Be It Ever So Humble ...

...there's no place like home!  I still can't believe it, but I'm sitting here at MY computer, in MY den, in MY house, and MY husband is out trick-or-treating with the kids.  All of them!  I'm beyond tired, and have picked up a stomach bug that made the trip home oh-so-much-fun.  Melanie did a lot better on the Frankfurt-Charlotte leg than the Almaty-Frankfurt one.  On A-F (which left at 4 a.m.) she kept waking up every ten minutes and crying.  Probably because we were squeezed into the middle row and the *expletive deleted* in the seat in front of us had it jacked all the way back.  We literaly had about four inches clearance.  A little boy behind my mom kept kicking her seat and talking very loudly in Russian.  It was miserable.  Luckily we had two bulkhead seats on the F-C route, and Melanie slept on a pallet on the floor.  She really slept hard for about three hours , then wanted to play!  Mom and I were of course semi-zombies by this time, so we took turns playing with her while the other napped for a while.  We finally gave her about 1/2 a teaspoon of benadryl, because I just couldn't keep my eyes open.  She slept the last 2 hours of the flight ...

One of our bags didn't make it ... there's so much else to write, but chaos reigns in our house, so I need to go put out some fires (figuratively of course!)

 

 

My how time flies...

Sorry, but  I still can't send pictures.

Well, what do you say on the last full day of your stay in Kazakhstan? When we first arrived, the days stretched off into the future, into a dark abyss with no bottom. The thought of endless weeks in a tiny apartment in a strange country with hot water only a possibility, with my children mourning my absence at home, was daunting and depressing. However, I compartmentalized my fear and my sadness, and put it away for later. On the conscious level, I went through each early day as a robot, performing the mundane tasks to get ready for the day and driving to the Baby House. It was only when I saw Karina/Melanie that I would let my emotions out, to embrace her, to bond with her, and to allow her to bond with us. Then it was time to close emotional shop again, and back at the apartment, I would, in a sort of self-preservation, "check out", or sleep to while away the hours. Every morning I would find myself doing what I had done the day before, time after time. And before I knew it, I was beginning to enjoy myself! The sights I would see on the route to the Baby House became familiar: the "avtomoyka" or car wash, "magazin" or store (dyken in Kazakh) and the little kafe where you turned left towards the Baby House. Every day became something to look forward to! Our relationship with Aida became closer by the day, and we joked and laughed together like old friends. We recognized her trademark knock on the door ... usually followed by coughing, since she was so sick that one week. We made friends with Corey & Christie, and enjoyed sampling many of the restaurants in TaldyKorgan. We learned about the local culture and history and learned to love our home away from home.

Now it is the day before we fly home! The early days here may have been difficult, but now I feel sad to be leaving. I don't know when I'll be back.

Melanie decided to do the "newborn" routine last night .. she was up every two hours, starting at 1 a.m. So much for my plan to put her naptime back on track. We finally got up for the day at 7, and waited for Charlotte to call. Mom and I started packing our stuff ... and generally relaxed around the apartment all morning. I put Melanie down for a nap at 1 and she went right down. At 3:00 Vitallik arrived and we went to the Sisters' office. We had a final chat with Gulzhan, and then, with three other families, the Gaffneys, the Allens, and the Balmasedas, we walkedacross the street to where the consular section of the US Embassy is. It is in a tall office building, but we had to go through pretty significant security before we were allowed inside. They took out my USAirways headphones, my Ibuprofen, my Purell hand sanitizer, and my drivers' license. Hmmm. A security guard who looked like every Russian stereotypical "comrade" took us up in the elevator. We paid our fees, then were called up to a window to have a little chat with an American consular officer. Then, we were done! We were the only ones there, unlike three years ago when we were adopting Lisa. We had to go through Moscow back then, and there were about 30 people crammed into a small room that day. Overall, this has been a pretty smooth experience.

We took pictures with Gulzhan and Gulnara ... and with Gulbanu. We have known Gulbanu for over three years, and she is practically family. We had brought her some duct tape (I think it's a running gag now) and got a big laugh out of that!

Mom and I decided to celebrate by going to the Hyatt Regency Hotel to have a drink at the bar. Talk about luxury! We listened to an American (Canadian?) businessman negotiating (through an interpreter) with a table of Kazakh men behind us as we sipped on our martini (mom) and Tien Shan beer (me). We enjoyed the atmosphere, complete with brass fixtures and marble fountains. I guess it was worth paying 600 tenge for the International Herald Tribune, just to be there! The best part was when we stepped back outside to leave, and our limo driver, Vitallik, roared up in the van to meet us! We felt quite posh!

