Maria's Children Pt. 2

I am sorry it has taken me so long to write this next blog. I find when I am in the full throws if traveling I really want to enjoy the act of the travel. It I'd only in the empty spots in-between when I have a moment of reflection that I really want to sit down and write.

I talked about the form and history of Maria's children in the last blog, here I will try and boil down the feeling. With some time and perspective the feeling truthfully was what I mentioned in that it takes a village to raise a child, and this village was one of the most beautiful I've experienced, and it would all happen in less than two weeks. It was steeped in love, and from the moment I arrived I felt like I was visiting distant family I had always heard of, but never met before.

I was greeted exhausted and weary off the ten hour airplane ride by two of the Maria's family team, former orphans now staff. I arrived an hour later by bus to the resort where Maria's children had rented twelve houses, subdivided into four families and each house holding a mix of staff, orphans and volunteer. These kind open hearted humans would so quickly feel like family, although many spoke little English and I spoke next to no Russian.

I was ushered into Elephant (Slone in Russian) house. I'd name everyone in our family of about 25 or so, but for fear of missing someone or horribly misspelling Russian names I'll speak in generals. Our family consisted a few American volunteers, a few adult and younger orphans and the Beslan contingency. Our mother and our father were the world renowned photographer super duo couple of Oxsana and Aurther who I became fast friends with.

Over the course of but a few days each morning would be met with hugs and much pantomime, seven meals a day, so many sweats and even more tea.

We all began to create theater together, daily.  Each morning I offered a clown class that ranged from 3-10 participants from the whole camp,  and the afternoons we each family worked on a family film. Ours was about children getting lost in there Phones and Pokemon Go, and three children went on quest to find a fairy queen (played by Maria) who released everyone from their screens and everyone danced together. We had a big theater day, where the whole camp took parts of a smashed together Wizard of Oz and Wicked, and rehearsed, did costumes, make up all in about an hour and a half, and then performed it for each other.  We also had a big game day, where the whole camp went on quests to find the lost parts of a song in an Alice in Wonderland world, I played the queen of hearts.  Towards the end of the camp we rehearsed a few classic Gould and Sterns clown Sketches such as the Running of the Clowns, They Are Naked And They Do Dance (Monty Python), and Howdy Buckaroo.

Each day was filled with hugs and piggy back rides, so much affection that I found my eyes brimming with tears daily, there was always at least one moment where a kid would just want to hug me while I led my clowning class for a half an hour, or another would want a piggy back ride every where we went, that it was impossible to not be swept in by the closeness of it all.  I taught kids slight of hand, how to make a red nose disappear and  reappear behind your ear, and then gave out red noses to the entire camp.  Kids were running around pulling red noses out of each others ears, I probably showed the trick a hundred times but they always wanted more, to see it again. 

In the evenings we would have big dance parties, then my house would settle in and watch cartoons together, kids fitting to get the best spot to snuggle in between adults.  Afterwards myself and another volunteer Kate, a college university teacher from Virginia, would sing lullabies for the kids in our house.  The boys would usually be passed out asleep, but the girls from Beslan would always wait up to hear us sing.  It quickly occurred to me that I could not remember that many lullabies, so I sang rounds, and motown and gospell songs, anything we could think off.  Many of them could not speak English, but they had there favorites they wanted us to sing each night. A few nights when Kate could not make it I sang to them myself, there favorites were "Wade in the Water" as part of a spiritual round, and "someones rocking my dreamboat".  Each moment felt precious that if i thought to hard it would melt away, so my only choice was to just be with them.

Our final night and day ended with a cabaret of the whole camp, and a circle of love where each family spent time telling what they appreciated about each other.  There were many tears and many more hugs, and we each were given Elephant stuffed animals, one of Besland girls named hers Dory, so I named my Leyra after her.  Everyone packed into vans, there were more tears and hugs, and waves and fairwells, and then the experience was over.  Most of the kids say they dream of these two weeks all year long, even though many see Maria and hers staff throughout the year, they do art at the studios, do a winter camp and field trips, this summer camp is among the most important to them.  They get a super dose of warmth and love to take back into there grey lives.  To know there is more in this world, that they do have a big silly non biological family out there that loves them very much.  Maria asked me upon the end of camp when I would be back, I said as often as I could.

