Day 5

Quote of the day:  "This might as well be Coke!" -Bryan, after having to brush his teeth and rinse his mouth with carbonated bottled water because the tap water seems to have been turned off in our apartment today.

We had another weird night of sleeping- couldn't get to sleep until 2 or 3 am, but slept in this morning until 10:30.  Unfortunately, I think due to the construction that is going on outside of our building, we don't have any water here.  I called Eugene, our guide, and he called the building owner, who didn't have any more answer than that.  We are supposed to call Eugene when we get downstairs so he can speak with the land lady and see if she has any more information.  Sure would be nice to be able to flush the toilet and do our dishes before we have to leave on the train tonight!

We turned left out of our apartment this morning and explored the other end of K.  We found a chain sushi restaurant and had lunch, using the point-and-nod method.  I'm not totally sure what I ate, but it was pretty good.

We really feel pretty safe in K.  There is a lot of foot traffic, and despite all the construction, the sidewalks are wide enough to not only walk on, but also for cars to park on, too :)

We met Nikko at 3:30 (three and thirty) to go to the SDA to pick up our referral.  When we got there, they weren't yet releasing the referrals, but there were about 4 other couples there waiting.  You have to stand in line on the side of the building when they open the doors, and when it is your turn, you go into a small alcove where the SDA lady that we met with earlier has a bunch of paperwork out and a ledger book where you have to show your passports and sign your name.  Then, "Zhat's it!  Get out!"  I didn't understand what she and Nikko were saying, which was "that's it!" and I just stood there with a doofy look on my face waiting for more...I guess I thought there would be something else expected of us!  It was kind of funny being shoo-ed out of the office by Nikko.

Truly, zhat is it- our work in K*** is done for now.  We came to tell his government that we want to be Danil's parents, they are ready to give us a chance, and now we get to move forward :)

We got back to the apartment and packed up.  Thankfully our laundry had dried from the night before (mostly- Bryan had to sit with the hair dryer to finish up the socks before putting them in the suitcase!) and then we headed out for one last dinner with the Hazelton family at TGI Friday's (Bryan was ready for some American food after being so adventurous for the last few days!).

It was raining, and we were a little damp from our walk down to the restaurant (it takes about 15-20 minutes).  The Hazeltons had issues with their cab, so we had a chance to sit and reflect on the past few days.  It's been surreal...we got our SDA appointment done, and we are enjoying time with each other, but it almost feels like we are suspended in time for our real purpose.  We cannot wait to be able to meet Danil, to tell him how long we have been waiting for him, and to hold his little hands in ours.

Shannon, Jeffrey, and Carson Hazelton are wonderful people- they are here to adopt 2 children from a different region than ours.  I love meeting new friends with similar missions, hearing about their stories, and sharing our journeys together.  I also love that we get to visit with Carson, their 18 month old little boy.  It gives us some good kid time when we are missing our boys so much.  Bryan couldn't stop telling stories about Ian, Chase, and Gavin throughout dinner :)

We went back to the apartment through a light rain, finished packing our bags, and waited for Nikko to pick us up at about 9:30pm.  He drove us to the train station, which was incredibly busy, and helped us get our luggage upstairs and downstairs, up the escalators and through doors.  They certainly don't make it easy.  I am so thankful that he was willing to do that for us, otherwise we wouldn't have been able to get on the train, much less find it.

He put us on our car and into our room, showed us what all the buttons did and where the WC was.  He also told the attendants that we didn't speak Russian :)  He told us that there would be coffee or tea served, then we could sleep and that they would knock on our door about an hour before our stop.  Thankfully, our stop was the last on the line, so there was very little chance of us missing it.

The train compartment was really nice- I am so happy that we went first class, which wasn't a whole lot more per ticket, but totally worth it.  We had an 8 hour trip, so it was SO lovely to be able to stow our luggage and lay down to watch a movie and fall asleep without worrying about drooling on a stranger's shoulder.

Crazy to think that we will be in Danil's city soon!!!