Short Pause in Kaz

Day 8 of our 15-day bonding period

Since moving up to the third floor of the hotel, it's now easier to hear the Muslim call for prayer at 6:30 every morning. The Muslim church is only a few blocks from our hotel, but at 6:30 it sounds like it is next door.

We ended up buying more souvenirs. It's something I wish Jo Ann would do by herself, but Jo Ann needs me to look up words in the dictionary while she barters with the person at the store. I think people at the stores find us entertaining. Today someone actually laughed at me when I was buying a soda.

Our visit with LG went well. We had her back at the hotel again and then took her out to dinner. We did a 100-piece puzzle, played "Go Fish," and Jo Ann and LG played with the Barbie magnetic paper doll set. We were again without a translator. LG has learned to say things like "Papa, do you have any 3's?" and "Go Fish!"

The hotel here is having a Halloween party tonight. The whole staff is dressed up. They did a buffet and made sanwhiches that looked like coffins, they had hot dogs that looked like bloody fingers, and noodles that looked like brains. The thing is, Haloween is not even celebrated in Kazakhstan, so this staff is really going all out for the Americans. Right now some music is blasting in the room next door where the party is being held.

Day 7 of our 14-day bonding period.

We got to bring LG back to the our hotel today for a 2-hour visit. We watched a couple of cartoons from our Pink Panther DVD. By the way, Pink Panther cartoons have no spoken English so they are easy for children to understand. We also played a few card games. It was really interesting because we did not have our translator today. LG learned how to play and say "Go Fish!" We also played a Sesame Street version of Bingo and a Winnie the Pooh version of a memory card game. Along the way, LG learned quite a few English words. We have no doubt that she is going to pick up the language fast when we are home.

There have been some adoptive families that have left here to finalize their adoptions in Alamaty. That means there were some 3rd floor rooms with kitchens available, so we got to move up to one tonight. We're pretty happy about that.

Day 6 of our 14-day bonding period

We picked up LG around 11:00 today and told her that mama wanted to go with Kate to look for souvenirs and that we hoped that she wanted to come. She said she wanted to come, so we went to a multi-floored shopping center with a bunch of different stores segmented off. The souvenirs were only at one store. Jo Ann found a nesting doll family she liked, along with a wooden yurt for the little Kazakh man and woman figurines we bought earlier in the week. I've been informed that our souvenir shopping is not yet finished.

We've begun our own pizza tour of this city. After exposing LG to cheese pizza yesterday, we went to another place today and had a pizza with olives, mushrooms, and tomatoes. LG liked the olives and the tomatoes. She left her mushrooms. She said that she had never tried any of these vegetables before.

LG seems to have a hang nail on her left index finger and it seems to be sore. We put an American bandage on it today and it seemed to be a big hit. We also gave LG the locket with our pictures in it today. She wore it during our visit, but we will be taking it back with us after each visit. We're afraid that it will get taken by one of the other kids. Yesterday I left a pencil with her for her to practice writing her name and today it was missing.

Here are some observations of Kazakhstan I wanted to share:

1. Like Ukraine, people here all seem to be walking with a plastic bag with something in it. These bags are stronger bags than the kind you pack your groceries in. The bags have advertising on them. I've even seen some that have Disney on them.
   
2. Lots of the men wear black here. I'm not sure why. Let's just say I feel like the only male in Kazakhstan with a red down-filled coat.
   
3. Most everyone here is of Asian descent. But what seems unusual is that they are taller in stature than Chinese or Japanese Americans. Those of Russian ancestry are in the minority here.
   
4. Saturday seems to be a big day for weddings around here. In the plaza you can see brides and grooms getting pictures in their white gowns and black tuxedos. They then get in a car decorated with flowers and balloons and then drive around town in a caravan honking their horns. This can go on very late at night.
   
5. Lots of the men smoke here. I've only seen two women smoking here and they were both Russian.
   
6. There are old women that sell these black seeds on the corner. They are sort of like sunflower seeds and people seem to stop a lot and buy a cup full and then eat them and spit on the sidewalk.
   
7. The monetary unit is the Tengi and one U.S. Dollar is currently worth 127 Tengi. It's gone up one Tengi since we got here.
   

