Hi there folks. Today was another good day (so far anyway...I am posting after our morning visit). Happy Friendship Day from Kazakhstan! Today is a festival celebrating friendship. These people know how to celebrate the important stuff. Our visit went good this morning...she played for about half an hour and then wanted to be held. We were definitely good with this. After being held for about 15 minutes she fell asleep in my arms. Oh by the way we are in the new room today so no ants anywhere. Whew! She is definitely bonded with us...when the caregiver came down the stairs with her she smiled a huge smile when she saw me. It melted my heart a little bit. She also did not want to be returned today...she made a face like she was going to cry. It is a good thing she didn't or Mommy would have been crying too. She still loves playing with the diaper bag. She pulls everything out, then starts putting it all away and starts the process over again. It is quite cute to watch. She also knows how to share very well. If I or Daddy puts his hand out and says "Can I have or Ta or Give" she normally will hand what she has over. Now this doesn't happen all the time but I'd say about 70% of the time...sometimes even with cookies.
We plan to eat again at the Turkish place we have been going to. This is the place we get our hamburgers at. They have good food for very low prices. Two hamburgers and fries cost about 500 tenge (~$4.50 US)and there is quite a lot of cheese on these burgers (lots of ketchup and mayo too). They also serve good shashleek (kabobs) and pizza. The pizza isn't as good as the pizzeria here but it is simple and cheap. We plan on walking to a part of town today that has water fountains on for the festival. We will take some pics and post them tomorrow. Well that's all for now. Keep the good thoughts coming...miss you all.
Monday, April 30, 2007
Who's the Mama?
First off...the transportation to the babyhouse wasn't an issue. The administrator of the hotel we are staying at called us a taxi and told the company to both drop us off and pick us up from the baby house. It cost us 200 tenge each way (<$2 US) and was a breeze. Today was another great day with our little girl. The building we are visiting in has a small ant infestation so we are being extra careful where we play with Dinara. So far we have seen them in a building attached to our room but not in our room at all. Whew! We have begun to bring all the toys and stroller back to the hotel now. We decided it wasn't worth the risk of finding ants all over the stroller and toys. We have also informed the director about the problem and have been given a new room to visit Dinara in for the remaining 4 visit (2 days). She was so good today. We were a little worried about what she would do as we didn't bring the stroller back with us... she just played the whole time and didn't sleep at all. Then this afternoon we signed some paperwork with our old translator Yulia (who still hasn't had her baby yet) and then went and visited for an hour with Dinara. We didn't want to make it any longer then that as we were an hour late for our visit (5 pm) and they eat at 6 pm. That would have been one cranky girl not to get her food at 6 pm.
A little story to tell you about how heart wrenching these kids here can be on poor sappy Canadian. Yesterday morning I was returning Dinara to her dwelling with our new translator when I saw a small group of children outside. They saw me too and one of them (a very cute girl with pigtails) calls out to Dinara saying in English "is that you moma". Now this girl is probably no older then 3 and her English was good enough that the translator and I were speechless. After she said this Dinara held onto me tighter and cuddled into my neck/shoulders. This was answer enough for me. The other children seeing Andrew and I walking with Dinara were chanting "America"...I was trying to chant back "Canada" but to no avail. These kids are all so cute and many of them just walk up to you and ask "Moma?" It breaks my heart. I just keeping telling myself that their families are coming and they will all find homes. Now I know this isn't always the case as we have seen the large orphanage for children between 5 and 18...yes all those kids under one roof...but I am going to be optimistic.
Here are some pics for you to enjoy. We need to figure out how to tell our driver not to come and get us at the time we told him...Nadine said only and hour and Andrew said longer. Oh well! Andrew was right...it happens once and a while. Bye for now. Missing you all. Soon pics of Dinara will be up. Again just wait until Thursday.
These are photos of the street leading up to and one of the entry points for the large bazaar we go to. I didn't take photos within the bazaar because it would be a little dangerous in my opinion. Not only for the fact I would be screaming "look at me I'm a tourist" but also they just push and shove their way through the people. No "excuse me" or "sorry" as they go by. A bit different from in Canada where if someone bumps into you we say "sorry".
This is a picture of the Baby House. Coincidentally this is also the building that Dinara is dwelling in right now. If you look behind the big tree and the gate you can just make out the mural that I posted pics of in a previous weblog.
This is our driver's car. It is a little on the small side but hasn't failed us yet. Our driver's name is Rivel and he is very funny. He speaks both Russian and Kazak (common here) and very, very little English. Andrew is having a good time learning phrases from him. We have gotten pretty good at telling him when and where to pick us up.
These are photos of one of the many water cannals that run through Kyzylorda city. This one is across the street from the Baby House. These are periodically (in the spring and summer) filled with river water (not cleaned). I have it on good authority that many children play in these when it gets hot out...this is not always good as many of them dive head first into them. Thank goodness we haven't had to see this yet. Darwinism at work I guess.
This is the road that we take into the Baby House street. It is a one way road...in the opposite direction that we enter it but it has been blockaded on the other end so no worries. However, everyday both in the am and pm when we take it we keep an eye out for any policia. If we see one we don't take this route...I don't think Rivel wants any problems with the coppers here.
A little story to tell you about how heart wrenching these kids here can be on poor sappy Canadian. Yesterday morning I was returning Dinara to her dwelling with our new translator when I saw a small group of children outside. They saw me too and one of them (a very cute girl with pigtails) calls out to Dinara saying in English "is that you moma". Now this girl is probably no older then 3 and her English was good enough that the translator and I were speechless. After she said this Dinara held onto me tighter and cuddled into my neck/shoulders. This was answer enough for me. The other children seeing Andrew and I walking with Dinara were chanting "America"...I was trying to chant back "Canada" but to no avail. These kids are all so cute and many of them just walk up to you and ask "Moma?" It breaks my heart. I just keeping telling myself that their families are coming and they will all find homes. Now I know this isn't always the case as we have seen the large orphanage for children between 5 and 18...yes all those kids under one roof...but I am going to be optimistic.
Here are some pics for you to enjoy. We need to figure out how to tell our driver not to come and get us at the time we told him...Nadine said only and hour and Andrew said longer. Oh well! Andrew was right...it happens once and a while. Bye for now. Missing you all. Soon pics of Dinara will be up. Again just wait until Thursday.
These are photos of the street leading up to and one of the entry points for the large bazaar we go to. I didn't take photos within the bazaar because it would be a little dangerous in my opinion. Not only for the fact I would be screaming "look at me I'm a tourist" but also they just push and shove their way through the people. No "excuse me" or "sorry" as they go by. A bit different from in Canada where if someone bumps into you we say "sorry".
This is a picture of the Baby House. Coincidentally this is also the building that Dinara is dwelling in right now. If you look behind the big tree and the gate you can just make out the mural that I posted pics of in a previous weblog.
This is our driver's car. It is a little on the small side but hasn't failed us yet. Our driver's name is Rivel and he is very funny. He speaks both Russian and Kazak (common here) and very, very little English. Andrew is having a good time learning phrases from him. We have gotten pretty good at telling him when and where to pick us up.
These are photos of one of the many water cannals that run through Kyzylorda city. This one is across the street from the Baby House. These are periodically (in the spring and summer) filled with river water (not cleaned). I have it on good authority that many children play in these when it gets hot out...this is not always good as many of them dive head first into them. Thank goodness we haven't had to see this yet. Darwinism at work I guess.
This is the road that we take into the Baby House street. It is a one way road...in the opposite direction that we enter it but it has been blockaded on the other end so no worries. However, everyday both in the am and pm when we take it we keep an eye out for any policia. If we see one we don't take this route...I don't think Rivel wants any problems with the coppers here.
Saturday, April 28, 2007
4 More Sleeps Until Gotcha Day!!!
Hello everyone in Weblog world. I hope you all are doing as good as Andrew and I. We are getting more and more excited everyday now. We look forward to Thursday (as that is the Gotcha Day) and we can take our girl home with us. It is getting more and more difficult to leave her after our visits. She gets a worried look now when we are walking her back to the building in which she sleeps. Also, when we try and get her coat and hat on she struggles and cries...which does a lot of damage to Mommy's state of mind. I just keep counting down the visits until she is ours. Oh! Sorry about the lack of a post yesterday...we were shopping at the bazaar getting all the gifts for the folks back home and then in the afternoon we went out for supper again. So no worries from this part of the world...we are fine, Dinara is fine, everything is fine. We were just busy yesterday.
Our little girl is definitely a fan of music. She loves listening to it, dancing to it and sleeping to it. Doesn't matter if it is a fast or slow song, if it is loud or quiet she will listen to in contentedly. We have been playing the many volumes of Disney music we own at every visit. This way we have something that she has listened to while at the Baby House...it won't be such a harsh change when she gets to come home with us. Have I mentioned in the last few seconds how much we are looking forward to that? Thought so. Sorry. Getting back to talking about the little one...she just loves to play. She isn't as happy with the cuddles anymore and actually prefers to sleep in the stroller. She does like to be tickled and zerberts on her tummy, feet, and neck also go over well. Today I played "Kissy Face" with her (my parents will know what this is) and she laughed a lot. So another new game has won her over...not that it is hard. She is such a good natured child. We are really lucky that fate had her in mind for us. She is such a darling. I can't wait to introduce you all to her. Pictures on Thursday for sure. We are starting to pick them today...we have hundreds to pick from.