Russia and Maria's Children Part. 1

My experience in Russia was among the most beautiful experiences, that I would struggle to put it into one post so I will break it down into two.  To begin to describe the Maria's Children Arts camp I wills start with the idea of it takes a village to raise a child, especially when those children have never had the parental love and support in the first place they so rightly deserve.  This camp is special in the fact that the child to adult ratio is about half to half (around 120 or so people depending on the day)  Also only half of the kids themselves were orphans, the other half were kids of volunteers and students from Beslan, Russia, a small ethnic minority in the Northern caucasus Region.  The community was tramatized in 2004 when the school there was attacked by Chechnya rebels, a hostage situation ensued and hundreds of people were killed, the majority being children, see Beslan school siege - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia .

The adults were a wonderful mix of Maria's Children staff, Teachers, Russian and International volunteers, former Orphans (many of which are on the staff) and there families.  The camp took place at a beautiful resort outside Moscow with playgrounds and a lake for swimming, fishing and wind surfing. There were 8 houses rented, that were lived in by the camp and the camp was broken up into four families, the Elephants, Lions, Giraffes and Zebras. The houses were a mix of campers and volunteers with each house having a Mama and Papa of the house, two staff or volunteers.  These houses really did become big families, with moms and dads, aunts and uncles, cousins and a variety of languages spoken in each.  Each house would have breakfast together in the morning which started each day.

There was a rough group meeting around 10 where different teachers would announce their master classes, for anyone, kids or adults to take and those classes would ensue, a mix of art, dance, and theater (every day I taught a clown or theater game class) workshops, with a massage master class and other practicals as well.  The camp moved fluidly, with each class going as long as it wanted and the orphans had no obligation to participate in any of the classes, they could ride bikes around or just move from class to class, it was all very free flowing.  This would be followed by a lunch between 12 and 2, depending.  The afternoon would consist of a tea time/snack, nap times, more master classes, activities, lake time, dance party time, depending on the day until dinner which usually was between 8-9.  There would be a few more teas in there, and between 9-10 the day would end with more family time, in my house we would all watch cartoons together, then I had the joy of singing bed time songs to some of the kids in my house, which would become a daily tradition. We would around 11 have a staff/volunteer meeting, and then some would go to bed, others would stay up, have another tea time, play music, play games and talk till 2 or 3 in the morning.  There were also different event days, big water day, big theater day, big game day and final performance day. 

To most of my plan minded Americans this might seem like a pretty loose camp structure, and trust me it took time to get use to, but from day one I begin to see the purpose of such a free flow style camp, the effect it had on the kids, the kids seemed just plain happy.  I learned that the majority of the Orphan's live a regimented prison esque life.  Their lives are so tight, and planned that they rarely get the chance to just play and roam, which are pretty important parts of being a kid.  Also they get to do what makes them happy, another thing devoid from alot of their lives, such as take classes if they want, ride bikes when they want, just hang out and eat snacks when they want.  The second aspect of this is the fact that the camp is an absolute love fest.  Hugs everywhere, and most classes are an equal 1/1 kid adult ratio, with some classes having two adults to every kid. This meant that at any time these kids were getting  love from one to three adults, which is the epidemy of attention, another thing that these kids grow up with in major deficit.  At times a kid would run up and just hug you, hug you and walk with you, spend half of your morning hugging you, through the master class and into lunch, and this is all so encouraged, because another thing these kids have in deficit throughout the year is just the loving kind attention of family.  I began to realize this indeed, are these kids family.  They spend time throughout the year attending the studios that Maria and her staff run in Russia, and a variety of other events, a winter camp, weekend outing at Maria's Datcha (second home and studio) outside of Moscow, but this two weeks in the summer they dream about all year long. 

 Many of the state run orphanages truly resemble prisons, long rooms with the kids only have cots and trunks were they can hold the few things that belong to them in.  All the joys and pleasures we hold so dear to our child hoods, regardless of how mixed or difficult your childhoods were, chances are these kids did not have any of that.  Maria's children becomes the family for those without families, and you realize that you want to be a part of it.  I, who came from a loving regular old american middle class upbringing, wanted to be part of this family, to give these kids every ounce of my hear and experience.  Its the same for so much of the staff and volunteers, the other adult orphans that Maria invites into this fold. 

 I was moved to tears on a daily bases watching and participating in this process. I will tell of my personal experience in the next post, but i wanted to paint the picture of exactly what made this place so special, and unlike any other summer camp I have ever had the chance to work at.

