Kazakh Belly Bombs

Major events of the day: Bonding Day 14, Submitting our Application and experiencing Kazakh Belly Bombs (or if you are from the upper Midwest: Gut Grenades or Grease Sliders).

Before going into any details, we have to share our excitement in having reached day 14 of the 14 required days of bonding. Our application was submitted to the Judge and the Department of Guardianship this morning. Our official court date, barring delays, is Oct 23rd at 10 am (11 pm on the 22nd for those night owls back home who may want to say a prayer or two on our behalf before turning in for the night). In celebration, we hunted down the “Hot Pocket” stand after making a stop to see the “Kabob Guy” and the “Fruit Lady.” More about that new treat later in today’s entry…

On our way to the orphanage Cathe had two cultural questions for Masha and Sasha. First question: Why do we see people lugging around 40 lb bags of Vidalia onions? She said that it is customary to buy staple items, like onions, potatoes, sugar, etc. in large sizes so they get a better price on them. She gave an example that her family buys a large bag of sugar that will last them a little over half a year. (The Fruit Lady had been amazed that Cathe only wanted one onion the other day when buying ingredients for soup). Second question: How are the older people (those who are retired or will soon be retiring) adjusting to Kazakhstan being an independent country instead of being a part of the Soviet Union. We were wondering how their retirement system compares to Social Security. Sasha said that at first it was much better, then got a little worse, then got a little better, but is not as good now. We don’t know what to make of this, but it sounds like they need some sort of 401(k) equivalent as they move from socialism to capitalism.

As we were driving to the RBS, Masha handed back the left over pictures we had submitted yesterday. We had printed a set of photos for the D.o.G. Lady’s files as well as a few to be submitted to the Judge with our application. The judge picked out a few and was particularly impressed by one of us clustered around the camera. Bill had picked up a tip somewhere about using the camera’s self-timer, setting it on the floor, then huddling around while looking at the camera. The result is pretty entertaining and was something the Judge had not seen before. She took two copies of that one! Clockwise from teh left: D.o.G. Lady, Bill, Masha, Cathe, LB, LG.

Although we did well on our own yesterday, it was nice to have Masha’s services once again. Her quick check with the kids confirms that they also consider yesterday a success. Yesterday we all learned that we will have to be patient with one another. We also learned that we have a lot of fun tools at our fingertips which will make learning the language easier, and more fun for all of us. Bill struck a deal with LB that each will help the other learn their respective languages. LG was a little concerned when Bill handed her a packet of jellybeans then pulled out the flash cards. She had fun with yesterday’s drill, but didn’t like giving any candies back when she got an answer wrong… There was visible relief when Bill told her that today all of the candies were hers, regardless of errors.

Although they don’t have full confidence in their memory of all the letters, the both know all of the sounds for the letters. Kudos to their English teacher at the RBS! LB can sound out words, so he will be reading and writing as fast as his vocabulary grows. LG is a little behind since she has had only one year of English, but will do fine with coaching from Mama and Papa.

After our academic review, we took a short break. Both children wanted to know how many more days before they will be able to come home with us. We explained that it will depend on the judge and that there is a 15 day waiting period after court. Because they are both over 10, they will both come to court had have a say in the proceedings. Perhaps we will be lucky and the judge will reduce or waive the waiting period. It’s a long shot, but we can always ask and pray. God brought us to these two, so He already knows.

Just as we were wrapping up break, one of their caregivers came into the room for a few minutes. She wanted to tell us how happy she was for these two and that they had found us. We have received translated copies of their medical records, but not their school records (hopefully tomorrow). The caregiver and the teacher whose classroom we’ve been using for our daily sessions both told us that the kids are not the best students, but do try hard. Now that they have a family, both are trying even harder (except that LB is still slacking in Kazakh, since he figured out that he won’t have that subject back in the states). In the last two weeks their grades have actually gone up. With Mom being a teacher and Dad being and engineer/computer geek, they will get a lot of focused one-on-one help. We also discovered that the Memphis public library offers free online access to Rosetta Stone English Edition on their ESL resources page. Since it is an exact parallel to the Russian edition we already have, it will be a huge help (LG and LB have played with the Russian edition while pursuing the contents of our computer). It was very nice to talk with the caregiver for a few minutes, especially when she told us that her son just started college this fall as an English major.

Bill was bringing our visit journal up to date while LG was coloring and Cathe worked with LB on writing back to his soon to be friend JD. (LB was pretty excited when he realized that Cathe had homework because she needed to translate what he wrote). Since Saturday and Sunday were off-campus days, and Masha was on her mission yesterday, so we had three days to fill in. Because we have done so much, we had to pause for a moment to recall exactly what we had done each day. We have covered so much ground these past two weeks that the days have all blurred together, none exactly like the other. Like Bill Murray’s final day in “Groundhog Day,” we have gotten this right. Even the weather was right, crystal clear and a little over 60 degrees. We didn’t wear jackets today, just sweaters.

When our visiting time was up, we hugged and said our goodbyes then went to the front steps to wait for Sasha, our driver. We had a moment of deja’ vu when we saw two little girls who we had seen in Airtau on our first try. One smiled at Cathe when she recognized us. They had just been moved up from Airtau today. The RBS is pretty full, so new children are moved in only as children are adopted or “graduate” from the system.

The only hard thing about going home will be the sadness that we won’t be taking more children home with us. Some day their forever family will come looking for them too.

Upon returning to our apartment we felt the need for a celebratory dinner to commemorate completion of our 14 days of bonding. Having heard about some terrifically tasty “hot pocket” type sandwiches, we had hunted down the stand in the little flea market this morning when we went fruit shopping. After dropping off our book bags, we dashed across the street and made our selections. 6 hot pockets for about 240 kzt (about $2). Anyone who has savored White Castle or Krystal burgers will understand the “Belly Bomb” analogy. The triangular ones had a flaky pastry crust and were filled with cooked ground beef and onions as were the round ones which were in a bread dough. The oblong ones that looked like the shape of a potato were filled with mashed potatoes in a bread dough. They had been deep-fried to perfection! Rachel Ray would be proud of our successful searches for culinary delights on a budget. They do have good food here!

Another great day to add to the log. Tomorrow, the Countdown to Court begins.

Flying Solo

Major events of the day: Bonding Day 13, A lot of Photos, and Flying Solo

Today we printed photos for the Dept of Guardianship (D.o.G.) Lady (we still love that acronym) to document that she did monitor some visits and some to submit with our formal court application tomorrow. We’ll also bring a photo album to court with many that were not included in today’s packets. Our pictures have been a mix with and without timestamps since there doesn’t seem to be a consensus regarding whether or not they’re required (we have heard both). We think it has to do with documenting that we visited for the entire required time… If nothing else, our first and last day of bonding will have date stamps.

