Day 11 is done...

The weather has warmed even more and we were able to leave our heavier jackets behind when we headed to Ridder. The sun was shining brightly and when we arrived at the boarding school, it was in the 50's. We were again led to the Green Room to visit; the director was at a meeting in Ust and Natasha and Tatyana both agreed we'd be more comfortable upstairs on the sofas than in his office.

Madiyar appeared and was all smiles; Aniyar was off performing a dance at the Hall of Culture as a part of the holiday festivities so Madiyar had us all to himself for a while and he seemed to enjoy the undivided attention. We had brought the boys Plasma Dragons, a small building kit that comes in an egg with a yolk sac made of sticky material; the parts for a small dragon are inside the sac. Madiyar had his assembled in a flash and then enjoyed throwing the sac at the walls to make it stick...typical boy fun. He also took pictures of all of us and of his friends from the open window...he's mastered the digital camera with ease. After a while, he asked me if he could play on the computer. He likes a couple of games Craig has installed on a spare hard drive but I think he also likes helping Craig switch out the hard drives and boot up the system. He's learning more each day, mastering basic computer skills rapidly...he likes hardware and learns by watching Craig and exploring on his own. It won't be long before he'll be computer savvy.



We saw Aniyar briefly when he returned from his performance; all the kids were carrying their costumes as they came in. They had walked as a group to the Hall of Culture (about 30 minutes) and were a bit tired but we were still greeted with a grin and hugs from our boy. He was pleased with his Plasma Dragon; he's a creative kid who likes making things. He also tells us that his friends are enjoying playing with the toys we're bringing. We hear from his caregiver that he always shares with others and we're happy the other kids are getting in on the fun, too.


We headed back to Ust with our cheerful, careful driver...we have one fast driver, one careful and a bit slow fellow, and Arman. They alternate since no one loves the drive...but we're getting the job done. More in the next post about the view from the road.