A Night at the Museum

19 Nov 07, Monday, Almaty, Kazakhstan
Day 55. Major events of the day: A Night at the Museum, Meeting up with Suzanne & Hilton, Waiting for Passport Registration and dinner at the American Bar & Grill

Morning Weather Report:
Almaty weather: 25, feels like 19, with a projected high of 49. A cold, crisp start to the day, but the sun’s rays are pretty warming. I bet the UV index is up though. The sunshine feels very warm!
Meanwhile back in Memphis: Overnight low of 57, and heading up to 70. Hopefully some of that weather will be around when we return!

Ok, we didn’t spend the night at the museum, but we did walk by when going over to meet Suzanne and Hilton for dinner. It was really well done with white and colored lighting. It’s a good thing that it gets dark early this time of year or we would be missing out on a lit of neat scenery! Though not up to re-doing some of our day time marathon treks, there are a few places I would like to see at night. The Little Eifel Tower was neat to look at too, with its own changing colored lights. Ночь в Музее (Night at the Museum) has quickly become one of the kids’ favorites.

We enjoyed a nice quiet morning around the apartment without having to rush off somewhere. The kids really enjoy our breakfast routine. Forms were filled out and paperwork was reviewed last night with Oleg, so today would be a day of waiting and rest. Our main plan of the day is to meet up with Hilton and Suzanne who arrived from Petro yesterday along with their new son. We have really enjoyed their company through our process and know they have felt the same.

The Nursat iCard I bought Saturday is working out well, filling in for those times when I cannot find a good signal at the Ramstore. The rates are a little expensive by US standards, but are a lot better than paying a big phone bill at the end of a stay (and 15-25% less expensive too). The purchased units can also be used for phone calls home (~$0.35/minute). I had heard about the phone card while in Petro, but never used it. Families traveling to Kazakhstan in the future should consider getting one. I could have saved a little on the connection bill and can also call home at rates far better than Kaztelkom… Anyway, I was able to chat online with Cathe for a few minutes this morning before she went to bed. Being 12 hours out of sync is a real pain at times though.

This morning while I was catching up on e-mail, the kids were drawing and coloring quietly. The past 8 days for the three of us being completely on our own has been a real growing and bonding period. The only thing missing is Cathe, but we stay in daily contact and occasionally get a good enough connection to actually talk back and forth without too much delay. Google Translator is really working well for us. Both kids were happy to have a note from mom waiting for them after breakfast. The more I observe and learn about our kids, the more impressed I become. They are also having a lot of fun with me and my limited Russian, but occasionally I totally surprise them with side comments. I am still having a lot of trouble with “kid chatter” though, but try not to let it be too obvious by answering back in English when I’m totally lost as to what they’re asking/saying. They’re very bright and are catching on quickly. I have now been officially dubbed “Niz Nika” by the kids, which means, “The man who doesn’t know.”

We finally contacted Hilton and Suzanne and arranged to meet at the Ramstore just after lunch time. Both Kate and David were happy to see them and to know that we are keeping in contact. It’s also fortunate that our annual Christmas travel loop will allow us to stop and visit for a little bit over the holidays as well. Without good people and good friends, the last two months would have been much more difficult. Meeting other wonderful people during our adoption trek allowed us some “time out” when we could think of other things than just our adoption process and it was nice to have “outside” conversations so Cathe and I didn’t “get tired of each other.”

I have to say that we have been blessed with two absolutely wonderful children. Hilton and Suzanne arrived a couple minutes before we did and cornered a good table. We chatted for a few moments then both pulled out laptops to check the connections (the standing agreement I have with the children is Internet Connection for me = Ice Skating for them).

Then we noticed there was only one person on the ice and he was definitely not skating. Today was rink cleaning/Ice repair day, so no skating for the kids regardless of connectivity. 8-( The gods must have been frowning on us all, because neither Hilton nor I could connect. Kate didn’t mind since she was helping Suzanne with her new toddler, but David was distraught. He handled it well and helped entertain the youngster while the adults chatted. They also had a new baby “to play with.” Kate did a most wonderful job with helping out while the guys chatted. Even though the rink was closed, I have to say that I think both kids did better at being patient and non-complaining than most other kids their ages.

We have enjoyed many dinners with them as well as comparing notes on various things we had seen or done. Today, we were all happy just to be in a food court where everyone could get what they wanted without having to go too many directions. We also saw “Domino Donuts” whose packaging bears an uncanny resemblance to Dunkin’ Donuts. The food court also offers many choices. Looks like the old Mc John’s has been replaced by BURGER.

We had some fun trekking through the supermarket area as well. I didn’t see "BARF" soap (Hilton tells me it is a dishwashing detergent), but I did see “Mr. Proper” general purpose cleaner. Perhaps you will recognize the packaging.

Back at the apartment there was a note on the door to call Oleg. Houston, we have another paperwork problem. The Kazakhstan Dept of State wants a Power of Attorney saying that Cathe approves of everything I am doing before they will release the children’s passports. If the passports are not registered and released, then we cannot complete our US Consulate visit (Embassy has moved to Astana). I hope that the modern marvel of internet communication will save us any further delay. Cathe wrote a quick POA and had it notarized, then e-mailed it to me. Hopefully the government will accept it. Otherwise, Kate, David and I will be “stuck” here a while longer with the added expense of changing plane tickets ($200 each) and extended apartment rent at $110 per day. Keep us in your prayers that all the roadblocks come down quickly and we can proceed home.

One of Oleg’s partners came over and collected a few more documents. Thankfully, I brought my own copy of all of our Dossier’ documents, although not translated or apostilled. The scanned POA plus my new extended visa (original one expired last Saturday) will do the trick.

Hearing nothing further from Oleg by 7pm, we headed down the hill to meet up with Suzanne and Hilton at the American Bar & Grill (thanks again Kathy!). Their son was finishing his dinner as we arrived. It’s amazing how regimented the children’s schedules are at all age levels. The baby was cranky at the exact time he should have been in the process of being fed. Go figure! My schedule (our schedule) has revolved around the stomach schedules Kate and David have been accustomed to. The big time change we will be going through in a few days will throw them completely out of sync!

Today I saw another new side of our children: Both are very caring and outgoing toward younger children. Kate wanted to help with the baby as did David. Although I know that there are some areas we will have to work on as a family, there are others in which they truly amaze me.

Keep us in your prayers that our latest paperwork issue is quickly overcome.