Sunday, November 26, 2006
Jo Ann's Leaving Early
I didn't post yesterday because we have been scrambling to get Jo Ann home ever since I posted on Saturday. After I posted, we checked our e-mail and read the bad news that Jo Ann's mother had passed away. It happened the night of Thanksgiving. Her mom had Thymus cancer.
We thought we'd be home before she died. She had recently written us an e-mail saying that she would make it through Christmas. Being away when it happened has been pretty hard on Jo Ann.
Based on it being right after Thanksgiving, the best we could do was get Jo Ann home a day earlier than planned or November 28, and this was after some long hours spent on the phone by my sister Connie back home. Jo Ann's dad has planned the viewing and funeral this Friday and Saturday respectively. Jo Ann has been able to talk to her dad and her sister a couple of times on the phone, which has been helpful.
I must stay here and finish up the adoption here in Almaty. Our coordinator here will not schedule an appointment with the medical center until Rosa's Kazakhstan passport arrives from Astana, which will probably be Wednesday. After that, we'll schedule an appointment with the U.S. embassy.
Rosa has found Nickelodeon in Russian on the TV in our apartment and really likes it. I think she likes Sponge Bob. She once mentioned that he was cheese, so at the supermarket I had to find a yellow sponge and explain that that was what Sponge Bob was. Of course, we've been working on less important things like the days of the week, basic nouns, etc.
Last night we ate at Mc Burger but we came home smelling like we had eaten at the Elk's Lodge. All of our clothes reeked of cigarettes, so we had to wash out our thermal underwear last night and they are still wet. We're braving it without them today.
I didn't post yesterday because we have been scrambling to get Jo Ann home ever since I posted on Saturday. After I posted, we checked our e-mail and read the bad news that Jo Ann's mother had passed away. It happened the night of Thanksgiving. Her mom had Thymus cancer.
We thought we'd be home before she died. She had recently written us an e-mail saying that she would make it through Christmas. Being away when it happened has been pretty hard on Jo Ann.
Based on it being right after Thanksgiving, the best we could do was get Jo Ann home a day earlier than planned or November 28, and this was after some long hours spent on the phone by my sister Connie back home. Jo Ann's dad has planned the viewing and funeral this Friday and Saturday respectively. Jo Ann has been able to talk to her dad and her sister a couple of times on the phone, which has been helpful.
I must stay here and finish up the adoption here in Almaty. Our coordinator here will not schedule an appointment with the medical center until Rosa's Kazakhstan passport arrives from Astana, which will probably be Wednesday. After that, we'll schedule an appointment with the U.S. embassy.
Rosa has found Nickelodeon in Russian on the TV in our apartment and really likes it. I think she likes Sponge Bob. She once mentioned that he was cheese, so at the supermarket I had to find a yellow sponge and explain that that was what Sponge Bob was. Of course, we've been working on less important things like the days of the week, basic nouns, etc.
Last night we ate at Mc Burger but we came home smelling like we had eaten at the Elk's Lodge. All of our clothes reeked of cigarettes, so we had to wash out our thermal underwear last night and they are still wet. We're braving it without them today.
# posted by Buck and Jo Ann @ 8:37 PM 