After searching through more that 850 pictures we’ve taken since our arrival, Bill selected 89 pictures to print, two sets each. Today we got the volume discount, 25 kzt/print for glossy. Many went in an envelope for the D.o.G. Lady and 15 to be submitted with our application. The rest will go in our photo album for court or to the kids for their albums. We have taken a lot of photos of the kids with teachers, staff and friends, so they want to share them. We also picked out a few which we will enlarge and frame as part of our gifts. While waiting for the photos, Bill picked up some groceries and discovered that there are 3 new flavors of the “For Men” chocolate bar. Tonight we will try the one with almonds.

Many foods here are the same, but many tastes are different, such as the Bacon flavored potato chips we had with lunch today. Cathe got a good laugh because we had leftover hard boiled eggs from yesterday’s salad and made egg salad sandwiches. With the exception of not having the sandwiches on toast, you could say we were sort of having breakfast foods for lunch.

Today we flew solo during our visit. Masha and Sasha were on a mission to retrieve another couple’s final court documents from a town about 60 miles away. The couple (who we met in passing in the airport café in Almaty) adopted a child from the Poludino orphanage 35 miles to the east of Petropavlovsk and went to court in the further town because it was closer to the orphanage than Petro. So instead of our usual company, we were chauffeured to the RBS by Masha’s sister and her boyfriend.

This was Cathe’s first time riding in a car with the driver on the right side (about a third of the cars here are right-hand drive). She wanted to take a picture but was afraid to ask. Right after leaving the apartment, we encountered a brief delay at an intersection due to overhead power line work which had the electric buses at stand-still. Andre deftly navigated his big car (ok, at least big compared to the Lada we’re used to traveling in) through the traffic and even cut off a bigger truck just in time to zig around a stopped bus, ignoring all laws of gross tonnage, with just enough room to complete an immediate right turn. After navigating from the back seat (could be a few good jokes here…) we finally arrived. Once we climbed out of the car, we were fully on our own.

The first order of business is to review basic English. LG is struggling with the letter “J” so Bill was determined that she would get past that today and learn the rest of the alphabet too. Of course, there was bribery involved. After a few times through the flash cards in order, Bill shuffled the cards and opened a package of sweet-tarts. LG received one each time she got a letter correct. But there is risk with reward… Each time she missed a letter, LG had to give one back which helped her stay focused. It was a lot of fun and LG soon depleted the day’s candy supply. She was almost as proud of herself as we are. Several families who have adopted older children have recommended “Rush into English.” We’ll be picking up a copy as well.

Meanwhile, LB knows a lot of basic sight words. He even has great word attack skills. Cathe worked with his comprehension and introduced something new today: dictionary drills. Knowing that we can’t be in class with the kids once they start school back home, the next best thing we can do is teach them to figure things out. Looking things up in the dictionary will be time consuming at first but will help both become more comfortable and less likely to just guess at the meaning of words. With the right coaching, we can even make it fun and increasing patience at the same time.

After all their hard work, it was time for some fun. The kids got to alternate computer time and drawing time. We asked LB and LG to draw a family picture. They both drew everyone smiling and didn’t forget to add Bob! Both LB and LG also drew LG with long hair (it’s in a bob cut now), so we asked if she wanted to grow it long. No hesitation in answering, “Yes!” We are thankful that our computer came with a couple kids games that focus on matching and memory. The memory skills games are fun and will help LG increase memory skills. We concluded today with a game of Uno, calling out numbers and colors in English, except Bill, who was calling them out in Russian.

Today was a good exercise in communication since we all had to work equally hard and only had ourselves to depend on. It won’t be long before we’re on our own. We survived today on our own and know that we can, with the patience and effort of all, get through the language barriers. Another Great visit on the books.

After dropping off our book bag back at the apartment, we headed out to take a few pictures. It rained this morning and our days are getting shorter, so we won’t have many more days to catch the trees in fall colors. Cathe also wanted to take pictures of the festive tulip flags set up a few days ago in anticipation of a visit by the President of Kazakhstan. We were fortunate and got a few photos of the few remaining marigolds and petunias. Groundskeepers around town have been pulling them up the past few days, so most flowerbeds are now empty. While out and about, we saw a remnant of the old soviet days: A Hammer and Sickle. It was etched in the stone surrounding a memorial statue not far from the Dept of Education.












Yesterday we watched “The Devil Wears Prada.” At one point in the movie the main character refers her model co-workers as “clakers” because of the sound their stiletto heals make when they walk down the hallway. Cathe got a good laugh when Bill commented the clakers are out in full force this evening. As we shared in a previous blog entries, boots with high heels are the most popular high-fashion item and most common footwear for women under the age of 60. Even the young girls are getting into the act. They even leave distinct tracks in the dirt pathways. Cathe really stands out as “not a local” not only by her accent but also in her non-claking Nike cross-trainers!




A few friends have asked about the cars here. In addition to all the older eastern European models, we have also seen several newer US, German, and Japanese cars in the past few days. Yesterday we spotted a PT Cruiser. Jeep Grand Cherokees are also popular. Today we saw a car with temporary tags from Virginia. It even had a current Virginia Inspection sticker in the windshield. Today’s driver told us that there are a few businesses in town which import cars from the US to re-sell in Kazakhstan. We’ll have to pay more attention to the prices on the occasional “For Sale” signs in the windows…

For dinner tonight we finished up yesterday’s soup and watched a little TV. We have not picked up any Kazakh, but enjoy the Russian channels. In addition to dubbed Discovery Channel and Animal Planet, we have started watching some Russian sitcoms. One of our favorites is a show called “Счастливый Вмѐсте” (“Happy Together”) which is a direct knock-off of “Married with Children.” The opening song is very different but has a catchy tune. The opening slide show follows the same sequence as the US show with the father handing out money to everyone, including the family dog. Even the characters resemble the American Show with big red hair, heavy makeup, scantly clothed daughter, shoe’s salesman father, an older and younger brother and Marcie and her husband as the neighbors. Marcie’s name is Masha and Natasha is the name of Peg Bundy.

We have also enjoyed watching “Just for Laughs,” a take-off on “America’s Funniest Home Videos,” “Russia’s Funniest Home Videos,” “ТАКСИ” (“Taxi,” aka Cash Cab). There is even a reality show called “ДОМ” (“House,” which we have determined to be the equivalent of Big Brother). Cathe has also enjoyed watching the Sports Channel this week since there was great coverage of the Kremlin Cup games. When you are watching Gymnastics, Hockey, or Synchronized Swimming you really don’t need to understand what the announcers are saying. (Her dad would be proud).

There are a lot of dubbed US movies on TV. If we have seen it before, we’ll go ahead and watch. We’re only picking up a few words of Russian here and there, but we can follow along. We have almost worked our way through our supply of movies and have been swapping with Masha. Looks like we’ll be trading a few with Suzanne and Hilton as well.