Now we are hunkering down having a dinner of roasted chicken and stir-fried potatoes. We're doing one more sweep of TSUM to see if we missed anything, then home to pack for our 12:15 pickup. <groan> Let the torture begin!

Say "AAAHHH"...

 Note from Editor:   Sorry folks, but Liz couldn't get the pictures to load in her email, so I have none to post...however, she did send her latest entry -- Enjoy...David

Go RED SOX!! WOO HOO!! Melanie had another early wake-up call ... 7:00. It doesn't sound all that early, but it doesn't get light here until 8:00, so technically it's still nighttime. She went to bed at 10:30 last night, due to her 2 hour nap yesterday from 3-5. Since we were up, we caught the opening pitch of the World Series, and Damon's 1st inning home run. What a great game! Vitallik came to pick us up right at the beginning of the bottom of the 9th ... what torture. I was pretty secure knowing that they would pull it off, and only a miracle would help the Cardinals come back from a 3 run deficit. Just wish I could have seen the jubilation. But I'm sure they'll be showing it over & over.

Speaking of baseball championships ... did I mention that Christian's team, the Twins, WON THE HYAA COACH PITCH CHAMPIONSHIP last Saturday?? WOO HOO! Way to go, Coach James .. wish I could have been there to see you jumping up & down for those boys. I know you are so proud of them. You have been a wonderful coach and you have made Christian's year! Every time they have called this week, he hasn't wanted to talk to me because he was engrossed in the World Series! I think you have instilled a love for baseball in him that will last him the rest of his life!

Today was Melanie's appointment at the SOS Clinic. The US government requires that a newly adopted child have a certificate that he or she is healthy enough to immigrate to the US, and has no communicable diseases. It is a very nice clinic, by Western standards! A beautiful, new building in a neighborhood setting. The nurse and doctor were both Russian women. We also ran into the Gaffneys and the Allens, both WPA families who have been in Kokshetau for a long time, and their babies Jacob and Grace. There were also two single women with other agencies with their precious new children. It was good to chat and hear names like "Cincinatti" and "Jacksonville". We even found the most recent issue of Time magazine, in English! Melanie was obviously upset to be at the clinic. I don't know if it reminded her of her surgery or what, but she was whiney, wriggly and not happy. Luckily for us, Vitallik was there to sling her around, which she loves. But she fell asleep in the car, and when Vitallik got out at the Ramstore, she jolted awake and cried! Guess he's her replacement Papa for this week. Vitallik told us today that for two years he was on President Nazerbaev's security detail. Wow. I felt safe with him before, but now I know he would have wrestled those Chechens to the ground with one arm tied behind his back. And made them beg for mercy!

Since Melanie was so cranky, I decided to bring her back to the apartment for a nap, and Vitallik has taken mom to the Zolyoni Bazaar. I guess I'll have to miss it; I'm sure I'll get a full report when mom gets home. I'm shopped out and desperately need Melanie to sleep all night, and I think the screwed up nap schedule has got her out of whack.

Getting back to the clinic ... we have another small surprise to add to Melanie's medical file: hip dysplasia! I had noticed that she walked a little awkwardly on her left leg, but the doctor confirmed that she herad some "noise" when she manipulated that hip. <sigh> Poor baby .. but only an x-ray at home with confirm if there is a major concern. I'm not going to worry about it until then. I don't know much about it ... (I know a lot about cleft l&p!!) ... wasn't prepared for this one! Such is the nature of international adoption. Other than that, she appears very healthy and is only behind on one vaccination. They take really good care of these babies!!

Tonight: another wild WPA party at the American Grill. News at 11. And for whomever left the book "The Malaria Capers" in our apartment, THANK YOU ... it is a fascinating read!

An international incident ...

Today we woke up to rain. For having been here nearly 34 days, we have had only a day or two of inclement weather. It's actually kind of pretty, with the yellow fall leaves everywhere, and the shiny slick streets. Okay, the traffic jams kind of take away from the picturesque flora, but hey, you can't have everything, can you? This morning we were up at the dawn of crack ... Melanie had an early wake-up call, so I think I have committed the first parental taboo: I took her into my bed to go back to sleep. Will she ever sleep in her crib again?! I was semi-comatose when she woke up (had already been roused once by the barking dogs) so I was on auto-pilot. I have no idea what time it was, but it was near to o'dark thirty, and she did go back to sleep. The phone woke me up at 7:30; Charlotte calling. Then it was up for the day!

