+ From baikaltour@gin.global-one.ru Tue Sep 23 06:04:16 1997 + From: "Irkutsk-Baikal" To: Subject: Greetings from Irkutsk! Date: Tue, 23 Sep 1997 18:02:34 +0800 Hi everyone! It's been an amazing few days for us so far, and it only promises to get better and more interesting. The long and short of it is that we met our new son Benjamin for the first time this afternoon. After a couple of other stops (more later), we arrived at the orphanage at about 2:30 p.m. Keep in mind that we're 13 hours ahead here. So as we write this it's almost 6 a.m. on Tuesday on the east coast of the U.S., while to us it's almost 7 p.m. and time for dinner. We use the term "to us" very loosely, however. Our bodies are rather difficult to convince! Anyhow, we first sat down to chat with two doctors, two caregivers and a social worker from the orphanage. The purpose was to get all of our questions about Benjamin answered while he napped. We had barely begun, though, when he was brought in. In short, he's precious! He came to us reluctantly at first, but then sat with us and played for an hour. We showed him pictures of Z, M & G while telling all of the workers about our family and home. They were very appreciative. He has obviously been very much loved. We can't wait to introduce him to you too, and to tell you more about our trip. But we have to end this message now. Love, Kevin and Julie P.S. Much love and kisses to Zack, Milly and Ginny!