Orphanage

Thursday, July 1
What an incredible day!!! This has been my favorite day so far!

Today was our last Russian class! Our teacher surprised us with small Russian gifts to celebrate the occasion. We also celebrated by bringing flowers to our teacher, which is a Russian tradition! Our teacher's name was Irina and she is pictured with us to the right (she is wearing a white blouse.) After exchanging gifts, we were joined by a film crew! After being interviewed by the local Krasnodar TV station, a national Russian TV station (NTV) found out about our visit and wanted to do a story also. So the film crew starting taping our Russian class. It was strange to have a camera in my face while I worked. Boys and girls - I know now how you feel when you are under pressure at school. It is hard to think!!!

After Russian class, the crew followed us to our next lecture. Today we discussed women's rights in Russia from pre-revolutionary times to today. It was very interesting and at times, sad to hear how women's rights have changed and not changed during the past century.

The best part of the day came in the afternoon!!! Following lunch, we boarded our bus and traveled an hour out of Krasnodar to a local orphanage. An orphanage is a place where boys and girls live if they are not able to live with their parents. When we arrived, several of the children were waiting for us at the entrance. They were so excited to see us and we were glad to see them too! The children gave us a tour of the facilities. It was very impressive. They have a special recreation building where the children sing, learn special dances, draw, paint, sew, and more. They are creative just like you are boys and girls!!!

Next, we were taken outside to see more recreation areas. They are very lucky to have their own mini-soccer field, basketball court, therapy pool, and playground. It was really cool!! Our next stop was inside the concert hall. The students presented a special concert for us. They sang, danced, played instruments, and invited us to dance. Miss O'Neal got to join the kids on the dance floor for a song! It was fun!! When they were finished, we gave the kids special gifts. To thank us, they gave us drawings and paintings they created. I was given a lot of paintings so we will have lots of pictures to look at when school starts in August!!!

I had a wonderful time at the orphanage. This opportunity reminds me that children around the world are all the same! They are happy, like to sing and dance, and love to make others smile! What an amazing day!!!