We don't think we will be going bowling after all...we would've like to go with our old translator. Our new translator is nice but just not as good with English as our last one. We are her first family that she has helped so we can cut her a little slack. We are hoping that our old translator is having her baby right now but we haven't heard any information on that front. So if any of you have time a good thought in her direction would be appreciated. We really couldn't have done any of this without our new friend (and old translator) Yulia. Well that's all for today. We need to get back to the hotel for lunch and try to figure out how we are getting to the Baby House this afternoon...our driver is hung over (he went to a b-day party yesterday) and wants to sleep today. As he really hasn't had a day off since we got here we are understanding. We'll tell you how are transportation issue goes tomorrow. Talk soon. Still missing you all.
Our little girl is definitely a fan of music. She loves listening to it, dancing to it and sleeping to it. Doesn't matter if it is a fast or slow song, if it is loud or quiet she will listen to in contentedly. We have been playing the many volumes of Disney music we own at every visit. This way we have something that she has listened to while at the Baby House...it won't be such a harsh change when she gets to come home with us. Have I mentioned in the last few seconds how much we are looking forward to that? Thought so. Sorry. Getting back to talking about the little one...she just loves to play. She isn't as happy with the cuddles anymore and actually prefers to sleep in the stroller. She does like to be tickled and zerberts on her tummy, feet, and neck also go over well. Today I played "Kissy Face" with her (my parents will know what this is) and she laughed a lot. So another new game has won her over...not that it is hard. She is such a good natured child. We are really lucky that fate had her in mind for us. She is such a darling. I can't wait to introduce you all to her. Pictures on Thursday for sure. We are starting to pick them today...we have hundreds to pick from.
We don't think we will be going bowling after all...we would've like to go with our old translator. Our new translator is nice but just not as good with English as our last one. We are her first family that she has helped so we can cut her a little slack. We are hoping that our old translator is having her baby right now but we haven't heard any information on that front. So if any of you have time a good thought in her direction would be appreciated. We really couldn't have done any of this without our new friend (and old translator) Yulia. Well that's all for today. We need to get back to the hotel for lunch and try to figure out how we are getting to the Baby House this afternoon...our driver is hung over (he went to a b-day party yesterday) and wants to sleep today. As he really hasn't had a day off since we got here we are understanding. We'll tell you how are transportation issue goes tomorrow. Talk soon. Still missing you all.
Thursday, April 26, 2007
The Cuteness named Dinara
Sorry for yesterdays short post. The internet connection was particularily short and I was on a time limit. I was dropped at the internet cafe while Andrew went with our clean laundry to the hotel to change. He wanted to get a little dressed up for supper and since I was wearing a new blouse that I had bought we thought this would be the best plan. It was so hot here yesterday...I swear it was 25 degrees C at least...and all my T-shirts were getting cleaned. I decided to borrow one of Andrew's and it was black and waffle knit. I was roasting consequently. I decided that during lunch I was going to buy something else. Now one problem we are having here is that our new translator isn't nearly as good as our old one. So most of the time we don't ask for her help. Andrew can speak broken Russian quite well...enough for us to get by at least. Everyone we meet smiles when he tries to speak and is encouraging. Anyway I bought a nice black polyester sleeveless shirt for around $40. It was the only one I could find that wasn't a belly shirt on me (and yes it is because of how tall I am versus all the wee people here).
Today's visit went well. She came in wearing a darling outfit today. Normally the outfits they put her in are special (short bus and hockey pads special) but today's was actually very cute. We changed her...which is increasing in difficulty as she likes to take her diaper away in the middle of the change...and then started a new game Mommy invented. For a while we have been using toy blocks to block her mouth and make broken sounds come out. Well today Mommy decided to use Dinara's hand to do the same. She was riveted. She loved that game and in the middle of the session she decided instead of this to try and eat Mommy's face. It made me laugh so hard (and Andrew and our translator) that I was crying. She is such a smart little bug as Andrew would say.
We went back to the Britainnica last night for supper, and boy was it a little more costly then our previous lunch there. Andrew had a salmon fillet with a cream caviar sauce and I had the chicken curry again. We both ordered the broccoli with butter sausce as we haven't been able to have too many veggies since coming here. The broccoli was mushy but tasted like heaven. I never thought British food would end up a real comfort food. We also had a lot of beer (Anddrew had 3 pints and I had 2) Getting this out of our system now as soon this will not be allowed as often.
Not much else to report other then that. We are getting more excited as soon our Dinara will legally be ours forever. Her provisionary visa has been issued so no worries there. Well bye bye for now. I'm hungry and need food. Miss you all. Lots of love.
Today's visit went well. She came in wearing a darling outfit today. Normally the outfits they put her in are special (short bus and hockey pads special) but today's was actually very cute. We changed her...which is increasing in difficulty as she likes to take her diaper away in the middle of the change...and then started a new game Mommy invented. For a while we have been using toy blocks to block her mouth and make broken sounds come out. Well today Mommy decided to use Dinara's hand to do the same. She was riveted. She loved that game and in the middle of the session she decided instead of this to try and eat Mommy's face. It made me laugh so hard (and Andrew and our translator) that I was crying. She is such a smart little bug as Andrew would say.
We went back to the Britainnica last night for supper, and boy was it a little more costly then our previous lunch there. Andrew had a salmon fillet with a cream caviar sauce and I had the chicken curry again. We both ordered the broccoli with butter sausce as we haven't been able to have too many veggies since coming here. The broccoli was mushy but tasted like heaven. I never thought British food would end up a real comfort food. We also had a lot of beer (Anddrew had 3 pints and I had 2) Getting this out of our system now as soon this will not be allowed as often.
Not much else to report other then that. We are getting more excited as soon our Dinara will legally be ours forever. Her provisionary visa has been issued so no worries there. Well bye bye for now. I'm hungry and need food. Miss you all. Lots of love.
The Sandman Hits Hard Today
Our little girl was totally zonked today. We have been told that she has been moved out of the infimary today to a baby area again. This means they don't think she is sick and therefore doesn't have to be seperated from the other children. She has been in the infirmary since she came back from the hospital. She is now in the same group as the first little girl they showed us. We get to see her outside with the caregivers from time to time. I keep positive that her forever family is already in the process of coming and getting her. Well back to the issue in the title...our girl must have been a little tired today. We got her from the caregiver and within 30 minutes she had crawled to the stroller (that's where she likes to sleep now), indicated she wanted in and within minutes was totally asleep. I have never seen her fall asleep so fast. It was amazing.
This afternoon's visit was similar. She really only played for about 45 minutes and then indicated she wanted in the stroller. However, she didn't fall asleep right away. She only fell asleep for the last 10 minutes of the visit. It sometimes seems a little cruel to wake her to send her back with a caregiver but only 6 more days and then she is ours!!! We are totally excited. I have started clearing things away in an attempt to baby proof our room. Silly me didn't think about electrical sockets being different here and even packed some good ole North American socket baby proofers. Oh well. I can ditch them at anytime.
Well that's all for today. If you can't tell it's me Nadine back to blogging. You might be able to tell by the correct spelling and no coma splices. Also sorry from Andrew for spelling Bridget's name wrong (he put Briget). And kudos to all you Mary Poppins fans! We have watched this a lot since coming here...more then Nadine would like at times. Oh well...that spoon full of sugar and all. Miss you all. Talk soon.
This afternoon's visit was similar. She really only played for about 45 minutes and then indicated she wanted in the stroller. However, she didn't fall asleep right away. She only fell asleep for the last 10 minutes of the visit. It sometimes seems a little cruel to wake her to send her back with a caregiver but only 6 more days and then she is ours!!! We are totally excited. I have started clearing things away in an attempt to baby proof our room. Silly me didn't think about electrical sockets being different here and even packed some good ole North American socket baby proofers. Oh well. I can ditch them at anytime.
Well that's all for today. If you can't tell it's me Nadine back to blogging. You might be able to tell by the correct spelling and no coma splices. Also sorry from Andrew for spelling Bridget's name wrong (he put Briget). And kudos to all you Mary Poppins fans! We have watched this a lot since coming here...more then Nadine would like at times. Oh well...that spoon full of sugar and all. Miss you all. Talk soon.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Everything Good comes out of a Carpet Bag
The morning visit was good today. Nadine played with and entertained Dinara with kisses, toys and rides. I just sat back and struggled to ignore my tummy. I must have had something that disagreed with me. After the visit, I was dropped off at the hotel while Nadine went....SHOPPING. She took of to the bazaar to gather some bits, bobs and souvenirs. By the time she returned I was much better.
Now for the description of the afternoon visit and the reason for the title. Dinara started slow, playing with blocks while on her back then off like a shot to the diaper bag. She got the bag open then proceeded to remove all the contents of the main pocket: stuffed Stich doll, stuffed dog with rattle, soft toy nesting birds, book, diapers, wipes then finally the container of cookies. I then repacked the bag placing the cookies on the bottom. Once again she attacked the back, removing only a couple of items until the cookies were located. She then spent some time trying to open the Glad container with chewing, hitting, smashing and pulling. We gave in and gave her a half cookie. This promped more play with the bag, both removing and inserting items but rarely letting go of the cookie container for more then a moment. A few more cookie bits and play then she got up and went to the stroller...rest time! The end of a good day.
PS Guess the movie with the magic carpet bag. Briget is not allowed to answer.
Now for the description of the afternoon visit and the reason for the title. Dinara started slow, playing with blocks while on her back then off like a shot to the diaper bag. She got the bag open then proceeded to remove all the contents of the main pocket: stuffed Stich doll, stuffed dog with rattle, soft toy nesting birds, book, diapers, wipes then finally the container of cookies. I then repacked the bag placing the cookies on the bottom. Once again she attacked the back, removing only a couple of items until the cookies were located. She then spent some time trying to open the Glad container with chewing, hitting, smashing and pulling. We gave in and gave her a half cookie. This promped more play with the bag, both removing and inserting items but rarely letting go of the cookie container for more then a moment. A few more cookie bits and play then she got up and went to the stroller...rest time! The end of a good day.
