Russias Got Talent!

Believe it or not Anna's 7 year old son is quite the singer and he performs during various concerts in Russia. Anna sent me this photo of him taken during one of his performances.

He will be singing in another concert very soon. We hope to get a video of his performance to share on the blog soon.

Flash Flooding in Russia.

My desire is not to bring politics onto this blog but today Anna and I discussed a topic that has been published about the floods that occurred in Krymsk, Russia.
This was a region in Russia that Anna is quite familiar with. Her late grandmother lived there and Anna used to visit there quite frequently. This has been a sad day in Russia. With over 170 people lost to the flood and many still missing, I can only compare this to the tragedy that occurred not too long ago here in America. This tragedy followed hurricane Katrina in New Orleans.
 There is much controversy regarding the lack of comment from the Russian Government on this incident and it is similar to the controversy that surrounded the U.S. Government's response to Hurricane Katrina. Many people believe this flood could have been prevented by the Russian government but the threat was ignored to protect another region in Russia that is located in Novorossiysk.
This region is a major Black Sea port and it is essential for exporting Russian oil and grain. It is thought that the government released water from a reservoir allowing the water to flood the region of Krymsk in order to prevent a dam from breaching thus protecting the region of Novorossiysk which is of significant economic importance to Russia.
In summary all I can say is that Governments seem to operate in similar fashion regardless of what country you live in. It is sad that a government that is supposed to protect its citizens focuses on other agendas.
I think this is true both in Russia and in America. Hurricane Katrina, meet Flash Flooding in Krymsk!
Fox news says "Early in his presidency, Putin learned the hard way about the need to take charge quickly when disaster strikes.". Doesn't this remind you of the statements made by the press during the story of Katrina? It does me.
We are really not that much different. I think we see the same thing in America during these types of situations.
We are not as different as we think we are. Just because we don't speak the same language does not mean we are not similar.

Let the waiting game begin!

Two months after Anna applied for the letter of invitation, yesterday I was able to send the package away to CIBT to submit the application to the consular for approval. I first had to fill out an application for the Visa at the Consulate General of the Russian Federation in Seattle.
The application was for a private homestay visa that will be valid for 90 days minus the time that is required for the processing which is a 15 business day processing time.
I had to send the Visa application, The CIBT applicaion, my passport with copies of the vital pages, passport photos and the official letter of invitation from Anna. Then of course there was a price tag of over $300.00.
Now it is just a matter of time before I get my passport with the required visa to enter Russia. The waiting game has begun. All I can do now is wait with my fingers crossed.

It's Finally Here!

After about 2 months after Anna applied for an official letter of invitation to me, I received it in the mail just yesterday! I actually was disappointed when I arrived to the Postal Annex a 2:30 and it had not come yet.
 I was on my way back home when they called and informed me that the letter I had been waiting for had just been delivered. Literally I had to turn the car around and return to the Postal Annex to retrieve the Letter. The first Letter addressed from Anna to me!
Now, I can complete the application for a homestay visa to Russia. Both Anna and I are excited. I now have 90 days to go to Russia to visit with her and the 2 children. We hope this visit will occur during a week in Late August.

The letter's in the mail

Today Anna was able to track the invitation letter she mailed to me last week. It passed through customs in Moscow on June 26 and is well on its way to me. I hope it will be here by early next week although the person at the Postal Annex said it will probably take 10 days if I am lucky. I am lucky though. How else would I be able to gain the love of a woman as beautiful as Anna? So given my luck it should be here soon. And for those of you wanting to hear what we talked about today, I will tell you we spent some time talking of Archaeology(which was a shared dream of ours when we were young) and Attila The Hun. The subject of Archaeology came up because of a recent discovery of an ancient civilization and some dolmens discovered near Sochi in Russia. Of course Attila was a natural detour for our conversation. We never know where our conversation will lead at any given moment in time.

Hello Anna finally broadcast in London.

Yesterday our story was finally broadcast on BBC 4 Radio in London, England on an episode of "Don't Log off", hosted by Alan Dein. Although I think I sound absolutely horrible on the radio, I  hope everyone enjoys the podcast at http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/radio4/dlo/dlo_20120620-1102a.mp3.

Good News from Russia!!!

Today was a great day for Anna. She finally has hot water coming from the faucet after 13 long days without hot water.
She will no longer have to boil gallons of water to take a bath and to bathe the children. The frustration is finally over and they celebrated by visiting the beach.
Other good news is that the official letter of invitation is finally ready and she will once again make a long trip to pick it up and put it directly in the mail to send to me. Finally we can see a light at the end of the tunnel. Once I receive the letter, I will then send that along with the visa application to the Russian Consulate in Seattle, Washington. At a price tag of almost $200.00 I should receive the visa that gives me a 90 day window to visit Anna in Russia.
I can assure you that both Anna and I are very much looking forward to that time.

Family Life in Russia....

I wish that I could tell everyone today that Anna is finally coming to America today but I cannot. There is still much that needs to be done including the finalization of my divorce that should happen within the next 2 weeks or so (God Willing). And of course I still need to take a trip to Russia to visit her in order to obtain the photos of us together to apply for the necessary visa for her and the children to come here and she is still waiting for the official letter of invitation that I need to apply for the visit there.

Hopefully she will have the letter some time next week. We just need to continue to take it one step at a time.

Today Anna sent me a link to an animated video that represents the typical family life in Russia. I think this is a good representation of family life just about anywhere with many families. I have seen this in many family experiences. I enjoy watching truth portrayed through all forms of art. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did.

Dead Camels...

Due to a high demand, Anna and I decided to put 5 pages of our correspondence on the blog for you all to read. This particular excerpt will be from a chapter that is called "Dead Camels".

Of course the title is not what you would expect but you will understand after you read the actual correspondence. You will find it here http://privetanna.blogspot.com/p/hello-anna-sneak-preview.html

We hope you all enjoy it. This particular portion of our correspondence is considered one of our favorites.

What's next and when will this story come to an end.

It is said that true love stories never have an end. I believe this is the case with Anna and I. Our story will never end and it will extend far beyond the day that the very last copy of our book is sold. Yet every story needs an ending and as many of you already know "Hello Anna!" is quickly becoming a book that will soon be in high demand.

Unfortunately, there are many things that must happen to bring about the conclusion of the book. First, there must come an end to my first marriage through legal divorce proceedings and I can assure you all that progress is being made but it is not final yet. Hopefully soon there will be a final date set to bring the past to an end and allow the future to begin for Anna and I.

In addition to all of this, Anna and I still await the arrival of the official "Letter of Invitation" from the Russian government that is necessary for me to obtain a visa to visit the country of Russia. All of the paperwork has been approved and filed, but it is now a waiting game as both Anna and I must wait for this document to finally arrive. We expect it should arrive on or about the 16th of this month.

Upon receiving the document, Anna will have to mail it to me so that I can send the original document along with the application to the Russian Consulate in Seattle who will then review the application and issue the visa. Once I receive the visa, I will have a 3 month window to schedule a trip to Russia to visit Anna.

This trip is necessary for us because the U.S. Government requires proof of us together via a photograph of  us together somewhere in order for us to obtain the necessary documents for her and the children to relocate to the United States.

When all of this happens, our story will begin here in America, but our book will be complete. We hope that this process will take less than a year, but neither of us has any idea of a date. We may not know a date for quite some time.

Until that time our story continues to be written and currently is over 1350 pages in length unedited. Our story will be broadcast on the radio in London on the BBC Network soon after the 13th of this month. Feel free to view the podcast when it is available. The show is called "Don't Log Off" by Alan Dein.