Thanks to those of you that have sent comments and e-mail.

Day 5 of our 14-day bonding period

It's Saturday today so we got to visit LG earlier than normal. We arrived around 11:00 and went to a park. Evidently, there is a lot to do there in the summer, but in late October all of the park rides are closed. There was a slide and swing that LG spent some time on. I also saw the first Soviet remnant in the park, a big statue of Lenin. When we adopted our daughter Megan in Ukraine in 2001, we saw statues of Lenin everywhere. And this was a decade after the breakup of the Soviet Union. Here in Kazakhstan, there isn't a lot of evidence that this was once a republic of the Soviet Union.

After the park, we convinced LG that she needed to try pizza, so we went to our favorite pizza place and had a cheese pizza. LG really liked it. She ate every bit of her two large slices. She was happy to hear that Jo Ann can make pizza just as good at home.

After eating, we stayed at the table and practiced writing her name and "Gashler" in English. After we left her yesterday, she had practiced writing her first name in English but she could not remember how to spell Gashler. So today we tore a page out of a note book with her name and Gashler so she could practice.
Jo Ann and LG also colored a picture in the coloring book. When they were finished they both signed their names.

LG is feeling more comfortable saying some of the words we try to teach her in English. Today she said "hat, hair, hello, pizza, nose, sweater, pants, and shoes." She also said "I love you."

As I mentioned yesterday, it's getting really hard to leave her there. More of the kids were outside today and they all seem to know who we are. Just about every one of them want to say "hello" in English to us, so we humor them by saying "hello" back. We were told on the first day we visited the orphanage that only three children had been adopted from that orphanage all year. LG will be the fourth. I wish more adoptive parents would consider adopting older children. There really are some wonderful kids there at the orphanage.

Day 4 of our 14-Day Bonding Period

Since it was a school day for LG today, we planned to again meet with her around 3:30. We therefore had time to again go to the outdoor market. We needed to buy LG a snow hat because everyone at the orphanage gave us dirty looks because we didn't have a snow cap on LG yesterday.

On the way, we saw a children's clothing store that we had never noticed before and we went in and found some very nice sweat pants. We bought a pair along with a shirt. We brought them to the orphanage today and these were the best fitting clothes that we have bought up to this point. We think we might buy some more pants and another shirt tomorrow at the same place. Today's picture is of Jo Ann buying some hair things for LG at the outdoor market.

Jo Ann is on a quest to find souveniers and we managed again to find some today. We also bought some groceries. We walk a long way to the nice grocery store, but they have the best tasting bread we can find.

Our visit with LG went very well. We again took her off site. We went to a kid-oriented cafe and had probably the weirdest tasting "milk shakes" ever. Mine was "fruit" flavored. It tasted like cough syrup. We again bought LG some chips. In addition to crab, and sour cream & onion, there was bacon flavored so we got her those. She really liked them.

There was a play area next to the cafe that was like a Chuck-E-Cheeze sort of place. LG played there and really had a fun time. She had never been in a place like that. She got to take a baloon back to the orphanage as a reminder of her time there.

While we were in the cafe, we taught LG how to write her name in English. She picked it up pretty fast. She also did a good job writing her new last name. I brought a coloring book and crayons with us and LG colored us a picture of a cat.

It's getting harder and harder to leave her at the orphanage. You can tell that LG wants to spend as much time with us as she can. Despite having her friends there, it doesn't seem like a real happy place.

Tomorrow is Saturday so we will be seeing LG at around 11:00.

Day 3 of our mandatory 14-day bonding period.

We picked LG up around 3:30. As we entered her building some of the other kids were calling for her and one went and found her. Everyone seems to know who we are now. After posting yesterday, we went out to the open market here and bought a coat. This completed the mandatory attire, so we were able to take LG out of the orphanage. We decided to go to a cafe because LG talked about the Barbies going to a cafe yesterday while Jo Ann and her were playing. We bought some pastires and Coke. LG didn't eat all ofher pastry. It was very rich. She had never had chips before so we bought her a small bag of chips. I was about to buy a Lays brand, but then I saw that it was crab flavored. That's right, crab. So I bought a different brand that was sour cream and onion. She wanted to save them for the car ride back to the orphanage.