PS Guess the movie with the magic carpet bag. Briget is not allowed to answer.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Nightmares or Just Hate to Wake Up
Andrew posting today. We got an earful this morning. Dinara was telling us how bad everything was. Once we managed to get the diaper on her, she refused to let us get her dressed, screaming everytime we tried to put her pants on. Eventually, she just cuddled up to her mom and slept. At the end of the visit, the doctor came in and informed us where Dinara's troubles were...she had a fever last night. They were also unhappy that Dinara's legs were uncovered. Ah well.
This afternoon's visit was much better. She was again active:playing with her toys, walking with our help and loving getting thrown in the air. After all this she finally crashed, sleeping in the stroller.
On to news from back home. Happy birthday to Dinara's Nana!!! Nana (Andrew's mom)is now 60 years old and is still going strong. I'm sure she will get a birthday cuddle from Dinara when we return to Canada.
Bye for now.
This afternoon's visit was much better. She was again active:playing with her toys, walking with our help and loving getting thrown in the air. After all this she finally crashed, sleeping in the stroller.
On to news from back home. Happy birthday to Dinara's Nana!!! Nana (Andrew's mom)is now 60 years old and is still going strong. I'm sure she will get a birthday cuddle from Dinara when we return to Canada.
Bye for now.
Sunday, April 22, 2007
9 Days and Counting
Well we are down to the last 9 days before we can pick up our little girl. We are tired of just visiting with her and want to spend all our time with her. Andrew and I both discussed it last night and we really don't feel like parents yet. We only get to see her for 3 hours a day so it is much more like we are babysitting then parenting. Everyday I just tell myself how many more we have to go before we get to have her forever. We are happy we get to see her everyday but it is very trying handing her back to a caregiver after the visit.
So as of May 3rd we are her forever family! This means we will bring some clothes to the baby house that morning for her, get her dressed and then take her with us back to the hotel. We will also be bringing the 69 pounds of clothes that we brought for donation; as well as little gifts for the caregivers, director and doctors that have taken care of Dinara for us. We wanted to throw a little party for them all but they don't have a room in which we can do this. Oh well! We are also going to buy the baby house some things they need...we've been told curtains but we are waiting to hear how much they need. Here they sell curtains by the meter not by the package. After we take her out of the baby house she is all ours. We will be staying in the hotel for another 3 days (until May 6th) and then we are going to Almaty. Here we will get her passport and some more paperwork out of the way. Andrew thought leaving to Almaty would be a good idea as we could break up some of the flying for our girl. We will stay in a nice apartment in Almaty and I will be able to cook for us finally!!! After that we are going to fly business class to Moscow. We saved a lot on our hotel here so we are spluging for the 5 hour flight. We are also going to try and upgrade our seats home (Lufthansa seats are like cement, but warmer). Well that should be enough for today. Talk soon. Miss you all.
So as of May 3rd we are her forever family! This means we will bring some clothes to the baby house that morning for her, get her dressed and then take her with us back to the hotel. We will also be bringing the 69 pounds of clothes that we brought for donation; as well as little gifts for the caregivers, director and doctors that have taken care of Dinara for us. We wanted to throw a little party for them all but they don't have a room in which we can do this. Oh well! We are also going to buy the baby house some things they need...we've been told curtains but we are waiting to hear how much they need. Here they sell curtains by the meter not by the package. After we take her out of the baby house she is all ours. We will be staying in the hotel for another 3 days (until May 6th) and then we are going to Almaty. Here we will get her passport and some more paperwork out of the way. Andrew thought leaving to Almaty would be a good idea as we could break up some of the flying for our girl. We will stay in a nice apartment in Almaty and I will be able to cook for us finally!!! After that we are going to fly business class to Moscow. We saved a lot on our hotel here so we are spluging for the 5 hour flight. We are also going to try and upgrade our seats home (Lufthansa seats are like cement, but warmer). Well that should be enough for today. Talk soon. Miss you all.
Bats in the Cave
Hi there everybody. Sorry about the lack of a post for yesterday...the internet connection here was extremely slow. It took over 15 minutes and the screen for posting didn't even load so I gave up.
Not much has changed in our day to day activities. We get up at 8 am still, watch some news for little while, go for breakfast, load the diaper bag (refill cookie container, get diapers, etc.), go visit Dinara from 10-11:30am, go for lunch, go to the internet cafe, back to the hotel for another couple of hours, go for our afternoon Dinara dose 4-5:30pm and then back to the hotel for beer and supper. Not that exciting really...well we are excited to see our daughter but other then that we just kill time. Today we decided to try a new restaurant...the Britainicca. We posted pics of it earlier. We were told that it is the most expensive restaurant in Kyzylorda. We agree but the prices are still quite reasonable. I had chicken curry and Andrew had an oriental styled chicken. It was marvelous. Not as good as at home but much better then what we normally eat. We plan on going to this restaurant at least once a week from now on. They also have billards...American billiards. It costs 1000 tenge per hour (~$9 US). This is a little pricey but we might do it if we get bored enough.
Well you might be asking why the name of the post today. Well we had our first kind of interesting task as parents. Dinara had two boogers in her nose today. I managed to get one out no problem but the other one wouldn't budge. I think they crazy glued it in there. Tomorrow I'm bringing tweezers with me. That booger will be no match for me then. She was quite still while we were trying to get it out. I was impressed. She is also walking much better today. All we had to do was hold her hands while she walked around. This is a good sign that she is getting stronger each day. Yeah!!!
We have to be going. I hope you all are well. Oh! We have been told that Moscow should have received Dinara's medical on Thursday so her provisionary VISA should be issued on Monday hopefully. Whoopee!!! Talk soon. Miss you all still...and cooking for myself. Paka Paka (bye bye).
Not much has changed in our day to day activities. We get up at 8 am still, watch some news for little while, go for breakfast, load the diaper bag (refill cookie container, get diapers, etc.), go visit Dinara from 10-11:30am, go for lunch, go to the internet cafe, back to the hotel for another couple of hours, go for our afternoon Dinara dose 4-5:30pm and then back to the hotel for beer and supper. Not that exciting really...well we are excited to see our daughter but other then that we just kill time. Today we decided to try a new restaurant...the Britainicca. We posted pics of it earlier. We were told that it is the most expensive restaurant in Kyzylorda. We agree but the prices are still quite reasonable. I had chicken curry and Andrew had an oriental styled chicken. It was marvelous. Not as good as at home but much better then what we normally eat. We plan on going to this restaurant at least once a week from now on. They also have billards...American billiards. It costs 1000 tenge per hour (~$9 US). This is a little pricey but we might do it if we get bored enough.
Well you might be asking why the name of the post today. Well we had our first kind of interesting task as parents. Dinara had two boogers in her nose today. I managed to get one out no problem but the other one wouldn't budge. I think they crazy glued it in there. Tomorrow I'm bringing tweezers with me. That booger will be no match for me then. She was quite still while we were trying to get it out. I was impressed. She is also walking much better today. All we had to do was hold her hands while she walked around. This is a good sign that she is getting stronger each day. Yeah!!!
We have to be going. I hope you all are well. Oh! We have been told that Moscow should have received Dinara's medical on Thursday so her provisionary VISA should be issued on Monday hopefully. Whoopee!!! Talk soon. Miss you all still...and cooking for myself. Paka Paka (bye bye).
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Toy, Bed or Method of Transportation...the Eternal Question Continues
Today was a fun day of watching Dinara sleep. We purchased a stroller two days ago and we finally introduced it to her today. She loves it! She was smiling as we wheeled her around and fell asleep in it. We were told by our new translator that she doesn't sleep well right now due to her congestion and that she is waiting to sleep while we are around. I'm okay with this. Yes we don't play as much but she needs her sleep to get better and stay better. We would take her out of the stroller for a little while and she wanted right back in. Whoopee! One less thing to worry about when we are in airports. We want her to be able to sleep in the stroller so in Frankfurt she can get some rest.
We received an email today from our Agency telling us that the medical information should be at the embassy in Moscow today. Yeah!!! This means Dinara's provisionary VISA should be issued today or Monday. I am going to call Moscow today to make sure this is happening. I will either call the embassy directly or get our cooridinator to go and check. One way or the other I am finding out some information!
Well not much else has happened today. Our little girl is continuing to get better...her congestion doesn't sound as bad. Her mother is continuing to buy her stuff (well not so much anymore as I have a suitcase filled with stuff for her). She loves the blankets that Grandma has made for her...sometimes she will sit and just pet them. Dinara is beginning to become more vocal...lots of baby babble, which is promising as many of the sounds are beginning to sound like English.
Enough for today. I'll see about getting some pics to post from the bazaar. The pics might have to be posted when we get back though...I'm not sure bringing my camera and screaming tourist is such a good idea. I'll take some pics with the cell phone and show you when I can get them off the camera. Miss you all.
We received an email today from our Agency telling us that the medical information should be at the embassy in Moscow today. Yeah!!! This means Dinara's provisionary VISA should be issued today or Monday. I am going to call Moscow today to make sure this is happening. I will either call the embassy directly or get our cooridinator to go and check. One way or the other I am finding out some information!
