Answers ~ Part 3
- What is your favorite free time activity?
Well when it’s a lot of free time, traveling. But just the usual amount on a day off, it depends what I’m in the mood to do. I love catching up on my “crime tv” shows, reading, surfing (the internet that is!). These days I’m trying to use this time to organize and the clean the house before our little one arrives.
- What is your favorite non-adoption book?
That’s tough, again it depends on what mood I’m in! I love a lot of the classics, Jane Eyre is great, Crime and Punishment. I also love fantasy type novels for a good light read such as ones by Jasper Fforde. I also really enjoyed The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho and The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck. Sorry I can’t give a definite answer, it really depends on my mood at the time.
- Are you fully immersed in the Russia adoption community yet?
No. I’ve had a very hard time feeling like I am part of that community, mostly I’m sure due to my own difficulties attaching to the Russia program at first. But these days it is improving, thanks to my agency! My agency created a yahoo group recently and it has been great. I’m starting to feel like I am part of my agency’s community, even if not the Russian adoption community at large. I think it may help if you find 1 or 2 people, (maybe via their blogs) that you can contact and develop a friendship with, I find it very difficult to just dive in the yahoo groups, there are so many people you can feel lost.
- What do you do to unwind from the adoption stress?
There’s something one can do for that?
I guess I try to distract myself with something else, like the Olympics! Or Margarita’s always help too. I think I really just try to put it out of my mind by watching a movie or something, but it is hard to not stress when something so important depends on it!
- What -if any- timeline do you have for the Russian adoption?
Right now we are looking at October or November for our first trip. Our dossier will be going over to Moscow at the end of this month. Then the second trip should take place about 4-6 weeks after the first one. I plan on discussing the process in Russia in more detail in a future post, it’s complicated!
- What do you and Cliff do for a living?
Well I’m going to be general here because I don’t want to publish too much identifying information. But I am a Retail Manager and Cliff is a System Engineer in Information Technology.
- How did you decide who would move when you got married?
Good question! I think I volunteered! Mainly it came down to the fact that Cliff had a career and home (he is a little older than I am!) and I was working as a Nanny and could easily do that anywhere. Plus I like an adventure!
- Did you have to switch agencies because your old one didn’t work in Russia?
Yes. Our Vietnam agency didn’t have any other programs that were active and suitable for us, they also don’t have a Russian program so we had to find another agency.
- Did you also have a bad first agency experience?
Besides the fact that their program in Vietnam ended up being unorganized and unsuccessful? No they are a reputable agency and we still have a contract with them. We hope that we will be able to change to another of their programs at some point in the future, right now they don’t have any suitable ones. We’re holding out hope that they will start a new program we can change to for our next adoption.
Ok I think that’s it! If I missed one let me know, I tried to get them all. Hopefully you now feel like you know us a little better. Thanks for all the questions!