Tomorrow is the last day of our required 14 day bonding period. If it’s nice outside, we’ll try to do something outdoors. There won’t be many warmish days left and the days are getting much shorter. In the time we have been here, we’ve lost an hour of daylight per day.

Not all foods are what you expect

Major events of the day: Bonding Day 12, Lunch at the apartment and a children’s show at the Metro Theater

Major accomplishment: We slept through the night and we didn’t even go to bed late!

Yesterday we didn’t mention our latest grocery shopping trek in preparation for today’s lunch with the kids. Masha offered to help us pick up the ingredients we needed and when we realized that Sasha was going to give us a lift back to the apartment, we picked up some extras of the heavy items (like water) so we wouldn’t have to make an additional trip today. Cathe introduced Masha to “Our Friends” in the little market, “The Kabob Guy,” and “The Fruit Lady.” (we’ll have to get a few pictures of them to include). They have been patient with us, and always friendly despite our limited vocabulary.

One thing we also learned is that items aren’t always as they appear on the label or at least as we’re used to them back home… Since most everything has a picture label, we’ve gotten good at making our way through the store. We’ve learned a few key words like Суп (sūp = soup), Рис (ris = rice), etc. From a previous restaurant adventure, Masha knew that Cathe doesn’t like mushrooms. Masha saw this package on our counter when we were reheating the soup today and said to Cathe, “I thought you didn’t like mushrooms?” Would you guess that this is mushroom soup? This will probably end up as another “you won’t believe what those Americans did today” story as dinner time conversation with her family… Interesting tidbit: We have not seen individual spices (like the jars we’re familiar with back home). Instead, there are a lot of complete seasoning packets for specific dishes.

First thing in the morning Cathe made the soup for this afternoon’s lunch. She could hardly wait to get started! Also on today’s lunch menu: Краб (crab) Salad. Masha also helped us navigate the market for the needed ingredients to make Краб salad (uses mock crab legs that we can find at home in the seafood dept). It’s one of the kids’ favorite salads and has become a favorite of ours as well. We will be making it back home too.

Anyway, Cathe made the soup in the morning (no mushrooms!) so that the ingredients would have enough time to blend together. It is nice to have some bare necessities to cook meals in our apartment.

Since it was Sunday and the kids didn’t have school, we got to pick them up early and were back at our apartment by noon. Most of the leaves in the birch grove by the RBS have fallen... Anyway, two hours is pretty easy, but today we would have them for five hours, our longest adventure yet. They were VERY excited to be heading off-campus again and kept asking what we would be doing today. First order of business was prepare the Краб salad while the soup was heating up. The kids were also excited when they saw the sourdough flatbread we got to go along with the meal since it is our favorite and much to our surprise their favorite too. One of our bakeries back home has foccia bread which is close. Fresh baked breads here are great and we’ll miss them! We had also gotten their favorite juices to go with the meal, so they were both very happy campers!

The table was set by our little helpers and LB wanted to take a picture of the table with all of the food, since this is our first home cooked meal. LG beat him to it. Masha asked if they liked everything and they said yes. They didn’t finish the soup but had extra helpings on the bread. Masha, also, inquired about the bread. They explained that they were only allowed one piece of bread at RBS, which explained why it was devoured. Masha also told us that if anyone at RBS wanted seconds it was first come first serve.

LB has a hearty appetite. LG eats little portions. We didn’t make them finish their food as it was probably overwhelming for them to see everything on the table and knew it was only for us and not to be shared with 10 others. We also suspect that they want to make sure they save room in case something else comes out (LG had seen a box of cookies in the back of the cabinet).

Bellies full and lunch dishes cleaned and put away, LB and LG wanted to try the Karaoke DVD on the bookshelf. Based on the label, it must have come with the DVD player. This was a lot of fun listening to them sing, but since we didn’t know any of the words to the songs they wanted to do something else that we could all do together. They both captured a few great photos, LB got one of LG looking at a picture of herself on the computer with her reflection in the computer screen (ignore all the fingerprint smudges, they like to touch the screen). When looking at the stored pictures on the camera they also found a good one of Bob who can hardly wait for all of us to come home. But what they REALLY wanted was what we would do for the rest of the afternoon. You should have seen their disappointed faces when we said that Sasha would be back with the car in a few minutes since it was only 2:30.

We hadn’t told the children about going to the theater today, keeping it as a surprise. They were very excited when they realized we were headed to the theater, not the RBS, they had seen the posters plastered at every bus stop and construction fence around town. The play was a fairy tale where an evil witch wants to marry the dragon but the dragon wants to marry the princess. The play characters features a wizard and several other assorted characters mixed in to make things interesting. SPOILER ALERT: The dragon marries the princess and then transforms into a prince.

Apparently it was a kludging of Russian fairy tales with a few twists. The confusing parts of the play were the “good characters” who were Scratch (squirrel from “Ice Age”), Pinocchio, and a few other cartoon characters that are familiar to the children here in Kazakhstan. Scene transitions were handled with a smoke machine, dimmed lighting and a laser light show. There were also a couple bubble machines. They didn’t seem to be synchronized with anything in the play, just randomly spewing a shower of bubbles. We attended a matinee show which was packed with little kids, so perhaps the bubbles were meant to keep them entertained through the hour and twenty minute play.

Our outings with LB and LG the last few days have been a lot of fun. Neither of us are sure who is having the best time: LB and LG participating in the activities or the adults watching the excitement of LB and LG participating in the activities. Once again, Cruise Activity Director Masha was on top of current kid-friendly attractions and made another great recommendation.

On the way back to the apartment for a quick wardrobe change, LB made a comment that “We’re going home to change to go home.” Bill quickly corrected his comment to, “We’re going to go change then to where you are staying until we go home.” Both LG and LB smiled with huge grins at that. They have been keeping up with the calendars Cathe created for them and know that Tuesday is Bonding Day 14. Court Day won’t arrive soon enough for them.

Tomorrow’s teaser: Bill and Cathe fly solo to RBS without Masha!!

Krab Salad Ingredients:
1 small can of corn
5 sticks of mock crab, diced into small pieces
4 hard boiled eggs, diced into small pieces
1c. cooked rice
1c. mayonnaise (may need more if the rice is dry)
Dash of salt and pepper

Although not in today’s recipe, there are a few things we’ll experiment with adding when we make it at home:
A tablespoon or two of diced red onion, celery, and green/red sweet pepper, maybe even a little garlic for the more adventurous.

Another Day Out on the Town

Major events of the day: Bonding Day 11, many Happy Birthdays, and a trip to the park

First, we want to wish Bill Sr. in Virginia (Bill’s dad), Myk in South Africa, and Lloyd in Australia all very Happy Birthday! The sun will not set on a family birthday today!

It wasn’t as cold this morning (low 40s instead of 30s), but it was overcast and not expected to get out of the 50’s today. The weather these past few days has been absolutely great and we’ll miss it. Tomorrow’s projected temperatures are cooler and rain is predicted for Monday, so we planned to make the most of this weekend as possible. Time is flying, but still not fast enough for us.