Well not much else has happened today. Our little girl is continuing to get better...her congestion doesn't sound as bad. Her mother is continuing to buy her stuff (well not so much anymore as I have a suitcase filled with stuff for her). She loves the blankets that Grandma has made for her...sometimes she will sit and just pet them. Dinara is beginning to become more vocal...lots of baby babble, which is promising as many of the sounds are beginning to sound like English.
Enough for today. I'll see about getting some pics to post from the bazaar. The pics might have to be posted when we get back though...I'm not sure bringing my camera and screaming tourist is such a good idea. I'll take some pics with the cell phone and show you when I can get them off the camera. Miss you all.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Waiting is very hard
I just realized today that the postings have been on the wrong days. Because you guys are 12 hours behind us (and so is google obviously) they are one day behind for us. Oh well just an observation.
Sorry about the lack of a post yesterday we were running around with our translator. We went to the small bazaar and purchased another traditional Kazak piece of folk art. I love it. We still haven't heard about Dinara's provisionary VISA. I have been told not to worry yet...if it doesn't get issued on Monday then I am allowed to worry. I have called London and Moscow and no one is allowed to tell me anything over the phone. This makes things extremely irritating. I know that there are very good reasons for this percaution but when I can give them every little bit of information you think they could make an exception. Oh well, Bureacracy (sp?) at it's finest. Also, telling me not to worry really doesn't work very well. I have always said that I don't seem to never be worrying about something. I really just want this VISA to be issued ASAP so that I can just worry about the waiting period. These really are the last two hurdles before she is permanently ours. Having Canada tell us that yes we are allowed to proceed is important. Well enough of me ranting.
Visits are still going well. Everyday she shows us a little more of herself. She not only crawls like a fiend now but likes to have Andrew and I walk her around the room just holding her by the arms. I am amazed more and more each day. Today she played with her favorite toy (blocks), had mommy chase her around while crawling, and then fell asleep first on daddy then on mommy. Oh!! She was getting fussy with Andrew, looked at me and said "ma, ma, ma, ma". I'm not imagining it either...Andrew and our new translator Akmiral also heard her. I then took her from him and she settled right down. I was over the moon.
Well that's enough for today...I'm hungry and going to get a burger. Talk soon. Keep the good thoughts our way. Miss you all.
Sorry about the lack of a post yesterday we were running around with our translator. We went to the small bazaar and purchased another traditional Kazak piece of folk art. I love it. We still haven't heard about Dinara's provisionary VISA. I have been told not to worry yet...if it doesn't get issued on Monday then I am allowed to worry. I have called London and Moscow and no one is allowed to tell me anything over the phone. This makes things extremely irritating. I know that there are very good reasons for this percaution but when I can give them every little bit of information you think they could make an exception. Oh well, Bureacracy (sp?) at it's finest. Also, telling me not to worry really doesn't work very well. I have always said that I don't seem to never be worrying about something. I really just want this VISA to be issued ASAP so that I can just worry about the waiting period. These really are the last two hurdles before she is permanently ours. Having Canada tell us that yes we are allowed to proceed is important. Well enough of me ranting.
Visits are still going well. Everyday she shows us a little more of herself. She not only crawls like a fiend now but likes to have Andrew and I walk her around the room just holding her by the arms. I am amazed more and more each day. Today she played with her favorite toy (blocks), had mommy chase her around while crawling, and then fell asleep first on daddy then on mommy. Oh!! She was getting fussy with Andrew, looked at me and said "ma, ma, ma, ma". I'm not imagining it either...Andrew and our new translator Akmiral also heard her. I then took her from him and she settled right down. I was over the moon.
Well that's enough for today...I'm hungry and going to get a burger. Talk soon. Keep the good thoughts our way. Miss you all.
Monday, April 16, 2007
Court Day
Today we woke up bright and early (some earler then others...Andrew was up at 6 am) to get ready for our big day. We got all dressed up and impressed our translator and driver. They looked shocked that I know what make up is and how to use it (I don't use much of it here). We were then taken to the court house and told to wait in a lobby for our room to become available. A secretary came out and informed us that the judge and prosecutor were waiting for us...the baby house director wasn't there yet. Our translator called her and we then had to wait. When the director arrived we were informed that the prosecutor had vanished somewhere and to go back to the lobby to wait. After about 15 minutes everybody was tracked down and all is good. We then had to stand in front of the judge and make our case...this is really much easier then it sounds. Andrew was first asked to make a little speech (he had been practicing it for a couple of days) and then was asked some questions by both the judge and the prosecutor (about 5-6 in total). I was then asked to stand and did I have anything to add...well no as I helped write the speech (not what I said obviously). I was a little blubbery and managed to answer my 4 questions. After this the director of the baby house and the lady from the ministry of education were questioned. This went fairly well (the judge got a little angry at the lady from the MoE). After this the judge and the prosecutor left the room so they could make a decision. We waited about 20 minutes and then the judge came back and told us that the court approved our petition and that after the 15 days of mandatory waiting our girl would be ours.
We were told not to post pictures of our girl until after the mandatory waiting period. It is during this waiting period that her birth mother or other family can come forward and say "hey we want her back". So to be a little cautious you all will have to wait until after our Gotcha Day of May 3rd for photos. But we can tell you her name...Dinara Elliott Lea Pearson. Dinara (Dee-nar-rah) is her Kazak name...it means money. Elliott is for Grama Pearson (her maiden name), Lea is for Grammy (Sharon's mom's maiden name) and obviously Pearson because she is now part of our clan.
Sorry about the lack of pics...I know some of you were really looking forward to that. But I would like to remain cautious for just a little longer. I hope you understand. We are still waiting for her provisionary VISA from Moscow...this wasn't a problem for court today (thank God). We will keep you updated. Lots of love to you all.
We were told not to post pictures of our girl until after the mandatory waiting period. It is during this waiting period that her birth mother or other family can come forward and say "hey we want her back". So to be a little cautious you all will have to wait until after our Gotcha Day of May 3rd for photos. But we can tell you her name...Dinara Elliott Lea Pearson. Dinara (Dee-nar-rah) is her Kazak name...it means money. Elliott is for Grama Pearson (her maiden name), Lea is for Grammy (Sharon's mom's maiden name) and obviously Pearson because she is now part of our clan.
Sorry about the lack of pics...I know some of you were really looking forward to that. But I would like to remain cautious for just a little longer. I hope you understand. We are still waiting for her provisionary VISA from Moscow...this wasn't a problem for court today (thank God). We will keep you updated. Lots of love to you all.
Sunday, April 15, 2007
The Giggles Continue
It has definitely been a good day...so far that is. We visited our little girl and she was sooooo energetic. We were even playing a little chase game (me of her). She crawls with some speed now...I think she was just shy before and didn't want to appear too amazing. We have taken some video evidence of this so we can show you all when we get back. We have heard that our coordinator in Moscow is going to the Canadian Embassy today to pick up our girl's provisionary VISA...let's keep our fingers crossed that she is able to do without any problems. This is the last piece of paperwork we need before our court hearing tomorrow. We should know later this afternoon if she has accomplished this task.
Other then that we haven't really been doing too much. Our days revolve around visiting our little one...which I am sure will continue in Canada. We are missing you all terribly. We have found a couple of places to eat now that are good and not too greasy. Ironically, one is a burger joint (their burgers are different but good). And, yes the burgers are less greasy then most foods here.
Here are some more photos...
This is the entry way in our hotel. I really thought the chandelier was interesting...so I photographed it.
This is the mural that is on the first building as you enter the baby house. I really like it! It has the adoptive (western) family holding the child's hand with the birth parents in the background.
Funny Andrew in the main lobby while we wait to be picked up for our baby house visit.
This is the room at the baby house in which all our visits take place. We put a blanket down on the carpet for her to do most of her playing on...however this isn't working too well now that she is crawling everywhere. Oh well! Her little body is used to the germs found here.
Of course we couldn't be who we are and not post a photo of a cat we saw here. The cats found here are mostly ferral and you really don't want to go anywhere near them. This one is hanging around the baby house and at the time of this photo is on the hot water heating pipes that heat the baby house. Yes that's right...all the heating here is hot water not natural gas.
Well that's enough for today. We'll update again tomorrow...after court. Hopefully we can then introduce you to our little girl! Until tomorrow...
Other then that we haven't really been doing too much. Our days revolve around visiting our little one...which I am sure will continue in Canada. We are missing you all terribly. We have found a couple of places to eat now that are good and not too greasy. Ironically, one is a burger joint (their burgers are different but good). And, yes the burgers are less greasy then most foods here.
Here are some more photos...
This is the entry way in our hotel. I really thought the chandelier was interesting...so I photographed it.
This is the mural that is on the first building as you enter the baby house. I really like it! It has the adoptive (western) family holding the child's hand with the birth parents in the background.
Funny Andrew in the main lobby while we wait to be picked up for our baby house visit.
This is the room at the baby house in which all our visits take place. We put a blanket down on the carpet for her to do most of her playing on...however this isn't working too well now that she is crawling everywhere. Oh well! Her little body is used to the germs found here.
Of course we couldn't be who we are and not post a photo of a cat we saw here. The cats found here are mostly ferral and you really don't want to go anywhere near them. This one is hanging around the baby house and at the time of this photo is on the hot water heating pipes that heat the baby house. Yes that's right...all the heating here is hot water not natural gas.
Well that's enough for today. We'll update again tomorrow...after court. Hopefully we can then introduce you to our little girl! Until tomorrow...
