Rich Zahradnik

I’ll offer a bit of a travelogue on our Russian trip after last week’s more personal journal about our return to the Tyumen Baby Home, where our son Patrick spent the first nine months of his life.

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You know of Moscow and St. Petersburg, have read about them, seen them on TV and in films, perhaps even visited one or both. Chances are you have never heard of Tyumen, though it’s a city of almost 600,000. Chances are I would not either if Patrick had not been born there. Our tour guide proudly boasted the city “is the gateway to Siberia.” As getting “sent to Siberia” is our cliche for being sent somewhere really horrible, I wondered if this was the best promotional copy the Chamber of Commerce could come up with. But the more I heard about the history of the city, the more I saw a parallel to our own.

via Of the Wild Wild East, Siberian Cats and 15 Great Kids – Pelham, NY Patch.

TYUMEN, RUSSIA — The Tyumen Baby Home looks something like an American elementary school built in the 1930s. A few cracked bricks here and there, but the place is in good shape, as it was almost 10 years ago. Playground equipment of iron painted in bright primary colors tells you this is a place for kids, in this case, where kids live.

via A Journey Back Home To Russia For Our Son – Pelham, NY Patch.