Regional Roundup: St. Petersburg

When I took Russian, about a million years ago, one of my favorite things to say was Saint Petersburg. You say it something like this (apologies in advance to people who actually speak Russian): Sankt Pyotersburgeeya. When I say it while frowning I can imagine that I can actually speak the language. It is very satisfying! It was also Saint Petersburg, rather than Moscow, that I really wanted to visit when we were in Russia. The Hermitage alone makes me long to go there — and maybe we will, when the kids are older and we somehow become wealthy…

But enough silliness. On to the regional profile.

Here are some good websites about St. Petersburg:
A travel-oriented site: http://www.geographia.com/russia/peter01.htm

The Hermitage: http://www.hermitagemuseum.org/
The Saint Petersburg Times(English edition): http://www.sptimes.ru/
Another tourist guide to Saint Petersburg: http://petersburgcity.com/
And finally, here’s the Wikipedia entry on St. Petersburg, for everyone who needs a good dose of history and facts: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Petersburg
There are 16 (!) orphanages in Saint Petersburg. Contact information can be found at Karen’s adoption links: http://www.karensadoptionlinks.com/rorphanage.html#spb

Ashlee wrote me about her experience with her daughter’s baby home, Detsky Dom #3 in St. Petersburg. Here’s what she had to say:

Living in southern california and finfing out that we were going to st petes in the dead of winter terrified me. Yes, it was dreadfully cold but if I did just fine, everyone will do just fine. All buildings are way overheated and you’re really not outside all that much.
>My other comments…while the buildings seemed grey and shabby, almost all windows had pretty white lace curtains and plants peeking through. The orphanage we visited detsky dom #3 in st petes was a breath of fresh air. We thought between trip 1 and 2 that we would be depressed and heartbroken over our daughter sitting there waiting for us. Not so, this orphanage although run down was also bright cheery with lace curtains, plants, a pet cat and fish……but more importantly, a director and caretakers that truly love love love these children. These kids are truly loved and pampered as best possible and happy. Seeing this made it so much
easier to leave her and wait for trip 2 and court. We know the kids at DD3 in st petes are truly fortunate and blessed to be with such wonderful ppl.

It’s my hope that this blog can become a database of sorts for regional information. Please feel free to add to this blog entry by posting in the comments section or by e-mailing me at adoptrussiablog@adoptionmail.com. I’m also looking for information about the other regions in Russia, so please feel free to e-mail me information or experiences about the region you visited as well.

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