Today we signed our application for adoption! It will be filed Tuesday, the last day of our bonding period. Our attorney called today to let us know we have a tentative court date of Oct 24th. From the sound of things, judges are pushing more toward court 7-10 days after the bonding period rather than sooner. It is a little disappointing since we had hoped for something sooner, but at least now we have a date to pencil onto the calendar. The kids weren’t happy either since they wanted to go to court on Oct 17th, but we knew that was out of the question. We’re not sure if the 15 day waiting period includes court day or not, which will put us at Nov 7th or 8th for custody. Now we have something really great to count down to! Picture is the Dept of Ed building as seen from teh top of the Ferris Wheel.

It’s the weekend, and the kids were itching to head off-campus. They asked all week, “What are we doing on Saturday?” Apparently they were trying to get Masha to disclose our plans for the today as we were leaving yesterday. Masha has a great future as a cruise activity director! Not only has she managed to line up a lot of great things to do, she didn’t let anything slip in case the weather didn’t cooperate (it’s getting to be that time of year). She had done a little homework and found that the rides in Central Park would be operating today from noon to six, so we put that on the day’s activity list. It’s a good thing we hadn’t mentioned it to the kids because there was a light rain falling this morning, but by 10am the sun was shining and everything dried off.

LG was at the RBS main gate to greet us as we drove up. We never know which one or both will be there, but it sure is a nice to see them waiting, as eager to see us as we are them. They have learned to spot Sasha’s car and start waving even before they can see us inside.

There were a lot of kids in the courtyard today playing tag, chatting, or just running in and out, but LB wasn’t there. LG ran upstairs and reappeared a minute later. She told us he was finishing some chores and we could all go up to the family space while he finished. LB was being as cool as he could in front of all of his friends when he greeted us. Despite the cool act, it was obvious he was excited to see us. Both kids practically pulled us down the stairs, constantly asking what we were going to do today.

After a quick pit-stop at the apartment to swap wardrobe items, we were off to the park. There was a newly married couple posing for pictures. LG though the dress was absolutely beautiful and asked is she could get one like it when she gets married. Yes, but we hope she’ll wait a few years! We haven’t completed the adoption and she’s already planning to leave the nest!

Since the trees are quickly losing their leaves, it was only a matter of minutes before they saw one of the rides through the trees. All attention was suddenly re-focused. From that point on, we just could not walk fast enough for LG. Then the first conundrum arose: Do we want a snack first or do we want to go on a couple rides first???? The rides won the debate, so we headed to the ticket booth. The first ride was something like a roller coaster but on a circular track. The picture can better explain it. Fun, but not as exciting as the Машинки (Bumper Cars)! LB took one, Bill and LG took another while Cathe manned the camera to capture the action. It was a pretty good ride for 250 kzt/car (we paid by the car, not the person on that ride).

Some smooth talking by Bill convinced both kids that they wanted to go on the Ferris Wheel. Great view from up there. Cathe and Masha sure did look small waaaaay back down there on the ground! After that ride, the kids were ready for a snack. LB wanted cotton candy and LG wanted popcorn. Bill, the snack hound, obliged both and we soon had two even happier kids.

LB tried out the quad-runner track and had a lot of fun (he had already finished his cotton candy). LG passed on that adventure and worked on her popcorn instead. It was some very tasty kettle corn with sugar on it instead of salt. The track operator gave LB a few extra laps since his sister was looking pretty cute and not complaining that she wasn’t riding. More great photo ops!

One last trip to the bumper cars and time was up. It was a quiet trek back to the RBS because it’s the hardest part of every visit. Two hours just goes too fast. But now that we have a date on the calendar, we know that in less than 4 weeks, we won’t have to make that trip back anymore. To the left is a view of the park from the top of the Ferris Wheel.

Another great day that we would not mind doing again. Plan for tomorrow: Lunch at the apartment then off to the theatre.

We’re in double digits!

Major event of the day: Bonding Day 10 & Picking pictures for court!

Another quiet morning. At least until someone pounded on the door a little after 8… A quick call to Masha confirmed that we were not expecting anyone, so we didn’t open the door. The weather has been really nice these past few days. According to Sasha, unusually warm, so we had better enjoy it while we can. According to weather sources, the first real snowfall comes around Nov 1st, so we’re only a few weeks away. It is very probable that we’ll see some snow before we leave.

Today’s visit was another whirlwind affair. We still don’t know how we pack so much into such a short time! LG met us at the gate and ran alongside the car. LB was inside getting ready to show us his weekly sport training class where they are learning Greco-Roman Wrestling combined with a little Judo. It was a very brisk half hour session followed by Bill showing off a couple of his moves. LB was pretty good, but the law of gross tonnage applied and he had no chance. Bill also knew a thing or two about keeping a low center of gravity (the big cheat!). Both of the kids together couldn't bring him down.

Three out of the four of us were pretty hot and sweaty when the caretaker we had not met yet came into the sports room and talked with us for a few minutes. Her first comments were that she knew us immediately because both children had been anxious to display all of the pictures in their albums. She also said that she was very happy for us all because the children had not had much happiness in their lives up to now. Despite sweaty conditions, we trekked up to the third floor family spaces again for another quick tour. The caretakers really do a good job in creating as much normalcy as possible for the children.

Back downstairs we had a quick tour of the library and opportunity to ask both kids what they like to read. They have both read some of the first Harry Potter book (in Russian). LB really enjoys books about Nature, Animals and Natural History. LG likes books about Poems, animals, fairy tales, and fantasy books. We have quite a library at home which will be right up their alley.

Next door to the Library the Chess Club was meeting. LB had to introduce Bill to the resident chess master and get a few photos. LB will really like the chess set Bill has in the family room… LG was getting bored, and letting us know in her pouty way, that it was time to go to the classroom that we have been using for our bonding sessions. Little did she know that it was going to be school time again! 8-)

Back in the classroom with more than an hour left (wow we did a lot in the first hour!) it was time for ABC and basic words review. LB REALLY wanted to play on the computer, but we were firm that they needed at least 20 minutes practice with English. Masha and Bill reminded both the children that it is very important for them to study because in 3 weeks or so we will be on our own… That’ll be fun at first! Any pointers from the old hands?

Practice time finished with both doing very well, the computer and a puzzle came out of our bag of tricks. LB was first at the computer and was very pleased when Bill clicked on Media Player and it started playing songs from his favorite group (thanks Masha!). He really likes to use Word and PowerPoint to practice typing his name, his sister’s name and the names of all the other family members, especially Bob (our golden retriever).

When it was LG’s turn, she was also surprised to hear her favorite group playing. It’s really nice to have someone helping us who picks up and shares the little things which make a big difference for the children.

