Stupid is as Stupid Does

Long Version: We are outta here! We leave on the 7 something flight out of Kras to Moscow where we have just 4 more nights…and home on SUNDAY night!!!!! Let me tell you I have never been so excited to get up at 3 AM in my life. We have spent the last few days just killing time while Ellie’s passport is prepared. We should have that this afternoon and we have been instructed not to leave the hotel after 4pm today.

The time at the hotel has really been invaluable to the bonding. Today she not only allowed but asked Adam to pick her up. She even went as far as to turn to him when I tried to pick her up once! This is wonderful as it shows she is learning to trust us both. She still will not let him hold her outside of the hotel…this seems normal since she has become quite comfortable in our two little rooms here…we will see what Moscow holds as far as bonding:0)

So, yesterday Adam got stopped by the Russian police! That was just a little (insert sarcasm here) scary! We were walking back from the blue mall and I was just trotting along talking to a few other ladies…we were in a group of about 10 (3 more families for court today) One of the men yells out my name and tells me to come back. I turn the corner and there is Adam with his passport out standing in front of a police “officer.”

I walk up and he says, “this your lady?” uh, yes. “Passport!” So I hand him my passport. He looks at them both for a little while (I don’t think he could read them)…another man in a sweater and a coat looks at them…He asks where we are staying, we tell him…he asks where we are going, we tell him…he hands us our passports back and off we go shaking like leaves…so, here’s the real story…another American who was with us but walking behind Adam saw the police officer and the man in the sweater talking together and point at Adam (who, by the way was screaming American with his “summer coat” hanging wide open and his safety belt for money and passports outside his clothes in plain sight. Not to mention the sneakers which are just not too cool here in Siberia) anyway, the man in the sweater was sitting at a tomato stand and it seems the cop was just shooting the bull and they decided it would be funny to stop him and scare him. Our friend seemed to think they set it up to amuse themselves…whatever.

Update to this story: We have sice talked to our facilitators and they have informed us that (aside from we are "stupid") we should have told them we did not understand the word "passport" and that we needed them to return to the hotel with us to get our translator...he said that he could have been anybody...no necessarily a cop and that he could have planted something on us...so, in future, do not hand over your passport but insist that they return to the hotel and call your facilitator...hmmm...

So, the little princess is doing well…learning boundaries and testing them. She is an extremely happy girl but also very strong-willed. We are looking forward to bringing her home for you all to meet…next post, Moscow!

Short Version: Packing for Moscow, leave tomorrow, Adam got stopped by the police, Ellie is starting to trust Adam.