Things We Have Learned for Other Adoptive Parents

1. Bring more cash than they recommend. Things in Russia are very expensive. Especially in Moscow!

2. Be prepared to spend a lot more money than you expect. During our trip we have changed hotel plans, canceled 1 leg of 2 separate flights, paid for a driver 7 more days than we expected to, and had to eat out a lot more than expected because of the hotel change.

3. If you pack more than Siberia Airlines allows (20kgs or 44lbs)you will pay SEVERELY! We paid $10 for every kilogram we were over. And we were over by 22 kilograms.

4. You can buy toys to keep the kids interested at the Wal-Martski in Kemerovo. Save yourself the packing room!

5. Bring more medicine than you expect. Jason and I brought 3 boxes of Advil Cold & Sinus and we are now out of it. Medicine is very different here, you cannot buy the same stuff that we have at home. Either bring it or don't plan on using it.

6. Print out the maps that other families have drawn out. It has been INCREDIBLY helpful to us!

7. Learn a little Russian. It will help a ton. Learn how to say at least; still water, hello, thank you, english menu, no russian, and a few phrases for your kids. They will tell you that your child will adapt quickly and don't worry about speaking any Russian to them (especially if they are 2 or under). But I can say that Maks is visibly more comfortable with the people who speak Russian. We have learned to say "little bites", "good boy", "we love you", "its okay" and a few other small things.

8. Really, truly, be prepared for anything. Here are some examples of what we have experienced in the last 2 1/2 weeks...
-Passport disappeared and Fed Ex could not find them
-Snowstorm, caused Sandra to fly out a day early or miss her flight
-No space for luggage, had to rent a taxi to get us from the airport to the hotel in addition to the car we already had
-We ended up not going back to Moscow and instead went to Novokuznetsk for the 10 day wait. Expected Wi-Fi, laundry, free phone calls and ended up with none of that.
-Moved our Gotcha Day up by one day
-Moved our departure day up by 3 days on the return trip home
-Had to cancel or change 5 plane tickets

9. If you go to Hotel Novokuznia request the 6th floor. You get free Wi-Fi in your room! Only floor in the hotel with that!

10. Bring layers. Lots of layers. It is freezing outside, but steaming inside. Especially at the orphanage. I'm not kidding when I say it was about 85F in the playroom.

11. You need boots with solid tread on them. There are 4 of us here together on this trip. 2 of us have fallen once, 1 of us has fallen twice and 1 of us is waiting for his turn to fall. Ice is everywhere and the fall I took was a hard one!

12. Buy some of your souvenirs in Novokuznetsk if possible. The matrushka dolls were 1/10th of the price in Moscow. The souvenir shop (there is only one) only takes cash!

13. Peace Travel is a great company. We haven't stayed at the apartment yet, but when we had to cancel the original booking, they took care of it in 3 minutes and refunded our credit card within a few days. Very helpful people too!

I hope some of this helps!