Season II, Episode 4: Reunions
DW and I awoke the next morning at about 10:30 AM. We did not get to bed until after 3:00 AM local time in Orenburg the night (I mean morning) before. We went downstairs and met Natalia in the lobby at 11:00 AM. DW and I were both hungry so Natalia suggested that we eat in the café on the first floor of the hotel. She said she does not usually like this café because the prices are too high for what you get, but we did not have a lot of time so she was willing to make an exception. We both had what the Russians refer to as “pancakes.” In the US we’d call them crepes. Regardless of what you call them, they’re good, especially when I put sour cream on mine.
About half way through breakfast, Natalia’s colleague Olga joined us. Olga is a former biologist, very knowledgeable about children and their health, and she has an uncanny appeal to children; they instantly love her. We spoke for another 15 minutes and then I paid the bill and got up to leave. Natalia mildly scolded me for leaving too big a tip. She said they pad the bill in that café and deserve no more. She really has it in for that café.
Our next destination was the baby home to go see Candidate #3 and, with Natalia being very optimistic, to take him out to get him photographed for his passport. The drive went by rapidly and soon we were back at the baby home. We entered through the same door that we entered back in March and went down the dark corridors with green designs covered by glass on the walls to the music room where we had first met Candidate #3.
Someone came in and announced that Candidate #3 would appear soon. I went out of the music room back by a flight of stairs to lie-in-wait with my camera. I did not have to wait long. One of the baby home caregivers descended the stairs carrying the Candidate #3 dressed in a navy blue sweat-suit and a navy, green and white horizontally stripped “onsie”.
Even though we had not yet been to court, and as far as I could see, neither I, DW, Natalia, nor Olga had signed any papers at the baby home, we climbed in the car and took off to the photo shop. The candidate sat on DW'slap the whole way. The first place we stopped, around the corner from the baby home, could not accommodate us. We started off again, this time on a highway heading northeast.
About 15 minutes later we arrived at a set of stores in a retail area that I can best describe as a cross between a department store and an indoor flea market. Different merchants selling differing goods all within the same retail space. According to Natalia, each merchant rents space from the owner to set up their display area. For instance, we walked through a 30’ x 30’ furniture showroom, then through a doorway into some home furnishings and ladies apparel (a lot of lingerie included), then sporting goods across from the photo shop (more a booth really).
DW carried Candidate #3 from the car and held onto him while Natalia explained to the two young ladies working at the photo shop what we wanted. It took a surprisingly long time for them to understand that we wanted eight passport photos of the candidate. During the wait the candidate spit up some orangeish stuff on DW’s blouse; DW was now beginning to feel like a real mom.
We finally got the candidate into the booth and sat him on a little stool to be photographed. Natalia steadied him on the stool. The tough part is getting a 13 month old boy to look at the camera, at the right angle, long enough to snap a photo that can be used for a passport. Ohhhhh, where is RainiyInGA when you need her? The ladies operating the photo booth shook the candidate’s rattle above the camera trying to draw his attention. After a few minutes that seemed much longer, they got the shot. The camera was digital and they copied and cropped the photos at a computer terminal. Natalia kept four photos and I got four for later use with Candidate #3’s IR-3 visa application once he hopefully was no longer known as Candidate #3.
After stopping along the way for fuel we drove back to the baby home, stayed with the candidate for another 20-30 minutes in the music room, and then returned to the hotel.
DW and I rested in our hotel room for a while and then went to the outdoor deck of the downstairs café for drinks and a snack. Olga and Alexander then picked us up. I needed to exchange Dollars for Rubles, so Olga took me back to the Orenburg’s private bank (more on the private bank here: Report #9: Orenburg Part 2). My second visit to the private bank was much like the first. The bank staff was just as friendly and complaisant as I remembered.
20 minutes later we were back at the baby home to visit Candidate #3 once again. We stayed a couple of hours playing with him and shooting photos. As the time for us to leave approached, Natalia told me that Sergei would be coming to pick us up. It had been a great day and Sergei joining us would be a cap it all off. He had bought a new car since our last trip to Orenburg and I was eager to see it. Plus, while DW and I waited for our hearing date, we had been e-mailing each about going bowling together for a USA vs. Russia bowling match when I returned to Orenburg.
