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Mine is relatively minor compared to some. On our first trip , things were going well in Moscow, Stavropol was another story.
We arrived in Stavropol around 2 am due to a two hour delay on our flight, which the translator never bothered to check before heading to the airport. We meet up with our translator and driver (husband and wife). He looks as miserable as can be and never said a word, she looked ok and seemed friendly, but appearances can be decieving.
We knew all of our fees we had to pay for drivers translators etc. She proceeds to tell us that we owed more since they sat at the airport and waited, and also there was an hourly rate as well as the flat rate we were told for airport transfers. We didn't have this issue in Moscow, why were we having it now.
Then we get put in a different hotel from the one we were told we would be staying at and the place was a total dive. Not that they are great in Stavropol in general, but this place smelled.
The next day we go about our business at hand, they made this rather unpleasant for us. The let us spend a total of 1/2 hour broken up with Alex and the driver would go around and do his business and was never there when we came out to get back in the car. Then while waiting the translator would shove us into stores so that others could not see us. We were told we had to rush to get papers signed because other Americans were coming to "look" at our son and if we signed they could not adopt him?? I doubt this was true, but the translator did her best to keep us away from any other Americans while in Stavropol. We never stopped for anything to eat or drink and the hotel restaurant had nothing in english nor anyone who could speak it.
We spent a total of 24 hours in Stavropol on trip one, they asked if we wanted to stay an extra day , but said we could not see Alex, so we left and booked a room in Moscow at the Radisson.
I also believe the translator stole the items we brought with for the orphanage and she told us next trip to bring items for 5 year old girls! There were no fiver year olds at this orphanage, she wanted them for her daughters.
On trip two, things went pretty well, the only real issue was I felt sick most of the second trip. I had to run into the bathroom feeling very faint the second we walked into the embassy. One morning we had an appointment and we were in the lobby of the Radisson, dh went up to the room for something and I suddenly felt very ill. I did not want to leave the baby with the translator and driver , I did not want to scare Alex. I was turning a lovely shade of green, but made it until dh returned then headed for the closest bathroom in the lobby.
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