Monday, March 28, 2011

Sasha and Natasha model the school uniforms.

The orphanage had a such a different vibe today. Last week the children were out of school due to their Spring Break. Interesting to compare the Spring Break the way so many children know it to the one for kids in the orphanage. When school is in session these kids get to walk the 15 minutes to school, and after school maybe have an extracurricular activity like a sport or music before going back to the orphanage. But during Spring Break the fence of the property and the walls of the building are it. No MOA, no going to visit grandma, no Florida or even the public library.

Yes, pity can creep in sometimes........

Especially each day when it's the end of our visiting time and we gather our things getting ready to start the hour long trip back to the apartment. Two polar regions go into effect - Sasha begging, clinging "No, you stay, pleeeeease you stay" and Lucas begging, running away "Do we have to leave? Whyyyyyyy can't we stay?" Both boys are never ready for us to leave. That was the scene today when we suddenly had the chance to go shopping at the big market. When we are on the bus schedule the pressure for us to leave is low - we can ease into things gradually.

But when the driver says he is ready to take us to the market we have to get into action as fast as a Kievite heading to a fashion boot sale!

Going to the big market has come to mean many things. First and foremost: we get a driver that graciously and deftly doubles as a personal shopper. Being driven means that we can shop for groceries and sundries at will without having to limit our bag weight. Riding the bus then subway then walking means we consider the bag weight as we shop - not something we ever had to learn in our part of the U.S! 

Having a personal shopper means that when we stand in a store the size of Super-Target with no discernable signs or letters in sight we are lead to the cereal aisle in seconds. In addition, and even better, when we are unwittingly about to put an inferior brick of butter in our cart a wise hand motions 'no-no' and leads us to the blue ribbon winner. Or, when we forget to have the oranges weighed and tagged we are micraculously rescued from the produce police.

Needless to say the chance of going to the big market trumps just about everything. So today as the vehicle slowly backed down the driveway one child stood outside on the browned lawn and sadly waved us away the other sat moaning inside the car about the unfairness of it all.......we parents sat very still, silently, joyfully, grinning in anticipation.....