While the kids were enjoying themselves, we were busily gathering pointers from Masha regarding photos to submit to the Dept of Ed Wednesday morning for our court application. With all the great photos, the biggest problem will be limiting ourselves. (We promise to share more of those photos with our readers right after court.)

We were having such a great time this afternoon that 5 o’clock snuck up on us. Amazingly, we all forgot about our ritual snacks as we packed up and departed for the day. If this is Groundhog Day, it’s one we would like to have over and over (but just the 14 times required by law).

This evening we met up with Hilton and Suzanne for dinner at a new Italian place on Constitution Ave, The Venezia. We ordered penne pasta and spaghetti Bolognese. Who needs Russian when you can order in Italian! The four of us had dinner, water, cokes and dessert for less than 4000 kzt. Jim M: This is one to add to your great map! In addition to the great food, we also had some live entertainment: A 12-string guitar and accordion player. They did play one Italian song, Ave Maria. The rest were an eclectic collection of classical, pop and rock songs ranging from Beethoven to the Beatles to Celene Dion. The topper was: Stairway to Heaven on the accordion. Despite this being Oktoberfest weekend, they didn't try "Roll out the barrel" or "The Chicken Dance." Maybe next year... 8-D The sign is actually for the clothing galleria, so you'll need to look for the boat.

Another great day for all.

Who hyped up that kid?

Major event of the day: Bonding Day 9, Meeting Boris & One VERY energetic kid!

We’re finally adjusted our wake/sleep cycle to local time. A little after 9 am Bill headed to the Iceberg for water and a couple other things. When you only buy as many groceries at a time as you can carry, you’re pretty limited, so grocery shopping is an every other day event now.

Although the Iceberg is smaller than US grocery stores, the shelves are always stocked. Due to the frequency of our visits it is easy to see that they have pretty significant stock turnover as well, so things tend to be fresh. Be sure to check expiration dates though, some less popular items had a little dust on them… The days are quickly getting shorter too. It’s just after 6:30 pm and daylight is fading fast. But it was another beautiful Indian Summer day with the temperature reaching 60.

Another observation is that technology, even at dial-up speed, is great. The substitute teacher sitting in for Cathe asked the students in her class at St Francis to generate questions to ask us while we are in Kazakhstan. Every day a new a new list arrives. Filling in the questionnaire has become our morning ritual and has been a great way to pass the time until our most anticipated event of each day: The two hours we get to spend with our children.

Technology has also helped us navigate around a couple speed bumps… Although the I-171 is our official approval to adopt two children and does not list any age, our home study does and it is a part of our Dossier. That three inch thick document does get a thorough review and we have seen ours come out of the files a few times now. Since we are now adopting children a little older than we originally planned, yesterday evening (Kaz time) we sent off an e-mail request for our social worker for an update covering the new age range. She did, and then faxed it to our house sitter who then scanned and e-mailed it to us so it was waiting for us in our e-box this morning. We would like to extend a Thanks to Anne at Catholic Charities and Scott, our house sitter, for pulling that rabbit out of the hat. It may never be a big deal, but at least our attorney now has paperwork in hand if necessary. Isn’t technology great!

Cathe’s feeling a little under the weather today. Nothing major, just some congestion and a slight headache. Being a teacher, she’s used to it. Anything the kids bring to school comes home. Due to the radically swinging temperatures in Petro, several kids have the sniffles.

Masha borrowed our movie collection a few days ago, so we have been cycling through our newly acquired supply of Russian-English movies. We’ve watched them in every combination of English and Russian along with subtitles, we even dabbed in a little Polish. Not to mention the special features in both Russian and English. Finding Nemo is pretty entertaining in Russian. It will be an interesting adventure the first few times the kids have friends over to watch a movie!

We don’t know what LG had for lunch today, but it sure packed some punch. Maybe she downed a case of energy drinks right before our session… Whatever it was, she was wound up pretty tight and had far too much bottled energy to expend. Today the representative from the Dept of Guardianship (DoG) came to observe our session, so it was definitely the wrong day for that, but there she was in all her glory and we all got through it. More on that later.

Since we’ve been off campus several visits, it has been several days since the DoG Lady’s last observation (no disrespect intended, we just like the acronym since we’re dog people, as attested to by our Christmas photo at the beginning of our blog). We reviewed our daily visit log along with many of the pictures we’ve taken since our first meeting. In our 9 days together we have taken almost 600 pictures with the kids, of the kids, their friends, and the sights, so we didn’t look at them all. Otherwise, there would not have been sufficient time for her observation. Both LG and LB could hardly wait for a turn at the blackboard to demonstrate that they can write their names in English. Then it was time for LB to give quick gymnastics/break dancing demonstration. He’s pretty good! Next LG demonstrated her mastery of the western alphabet, singing the ABC song and pulling out the appropriate flashcard for each letter as she sang. The DoG Lady asked the children if they liked us and were sure that this is what they want to do. Absolutely without hesitation they simultaneously answered, “Da!”

Probably a third of our pictures have been taken by our budding photographers who have now discovered the video record button. Our philosophy is to take a lot of pictures so we are more likely to capture those gems. We also have 10-12 years of the children’s history to make up for. They have captured some real prize-winners which will go on the wall surrounding our house motto sign, “Live, Laugh, Love!”

As mentioned before, LG was absolutely wound up and full of energy. She wanted to sing, dance, and be the center of attention today, much to the annoyance of her brother. LG wanted all of Papa’s attention today and would do anything to get it. Her confidence and comfort level with us has peaked, and we are seeing her true personality emerge. We think the joy and the reality that she and her brother are really going to be adopted is starting to sink in. LB has been great from day 1. His confidence and maturity is showing through. LG has been somewhat open, but still very cautious. Today, she was ready to burst.

As soon as the DoG Lady (still gotta chuckle) left we headed outdoors where the kids proceeded to wear dad out. Everyone peeled off sweaters but still built up a sweat despite the cool, comfortable afternoon. It’ll take them a while to adjust to Memphis! Today’s high in Petro was 5 degrees cooler than the low in Memphis. Anyway, we are really impressed with the gymnastics confidence both children have on the parallel bars, balance beam and high bars.

This afternoon we finally had a formal introduction with Boris from Antares Orphans (http://www.antares-orphans.com/). Cathe liked him immediately because he was wearing Detroit Red Wings sweatshirt (Also in the picture is the RBS Social Worker and one of the Teachers). During our research and preparation for the big trip we met Laura and Apryl (Antares Pres and VP) through the internet and tracked the daily updates from their recent visit to Petropavlovsk. Their organization works with families in the US to sponsor children, celebrate academic achievement and provide birthday parties and outings for children in Northern Kazakhstan regional orphanages. They also help families who have adopted from the Petropavlovsk region stay in touch with one another and with their children’s friends who are still in the system awaiting their families. Please take a few minutes to visit their site.