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Smiles, Giggles and the Muppet Show
Hello everyone in weblog world. Today was an awesome day. Yesterday during our afternoon visit we first got our little girl to giggle. I did something called a whirlwind (holding her cradled I spun around) and boy did she like it. She laughed so hard that she passed a little wind (fits in already...lol). Today was more smiles and giggles. We were so delighted. I did some arm lifts with her (held her under her arms and lifted her up and down while laying down myself). She laughed with her mouth open so much that I now know that she has two molars growing in the upper portion of her mouth. We played the muppet show music and she was entranced. The fact that she likes the more thrill type rides is a good sign that she is going to like our Disneyworld/Disneyland trips.
Other then our continuing to visit our daughter we went to another bazaar yesterday. I purchased a nightgown for less then $7. It is getting a little hot and muggy here so I need something to sleep in that is a little lighter then my sweat pants. I assumed spring here would be like spring in Saskatoon...big mistake. We have also been purchasing some traditional Kazakh things...they are beautiful. Most things here are hand made.
Well not much more to say then that. We are waiting on one more piece of important paperwork to come our way...so all of you keep your fingers crossed that we get it tomorrow. Otherwise we have to delay our court hearing and who knows how long it will take to get a new case. If we get to court on Tuesday we should be home with the flights we have booked...if not we will have to reschedule the flights for later. TTFN. Sorry about no photos...we are still using the internet cafe and don't have any new images to post yet. We also haven't gone bowling yet but we'll show you when we do. Lots of love.
Other then our continuing to visit our daughter we went to another bazaar yesterday. I purchased a nightgown for less then $7. It is getting a little hot and muggy here so I need something to sleep in that is a little lighter then my sweat pants. I assumed spring here would be like spring in Saskatoon...big mistake. We have also been purchasing some traditional Kazakh things...they are beautiful. Most things here are hand made.
Well not much more to say then that. We are waiting on one more piece of important paperwork to come our way...so all of you keep your fingers crossed that we get it tomorrow. Otherwise we have to delay our court hearing and who knows how long it will take to get a new case. If we get to court on Tuesday we should be home with the flights we have booked...if not we will have to reschedule the flights for later. TTFN. Sorry about no photos...we are still using the internet cafe and don't have any new images to post yet. We also haven't gone bowling yet but we'll show you when we do. Lots of love.
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Computer Kapoot in Hotel
Sorry for no update yesterday. We went downstairs in the morning to use the computer and it was gone. They told us it would be up and usable by the afternoon. We went back and the computer was there but not loading. Andrew thinks the hard drive is shot. A couple of days ago I had to clean off water that someone had spilled on it. So that is why there was no update yesterday.
Onto better things...our girl is getting healthy! We have visited her twice now. Yesterday all she did was cry...telling us how much she missed us, what they did to her in the hospital, really everything that's been bad for the last two weeks. Today she didn't cry as much and even fell asleep on me. I was crying yesterday after the visit because she had been crying. I was worried that she didn't remember me and that she wouldn't forgive me. I am over that now. She definitely forgave me today. We are hoping that she is even better this afternoon and that we can play for a while. Yesterday Andrew thought the tops of her hands were dirty when we saw her...I had to inform him that these were bruises (from the IVs they used no doubt).
We are great! She is great! Everything here is good. No worries now. We are still waiting on some paperwork but other then that it is clear sailing. We miss you all.
Onto better things...our girl is getting healthy! We have visited her twice now. Yesterday all she did was cry...telling us how much she missed us, what they did to her in the hospital, really everything that's been bad for the last two weeks. Today she didn't cry as much and even fell asleep on me. I was crying yesterday after the visit because she had been crying. I was worried that she didn't remember me and that she wouldn't forgive me. I am over that now. She definitely forgave me today. We are hoping that she is even better this afternoon and that we can play for a while. Yesterday Andrew thought the tops of her hands were dirty when we saw her...I had to inform him that these were bruises (from the IVs they used no doubt).
We are great! She is great! Everything here is good. No worries now. We are still waiting on some paperwork but other then that it is clear sailing. We miss you all.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Short Message Today
Well nothing really to report today. We are still waiting to see our girl. We have been told that as of today that she has been released from the hospital (whew) and is back at the baby house. According to our interpretor this means that we should hopefully (if everything goes well) start our visits on Friday again. Andrew is hoping for tomorrow but I'm not as optimistic. I just want her to get better and for us to be able to see her soon. Our translator noted today that I looked sad...she kept asking me what was wrong. I told her I was just finding it hard to be seperated from my little girl for so long. I told her that I understood that this is for our girls health but I couln't help feeling sad 'cause I missed her. She seemed to understand this. Out team here is very good! I am so glad that they are the people we get to assocaite with while here. They are good representatives for their country. Oh! We were also told that the paperwork from Saskatchewan should be completed soon...so hopefully we don't have to worry about that anymore.
That's all for today. We are still watching DVDs to pass the time. We are on to Numb3rs season 2 now. We REALLY like this show. It isn't quite as intense as Criminal Minds or CSI so we can watch it without Andrew getting too hyped up before bed. We might go bowling tomorrow...Russian bowling that is. If we do we'll take photos. Miss you all. Keep the love coming.
That's all for today. We are still watching DVDs to pass the time. We are on to Numb3rs season 2 now. We REALLY like this show. It isn't quite as intense as Criminal Minds or CSI so we can watch it without Andrew getting too hyped up before bed. We might go bowling tomorrow...Russian bowling that is. If we do we'll take photos. Miss you all. Keep the love coming.
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Holding Pattern...
We are in a perpetual holding pattern. We have learned that our little one should be releases tomorrow to the baby house. This means that we can hopefully start seeing her on Thursday at the very earliest. Her health is still their first concern...as it should be. We are going a little stir crazy though. We watch a lot of DVDs, which I don't mind but it just doesn't occupy enough of our time. Today we were touched by a little Delhi Belly (or whatever its Kazak name is). It wasn't too bad but we are now being extra diligent when it comes to ordering food. In this instance we think it was the raw onion that was on top of the Shashleek we ordered last night. We now try to order it without this onion...they have a new waiter here and his English is really good. I made him blush by complimenting on it. In terms of paperwork we are almost finished...we are waiting for the province of Saskatchewan to send an important form to the Canadian Immigration people and to our Agency (keep your fingers crossed for us). It should be smoother sailing after that...meaning less for us to worry about (not nothing but you know me...I'm not happy unless I have some sort of stress).
You all wanted pictures and here are a few more...
This is Andrew retrieving our coats from the upstairs. He didn't realize that he brougtht down the "Please Clean the Room" sign with him. We (Julia, Nadia and I) all had a good laugh about it.
This is a building bulit during the Soviet occupation. It has the date it was bulit on the side and emblems that have been left to fade off. It is one of the nearest buildings to our hotel.
This is our hotel. It may not look like much but this is one of the fanciest hotels in Kyzylorda. It is only bested by one other. It is quite clean but a little stuffy. We don't have much for ventilation in our room besides our window, and opening the door to the hall (which creates a minor draft). The people here are quite nice and go out of their way to try and understand when I speak English to them. And NO I don't act obnoxious and try speaking louder if they don't understand me. I get much more active with gestures.
This one is just for fun! I have been playing with my iSight camera within my laptop. It allows me to play with the pictures before I take an image. Quite fun. Just to show you how bored I really am. Hopefully we get to see our little girl on Thursday...all we do is count down hours until then.
Oh! Yesterday we went out for Shashleek (the cause of the tummy troubles) and while we were waiting for our driver outside the air quality got worse and worse. It smelt like someone was burning a massive amount of plastic. Both Andrew's and my lungs were burning by the time we got back to the hotel. I have never been so happy to be in a stuffy but clean smelling place in my life. Just thought you would like to know.
You all wanted pictures and here are a few more...
This is Andrew retrieving our coats from the upstairs. He didn't realize that he brougtht down the "Please Clean the Room" sign with him. We (Julia, Nadia and I) all had a good laugh about it.
This is a building bulit during the Soviet occupation. It has the date it was bulit on the side and emblems that have been left to fade off. It is one of the nearest buildings to our hotel.
This is our hotel. It may not look like much but this is one of the fanciest hotels in Kyzylorda. It is only bested by one other. It is quite clean but a little stuffy. We don't have much for ventilation in our room besides our window, and opening the door to the hall (which creates a minor draft). The people here are quite nice and go out of their way to try and understand when I speak English to them. And NO I don't act obnoxious and try speaking louder if they don't understand me. I get much more active with gestures.
This one is just for fun! I have been playing with my iSight camera within my laptop. It allows me to play with the pictures before I take an image. Quite fun. Just to show you how bored I really am. Hopefully we get to see our little girl on Thursday...all we do is count down hours until then.
Oh! Yesterday we went out for Shashleek (the cause of the tummy troubles) and while we were waiting for our driver outside the air quality got worse and worse. It smelt like someone was burning a massive amount of plastic. Both Andrew's and my lungs were burning by the time we got back to the hotel. I have never been so happy to be in a stuffy but clean smelling place in my life. Just thought you would like to know.
Monday, April 9, 2007
No water, No power, No girl
I hope everyone had a good Easter weekend. We don't really have anymore news yet. We were taken for lunch yesterday to this little cafe and enjoyed a traditional Kazak dish...now by enjoy I meant Andrew kind of liked it and I didn't really. It was a little too bland and greasy for my liking. Andrew did have three helpings though. That is the one thing I am starting to get sick of here...greasy food. You really can't get away from it. Now there was a comment about getting perogies while here...nope, not a chance. We are in Kazakhstan not the Ukraine. Any of you that think McDonalds is greasy you are soooooo wrong. I would kill to have a McDonalds burger right now...purely because it would (1) taste better and (2) be healthier then most of the food here.
