Visa...

We sent out our visa applications last Wednesday. They arrived at the travel agency on Thursday. The consulate was closed on Thursday due to...Russian independance day????..anyway, so they arrived at the consulate on Friday. I don't know if they were processed on Friday or Monday. I thought we would be getting the visas directly from the consulate, but I guess not. We did end up receiving them on Wednesday. I was so nervous about it. We hadn't received them on Tuesday as expected, and I was out of the house all day on Wednesday. I got home at 5 pm and was afraid to open the screen door. There they were! We also received our plane tickets and itenerary. Now I have all our things for the trip.

We have decided to have two check-in bags. We each have a carry-on stuffed with our clothes. We are only taking three changes of clothing. We wear one on Friday, and we will still be wearing it on Sunday (where are you going to change-at the airport? what kind of clean facilities will they have???). So, we will have M,T, W and the clothes we wear Monday we can wear home. Also, I believe the hotel we are staying at has a laundry, so I could do a load while there if I need to. We will also each have a second "purse" carry-on. Mine will be stuffed with our paperwork, books and other activities to keep me busy, and other important things, and Brian's will have his medications and food.

The two check-ins will have all of our "gifts" for the drivers, translators, orphanage staff, and the orphanage director. They will also contain the donation of clothes for the orphanage and food for Brian.

I'm glad that we are taking the donations and gifts now because when we go back, we will be there two weeks, and we will not only have to have our stuff, but hers as well.

I'll try to post here on our trip. We aren't allowed to upload pictures from the hotel computers, and it's illegal to post pictures of Russian orphans. So, these pictures will be the sight-seeing ones.