Here's the good news about driving in Russia: You won't be doing it yourself.

Here's the bad news about driving in Russia: You won't be doing it yourself.

When I say this, I mean absolutely no disrespect to the wonderful drivers who helped me on my two adoption journeys. But there is something unsettling about being a backseat passenger on unfamiliar roads, especially when the roads are covered with potholes and you are traveling them at high speed. And even if that sounds like a cab ride in New York City, you probably haven't done... more

No matter what your strategy for flying safely to and within Russia, at some point you will be faced with another safety dilemma: driving in Russia. I thought I'd take two posts to talk about some of the current issues in Russian road safety and five things you can do to stay safe while traveling by car.

As Russia's economy has ballooned, so has the car and... more

I have an extremely organized engineer friend who is father to two girls adopted from China. Eight years ago, Brian developed a packing list for the big trip home that I have e-mailed to many, many people. I'm sharing it with you today. Please note that, although Brian's list was written with brand names, you can find generic equivalents for many of these items.

The key to success with this list is to pack Cheerios into as many things as you can. Though they are available in many Russian grocery stores now, you can never have enough Cheerios... more