Well back to the title of this blog...yesterday we awoke with no water. This means Andrew gets to remain smelly (I always smell good) and we have to pour water out of our stash for the toliet (our stash is from the taps...we fill up old bottles of water to use in these cases). We were taken for lunch at around 1 pm and when we returned to the hotel the power was out as well. This makes for not so much to do...thank goodness we have a long battery life on my laptop (and a back up battery). We didn't use them though. I think we napped for an hour and then read for a while longer. The power/water fluctuated from about 4 pm till this morning. We woke up with water and power...whew!
You have all been asking for pictures...well we can't put photos of our girl up yet (not for another 2 weeks approximately) but I do have some more of the city of Kyzylorda.
This is the Russian Orthodox Church we went to. We don't have pictures of the inside yet...I didn't want to interrupt the baptism ceremony to take photos. We are going to go back in the next week or so to get some photos.
This is the train station in Kyzylorda. It is very old but many people still travel across Kazakhstan using this method. It is a beautiful building...we haven't gone inside yet. Actually, we were never asked if we wanted to go inside. I'll have to ask our translator about this. It was bulit in the tail end of the 19th Century.
Oh by the way...it is 17 degrees Celcius today. Just thought you all would like to know. We went shopping today and we didn't wear jackets. People did look at us like we were crazy for not wearing a coat but oh well.
This is a photo of what their apartment complexes look like...and this is a nice set of apartments. We dropped off our translator one day and I was saddened to see where she lived. They all live in apartments...that is how you fit so many people in so small an area. Our home in Saskatoon is a palace (of course I knew this already but it is highlighted even more by this trip).
This is a computer store in the sort of downtown area. Now normally people would go to the bazaar to buy most things, which means that the things in this store will be expensive. The things at the bazaar are typically cheaper then their stores. This store would be their equivalent to a Future Shop.
Now this is a bad picture but the only one I could take while we were driving by this place. This may look like a cement plant but it is actually an operational rice factory. They don't have many of these anymore. The oil and gas industry (as well as mining) has sort of replaced this industry. In terms of what the people do here for employment. Funny story...on our way from Almaty to Kyzylorda we heard two men talking in English. Upon closer inspection of their conversation we could make out that they were talking about the Fort McMurray Oil Sands project and how they are taliking of expanding into Saskatchewan. When we were boarding the plane we asked the gentleman where he was from? He replied Canada...I wanted to say Duh...we probed further and found out he is from the southern end of Saskatoon. Small World! He works for Cameco and they have a mine approximately 3 hours south of Kyzylorda. He gave us his business card too. Neat eh?
Well that should be enough for you all today. I hope things are going well. Keep up the good thoughts, prayers and pixie dust for us...it looks to be working. Miss you all.
Well back to the title of this blog...yesterday we awoke with no water. This means Andrew gets to remain smelly (I always smell good) and we have to pour water out of our stash for the toliet (our stash is from the taps...we fill up old bottles of water to use in these cases). We were taken for lunch at around 1 pm and when we returned to the hotel the power was out as well. This makes for not so much to do...thank goodness we have a long battery life on my laptop (and a back up battery). We didn't use them though. I think we napped for an hour and then read for a while longer. The power/water fluctuated from about 4 pm till this morning. We woke up with water and power...whew!
You have all been asking for pictures...well we can't put photos of our girl up yet (not for another 2 weeks approximately) but I do have some more of the city of Kyzylorda.
This is the Russian Orthodox Church we went to. We don't have pictures of the inside yet...I didn't want to interrupt the baptism ceremony to take photos. We are going to go back in the next week or so to get some photos.
This is the train station in Kyzylorda. It is very old but many people still travel across Kazakhstan using this method. It is a beautiful building...we haven't gone inside yet. Actually, we were never asked if we wanted to go inside. I'll have to ask our translator about this. It was bulit in the tail end of the 19th Century.
Oh by the way...it is 17 degrees Celcius today. Just thought you all would like to know. We went shopping today and we didn't wear jackets. People did look at us like we were crazy for not wearing a coat but oh well.
This is a photo of what their apartment complexes look like...and this is a nice set of apartments. We dropped off our translator one day and I was saddened to see where she lived. They all live in apartments...that is how you fit so many people in so small an area. Our home in Saskatoon is a palace (of course I knew this already but it is highlighted even more by this trip).
This is a computer store in the sort of downtown area. Now normally people would go to the bazaar to buy most things, which means that the things in this store will be expensive. The things at the bazaar are typically cheaper then their stores. This store would be their equivalent to a Future Shop.
Now this is a bad picture but the only one I could take while we were driving by this place. This may look like a cement plant but it is actually an operational rice factory. They don't have many of these anymore. The oil and gas industry (as well as mining) has sort of replaced this industry. In terms of what the people do here for employment. Funny story...on our way from Almaty to Kyzylorda we heard two men talking in English. Upon closer inspection of their conversation we could make out that they were talking about the Fort McMurray Oil Sands project and how they are taliking of expanding into Saskatchewan. When we were boarding the plane we asked the gentleman where he was from? He replied Canada...I wanted to say Duh...we probed further and found out he is from the southern end of Saskatoon. Small World! He works for Cameco and they have a mine approximately 3 hours south of Kyzylorda. He gave us his business card too. Neat eh?
Well that should be enough for you all today. I hope things are going well. Keep up the good thoughts, prayers and pixie dust for us...it looks to be working. Miss you all.
Saturday, April 7, 2007
Killing Time in Kyzylorda
We are sooooo bored right now. We are entertaining ourselves with our DVDs but we are just killing time. I know what you all are thinking "go out and do something". Well that is easier said then done. Kyzylorda doesn't have much to entertain its citizens that can speak Russian let alone those who can't. They have closed the casinos, theaters and video game arcades all for the good of their people. Thus we can't even go see a poorly dubbed American movie. We went shopping yesterday and that helped kill 3 hours. I bought a dress for our girl for Nerissa's wedding, a pink velour track suit and 5 pairs of tights in various colors. Kat you will be glad to hear a pair of the tights are in pride colors. We had a power outage for most of yesterday and we were not able to connect to the internet until now...that is why the delay in our post. It has rained here for two days...thank goodness...and the dust has been kept at bay by this. We were able to open our window for most of yesterday and today. We have finished Criminal Minds and have moved onto Numb3rs. Andrew and I like this series too! We went grocery shopping yesterday and picked up a few essentials...specifically soft TP. This soft TP is 4 ply and cost us over $7 US for 8 rolls. Now I know you may not want to know about our TP but here this is an important issue. Their TP is normally like tissue paper or streamers...not what a girl wants to be using (smile).
We have taken advantage of one of the hobbies open to us at the hotel...Russian billards. Okay this is the most difficult form of billards I have ever seen. We don't know the rules but the openings for the ball are just a smidge bigger then the ball itself. The table is bigger then a snooker table...so you can imagine. It took us one hour and we only sunk 8 out of 15 balls. These balls all have numbers on them but not in sequence...and there are doubles. We were playing flukesies (sp)...if we got one in we were happy. Andrew beat me 5 to 3...I set him up for all the good shots and he left me squat (Andrew says biased writing...). I gave him a raspberry in response. I am typing therefore I get to put what I want. We are stretching what we can put in a post.
A short update today...our girl is still getting better and her breathing has improved even more. She is still in the hospital and it is likely we won't see her for another 6 days...Andrew is staying optimistic that they will change their minds and make this time shorter (I'm not as optimistic and am counting down the days).
Oh! Happy Easter! Tomorrow is Easter Sunday here and I think it is the same in Canada. Enjoy your Easter dinners...we will again be in the hotel restaurant as we don't want to bother our translator with her family. Though she did say she will bring us Easter eggs tomorrow. I am so craving ham and scalloped potatoes right now. Their ham is significantly different...way, way, way too salty, and dark red in color. I also want a huge bowl of corn (I know I am allergic but oh well). Well we have had some beer and Andrew says he is going to pass out. I'll end it there for today. Have a good Easter!
We have taken advantage of one of the hobbies open to us at the hotel...Russian billards. Okay this is the most difficult form of billards I have ever seen. We don't know the rules but the openings for the ball are just a smidge bigger then the ball itself. The table is bigger then a snooker table...so you can imagine. It took us one hour and we only sunk 8 out of 15 balls. These balls all have numbers on them but not in sequence...and there are doubles. We were playing flukesies (sp)...if we got one in we were happy. Andrew beat me 5 to 3...I set him up for all the good shots and he left me squat (Andrew says biased writing...). I gave him a raspberry in response. I am typing therefore I get to put what I want. We are stretching what we can put in a post.
A short update today...our girl is still getting better and her breathing has improved even more. She is still in the hospital and it is likely we won't see her for another 6 days...Andrew is staying optimistic that they will change their minds and make this time shorter (I'm not as optimistic and am counting down the days).
Oh! Happy Easter! Tomorrow is Easter Sunday here and I think it is the same in Canada. Enjoy your Easter dinners...we will again be in the hotel restaurant as we don't want to bother our translator with her family. Though she did say she will bring us Easter eggs tomorrow. I am so craving ham and scalloped potatoes right now. Their ham is significantly different...way, way, way too salty, and dark red in color. I also want a huge bowl of corn (I know I am allergic but oh well). Well we have had some beer and Andrew says he is going to pass out. I'll end it there for today. Have a good Easter!
Thursday, April 5, 2007
Good News!!
