not sure in which order. I cannot get over how beautiful the young women are here. And THIN. Not LA thin, but THIN. These are not small women, they are tall and rangy and buxom and they are starved down to a size 2 or 0. I have never seen women this thin except in NYC, and I think those were ballerinas. It is a bit nerve wracking, but they seem Ok, as long as there are no strong winds :-) They also wear 4-inch heels with pointy, upturned toes (think Aladdin) and tiny, tiny clothing. They are coifed and buffed and polished and very chic. I see many of them in the internet cafe, alternately checking their emails with on-line translators and doing their university papers. I assume the emails are from American men; that is a very big "business" here. Arranged marriages with comparatively wealthy Americans is common, and there are agencies and programs all over the city to facilitate this.
Our driver, Vitaly, drives for adoptive families during the day and for potential couples in the evening. After he drops us off from court or Embassy stops, he goes to the airport to pick up the American and UK men who are coming to meet and interview these young women. The men I have seen are pretty gross - not anyone I would date, and I don't have nearly the charm that these women have! These women are beautiful, bright, educated and seem fairly nice. I alternate between feeling sorry for what they feel they must do and for respecting their strength and resourcefulness. I am kind of friendly with a couple of these young women, as we are in the same internet cafe everyday about the same time. They speak very little English, and I have helped them work the translator or clarify a word. We all order Coca Light, then I have a Snickers or M&Ms and well, they don't. I could learn something here if I were so inclined.
There is almost every technological convenience here. Since the phone lines are bad, not everything works as it should, but it is pretty amazing. At first I was confused by the disparity between the village like conditions and the technology. I couldn't figure out why a man in an Armani suit, holding a cell phone that can send digital pictures around the world would have to go outside and poop in a hole. I was thinking, hmmm - hello, just buy a toilet. Then...duh...dumb American...I figured it out. No sewer system. The infrastructure is sorely lacking, and the technology has out paced the ability of the workers to upgrade and update the systems. Thus, the combination of incredibly Westernized culture and pre-WW11 facilities. It is amazing and interesting. I wish I were more knowledgeable about history and the building of civilizations - I'm sure this is a fascinating study. The kids are doing great, and the little ones are picking up some Russian. They love the Russian cartoons and last night we all watched a Robert Altman film "Cookie's Fortune" together in Russian. Since Bill & I had seen it before, it wasn't too hard. I love that movie - I love all Robert Altman films, especially when Lyle Lovett is in them.
I hear how spoiled we are by our friends at home - that Barbara is doing yard work for us, that Mom is stocking our fridge, that Keely and Lena are each planning parties, that people have gone shopping, sent cards, left messages...I cannot tell you how much that means. We have never felt so loved. It is a wonderful feeling, and gives perspective to any of the hard times we have encountered here. I am so glad we decided to risk this. Nelly is a bright and beautiful young girl who is very grateful and excited to have a home and family, the country is a warm, lovely place with a lot to teach a spoiled American like myself, and the children here in the orphanages will forever touch my heart. They are truly beautiful, and maybe we can inspire others to consider them as well.
Only 2 more days...Lots of love and we are so so so so excited! Can you tell? :-)
Liz