
The park in Novosibirsk
Zack is having to learn several lessons as he adjusts to family life. Yesterday we went out to dinner. We walked only a couple blocks to the Levi’s restaurant. Zack had a worried look on his face just as he has before any time we left the hotel. When we were seated, Zack began to cry. I tried to comfort him which helped a bit. He said he did not want to eat (this coming from the boy who eats everything in sight). We tried talking to him, assuring him that we were NOT going to take him back to the orphanage, that he will always be with us, that we will never leave him, that we love him very much. But he seemed to only become more upset. Then we figured out what he was trying to tell us; he WANTED to go back to the “Desky Dom” and he did NOT want to go to America! Well, this broke our hearts. He did end up eating a bit (especially the piece of cake Dave got him for dessert) but had a solemn look on his face the whole time. After dinner I gave him a piece of gum and that seemed to be a good distraction. When we got back to the hotel, he perked up a bit more. We spent the evening in the 4th floor lounge with all our friends (eight adults and seven kids) again, and Zack was in full form again – playing and having a good time (but mostly schmoozing the adults, as he always does). After awhile our interpreter showed up with medication for one of the adults who is sick and I asked him to translate for us and find out why Zack wanted to go back to the orphanage. Zack said to him, in Russian, “Are you crazy? I’m going to America!” What a switch!
Fast forward to this morning. Zack was up and dressed at the crack of dawn! So I got up and got a shower. When I got out of the shower I noticed Zack had gum in his mouth again. He had gone and got yesterday’s gum out of the trash! When I had him go put it back in the trash, his feelings were hurt. I told him that tomorrow we would have candy (our Easter Egg hunt) and he was very excited about that. He and I went to breakfast alone so Nick could sleep in. When Dave and Nick left for breakfast, Zack was trying to tell me something, but in a whiny voice. I had difficulty understanding, but then I finally realized he wanted gum. I told him we needed to save the gum for the airplane (relieves pressure on the ears) and, again, that we would have candy tomorrow. He seemed to accept that again. About ten minutes later he started crying. I tried to comfort him, as before, and ask him what was the matter. He wanted to go back to the Detsky Dom and NOT to America! That’s when Mom had an ah-hah moment.
Yesterday he heard the word “no” a lot. “No, you may not help yourself to Mom’s cell phone and start taking pictures all over the place (taking pictures in public makes the Russians VERY nervous!)”, “No, you may not help yourself to Mom’s laptop”, “No, you may not watch inappropriate shows on television”, etc. Leaving the hotel seems to worry him, and it all came to a head as we sat at dinner. He didn’t want to go back to the orphanage, he was just upset that he was not getting his way. This morning after breakfast he again did not like being told “no”, so he decided he wanted to go back where he could charm some adult into giving him what he wants. His natural charm makes him very good at manipulation – an orphanage survival tactic. It works on Mom, too, sometimes – he is SO cute!
When I have to say “no” to my 3-year-old niece, she cries and says, “I want my mommy!” Zack was doing the same thing. If he wasn’t going to get his way, he wanted to go back to where he believed he could. Lesson learned for Mom and Dad.
Today has been relatively calm for both boys. It’s Saturday, so we have been watching Saturday morning cartoons in Russian. Imagine Mickey Mouse’s high-pitched voice in Russian! Lack of sleep may be catching up to my boys (Zack is used to taking a 2-hour nap every day and Nick is used to sleeping 12 hours a night). Again this evening we will meet our friends in the lounge and let the kids wear themselves out.
Dave also got his staples out this morning. One of the other moms who is traveling with us is a nurse practitioner. Dave stretched his arm a little too far a couple days ago and his wound opened up a bit and started draining, so she wanted to give it a little more time. I think he’s happy to have that metal out of his arm.
We’ve changed our hotel reservations for Moscow. The Courtyard costs $20 more per night ($265 plus 18% - ouch!), but it includes breakfast for three which is about a $75 value. Also, we’re hoping to use points to get the last night free. I have a $100 coupon for the Marriott that I won’t be able to use at the Courtyard, but we’ll still end up better off at the Courtyard. We ended up having to purchase one-way tickets from Moscow to Novosibirsk (again, we’d like to know who made THOSE arrangements!), so that made us end up spending $1500 more than we had planned. What a shock, especially when we only brought $2,000 extra!
Internet service here is slow, but I’m going to try to put up some pictures today.