We have heard from our translator today that our little one's fever has broken and that she is breathing better. This is good news! She will still remain in the hospital for a while longer yet but we don't have to worry so much. Our coordinator has gone to Almaty today to talk to the doctor about coming to Kyzylorda to complete the Immigration medical, secure our Russian VISAs for next month, see if she can pick up our fedex package (instead of them continuing to send it to us here) and get some other paperwork completed. We still will not be able to visit our little girl but at least we know she is getting better. I am so relieved!
Today's entry is going to be short...we have updated you on our girl's progress, we are still in our room watching Criminal Minds, and are eating well. No worries...now.
PS. Thanks for all the comments...we really appreciate hearing from all of you. We are definitely feeling the love these thousands of kilometers between us. Thanks for the hopes, prayers and pixie dust ;)
Today's entry is going to be short...we have updated you on our girl's progress, we are still in our room watching Criminal Minds, and are eating well. No worries...now.
PS. Thanks for all the comments...we really appreciate hearing from all of you. We are definitely feeling the love these thousands of kilometers between us. Thanks for the hopes, prayers and pixie dust ;)
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
Sad day...but hopefully not too sad
Today is a sad day for us...our little girl was admitted to the hospital this morning. They think she has some fluid in her lungs and might have pneumonia. We are praying that she will get better soon but we might be without a visit for another ten days. Obviously this means our trip to Almaty has been postponed for the time being. Our coordinator is going to Almaty tomorrow to try and convince the doctor to come to Kyzylorda to do the medical for immigration. Andrew and I are trying not to be too worried about the hospital stay but are losing at this. I am extremely terrified as I have had heard of children not surviving this. I also have experience with children I care about passing away. It seems I have found my faith again and I have been praying to any God that will hear me to keep an eye on our little girl. Andrew is sad and has been cuddling one of the toys we have brought...I put the hat that Sharon bought for her in Saskatoon on it...and looking at pictures we have taken. We put the hat from Nana on our girl's head the first day we met her...it kind of smells like her. I'm sorry that todays log isn't as up beat as the previous but you guys wanted honesty so here it is.
We tried to distract ourselves today...we went to the bazaar in the morning (we didn't hear about our girl until early afternoon). I found two pairs of jeans that seem to have been made for me...the fit like a glove. Andrew likes the fact that they are stretch and a little form fitting. We were told the news while shopping today and it really made me sad (and not up for more shopping). I did try to distract myself with more shopping but all I really wanted to do was go back to the hotel and cry. I knew we would have hoops to jump through while here but when is it going to stop? We are nice people and do nice things and seem to have some interesting karma right now. Any thoughts and prayers would be really appreciated right now.
Normally I wouldn't say I am an overly religious person but I think having children makes a person believe in a higher power. A few days ago we went into a Russian Orthodox Church and it was amazing. This church was built in 1878 and had a presence about it. There were idols on all the walls and they even have a picture of the Holy Mother that has bled. Again I don't normally say things like this but it was like I could feel God's (or whatever you want to call it...fate, buddah, karma) presence there. It was a really nice feeling. The priest (if this is what the term is) was very nice and welcomed us in. He also invited us to witness a baptism and we stayed. Even though I couldn't understand what he was saying on some level I did. I don't know how to put it...it was like something he was saying was familiar. Now you don't all have to go and worry that I have fallen off the deep end or that a fish without the word Darwin is going to appear on my vehicle. I am just sharing the experience.
I hope I haven't scared to many of you. I needed to talk and I guess you all get to be my audience. Andrew says it is cathartic (spelling?). Well we are going to go back to watching DVDs now. Today we watched Criminal Minds (boy is it good) and now I think something light and cartoony is on the menu. Lots of love to you all...keep the good thought for our girl coming. Paka Paka (Bye Bye).
We tried to distract ourselves today...we went to the bazaar in the morning (we didn't hear about our girl until early afternoon). I found two pairs of jeans that seem to have been made for me...the fit like a glove. Andrew likes the fact that they are stretch and a little form fitting. We were told the news while shopping today and it really made me sad (and not up for more shopping). I did try to distract myself with more shopping but all I really wanted to do was go back to the hotel and cry. I knew we would have hoops to jump through while here but when is it going to stop? We are nice people and do nice things and seem to have some interesting karma right now. Any thoughts and prayers would be really appreciated right now.
Normally I wouldn't say I am an overly religious person but I think having children makes a person believe in a higher power. A few days ago we went into a Russian Orthodox Church and it was amazing. This church was built in 1878 and had a presence about it. There were idols on all the walls and they even have a picture of the Holy Mother that has bled. Again I don't normally say things like this but it was like I could feel God's (or whatever you want to call it...fate, buddah, karma) presence there. It was a really nice feeling. The priest (if this is what the term is) was very nice and welcomed us in. He also invited us to witness a baptism and we stayed. Even though I couldn't understand what he was saying on some level I did. I don't know how to put it...it was like something he was saying was familiar. Now you don't all have to go and worry that I have fallen off the deep end or that a fish without the word Darwin is going to appear on my vehicle. I am just sharing the experience.
I hope I haven't scared to many of you. I needed to talk and I guess you all get to be my audience. Andrew says it is cathartic (spelling?). Well we are going to go back to watching DVDs now. Today we watched Criminal Minds (boy is it good) and now I think something light and cartoony is on the menu. Lots of love to you all...keep the good thought for our girl coming. Paka Paka (Bye Bye).
Tuesday, April 3, 2007
Shashleek is good!
Today is the day 2.5 with no visit to the little one...and again we are told we cannot visit her tomorrow. However, there is a good and bad side to this. Good side...she will hopefully be feeling a little better for the cross-country trip that I am taking with her on Thursday. Bad side...Andrew will have to go a total of 6.5 days without seeing his little girl. We love her and want her to get better soon. I have told Andrew that it won't be all giggles while she is with me in Almaty. Likely, she will be still a little sick...so I get to deal with a cranky, sick toddler for the trip. I am still looking forward to it though!
We took our translator and coordinator out for lunch today. They took us to a restaurant known for its Shashleek...this is a BBQ (fire usually) kebab of sort. They marinade the meet in vinegar and spices and then flame broil it. It is sooooo good! Andrew ate so much that we were all looking at his as to say "where is he putting it all?" Other then that we finished Season 2 of Enterprise (minus one episode...we know it is going to be a cliff hanger so we are not watching it until we have Season 3 in front of us). We have started watching Criminal Minds Season 1 and boy is it good! I'm glad we have all the DVDs with us...they help us pass the time. Kyzylorda isn't much of a tourist town...they don't even print maps of the city off. We could get one of the country or region but not a city specific map. Other then that we look at photos of our little girl (both printed out and on the laptop). I can't wait until after court and we can introduce you all to her.
Tomorrow we are going shopping!!! Our people here are taking us to a Bazzaar (think large flea market) and to the closest thing they have to a mall. I need pants. I only brought 3 pairs of jeans and I would like to have another option to wear besides my Geology sweats (they say Geology on the butt). Plus, I have seen the women here sporting some fabulous handbags and boots...I want me some! My travel purse is great for airplanes (large) but not for day to day needs...especially when I have a diaper bag a little larger with me as well. Well that's all for today. I'm sorry it isn't more interesting. Andrew has said he will post while I'm in Almaty. I'm not sure what my internet access will be...hopefully I can call him and update him to the going ons day to day. Well adios for now.
We took our translator and coordinator out for lunch today. They took us to a restaurant known for its Shashleek...this is a BBQ (fire usually) kebab of sort. They marinade the meet in vinegar and spices and then flame broil it. It is sooooo good! Andrew ate so much that we were all looking at his as to say "where is he putting it all?" Other then that we finished Season 2 of Enterprise (minus one episode...we know it is going to be a cliff hanger so we are not watching it until we have Season 3 in front of us). We have started watching Criminal Minds Season 1 and boy is it good! I'm glad we have all the DVDs with us...they help us pass the time. Kyzylorda isn't much of a tourist town...they don't even print maps of the city off. We could get one of the country or region but not a city specific map. Other then that we look at photos of our little girl (both printed out and on the laptop). I can't wait until after court and we can introduce you all to her.
Tomorrow we are going shopping!!! Our people here are taking us to a Bazzaar (think large flea market) and to the closest thing they have to a mall. I need pants. I only brought 3 pairs of jeans and I would like to have another option to wear besides my Geology sweats (they say Geology on the butt). Plus, I have seen the women here sporting some fabulous handbags and boots...I want me some! My travel purse is great for airplanes (large) but not for day to day needs...especially when I have a diaper bag a little larger with me as well. Well that's all for today. I'm sorry it isn't more interesting. Andrew has said he will post while I'm in Almaty. I'm not sure what my internet access will be...hopefully I can call him and update him to the going ons day to day. Well adios for now.
Monday, April 2, 2007
Still No Girl Sighted
Well today is day 1.5 of no visit with our little girl. We were also told today that we will not be able to see her tomorrow...she has a fever (37.2-37.3 degrees C)and we don't want her to get any worse. We understand that she is sick and want very much for her to get better...but I now know what child withdrawl feels like and I don't like it (my mom will get the reference).
So to keep ourselves busy today we went and paid for airline tickets to Almaty. I am going with our little girl and her caregiver to Almaty on Thursday to see a doctor there. This is so she can get her Canadian Immigration Medical done. We will fly out on Thursday early afternoon and not return until Saturday early afternoon. While gone I get to take care of my little girl...all under the watchful eye of her caregiver that is. I have met this caregiver before and she is very nice. I am sure she will give me lots of advice and I am ok with that...I can raise her the way I want when back in Canada, but until then I will listen and learn. We also watched CARS today and we loved it! If you haven't seen this movie yet go and watch it right now. It is so cute and has a very good lesson in it. Other then that we watched BBC world news. This is the only program/channel that we have in English here. Sometimes we switch to RU.TV, which is the Russian music channel. We don't understand a word of what they are saying but their videos are quite funny. All the female pop stars are gorgeous and the male ones are old...and I mean OLD.