Sergei arrived about 20 minutes later and stepped into the music room. He greeted us. Then I asked him if he drove his new car to pick us up. Indeed he did. He invited me outside to have a look. I followed and got a good look at Sergei’s new light metallic blue Chevy sedan. I’m not sure exactly what model it is; they don’t offer them in the US. Then Sergei asked me if I’d like to drive. “Sure!” I replied. We went for about a 10-15 minute drive around the area. It’s a good thing it has not been that long since I drove a stick so I didn’t make a complete idiot out of myself driving Sergei’s car.
By the time Sergei and I returned from our drive, it was time for the candidate to have his dinner. So DW, Sergei, and I hopped in Sergei’s car and headed off to the hotel and dinner ourselves. At the hotel I gave Sergei a gift I brought him from the US – a red and black bowling shirt from the 10 Pin bowling alley in Chicago with his first name embroidered on it.
We went to dinner at a place called the Solo Club (more on the Solo Club here: Report #9: Orenburg Part 2). This is the place where Sergei soundly beat me twice at Russian billiards during our first trip. We ate outside on a patio. DW and I had heard much about shashlik [шашлил] – a Russian version of shish-kabob cooked over an open flame – so each of us decided to order it. Unfortunately, both of us were pretty disappointed. I found the meat to be of pretty poor quality, fatty, and overcooked. Oh well.
After dinner we retired to the Solo Club’s bowling alley – about 6-8 lanes decorated like a Greek temple on an island in the Ægean - for the much awaited USA vs. Russia bowling showdown. It was not much of a contest. In two games Sergei beat me by about 140 to 90 in each game. It was tough to get beat, but it was good to be bowling with Sergei!
After bowling, Sergei returned DW and I to our hotel where we washed-up and went to bed to get some sleep for the upcoming day; it was going to be a big one.
In the next episode, Nungesser and DW buy wallpaper and go to court.
The corridor at the baby home with the glass-covered green designs
About half way through breakfast, Natalia’s colleague Olga joined us. Olga is a former biologist, very knowledgeable about children and their health, and she has an uncanny appeal to children; they instantly love her. We spoke for another 15 minutes and then I paid the bill and got up to leave. Natalia mildly scolded me for leaving too big a tip. She said they pad the bill in that café and deserve no more. She really has it in for that café.
Our next destination was the baby home to go see Candidate #3 and, with Natalia being very optimistic, to take him out to get him photographed for his passport. The drive went by rapidly and soon we were back at the baby home. We entered through the same door that we entered back in March and went down the dark corridors with green designs covered by glass on the walls to the music room where we had first met Candidate #3.
Someone came in and announced that Candidate #3 would appear soon. I went out of the music room back by a flight of stairs to lie-in-wait with my camera. I did not have to wait long. One of the baby home caregivers descended the stairs carrying the Candidate #3 dressed in a navy blue sweat-suit and a navy, green and white horizontally stripped “onsie”.
Even though we had not yet been to court, and as far as I could see, neither I, DW, Natalia, nor Olga had signed any papers at the baby home, we climbed in the car and took off to the photo shop. The candidate sat on DW'slap the whole way. The first place we stopped, around the corner from the baby home, could not accommodate us. We started off again, this time on a highway heading northeast.
About 15 minutes later we arrived at a set of stores in a retail area that I can best describe as a cross between a department store and an indoor flea market. Different merchants selling differing goods all within the same retail space. According to Natalia, each merchant rents space from the owner to set up their display area. For instance, we walked through a 30’ x 30’ furniture showroom, then through a doorway into some home furnishings and ladies apparel (a lot of lingerie included), then sporting goods across from the photo shop (more a booth really).
DW carried Candidate #3 from the car and held onto him while Natalia explained to the two young ladies working at the photo shop what we wanted. It took a surprisingly long time for them to understand that we wanted eight passport photos of the candidate. During the wait the candidate spit up some orangeish stuff on DW’s blouse; DW was now beginning to feel like a real mom.
We finally got the candidate into the booth and sat him on a little stool to be photographed. Natalia steadied him on the stool. The tough part is getting a 13 month old boy to look at the camera, at the right angle, long enough to snap a photo that can be used for a passport. Ohhhhh, where is RainiyInGA when you need her? The ladies operating the photo booth shook the candidate’s rattle above the camera trying to draw his attention. After a few minutes that seemed much longer, they got the shot. The camera was digital and they copied and cropped the photos at a computer terminal. Natalia kept four photos and I got four for later use with Candidate #3’s IR-3 visa application once he hopefully was no longer known as Candidate #3.