Here's a quick picture of the Regional Boarding School, just before we turned into the driveway. Note the ever-present steam pipes which provide almost every building in the city with heat and hot water. There's a huge plant east of town where the steam is produced.

About the only thing we forgot to do today was to capture our daily silly version of the family photo. (We did get one with the DoG Lady, but not one with just the four of us). We’ll have to do two tomorrow. 8-D What else can we say other than, “What a Great Day!”

Havin' fun in the Indian Summer Sun

Major event of the day: Bonding Day 8, Over the Hump!

I don’t know who had more fun, the children playing or the adults admiring the setting sun and fall colors while watching the children play.

Today was a milestone in our sleep-wake cycle. We actually slept until after 6 am. To commerate this noteworthy event, Cathe made a tasty pot of soup for lunch using some of the fresh produce from the outdoor market. Can you say YUMMY! It was perfect for a cool day like today.

We had a quiet morning, catching up on some reading, e-mail, and journal keeping. We weren’t sure if the representative form the Department of Guardianship would be coming today or tomorrow, so stayed flexible today. The plan was to go shopping for court clothing either today or tomorrow depending on which day the rep comes for her official observation.

Call from Masha: Rep is coming tomorrow, not today! There’s a children’s show coming to the theater this weekend, so Masha picked us up early so we could go to the box office to buy tickets. We will be going to the Sunday afternoon show, so we’ll pick up the kids and have lunch at the apartment before going to the show. Our attorney called while we were en-route to RBS: the kids can wear jeans to court, so we don’t need to go shopping after all. Instead, we went sight seeing today since it was a perfect Indian Summer day: Sunny and ~60 degrees.

Cold weather isn’t far off though. Morning temperatures have been hovering just over freezing. The birch trees are at the height of their color and are losing their leaves. The cottonwoods are also starting to change color. In a week or two all of the trees will be bare…

First stop was the Peter and Paul Russian Orthodox Church. Absolutely beautiful! It was built in 1801 and the old portion is currently being restored. The inside is very beautiful with several nice frescos and several altar areas. The caretaker allowed us to take a few pictures as well. We purchased a couple icons and prayer cards in the church store which are very beautiful and will be long term mementos of our trip. We also found little items for the children. As we were leaving, the church bells were ringing. Very nice.













We then crossed the River Ishim and saw many small dachas. They’re a quick get-away for the day when people want to escape the city. Most have little vegetable gardens as well. We headed north along the river, and then crossed again at the dam north of the city where the bluffs are. It was a good time to stretch our legs and look down at the river and across the countryside to the west. LG and LB enjoyed the view as well.



We then traveled north through the countryside and birch forest area, passing an orthodox cemetery nestled in the trees. Unlike cemeteries in the US the plots were marked off with posts and decorative chains and people had a place to sit at each site to visit their loved one. In addition, the trees were left in place and the family plots are worked in around them. It was very beautiful since the trees are now at the height of color, bright yellow.




We then continued north for several minutes. The Russian border probably wasn’t far away. We pulled off to the side of the road where we could look to the north. And down into a broad valley. Both kids had a chance to run and play. LB was showing off some of his gymnastics abilities, entertaining us with several back flips and cartwheels. LG did some cartwheels as well. Although Masha and Sasha didn’t say, we were looking into Russia from the hilltop. (it’s only 32 miles from downtown Petropavlovsk to the border, and we went at least 20 miles if not further).

The absolute highlight of the day came as we were heading back to Petro. Along the road was a harvested wheat field with a huge straw pile. Both kids wanted to hop out and play in the straw. We were reluctant at first, but Masha and Sasha insisted that it was ok, so Bill, Masha, and the kids trudged across the field while Sasha and Cathe guarded the car. What fun! Both kids were climbing and jumping and running back up as fast as they could. Sweaters and sweatshirts came off while the kids worked up a sweat. I don’t know who had more fun the children laughing or the adults watching all of the fun! Our Russian term of the day is: “Мама, Папа, смотреть!” (Mama, Papa, watch me!)

Sadly, the clock was ticking and they had to go back to the RBS. We did manage to get about an extra 45 minutes since we picked up the kids a little early and kept them a little long. It’s going to be hard to top a day like this one back home. Everyone had fun today, including Sasha who cracked a few jokes. What a great day!

Over the Bonding Period Hump

Major event of the day: Bonding Day 7, We’re Half Way There!

This morning was another shopping adventure. Although we had already purchased the main items like jackets, jeans and shoes, we still had all the accouterments like socks, underwear, pajamas, and belts to buy. Masha is great! She took us to several inexpensive stores and then the big flea market so we found everything else at very reasonable prices. Finding a belt for LB was interesting. Many shopkeepers said to just pick one and they would cut it to size. We found a good leather one for $5, then the shopkeeper spent the next 10 minutes disassembling the buckle, removing the excess leather, then reassembling it with a new rivet as if it had originally come in that size. All we need now are a couple nice outfit accessories for court.

There was also a lot of activity on the streets and we noticed distinct Police presence where before we had only seen an occasional Police car passing by. Today the President is coming to town! Yesterday we saw one of their very high-tech street cleaning trucks: A big water truck with a high pressure sprayer on the front, driving down the street spraying water on everything. At least the driver turned off the water at intersections so the pedestrians didn’t get “cleaned” too. (of course that meant mud in the gutter areas and crosswalks). Also, all of the bus stops were spruced up with a fresh coat of paint, right over all the “For Sale” and “House Cleaning” ads people post there.

As several families have mentioned before, we’re settling into the Groundhog Day routine. Since that happens to be one of Bill’s favorite movies (we’ve even visited Woodstock, IL and Punxsutawny, PA), we picked up a copy in one of the local video stores. If anyone remembers the Cheech-and-Chong “What I did on my summer vacation” routine, you’ll understand. Although we have been doing some sight seeing, our lives revolve around those two precious hours each day when we get to visit our children.

On the way to the RBS we saw a lot of Police and military presence, about one a block. Sasha, our driver, explained that it would be their job to stop traffic when the President came. We didn’t get to see him. Instead, we had another great visit with the children, though we did hope he would swing by the RBS to say, “Hi” while passing through town.

Again we were amazed at how much activity can be compressed into two short hours. First Bill went over the sight-words flash cards with LB while Cathe reviewed ABCs with LG. Then we did some name writing on the blackboard, are doing very well with the unfamiliar alphabet and can spell their names. A few of their friends wandered in and the kids took a short “photo break.” They’re definitely budding photographers and will keep us busy. We’ll have to re-read the camera instructions so we can find more kid-friendly settings to catch all of the action. (They haven’t quite figured out that they need to wait for the second flash when we’re using red-eye reduction…). Thank goodness we can enjoy the photos without having to print them all out. Today we took a combined 98 snapshots!

