I am in Russia!!!

Well here I am in Yuzhno- Sakhalinsk, Russia. The time now is 5:42 am on Feb 1. At home it is about 3pm on Jan 31. I was going to post some pictures of the area around my hotel, but Blogger is having trouble uploading the here. I ot one posted--- above is the hotel that I stayed in last night. It doesn't look like much, but the room was very comfortable and MUCH cleaner than any hotel in the US that I've been in! The temp when I got here yesterday afternoon was -5 F --- Pretty chilly!!! I haven't gotten my phone card yet, so I can't call anyone. Svetlana ( my WACAP rep) pretty much just took me to the hotel yesterday and dropped me off. She seemed to be in ahurry to get somewhere! I hope I get a little bit more of a tour today!

Yesterday afternoon, I walked around for a little while and took pictures. My hotel is acroos the street form Lenn Square, and the is a big Ice Sculpture display out ther right now. It is actually very pretty. There wer lots of townspeople taking pictures of their children on the sculptures-- all the kids look so cute bundled up fromhead to toe in their little snowsuits... the parents pull them around on sleds instead of using strollers. I saw a set of little baby twins-- only their eyes and noses were visible-- they were being pulled on a double sledge (sort of like a double stroller, I guess). They were very cute. It made me miss y girls so much--they would LOVE all of this snow!!!!

I wanted to do some shopping, but since I have not bee able to exchange any money yet, and since I can't read any signs, I didn't attempt it yesterday. Today I am going to insist that Svetlana take me to do some shopping. I don't leave for the trainstation until tonight, so I pretty much have the whole day to kill. I want to shop!! And call my kids!!!!

Svetlanana has warned me that the orphanage where "D" now live is "very poor" and has severely disable children in it. She says that I need to prepare myself for what I am about to see, that it will be traumatic.... I think thatI can imagine what it will be like. I think that I will be sickened and angered by the treatment of these children. I hope I am wrong --I hope that th

ey take good care of them, we will see...

I know that this experience is going to change me...

I just hope that I can have the strength to leave him there for the next few months...Well I have no choice. I guess, right now I just hope he likes me! :)

I may try to post more pictures later... I bought a 2 hour internet card, and I think I still have some time left. I know I won't have any internet up north, so I am going to keep a diary and post it al when I get back. So far the trip has been smooth-- the plane didn't crash:) Oh yeah, Asiana airlines is wonderful-- clean cabin, very good food (the "heavy snack" as they called it was twice as much food and twice as good as on any domestic flight I have ever flown). the flight attendants are very helpful and sweet. I was impressed. BTW, my flight on Delta to LAX sucked. Upon takeoff, one of the lights in the center isle actually fell out of th ceiling!!!

Hopefully, I can write later. If not wish me luck!!! Anyone who can please call my girls and tell them that I love them VERY MUCH!!!!