I did have something to say when I sat down...

I had a purpose when I sat down here a little while ago. Then I started reading some of the past blogs I have written. I get great joy from it and always wish I'd written more. Sometimes the story I tell feels very human. I'm not patting myself on the back here for the fun of it. I do truly enjoy reading about the times we were in Russia and the trips we took and the frustrations of being a parent and it is reassuring that we all have survived, as I pray we all will through the current problems. We solve our problems, move on create new ones and look back on the old one like old friends.
  I remember as a kid the cold war, it was the east against the west and it was like that for as long as I'd been alive. Then the wall fell and East Germans were streaming over the border where you used to hear about people risking their life and some getting killed. Then the Soviet Union fell apart and the world was a magical new place where anything was possible in that moment. It must of felt like this after World War I and World War II and even after the Civil War. But then history started moving again and President Lincoln gets shot, the great depression happens and the cold war starts. The same thing with the Berlin wall coming down. There was no peace dividend. Suddenly we are in a war with religious extremist, inside and outside of the country. I won't rattle on about my views of these awful people.
   I have emptied my soul and uncovered the original reason for this blog. We received this e-mail recently

Dear CHAC Birobidjan Families:

 

Cradle of Hope is beginning to investigate the possibility of a Homeland Tour next summer for families with adopted children from Birobidjan.  Our first step is to assess how much interest there would be in a 7 – 10 day trip sometime in late June, likely right after school ends in the US.  We are expecting at least one parent to travel with their child on this trip.

 

We will meet in NY or Washington DC for a direct flight to Moscow. We will build in a day or two for sightseeing in Moscow on the way to Biro or on the way back to the US.  The group will spend three or four days in Biro for visits to children’s orphanages, sightseeing, and participation in humanitarian aid projects. 

 

Our very preliminary and rough estimate of the cost of the trip, including airfare, hotel accommodations, meals, ground transportation, sightseeing, translation services, and visas  is $5000 - $5500 per person.  Once we have an idea of the number of travelers, we will work on providing more concrete estimates.

 

If you are potentially interested in this trip, please respond to the questions below and return to me no later than October 10^th.

 

Names and ages of family members who would travel:  ________________________________________­­________________

 

What orphanage(s) was your child(ren) from:  ________________________________________________________________

 

Could your family offer any specialized skills for humanitarian projects--planting, carpentry, painting, music/art, medical aid, etc? (Specify):

______________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Could you travel:    June 21-28  _______       June 28-July 5  ________      Other Dates (Specify) ______________________

 

Does anyone in your family speak fluent Russian?  ____________________________________________________________

 

Please respond no later than October 10.  Thank you.

 

 

Patrice Gancie

Director

Bridge of Hope

As soon as I saw this forward from Teri I wanted to go. Affording it is another matter. We will give it the old College try as they used to say.
  I have always wanted to go back and bring the girls back to the place they spent the first part of their life. I just wonder if it will live up to their memories. My guess is it will seem smaller then they remember it and dirtier. Teri and I will say it hasn't changed or it is nicer then it was. Memories are a strange thing. I was even thinking about a side trip to Obluchia where Elena's grandmother* lives or lived. That one is the really scary one. What type of reception would her Americanized granddaughter get. Would we open up a can of worms and maybe really mess with Elena's head? Would Nastia feel left out not being related to her. Would we get hassled by her for the job we have done raising Elena or would she just hit us up for money? Could be maybe she would not want to see us because she was so poor she could not afford to keep her granddaughter? We always make new problems to replace the ones we have solved. *10/11/2023) Back when this was written, I thought when Elena talked about her grandmother, the women was not Nastia's too. After reading paperwork about the early years of their life the reason Elena calls her, her grandmother is Nastia was put in a type of foster care while her and Elena's mother tried to bond with her new daughter at their grandmother's home. There was a hope after a few months Nastia would rejoin the other two. It didn't work out and Elena was eventually sent to the same home Nastia was in. Nastia used to talk about how she spent time seperated from her sister.