We met one of the children’s caretakers today and learned a lot more about the children and their background. Caretaker #1 (we didn’t write down her name, but it means Hope) shared that LB and LG came to the RBS a little over a year ago, they’re very eager to please and very helpful in their family group and with other children. She also told us that they both had a slow start at school because they were not academically on grade level, probably associated with their early upbringing. She explained that LG arrived to RBS barely able to read and write, well below grade level. As a testament to the dedication of the teachers at the regional boarding school, LG made significant improvements and is now able to read and write at grade level. The caretaker told us that both put forth their best effort, although LB has been slacking on his Kazakh this week... We're sure he has already figured out that there won't be much need for it once we get home...

School is structured a bit differently in Kazakhstan. Children do not begin grade school until the age of 7, but they usually have a grasp of their ABCs (or whatever you call them in Cyrillic), numbers, and a few reading words if they attended pre-school. We are speculating that LG may not have made it to school regularly based on the information we have learned about their past situation. Having taught in inner city schools, Cathe knows how hard it is for children to focus on school if they are tired, hungry or just need a bath and a change of clothes. LG was 8 or just barely 9 when she and LB came to the RBS.

It was another beautiful day so we wandered outside so LB and LG can show off on the monkey bars. They would alternate calling for our attention and shout “look at Papa” or “look Mama” and we are all to eager to oblige their call. Another one of their friends came over with a soccer ball and suddenly boys from nowhere appeared and an impromptu soccer game materialized. Cathe was assisting at the Goalie, the smallest player on the playground, and with his assistance they blocked 2 goal attempts. Once the boy saw that Cathe could handle things, he took off to be a player in the game. Meanwhile, Bill was playing a rousing game of badminton with LG.

We did have some interesting observations today. When LG got a little over aggressive while playing with a boy about her size, Cathe told her to stop and told her that it’s not right to play that way. LG explained that some of the other kids told her that boys in America play rough, so she will have to be aggressive to protect herself. Recently, she and LB have been “hearing” bad information from other kids at the RBS. Nothing too serious, but we will have to set several misconceptions straight. Another area we will work on is unsupervised TV/movie watching. Neither LB or LG go much into specifics yet, but we get the impression that they’ve been watching some age inappropriate movies and shows. Anyway, Cathe’s quick intervention and explanation de-fused the situation and we let her know that it won’t be necessary to protect herself in this manner.

One of the last things we worked on today was a “What I Like, What I Don’t Like” survey Masha put together. We don’t want to embarrass her, but do want to let her know how much we appreciate the little things, such as putting together this survey for the children and us, really means to us and how those little things will really help our family as we grow together.

What a super day! We’re over the hump with 7 bonding days down, 7 to go!

P.S. In addition to those we mentioned yesterday, we also want to thank Antares Orphans for all that they do to help the children in the Northern Kazakhstan region orphanages. It does make a difference, and we have seen it first hand.

Gettin' in the Groundhog Day Groove

Major event of the day: Bonding Day 6, Back to School

Our internal clocks are finally getting back on schedule after almost two weeks on the road. We both rolled out of bed well rested at 6 am local, not long after our friends back home were wrapping up dinner.

First event of the day was to wander over to the Big Flea Market. You can find just about everything there, including the kitchen sink. We were looking for a couple shirts and a sweatshirt for LB. Didn’t buy anything there this trip, but it was quite an adventure. Since it was obvious by how we dress that we’re not natives, many shopkeepers said, “Welcome to Petropavlovsk” as we passed by (most in Russian, but a few in English). We’re planning to come back tomorrow with our translator since she has a better idea of which shops have good quality at the right prices and which do not. It’s nice to have some great local talent on our side.

We did find some nice clothing as a regular shop on our way back to the apartment. A bit pricey, but it’s what we were looking for. We need to pick up a few more exciting things like socks and underwear for both as well as some pajamas. Masha says the market will be the best place to go for those. We won’t go overboard though since we promised family and friends that they’ll have plenty opportunity to help outfit the children.

Today’s visit was a lot of fun for all of us. First order of business was for the children to show us their books and tell us a little about what they are studying in school. They are going to have a good academic start while they work on their English skills. We don’t think LB will have much trouble as he already has a good foundation in English. LG will do ok too, but is at the beginning of learning English. We’ll work on her confidence. Both like Math, Geography and Science and showed us where they were in their text books.





We could only pick out a few words of Russian, but the diagrams and math were quite understandable to us. Our biggest challenge will be leaping the English hurdle. They were a little embarassed when we held up the books upside-down (on purpose) and didn't realize we were trying to be funny... (They really care and don't want their new parents to look bad in front of the whole world. They're great kids)


After looking over the childrens’ books we did a few academic drills of our own. While Cathe went over ABCs with LG, Bill was going over basic sight-words with LB. Both are catching on quickly. We brought along a picture dictionary and went through some of the words there. We’ll have to use sign language for the first couple weeks, but we can manage. All of us showing patience as the learning and teaching was being carried out.

Finally it was time to play a bit. We bought some dominos a local store and enjoyed playing with them. Then LG had dedicated computer time since Bill and LB had been dominating its use the past few days. LB had a lot of fun playing with the Franklin pocket translator and his first translated term was, “I need a translator.” We all got a good laugh at that one. Both children have a great sense of humor despite their past.

Before we knew it, the day’s visit was over. Time really does fly when you’re having fun! Today was another great day for us all.

This evening we are having dinner at the Slovenian Inn with a couple who arrived this past Friday. We’ve never met in person, but already have so much in common. You really have to love those Web Sites and Yahoo Groups for families adopting kids from Kazakhstan, especially those dedicated to specific regions, Petropavlovsk in our case, and the families who have contributed their thoughts, observations, and stories. Our translator was amazed at how much we already knew about the area when we arrived as well as having met other families she had worked with in the past. We’ll do our best to help add to the tremendous resource. Thanks again to the Kazakh Adoptive Families, PAKK and PVPK moderators for all that they do.

Fast forward… Back from dinner at the Slovenian Inn. Our hostesses, Irina and Marina, must have had some fun today. Apparently the menu is changing, so they don’t have an English translation available at the moment. We tried English, German, and Spanish with no luck, so we resorted to sign language and pantomime. Marina does a mean Miss Piggy. We settled on the lamb-ka-bobs and Greek salads, so everyone was happy. Good dinner and great conversation and company with our new friends, and in English too.

All in all, a nice wrap-up for a great day. Only 8 more bonding days until we can apply for court.

Another trip off campus

Major event of the day: Bonding Day 5, Lunch at the Döner Café and Movie at the Apt

Perhaps our internal clocks are finally adjusting or we’re just getting tired enough to sleep through the night. We’re trying to stay up to “normal” times while resisting the urge for a nap. It’s hard because the apartment is so warm, but we don’t want to leave the windows open at night. We finally gave up and rolled out of bed at 6:30.

