[christinalund]

Hi there,
It's been a while since I've posted. Hope everyone is hanging in there.....I know this process can ache at times.

My husband and I finally received our travel date for trip #1 to Samara, Russia to FINALLY meet our baby boy referral (10 months, 8 days) . We leave LAX on October 20th. We are sooooo excited. FINALLY!!
QUESTION:
What gifts should we bring for our first trip? Second Trip? Has anyone adopted a baby from the Samara region of Russia? If so, I would LOVE to hear how things went. We're traveling on LUfthansa Airlines....we hear this is a nice airline.

Also, how long does one adopting from Russia have to wait between TRIP ONE and TRIP TWO? I hope we will be able to go back within 2 weeks. Is this possible? It's getting cold there and I've heard one needs to pack lightly. Any comments or suggested are very much appreciated!!!!!

Thank you!

[cherylanderson3]

HI Christina,

We too are leaving on 10/20 for our first trip to Samara, Russia. Where are you staying ? Email me at cheryl.anderson@mmmr.org. We are flying from Chicago to London and London to Moscow via AA and British Airways. What day do you come home ? Maybe we may hook up....our baby boy will be 8 mos at the end of this month !!!Isnt'
this awesome. I have connected with some others who have adopted from Samara and they say anywhere between 2-6 weeks for your second trip. Supposedly you may get your court dates while you are there. In Samara we are staying in the Renaissance Samara (brand new hotel, $125/night adoption rate). Anyway, email me at cheryl.anderson@mmmr.org, I would love to talk to you and see if we can hook up.

Cheryl

PS....as far as gifts our agency said to bring instant coffee, I guess it is very expensive there and they love coffee, so that is what we are doing. I also bought some picture books on Chicago since I heard they like these types of things.

[shamba]

Hi
How did your trip go? We are pursuing a Hungarian adoption. Our baby has not been identified yet. Waiting. anxious, nervous and excited all at the same time.

please share with me your experience since it is so recent, as we should be traveling by the end of this year or early 2004.

thank you
good luck!!!