Thursday May 18

Our last day in Karaganda has been a strange one. This morning it was sunny and warm so we decided to walk to the Trash Park and kick the ball. We haven’t been to the Trash Park since Mother’s Day, and I was amazed at how horrible it smelled. Either I have just gotten used to the gas smell or it was simply much more potent this morning. A nice Kazakh women came over and started to ask Sam something in Russian and then he just looked at me and she then asked his name. Her English was quite broken, but still better than my Russian, but we managed to communicate without real difficulty. She told me there was a family in her building adopting a child and preceded to give me there phone #, apartment # and building code #. She either owns the apartment or knows who lives there on a regular basis because when I spoke to the couple, they have never met that women. The sky turned black and it started to rain. Sam was perplexed as to why we would have to leave Trash Park after only 10 minutes or so of ball time. I tried to explain to him it was raining and that the ball would get too muddy and then we’d get too dirty, but it didn’t fully register and the tears came running down. Not a temper tantrum, just utter sadness about having to leave the park. Poor kid. It really started to pour when a nice Kazakh women decided to pull us into the bank with her as she felt we simply could not get caught in the rain with out a raincoat and umbrella. I’m thinking to myself, the rain is the cleanest thing I’ve seen/felt in the last month and a half, but I played the gracious tourist and came in with her. The storm subsided after about 10 minutes and we were on our way home. I decided to give the American’s a call and I’m certain I startled them a bit as in the States you would never have a ½ conversation with someone you have never met. This is their first trip outside of the US. They live in Lake Charles, LA. and are both PT’s. This is there first child and he’s a nine month old boy, William, who currently resides at Nezabudka. Here’s the funny part, before we got off the phone I never caught there name. I’m due to call them after their second visit, but won’t get a chance to meet up with them as I’m going to meet Elena and her son at some indoor playground. How sweet, Elena called me, how she got my number I know not, but I enjoyed her company immensely on our walk home last night and how kind that she thought about us having our last night here alone and asked out to do something. As much as I am ready to leave Kazakhstan like yesterday, I will be sad to leave the kind people who have befriended me while in Kaz.. I wish Elena could get a job at MAPS in the States or some other multilingual/multinational company so that her daughter and son would have more opportunities and she too could live a more comfortable life. The best lessons I've learned while in Kazakhstan was to be more thankful, more appreciative and to work harder at everything I try to accomplish in my life. I met Elena for dinner and Sam had a blast at the indoor playground. He played for an hour and then had some pizza, once again my conversations with Elena were wonderful. I know I have made a dear friend. Thank goodness for email!! Chingis and Olga stopped by with all of the official paperwork on Sam as we head out tomorrow morning for Almaty. Looks like I may get to go to the medical exam tomorrow and maybe the US Embassy on Monday, which means I could even try to take the Tuesday AM flight home, which would be wonderful! Keep your fingers crossed. I found out that on Sam’s new birth certificate his name reads Samuel Vitaliy, McCaffery. We had thought it was Vitaly, and actually we seem to use the nick-name version the most, Vitalik, so who knows what his actual passport will say?? Who cares all I know as of May 15t, 2006 the Republic of Kazakhstan views him officially as our son!!