New York the foreign and the science of expectations

               

Let's start off an adventure right, with a unexpected week delay in the foreign land of New York. Then throw in some running around the city to get an expedited visa, some seeing many dear old friends, meeting incredible new ones at burlesque caberet, roof top bar college reunions, Thai tacos and long walks of the Manhattan and Brooklyn bridges. Sounds just like the trip 

you might have planned right?

Because that's what a true adventure actually looks like, but only if you can get over the concept of lost expectations. True, my first day returning from the airport having not flown to Russia due to missing part of my documentation, was a miserable experience. Also true, my mistake cost me hundreds of dollars. Also also true it did require an extreme amount of self patience and breath. I spent two years planning this dream trip, and it would not start out at the time nor the way I had expected.

That is the funny thing with expectation, it is a tool for how to look at what is coming, but becomes the biggest hang up in our minds with how we handle situations when they actually arise.  I had expected to fly to Russia, and begin this incredible trip, life had other plans.  The visa issues were also entirely my fault, a mix of assumptions and misunderstanding. That is a tough pill to swallow, when you just make a big o'l mistake. I had taken care of every single other tiny detail, except for one of the biggest ones which was checking the paperwork I had, lesson learned.

However I came to bust heads and live the hell out of this experience, and I'll be damned if a little delay will swing me into a Debbie downer. With the help of another dear heart who has dealt with this stuff before, I delayed my flight, and proceeded to traverse the city getting the materials I needed to expedite a visa. It would end up costing me all my reserve funds, but this adventure was meant to happen,  and I was going to fly.

My first attempt at the Russian consulate, the door was locked and me a few other confused Amercian's walked back and forth between two doors until a portly Russian fellow straight from a stereotype sauntered out. He started barking Russian at us, about what you would expect from the a portly security guard of a Russian embassy. Seeing only a few in the cue spoke Russian, he went on to explain the rules in English while smiling a sickly sweet smile, if you did not have an appointment you could only make one online, and it had to be a week in advance.  I said " but please sir I am trying to clown with orphans"  He just stared at me, pointed to a piece of paper posted on the outside of the consulate that said the same thing, and went back inside.

Strike one clown, but I was not deterred. the next was to contact one of the many visa expedite places, and the main one for Russia was ILS, which was way downtown.  I went online and filled out the seven page questionnaire on my phone, yes it was seven pages to enter the country for less than a month. I love when countries leaders fight, and then everyone decides how much fun it would be for everyone else to fill out more paperwork. I found were their office was, and in fear that I did not have the right, 2 photo's, invitation letter, place of stay, entry and departure flight information, and passport sweated profusely the entire subway trip there.  I got to the third floor office, entered a cue, sat down to another very surly Russian woman who proceeded to tell me that I had missed several important areas in my paperwork. I needed the last three years work history with contact information, and every country I had visited in the last year in order with exact dates. She did not seem to care that I had important clowning to do.  I went online on my phone and tried in vane as the page refreshed itself and deleted my work several times to fix the mistakes.

 I had been sitting there for 45 minutes clearly in anguish when my angel appeared in the form of a round, balding, middle aged New York/Russian man. I am going to call him Vlad, because in my panic at the time I could not remember his real name, but he saw me their in all my struggle, and invited me to his desk where he smiled and laughed and asked what I was going to Russia for.  I said to clown with orphans, and prepared myself for the same cold response, and him to say he hated clowns and orphans and I would never make it there.  He instead smiled and said that was a beautiful reason to go to Russia, and told me not to worry, he was going to get me there.  All the tension drained through my feet, and we chatted and laughed and breezed over the problems in my paperwork. He just filled in all the mistakes for me and said they were really not important at all and to come back in three days to get my visa. I told him id have a drink in his name in Russia, to Vlad, my middle aged, balding, New York/Russian Angel. 

This meant I would only missed four days with the kids at camp, done and done.

New York truly turned into an absolute blessing, of wonderful supportive friends, incredible reunions, good food and new people that changed my life perspective.  It actually slowed me down, forced me to breath and prepare in a way I had not truly had time for in crazy business in leaving Vermont. I felt so cared for in a city that's previously felt foreign, difficult and busy. I stayed at four different friends homes, who I am so thankful for taking such sweet care of me. I went to an incredible Burlesque Caberet/Alice in Wonderland themed dance party that a friend got me tickets to, and proceed to party the night away until the sun came up with a slew of old and new friends.  I also drank on no less than four roofs in the wonderful summer city nights.  So here to you, you beautiful bastard New York.