After stopping along the way for fuel we drove back to the baby home, stayed with the candidate for another 20-30 minutes in the music room, and then returned to the hotel.
DW and I rested in our hotel room for a while and then went to the outdoor deck of the downstairs café for drinks and a snack. Olga and Alexander then picked us up. I needed to exchange Dollars for Rubles, so Olga took me back to the Orenburg’s private bank (more on the private bank here: Report #9: Orenburg Part 2). My second visit to the private bank was much like the first. The bank staff was just as friendly and complaisant as I remembered.
20 minutes later we were back at the baby home to visit Candidate #3 once again. We stayed a couple of hours playing with him and shooting photos. As the time for us to leave approached, Natalia told me that Sergei would be coming to pick us up. It had been a great day and Sergei joining us would be a cap it all off. He had bought a new car since our last trip to Orenburg and I was eager to see it. Plus, while DW and I waited for our hearing date, we had been e-mailing each about going bowling together for a USA vs. Russia bowling match when I returned to Orenburg.
Sergei arrived about 20 minutes later and stepped into the music room. He greeted us. Then I asked him if he drove his new car to pick us up. Indeed he did. He invited me outside to have a look. I followed and got a good look at Sergei’s new light metallic blue Chevy sedan. I’m not sure exactly what model it is; they don’t offer them in the US. Then Sergei asked me if I’d like to drive. “Sure!” I replied. We went for about a 10-15 minute drive around the area. It’s a good thing it has not been that long since I drove a stick so I didn’t make a complete idiot out of myself driving Sergei’s car.
By the time Sergei and I returned from our drive, it was time for the candidate to have his dinner. So DW, Sergei, and I hopped in Sergei’s car and headed off to the hotel and dinner ourselves. At the hotel I gave Sergei a gift I brought him from the US – a red and black bowling shirt from the 10 Pin bowling alley in Chicago with his first name embroidered on it.
We went to dinner at a place called the Solo Club (more on the Solo Club here: Report #9: Orenburg Part 2). This is the place where Sergei soundly beat me twice at Russian billiards during our first trip. We ate outside on a patio. DW and I had heard much about shashlik [шашлил] – a Russian version of shish-kabob cooked over an open flame – so each of us decided to order it. Unfortunately, both of us were pretty disappointed. I found the meat to be of pretty poor quality, fatty, and overcooked. Oh well.
After dinner we retired to the Solo Club’s bowling alley – about 6-8 lanes decorated like a Greek temple on an island in the Ægean - for the much awaited USA vs. Russia bowling showdown. It was not much of a contest. In two games Sergei beat me by about 140 to 90 in each game. It was tough to get beat, but it was good to be bowling with Sergei!
After bowling, Sergei returned DW and I to our hotel where we washed-up and went to bed to get some sleep for the upcoming day; it was going to be a big one.
In the next episode, Nungesser and DW buy wallpaper and go to court.
The corridor at the baby home with the glass-covered green designs
Candidate #3 and one of his caregivers descending the stairs
Natalia receiving Candidate #3 at the bottom of the stairs with DW looking on
DW takes Candidate #3 from the stairs to the music room
A typical small retail district near our first, and unsuccessful, stop for passport photos
The furniture part of the store approaching the photo shop
Housewares and ladies apparel
Natalia preparing Candidate #3 for his photo session
Olga preparing Candadite #3 for his photo session
A little more of the goods offered for sale and the store's shoppers
DW gives Candidate #3 his final prep before his photo shoot begins
The candidate poses as Natalia steadies him
Looking southwest back at the buildings of Orenburg from the gas station
DW and Olga having a laugh in the car with Candidate #3
DW, Candidate #3, and Nungesser together back outside the entrance to the baby home
DW and Candidate #3 returning to the baby home
Nungesser and Candidate #3 back in the music room at the baby home
DW relaxing with refreshments on the cafe deck between baby home visits
Nungesser relaxing on the cafe deck between baby home visits
posted by Nungesser at
6:03 PM
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