Orphans Visit America

August 7, 2010

Here is a report from Galina Nikolaevna, a MIR representative who has brought Russian & Ukrainian orphans to visit America…

Our 4th Week in America:

Right now I’m living in a family with Marina Cmirnova, from orphanage #35. The family really loves Marina, especially Charlie, who is 3 years old; he gets really upset when he hears that Marina is going to leave soon.

Over the course of 4 days Marina and I got to see various interesting places: the Benjamin Franklin Museum, the first American zoo in Philadelphia, and the Atlantic Ocean, where we spent a whole day.

On July 24th there was a party, which Marina and the other kids from Ukraine attended, with their chaperons. It was really well organized for the kids; there was even a pool, nice since the weather has been very hot lately. Marina had a good time and got to know the kids from Ukraine. Marina really likes America and loves her host family.

The family has come to love this little girl from Russia.

Thing are also going well for the kids from orphanage #8: Kseniya Fyodorova is staying in an oceanfront hotel. Zarina and Ruslan got to go on rides, caught fish, and went to a concert, since the host father plays in a band and sings. They also visited an oceanarium. Maksim Udaltsov had his last day at camp on July 23rd and on the 24th ; they went on amusement park rides.

Robert Shigorin and his host family are staying on the oceanfront in a family camp and is helping his host parents to learn some Russian. He continues to study English and says he misses St. Petersburg and his friends and counselors in the orphanage.