Days are quickly getting shorter, both literally and figuratively. Checking sunrise and sunset times on Weather Underground (direct link to Petropavlovsk at the bottom of our blog page) indicates that each day is progressively 4+ minutes shorter than the previous. It’s a little after 6:30 pm as I type, and it’s already getting dark. It doesn’t get light in the morning until almost 8. And the temperatures are dropping as well. This morning was a crisp “34F, feels like 29” according to MSN Weather (type in Petropavl, KZ). The high was in the mid 50s and very nice: sunny and no breeze. Our days are mostly spent counting down the hours until our next visit. I can imagine the trouble that the kids must be having with staying focused during the school day, knowing that we will be there promptly at 3pm, right after their “lunch.”

On a side note: There is a lot of smog and dust in the air here. There is also a lot of dirt on the streets and sidewalks. They need a few really good “gulley-washer” rainstorms to clean things off, but that would just create more mud… Except for the small proportion of new cars, most of the cars would not have the slightest chance of passing an emissions test. Busses and trucks are worse. At least the city busses on the main routes are electric, so they don’t add to the pollution. There is a huge steam plant to the east of the city which provides heat for all of the buildings in the city. There are steam pipes everywhere, carrying the steam to the homes, apartments, and shops. One morning, the wind was from the east and you could smell the sulfur/coal smell on the air. To make matters worse, the leaves are now falling and the most popular way to dispose of them is by burning. When we come in from a walk outside, we have that smog/smutz smell on our clothing. I think it’s giving us both a little congestion. We look forward to getting back to the clean air of home.

Interesting Facts: Friday, October 5 was National Teacher Appreciation Day in Kazakhstan. It wasn't hard to figure out who on the streets were teaches since many were carrying flowers home Friday afternoon. There was a big sign on the door at RBS. They used Mama instead of Teacher since the teachers are much like Mom’s to the children.



Fashion here is very interesting. ALL women wear boots, mostly having high heels. It’s obvious that some focus more on fashion while others on function. As Cathe says, most boots are cute and stylish. I sure would like to see how those ladies with stiletto heels handle the snow! Masha, for example, likes boots which are really “cute, conservative and practical” according to Cathe, while her sister’s opinion is, “To heck with practicality. I want fashion!” Cathe tried on several boots but couldn’t find any with the right blend of fashion and practicality which came in size 10 (most women here have small feet).

Since it was Sunday and the children didn’t have school today, we arranged to pick them up early and have a longer visit. We arrived at the RBS at 1 pm to see LB waiting by the gate for us. LG was in the courtyard playing with her friends. Both were VERY excited to see us and wanted to tell us about their pop quizzes in their English classes yesterday. LG could hardly wait to tell us that she got a 5 (best score) and her brother only got a 4. She was very proud of the fact, but is still reluctant to try many phrases. We’ll continue to bolster her confidence.

Yesterday when we returned back to the RBS, we noticed that LG looked like she wasn’t feeling all that good, a little clammy and pale. Today we asked LG is she was feeling ok and she explained that she didn’t feel good at the end of the trip because she had not been feeling well and was hungry (didn’t eat breakfast or lunch) and perhaps a little bit car sick. Masha reminded both the children that they should let us know if they don’t like something, they’re hungry, or if they’re not feeling well. Both are real troopers and want to make the best impression possible. There are also several children with sniffles, so the bug must be making its rounds. LG reassures us that she had eaten today and was feeling fine today.

After a quick wardrobe change at the apartment (they both wanted to wear their new clothes) we headed over to the Döner Café for lunch. It was an adventure to say the least. LB and LG wanted to try everything, but we settled on pizza, getting two different ones to try. While waiting for the pizza, it was time to try out the play area. Although both LB and LG are on the big side for the slides and ball bin, they did enjoy the whack-a-mole game and got pretty good at it, running us out of 50 tenge coins about the time the pizza arrived. One was a basic cheese pizza, except they use something more like Colby instead of mozzarella. The other was a Deluxe, which came with mushrooms, peas, hard boiled egg pieces, tomato chunks, tomato sauce, and the same cheese, on a thin Italian-style crust. Tasty, but not like anything we’re used to at home. We also ordered carrot salad and Krab salad, both of which were very good. When we were eating we found out that LG does not like carrots nor does she like the cheese that they serve on the pizza. LB will probably eat whatever is in front of him. We encouraged the children to try the food and if they don’t like to let us know.

With most of the food consumes, it was time for dessert. Dee from Georgia had recommended the baklava. Primo! The kids also wanted a milkshake-like drink which was basically frothed Strawberry Nestle Quick. I think we will easily top that with US milk instead of hi-temp milk. Worst mistake was having the kids come up to the register to order dessert. As soon as they saw the gelato in the freezer by the register, they wanted some of that too. How could I say no? (Cathe gave me the evil eye look, so I’m sure I’ll hear something about overdoing it later).

We walked back to the apartment after lunch as it is only one and a half of those “looooong” blocks Jim pointed out on his map (~1/4 mile or so). There is a nice playground around the corner from our apartment, so the kids had to hit the swings and monkey bars until Masha mentioned we had bought some DVDs. They could hardly wait to see our small collection of movies in Russian and English, and selected Disney/PIXAR Мачки (Cars). We watched it in Russian with English sub-titles so we could all enjoy the movie. (There are many little shops where you can buy movies at pretty reasonable prices. This one was 2000 kzt, ~$17.50, and has 6 languages.) We also bought a few other familiar titles like В Поисках Немо (Finding Nemo) and Ночь в Музее (Night at the Museum). Masha helped us find ones which have English and Russian so we can play the movie in English with Russian sub-titles as a way to help get the children more accustomed to hearing English and following conversations, and occasionally play them in Russian.

The staff at the RBS does an excellent job of bringing as much wholesome normalcy back into the children’s lives. Politeness, courtesy, and sharing are strongly enforced. There are a lot of great kids, and a few other strays, looking for good homes.



Meanwhile, it is clear that the children are becoming more comfortable with us since every day, more bits and pieces of their personalities emerge. We will have to time-share the computer at home because both are very creative and want to demonstrate their skills. LG is a “girly girl” who likes all the Easter type colors, especially Purple. LB is energetic and athletic. We look forward to the day when their shields truly come down and they can share their feelings, worries and fears with us, so we can really get to know them.

Yesterday and again today they both asked, “When is the court date so we can come home with you?” They want to move out of the RBS be with us now, but we still have a few more weeks. We explained that we still have 9 more days of bonding, followed by court, then by the waiting period. We know it doesn’t happen often, but we will pray that waiting period would be waived. Either way, God will decide what’s best for us. If all goes well, they will leave the RBS with us in 5 weeks or less, which is now our goal.

Despite the fact that our visit was twice as long as our week-day visits, we had to pack everyone back into the car and trek back to the RBS far sooner than any of us really wanted. We really have to complement our cruise director/translator Masha and driver Sasha for helping us pack so much into such a short time every day. Another great day, but still too short.