Do you like...

Lisa helping Dima and Achmed with the train

So I got this idea to ask the children a bunch of questions.  Most of them were “Do you like_____?”  They were yes or no type questions except for the last one.  Here’s what I asked (in Russian of course):

"Do you like…"

Apples

Grapes

Bananas

Pineapples

Watermelon

Cucumbers

Tomatoes

Carrots

Bell Peppers

Potatoes

French fries

Pizza

Chicken

Beef

Pork

Cheese

Milk

Chocolate Milk

Apple juice

Orange juice

Coke

Pepsi

Ice cream

Vanilla ice cream

Chocolate ice cream

And here’s where I got into their life a bit

"Do you like…"

Hugs

Laughing

Listening to music

Hanging out with friends

What is your favorite color?

What is your one desire/wish?

I managed to chat with Luda, Nadia, Anya, Marina, Sophia, and Axtem

For the most part they said yes to just about everything with some no’s coming for carrots, beef, pork, vanilla ice cream, orange juice and bell peppers.  The answers to all the lifestyle questions were all a yes.  Favorite colors came out like this:

Luda – Pink

Nadia – Black, Pink, and White

Anya – Pink

Marina – Purple

Sophia – Purple and green

Axtem – Orange (I need a VT shirt for this guy!)

The one desire answers were expected, but so is a trip to the dentist.  That doesn’t make it any more pleasant to deal with.  Side note, I am very careful to make sure my translations don’t come across as you will be adopted or we are going to adopt you.  I don’t want to give them false hope.

Marina

Luda’s one desire – is to leave the orphanage for good, she wants to be adopted.

Nadia – well let me just say that she did not want the other children to see her answer, plus I can’t read it. Your secret’s safe Nadia.

Anya – wants to be a good student

Marina – Wants to fly to America on a jet for vacation

Sophia – Did not know

Axtem – Wants to go back home

Like I said, expected, but it was tough to see the look on their faces when the recognition of what they wrote hit mine.

While I was asking the children questions, Lisa was helping the boys at the other end of the table put together a wooden 3D train puzzle.  Dima was doing most of the work, but some of the other boys helped out as well.  They worked hard on this train as the instructions were slim.  Luda also grabbed the camera at one point and started filming, about 4 minutes worth.  So much for room on the memory chip.  I’ve downloaded the video onto my computer, but it’s WAY too big to post.  It’ll be nice to play it back in a few months just to be able to hear their voices.

BTW - if any of the hosting families are interested to see how their host child answered the questions, I'd be happy to share it with you.  Send me an email to txnhoki@gmail.com.