Surreal

This past week I spent a lot of time thinking about where I was this time last year.  I arrived in Moscow on April 7^th  and spent the next six days in Orekhovo-Zuyevo visiting Max twice a day.  My time in Orekhovo-Zuyevo was rewarding and difficult as well.  Unlike Moscow, no one spoke English and I struggled with a very bad case of food poisoning for the entire week.  It was cold and snowy all week.  In the midst of all of that I was able to spend about five hours a day with Max.  The time spent with Max was like time spent in a completely different world.  It was exciting and engaging and allowed us to continue our bonding.  I was able to see him become increasingly attached when I went up to his play room and he did not like it at all when the other children called me Mama. 

On April 13^th I went back to Moscow to prepare for court; meetings with the coordinator and translator and paperwork as we prepared.  I vividly remember April 14th; getting dressed for court, eating breakfast because they told me to make me sure I ate before we went, waiting for my driver, arriving at the huge court house, going through the medal detectors, handing in my passport before being allowed into the main area of the court, getting a card that would allow me to scan my way into the court, checking coats, sitting with my translator and coordinator in the coffee shop and waiting outside of the court room to be called.  Once inside the court room listening to the translator as she repeated everything that went on; most of the beginning of the court session was procedural including a lot of reading into the court record.  All of the court documents, my petition, a description of the photos that were submitted, etc.

Then came my turn to make a statement about my intentions and Max followed by questions from the prosecutor, the representative from the Ministry of Education and finally the Judge.  One of the questions that the prosecutor asked me was ‘who takes care of that park in your backyard’?  Everyone in the court was amused by his question but they all wanted to hear my answer.  Once the prosecutor finished his questions he told the judge he had no objections to my adoption petition and asked to be excused from the court for other business.  The representative from the Ministry of Education whom I had met twice in the orphanage but didn't know who she was or that she was observing us, declined to ask me any questions; instead she spoke to the Judge about how well Max and I had bonded.  Apparently others in the orphanage who were watching us had also told her that we did very well together.  Then came the questions from the Judge, many questions about Max’s medical, about who will watch him when I go back to work, about how he will be accepted by family, friends and society and about Torre (my dog).  At one point the Judge asked me if Torre was big or small, once the question was translated, without thinking I responded in Russian with the word for small.  The Judge and everyone else in the court room except the translator laughed out loud.  Once the questioning was done, the Judge left the court room to make her decision.  We sat in the court room and waited for the Judge to return.  During this time the representative from the Ministry of Education came over, took my hand and through the translator said some very nice things.  She congratulated me, expressed her happiness for Max and I and wished us luck and happiness in the future.  A while later the Judge returned, followed the procedural requirements of reading her decision into the court records, asked me if she could keep a couple of pictures from the photo album I provided to be included with the court documents and congratulated me.  I still remember the feeling I had; it didn’t seem real; it was a very long and winding road and it took so long to get to this place, I think it took me a little while to believe it really happened. 

On the way back to the hotel we stopped at a special shop for some souvenirs.  Then we went to see Max once more before I headed home.  We took Max out in the car to get his passport picture, he was a bit afraid but he did great.  Once back in the hotel I prepared for my trip home.  That night in the hotel in Moscow I had a nice dinner and some really good Russian vodka. 

Here’s some pictures from my day in court and from the weeks visits with Max.

My coordinator Ludmilla and translator Alyona in the front of the court house.

 

The entrance to the court house.

The court house from a distance.

A busy street on the way to the souvenir shop.

Max's passport pictures.

 These pictures are from my visits with Max during the week, check out his fashion sense.