First days in Kazakhstan

Again sorry for the long post. It took us a couple days to gain internet access.

Photos: Ian's power nap at Hotel Kazhol. It was cute to see him in a crib again, our street sign in Almaty, our hotel, we were on the 5th floor right in the middle under orangish arch, and the view from our hotel window....

Sat April 1st

Sat in the USO in Frankfurt, Germany for nearly 6hrs and enjoyed the break. Ian met some nice soldiers for whom he made crafts. Ms. Pat’s goodie box has been a life saver! Our flight from Frankfurt to Almaty was uneventful in that Ian slept the entire way, which was great because we all needed some sleep. Our service on both Lufthansa flights was wonderful. Thoughtful and efficient waitstaff and the food was quite tasty as well. Landing in Almaty was fine, customs was fine no shake downs, all I can say is that the workers were somewhat sullen or simply chose not to smile, perhaps due to cultural differences or perhaps because it was 0130 when we arrived and of course our little buddy was going strong after his 6hr power nap!! We met Igor and Nikolai and “Jack” at the airport and then they took us to the Hotel Kazhol, which was a bit run down, and some of the clientel we’re perhaps “working” vs. sleeping, but the beds were comfy and breakfast was plentiful and tasty. Our only real problem is we were overcharged for our tickets for our flight from Almaty to Karaganda, but I think we’ll be able to work something out, if not, still we arrived in Karaganda with no problems, so I’m happy. My only real complaint about Kaz is the amount of litter and smoke. The parts of Almaty we saw werre simply poor and run down, it didn’t help that it was overcast and raining either. We discovered the mountains after our 5hr nap and they were beautiful.

Sun April 2nd

Spent the day sleeping and taking a walk in Almaty, which is not pro-stroller. Could not find a grocery store to purchase non-bubbly water for Ian, so we had to drink water from the mini-bar, which was still cheaper than what we’d pay for water in the grocery store at home. I’m very thankful we had no “issues” in the Almaty airport with luggage or shake downs. Ian loved that we got to ride a bus with no seats to the plane. The plane was much more spacious than I anticipated and more comfortable except that everytime we’re indoors it’s at least 95 degrees! It was funny how on the airplane, there were no safety videos, the overhead compartments have no doors, the waiter didn’t care if your carry-on’s we’re stowed correctly beneath the next seat and once the plane took off it was free reign. A little boy would run up and down the aisles as his mom simply read her book and had no fear about other people getting mad or “playing with him” People are on the one hand closed and yet very loving of their native children, I was amazed.

We were met by Chingis, his sister, Ika, our translator, and Olga, who speaks some English and will work with us at the Orphanage and Sasha our driver. Ika’s English is amazing and she’s stunning. Chingis is nice and Olga seems like a nice grammy figure. Sasha is quiet so far. In Karaganda, we simply got off the plane and then they wheel in your bags and you show them your claim ticket and your done. It was a ghost town. We traveled a long road surrounded by grassy plain into Karaganda proper. Our apartment is huge by Soviet standards and is quite cozy after you walk through the dingy hallway and through our blue steel door. I’m very pleased with our home away from home while in Kaz., especially since it’s $50/day. Our only fear is that our court date might be very close to our departure date which is not what we had anticipated. But we’ll have to wait and see. So far we have had a great adventure and our son is an amazing traveler. He loves every part of the trip, even things we as a adults might get frustrated about, he simply rolls with the punches and is happy simply to be together.

Monday April 3rd

I woke up and took a bit too long in the shower/tub and now Daddy will have to wait for hot water. Ian slept well and is now eating his quality breakfast of a day old “squishy” apple which he loves and goldfish. I think we’ll lose some pounds here. We’ll venture to the Supermarket today and we’re off to the Orphanage in about an hour. We have yet to find out Vitalik’s true health status and still remain hopeful. More to report later..

We met up with Olga, Ika, and Sasha around 1000, an hour after they said they’d met us. Olga is sweet and stated how nice I looked, we laughed as I stated a shower can do miracles… We first went to the supermarket which is literally across the street from our apartment and there is also a bank exchange which is nice. The supermarket has everything, some things are very cheap, milk, yogurt, water, coke, tide, other things are expensive, fruit, veggies, and meat and cheese are about the same. We then purchased some yummies for Vitalik’s group at the Detsky Dom. I’d say there were about 12 kids in Vitalik’s group and they were from 4-6 yrs. We saw Vitalik and he came to us, but only because we had treats. He is very shy and did not open up to us too much. Tim got him to smile a bit and of course Ian wanted to play with him at once and was a bit disappointed that he didn’t want to play with us. Daddy tried to give him rides in the air, and he became very scared. He has only been in a car 2x and found it quite fearful. He’s a peanut, a good 6 inches shorted than Ian, so at least I know Ian’s clothes will fit him. The director of the orphanage was very nice, and has been waiting for us for a long time, she thinks that after a few days, we can bring him to the apartment and stay with us to better the bonding process. The orphanage which means little camel, I can’t remember the name as of yet, something with a K, The orphanage is nicer than I expected, they live in family groups, each group has big bedrooms-- for one for boys one for girls, a bigh wash room, a nice play/eating area and a homework room. My heart went out at once to so many children in Vitalik’s class. We both loved this little girl, who was Kazakh and delayed in speech and but full of life and smiles. She loved doing string crafts like Ian and playing ball and receiving hugs. The older boys were nice too, they shared with Ian well and they liked to put on plays. I was amazed at how disciplined they are when it comes to putting away their things and helping each other. One older child put a bib on the special needs child and I also feel for a older boy with a crossed eye as he was kind and just pulled on my heart strings. We’re to go back to the Orphanage today in a bit and we then plan to eat a nice dinner at home and then hit the sack. We went back to the orphanage and met with Vitalik just as a family. He took us to his room and we played a bit with this special airplane of his and it was interesting and a bit heartbreaking. The good news is that he is acting like any 4 yr old would act who didn't speak someone else's langauge and goes from being 1/12 to 1/2. He is very curious and likes to try and figure things out for himself and does not give up when he doesn't get it the first time. Ian of course wants to help him and play together with him and being a lovey child wants to hug him and be close by him at all times. Vitalik still a bit unsure and growing up in a culture that is not overly affectionate and being 1/12 not used to receiving so much attention. I had a really hard time watching Ian trying so hard and not having Vitalik return his love, but I understand why. He has a special bond with Tim already. He loves to take Tim's wedding ring and try to twirl it and hold it as if he was holding a million dollars. It was also the first time he had ever been able to play with toys at will and for a long period of time His health seems typical of orphanage children, poor skin tone, fragile hair, but noting a healthy diet and exercise can't cure. They don't go outside too much as there is no real grass to play and the air is not too clean. Of forget my last post about losing any weight, the supermaket has everything and many more treats, thank goodness I brought my pilates tapes. Ian is a great traveler and loves all of our adventures, he loves our key to the apartment, as it looks like something from the middle ages, or to him, it's a "spy key" and our steel door to our real door of the apartment has to do with being a spy and going on special missions as well ,too funny. Well, I've got to run, we'll try to post some pictures tomorrow. Thanks for reading and keeping us in your thoughts and prayers...