Back to the tour...
This is our first hotel room in Almaty. It cost us 22 thousand tenge a night ($160 US)...it really wasn't worth it. The bed was incredibly hard. Imagine sleeping on plywood or a Klingon bed (for those geeks reading this). The last night we were there it rained and in the morning the ceiling was leaking on us...thank goodness we were awake already.
This is our hotel room in Kyzylorda. It is much nicer! It has two queen size beds...one of which we are using to put our luggage on top of and the other to sleep. These beds are much more comfortable then the first hotel. Not as comfy as home but not bad for hotel beds. This hotel is also way more cost effective. We get breakfast included (which I don't usually have as I'm not that hungry in the morning) and we get 15% off our other meals in their restaurant. Again the food here is quite good. I found a new discovery one night while reading the menu...spaghetti with cream oil. Anyone fancy a guess to what this is? Yep, it is spaghetti and butter. A culinary favorite of mine when lazy. So I have been eating this when I need some comfort...and I haven't reacted might I add.
A normal day (not recently but oh well) for us is us getting up at 8 am, Andrew rushing downstairs for breakfast like he has never eaten anything in his life, and then getting picked up at 10 am for our first visit. After the visit we go to the grocery store (if we need to) to pick up water or food stuff. After this we are dropped back at the hotel and we amuse ourselves with DVDs until 4 pm when we are picked up for our afternoon visit. After this visit we get dropped back at the hotel and do our web logging, email checking, etc. At around 6-7 pm we have supper in the hotel restauant. Finally we return to the room and watch DVDs until 9-10 pm when we go to sleep. Then again starts this cycle. You might be asking why don't we go for a walk or something...well it is extremely dusty here. My allergies and well just breathing isn't too good for long periods of time outside. Also, it is cold here right now (for here that is) and it isn't much of an inducement to go and brave the dust. Also air quality is a little different in comparison to home. Combine these with the fact that pedestrians do not have the right of way and it is a little dangerous to go outside really.
More pictures...
This is the hospital our little girl was born at! We are having a little discussion on our side here...Andrew thinks that he heard no men at all were allowed in this maternity hospital, while I think our translator said no men allowed in the birthing rooms. We will check back with her about this...we have said before she is pregnant and thus knows about these things.
The phone number for our cellphone was a little incorrect...instead of a 8 just use the country code of 7 when dialing. Well that should be enough for today. Andrew is now pacing within the internet room as I think a spec of dust has flown by him. Sorry guys his attention is gone. We'll put some more pics up tomorrow. Miss you.
Pray/send good thought that our girl gets better soon. Withdrawl pains are quite high right now.
So to keep ourselves busy today we went and paid for airline tickets to Almaty. I am going with our little girl and her caregiver to Almaty on Thursday to see a doctor there. This is so she can get her Canadian Immigration Medical done. We will fly out on Thursday early afternoon and not return until Saturday early afternoon. While gone I get to take care of my little girl...all under the watchful eye of her caregiver that is. I have met this caregiver before and she is very nice. I am sure she will give me lots of advice and I am ok with that...I can raise her the way I want when back in Canada, but until then I will listen and learn. We also watched CARS today and we loved it! If you haven't seen this movie yet go and watch it right now. It is so cute and has a very good lesson in it. Other then that we watched BBC world news. This is the only program/channel that we have in English here. Sometimes we switch to RU.TV, which is the Russian music channel. We don't understand a word of what they are saying but their videos are quite funny. All the female pop stars are gorgeous and the male ones are old...and I mean OLD.
Back to the tour...
This is our first hotel room in Almaty. It cost us 22 thousand tenge a night ($160 US)...it really wasn't worth it. The bed was incredibly hard. Imagine sleeping on plywood or a Klingon bed (for those geeks reading this). The last night we were there it rained and in the morning the ceiling was leaking on us...thank goodness we were awake already.
This is our hotel room in Kyzylorda. It is much nicer! It has two queen size beds...one of which we are using to put our luggage on top of and the other to sleep. These beds are much more comfortable then the first hotel. Not as comfy as home but not bad for hotel beds. This hotel is also way more cost effective. We get breakfast included (which I don't usually have as I'm not that hungry in the morning) and we get 15% off our other meals in their restaurant. Again the food here is quite good. I found a new discovery one night while reading the menu...spaghetti with cream oil. Anyone fancy a guess to what this is? Yep, it is spaghetti and butter. A culinary favorite of mine when lazy. So I have been eating this when I need some comfort...and I haven't reacted might I add.
A normal day (not recently but oh well) for us is us getting up at 8 am, Andrew rushing downstairs for breakfast like he has never eaten anything in his life, and then getting picked up at 10 am for our first visit. After the visit we go to the grocery store (if we need to) to pick up water or food stuff. After this we are dropped back at the hotel and we amuse ourselves with DVDs until 4 pm when we are picked up for our afternoon visit. After this visit we get dropped back at the hotel and do our web logging, email checking, etc. At around 6-7 pm we have supper in the hotel restauant. Finally we return to the room and watch DVDs until 9-10 pm when we go to sleep. Then again starts this cycle. You might be asking why don't we go for a walk or something...well it is extremely dusty here. My allergies and well just breathing isn't too good for long periods of time outside. Also, it is cold here right now (for here that is) and it isn't much of an inducement to go and brave the dust. Also air quality is a little different in comparison to home. Combine these with the fact that pedestrians do not have the right of way and it is a little dangerous to go outside really.
More pictures...
This is the hospital our little girl was born at! We are having a little discussion on our side here...Andrew thinks that he heard no men at all were allowed in this maternity hospital, while I think our translator said no men allowed in the birthing rooms. We will check back with her about this...we have said before she is pregnant and thus knows about these things.
The phone number for our cellphone was a little incorrect...instead of a 8 just use the country code of 7 when dialing. Well that should be enough for today. Andrew is now pacing within the internet room as I think a spec of dust has flown by him. Sorry guys his attention is gone. We'll put some more pics up tomorrow. Miss you.
Pray/send good thought that our girl gets better soon. Withdrawl pains are quite high right now.
Sunday, April 1, 2007
Tour of Kyzylorda
Today was a semi-eventful day. We were allowed to visit our girl this morning but not this afternoon...or tomorrow. She is still sick and they want her to sleep and stay indoors. Where we visit her she has to be taken out of one building and into another one. We want her to get better but we miss her terribly. When she is uncomfortable while sick she acts just like her dad...she tosses and turns and makes little cooing noises. We cut our visit short today as well...she really just wanted to sleep and she couldn't get comfy on us. They want her to get better soon as I (Nadine) have to take her to Almaty on Thursday (with a caregiver) by plane for her Canadian Immigration Medical. So maybe if she is allowed to sleep undisturbed she might get better faster. Please have your good thoughts go to her right now.
Well since we really can't post too much about our girl today we thought we would give you a little tour of the city of her birth. We were taken by our interpretor and our coordinator on a little tour of Kyzylorda today. Size wise think of a tour of Saskatoon (population wise) and a small town (Cochrane/Canmore) area wise.
This first photo is of me in front of the first monument we have visited. This monument is to a Kazak historian who documented the life of the Kazak people. This monument is across the street from a big river that runs near Kyzylorda. I can't remember the name of the river right now but you can look it up if you want (google maps).
This second photo is of the world war II monument. In this one you might be able to notice that the eternal flame that is suppose to be burning in the center of it is out. It is too costly to pay for the petrol needed to keep this flame going so they let it burn out. Not shown in this photo is the two artillery pieces (big guns) flanking it. It has the dates on either side of the tower and the old Soviet star on the top.
Since we don't get to visit the little one tomorrow we will post more of our city pics then. We also might be taken to a Russian Orthodox church...again. We liked it so much the first time we are going back again...more on that tomorrow.
If any of you want to call us we now have a SIM card for our cellphone. We are unsure how to internationally call here but the number for our phone is...
8-777-613-37-02
Miss you all. We hope things are going well in your guys' lives. Keep the comments coming...besides visits with the girl it is all we look forward to.
Well since we really can't post too much about our girl today we thought we would give you a little tour of the city of her birth. We were taken by our interpretor and our coordinator on a little tour of Kyzylorda today. Size wise think of a tour of Saskatoon (population wise) and a small town (Cochrane/Canmore) area wise.
This first photo is of me in front of the first monument we have visited. This monument is to a Kazak historian who documented the life of the Kazak people. This monument is across the street from a big river that runs near Kyzylorda. I can't remember the name of the river right now but you can look it up if you want (google maps).
This second photo is of the world war II monument. In this one you might be able to notice that the eternal flame that is suppose to be burning in the center of it is out. It is too costly to pay for the petrol needed to keep this flame going so they let it burn out. Not shown in this photo is the two artillery pieces (big guns) flanking it. It has the dates on either side of the tower and the old Soviet star on the top.
Since we don't get to visit the little one tomorrow we will post more of our city pics then. We also might be taken to a Russian Orthodox church...again. We liked it so much the first time we are going back again...more on that tomorrow.
If any of you want to call us we now have a SIM card for our cellphone. We are unsure how to internationally call here but the number for our phone is...
8-777-613-37-02
Miss you all. We hope things are going well in your guys' lives. Keep the comments coming...besides visits with the girl it is all we look forward to.
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