Sunday, March 4, 2007

Good Morning, Kazkhstan!

We are now writing to you from glorious nation Kazakhstan. Happy to report our travels in Frankfort and all went well, but details will come later. This first posting, written on Monday morning, includes Saturday and Sunday activities.

We arrived in Kostanay Airport (KSN) at about 9:30 am on Saturday March 3rd, and encountered a couple of stoic security guards at Customs. Nobody among about 75 passengers is talking at all. Getting past Customs took about an hour, and we were assisted greatly by the Maps Representative, Zhanat.

Upon getting in the car, we got a surprise: Our first visit to the Delphin (Dolphin) Baby House would be today (Saturday) instead of Monday. Gennadiy was our driver, an outgoing guy who speaks no English but understands some of our grunts and gestures. He insisted on carrying everything.

Everything was covered in about 2 feet of powdery white fluff. It was extraordinarily cold - about 2 degrees F - but the sun shone brightly and abundant lush evergreens made for an entirely positive first impression of Kazakhstan.

We were taken to our apartment, in a downtown district that, um, didn't immediately reveal itself as charming. Got unpacked and changed instantly. Arrived at baby house before 1 pm.

We went to the director's office, and were greeted by Dr. Irina and a woman whose name might be Iana, from the Ministry of Education. They seemed to like us, and showed us the portfolios of four infants right away. We met two of them in the office right away. We were so apprehensive that it was really hard to focus on meeting kids.

We really can't describe the children in detail because we've agreed to confidentiality and it wouldn't be discreet since the next round of parents will be coming shortly and I might be describing the child that they find to be perfect.

Anyways we were truly amazed to have made it so far so quickly in this process, and we are delighted with our options at this point.

Saturday night Michele made some spaghetti with puttanesca sauce, and it was our first food since wieners in Frankfort. We slept like rocks and dreamed of new babies in our lives.

On Sunday, we returned to Delphin and played in the children's room, and took a long walk on the central park downtown. The weather warmed to about 22 degrees F, and it made for very pleasant strolling. We went to TSUM department store to get electronics and to Gros to get foodstuffs, and our apartment is now generously stocked with all kinds of stuff.

More to come soon!

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dearest Michele and Rob,
Thanks SO MUCH for the wonderful, newsy blog letter. We're eager to hear everything! Hug all of the babies for me.
If you can send e-mails, tell me again the best time to phone you.
xxx, Mom/Mar

Unknown said...

Michele and Rob,
You are living such a very exciting adventure at the moment: babies to meet and warm to, exploring a foreign land, cold weather... what a wonderful experience for you both!

As with all of your friends & family, we are thinking about you everyday now and are sending waves and waves of positive thoughts your way.

Take your time and soak it up -- this must be a facinating journey! Keep publishing, we're all eating it up :-)

Love always,
Karen & Jon (& Jacob & Ben)

Phyllis said...

Michele and Rob,
Keep the news coming our way, as Jon said we are all eating it up. I am delighted everything is going good. This is a once in a lifetime experience for you both to hold in your hearts forever.
Love,
Phyllis

Pete Enchelmayer said...

M & R - - Cool. This blog and your comments are great. BTW, happy birthday this week. - - P ('n' K)

makandaddie said...

Congrats on a successful arrival to Kostanai! Genna was our driver as well, he is a GREAT guy who is a big fan of mushroom picking in the fall, and the mushrooms in Kaz are HUGE!

Dr. Irina is amazing, as is Llana from the MOE. They are both so pro adoption and want what's best for these children!

Make sure that Zhanat shows you where the Bavarian restaurant is, a great menu, and if you enjoy a beer, it is also a "micro-brew"! Also, if the Chinese restaurant is still around (she'll know the one) we ate there a lot as well.

Can't wait to hear more about your daily visits...

Lisa Masse

Efrat said...

Michele and Robertson,
Sounds like you are having a wonderful time. I'm so happy for you, and look forward to hearing more about your adventures. I'm sure you will pick the perfect child for YOU!
Love,
Efrat :)