We had to get a passport photo taken for a document (but I don't think it was for a passport) so we took care of that after the cafe. LG and Jo Ann seem to be really getting along well. LG seems to feel real comfortable sitting with her. I just wish we didn't have to use a translator to communicate.

On the way home, LG opened her chips and shared with all of us. She seems to be one that looks out for everyone. We even bought our driver a pastry even though he waited outside in his car while we were in the cafe. Our driver really likes LG.

Since LG is in school during the day, we'll be seeing her every day at the same time. We now need to come up with creative things to do during our visits. I think most of them are going to be off site. Kate suggested a trip to the park tomorrow, but I am not sure how the weather is going to be. It's starting to get cold in the evening here. She also suggested bowling or ice skating. I think we'll eventually spend some time here at the hotel playing some of the games we brought.

One of the adoptive families had their court day and brought thier little boy back to the hotel. We bumped into them today at the open market. They were going to buy a stroller there and give it as a gift to the baby house. I think the family is just waiting for one of the days that Air Astana flies out of here to complete their adoption in Almaty. I think Air Astana flies to and from here only three times a week.

We had our Day 2 visit with LG today at 11:00. It was a nice visit. LG was waiting on the balcony of her building looking for us and when she saw us, she smiled and ran to her room, where we were supposed to meet her. She had skipped the concert today so she could spend more time with us.

I think Kate wanted to take her off the premises and have her come to our hotel to visit, but we have to bring our own clothes for LG to change into. We remembered all too well how our daughter Megan's adoption was, when we brought all kinds of clothes from home and they were all too big. We thought then that we would buy clothes for LG in Kazakhstan once we got here and knew her size. Well, we obviously didn't have clothes for her, so we had to have our visit at the orphanage.

We played with her Anna doll that speaks both English and Russian. She seemed to love that doll and spent a good 30 minutes making it talk. We then played with the Barbie magnet doll set and watched LG punch out the different outfits for the barbies and then dress and re-dress them. She did a lot of talking, so we were glad the tranlstor was there to tell us what she was saying. LG got brave a couple of times and repeated some of the things the Anna doll said in English. She will have an accent at first, but I think she'll pick up English pretty fast.

When we were through with our visit, we walked back to her room that she shares with another girl that is older (maybe 14 years old, we're not sure). We took measurements of her feet, pant leg, and waist for clothes. She gave us both a hug and a kiss goodbye. By this time there were a lot of kids in her building and they were all poking thier heads in and saying "hello," and any other English they happened to know.

Afterwards, we went and bought some clothes. Sadly, there aren't a lot of kids clothing stores around here. Here you can see me with a pair of pants and some shoes that we bought. I'm afraid that most of what we bought will not see the light of day once we get to the United States.

We met our new daughter today! We are so happy! After a few days of missed appointments from the government family services representative, she finally was able to accompany us for our initial visit.

Our daughter (since I can't name her, I will refer to her as "LG") lives in an orphanage for older children outside of the city. When we got there, we went to the auditorium to watch a program the children were putting on. It is to commemorate Kazakhstan's independence day which is tomorrow. It was a very good program. Lots of singing, dancing, and ornate costumes. We watched the program until the end and then we were escorted out with the director of the orphanage. As we left, they found LG in the audience and asked her to come with us. She had been told today that something special was going to happen to her today.

All of the adults met in the director's office for a brief interview. LG was in the next room drawing a picture for us. She was finally brought in and we had a wonderful visit. We showed her pictures of our home, our kids, etc. She seemed really interested in these. She recited a poem to us and asked us a few questions. Based on the program before, our visit only lasted about 30 minutes, but we'll now be visiting every day. Today was the first day of our mandatory 14-day bonding period.

We were not permitted to take a picture of LG today, but we can begin taking pictures tomorrow. Unfortunatley, I will not be posting pictures of LG until our court decree is issued. I will try to get back to posting photos of this place.

Thanks for everyone's prayers on our behalf.

I wish we had some good new to report, but as of Staurday morning October 21 at 11:30 AM, we have not been given permission to visit any of the orphanages. We were told this morning to be ready to leave by 9:00 AM. Instead, the other couple that is with us were taken to the baby house. It's been pretty frustrating being in a city for nearly three days and only having a very brief interview with representatives from the Department of Education to show for it.

I don't think I will be posting anything until we have had a chance to go to an orphanage.

We had an early morning flight to the city where we will be adopting our daughter. It is in western Kazakhstan, so it was a rather long flight from Almaty. We haven't seen much of the city other than what we saw driving in. It is quite a bit colder here. It was 41 degrees when we landed this morning around 9:30.

We were on the flight with another adoptive family from Memphis. They are a nice couple. They are hoping to adopt a baby girl.

Last night we went to a cafe and ordered a pizza. Based on all that I had read on other blogs, I was expecting some strange things on it such as mayonaise and cucumbers, but it was only cheese and red sauce. It wasn't too bad. The cheese tasted rather salty though.

I imagine all of the entries after this will have a lot more detail. I think all of the real work on our adoption starts tomorrow, including our first meeting with our daughter. There is a chance that we will be meeting with someone from the Ministry of Education today. You normally dress up to meet people from there, but of course, we still don't have our missing suitcase. It is supposed to arrive tomorrow morning at 9:00.

We made it to Almaty. Sorry I don't have any pictures. We arrived at 5:30 this morning on a very long flight from Amsterdam. One of our suitcases didn't make it and we won't get it until Friday morning. That means we get to meet people from the Department of Education and our new daughter in clothes that we have been wearing for the past 4 days!

We were able to briefly see some of the mountains that are outside of the city when we were traveling from the airport this morning. They look a lot like those we have in Utah. The temperature is similar to what we had in Utah as well. However, there is a lot of pollution here.

We're staying in a nice apartment near the government center of the city. It has a nice grocery store near by that we visited earlier today.

The next time we post, we'll be doing so from our new daughter's city.

Buck here. We made it to Paris. Here you can see Jo Ann with her expensive French bottled water. Jo Ann is afraid to drink water out of the fountain because she thinks France is like Mexico.

The flight from SLC to Cincinnati was fine. The flight to Paris was really long. In keeping with tradition, I was unable to sleep. We got lost walking around the airport so we didn't dare try to go downtown. We're also both really tired and we're going to try to get some sleep during our 6 hour layover.

It looks like the flight to Amsterdam is about an hour. I haven't figured out how long the flight to Almaty is. There are so many time zones we cross, I can't figure much out.

We hope everyone is doing well back home. We sure miss all of you. 

Buck here. It's hard to believe it but it's finally here. We begin a series of flights tomorrow starting with a 1:25 PM flight to Cincinnati. Just to make things more interesting, I caught a bad cold over the weekend and I now have a sore throat. I think the next time we post it will either be from Paris or Amsterdam. Here's hoping I'll be feeling better by then.

We finished up our packing this afternoon. Besides our carry on, we're taking three suitcases. I'm worried one of them may be over the 60 lb. limit. I guess we'll find out tomorrow.

Here's my first attempt at posting a photo. You can see the packing continues. We still need to figure out what to pack as far as clothing (that's why you see a somewhat empty suitcase).

The flight plans to Almaty have been altered a little bit. We'll now be flying through Cincinnati rather than Houston. We have a 6 hour layover in Paris so maybe we'll take the 40-minute train ride into the city to see some of the sites.

We got updated on our vaccinations last week. It was good to find out that our Hep. A and B shots that we got for our trip to Ukraine in 2001 were still good. We only had to get shots for Typhoid and Tetanus.

It took a bit of work, but we got the flights arranged to Almaty through Delta and its partner airlines using my Sky Miles. This saved us a bunch of money so we don't mind flying to Houston, Paris, Amsterdam, and finally Almaty using three different airlines. We leave Salt Lake City on Monday, October 16 at 1:10 PM and arrive in Almaty on Wednesday, October 18 at 5:15 AM. We will stay in Almaty that day and then take a flight to our destination city the following morning on a domestic airline.

Our return date in tentatively set for Wednesday, November 15, but that may very well need to be adjusted based on how things develop in Kazakhstan.

We sent in our visa applications last Friday and we've been told that they have already been issued and we should get them this week.