Dilnoza from the office called, and we had to be there at 11:00 to fill out some paperwork for the US Embassy on Friday. Vitallik drove us there; and then once again, we went to the Ramstore. It's becoming our second home. Vitallik apparently has some kind of discount card that he uses every time. I haven't figured out how much it is. We then paid a visit to the apartment of "Silk Road Sasha" who has started a little business of Kazakh rugs, dream quilts and paintings on silk fabric. Then we set out to a rug dealer. Everyone who has ever spent time in Kazakhstan knows about the great deals you can get on Oriental rugs ... from Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, and many of the other "stans". We pulled up to the museum of art, where a very nice young guy named Azamat had a store. It was a small shop, but Azamat enthusiastically pulled out rug after rug. So many to choose from! Where do you begin? There were some made of wool, some of camel hair, some of llama. There were rich dark burgundies and greens, rusts and oranges.

While we were looking, a motley group of scary-looking men walked in, bearded and wearing Muslim "caps", felt shoes and long coats. They started asking questions of Azamat, not waiting for us to finish. I figured, well we're just women, to heck with us ... After looking at some rugs, they walked out. A moment later they walked back in. One of them asked Azamat, in Russian, where these women were from. (I can understand Russian a heckofalot better than I speak it!) Being the friendly sort I am, I answered "Amerikanska" but mom said, "Canada!" Behind the Muslim man I could see Vitallik motioning to me not to talk, and making the shush signal. I didn't say any more ... and the men walked out yet again. Vatillik told me that they were Chechens ... you know, from Chechnya? The ones that blow up schools with small children in them? Yikes almighty. And I just told them we were Americans! Good grief, can't I shut up once in a while? Last I heard Americans were not on the Chechen's "friendly" list. We could see them milling around outside the shop, and I was scared to leave.

We made our selections and haggled with Azamat. While we were talking, the men started to come in the shop again, and Azamat told them to wait outside. I was scared to death about leaving the money with Azamat, wondering if the Chechens were going to rob him or something. There was a policewoman sitting at a table in the lobby of the museum, which made me feel a little better. I hoped they weren't lying in wait by our car ... but much to our relief, when we left to leave, they were nowhere in sight.

You read about these things on the news ... about the school in Beslan, the planes going down in Russia; as horrific as those incidents were, they may as well have been on Pluto to us suburban US housewives. Granted, these guys were probably just tourists in Kazakhstan to buy rugs, I don't mean to make hasty generalizations and jump to conclusions. However, when you're up close and personal with Chechens, and reality hits a couple of feet away from you, your blood tends to run just a little cold. And the fact that Vitallik and Azamat were on their guard about them makes me realize that there is an element of "prejudice" against Chechens in Kazakhstan.

So now we're home, having a quiet afternoon on a rainy afternoon. Melanie is down for a nap, and I'm right behind her. I'm washing a few clothes, and otherwise practicing my domestic talents. I am very ready to be home; and sleep in my own bed, and hug my other children, and introduce them to their new sister! This has been a long and difficult trip, but I wouldn't have traded it for anything.

Let the shopping begin...

David here...I made it home yesterday (Monday afternoon) with no problem.  It was so great to see the kids...our being gone was really hard on them.  Both Christian and Lisa did not leave my side from the time I got home (around 3:30 pm) until bedtime...of course that was just fine with me.  The rest is Liz's post that she emailed to me...man, you don't realize how much you miss broadband until you don't have it -- I didn't know pictures could load that fast -- Ha!)  I have also added some pictures to the prior posts we made from Almaty -- Enjoy!  ...David

Liz:  News flash! There is NOTHING left in TSUM (the big department store), my mother has bought it out. History has been made; the officials are bewildered. Seriously ... today we went to TSUM to shop, and we felt so sorry for Vitallik being stuck with two shopaholic women, so we sent him on his way. We took a short break for lunch at "Mammamia's" ... it was VERY good for you WPA'ers coming to Almaty. After catching our breath, we were back at it. Mom's mission was to find a paring knife, since the knives in our apartment couldn't cut melted butter. We came home for a quick rest, then went to a pizza place to meet Cheryl & Brian Nigri, and Corey & Erik Halls. We had a beer & a nice visit before Melanie decided it was time to go home. Mom fixed her famous skillet potatoes and we had fun opening a bottle of wine with her Swiss Army knife. Wish I'd had the video camera for that scene.

Melanie is sitting here at the dinner table telling a story with gestures and expression in her voice, but without saying any words. She'll wave her hands, just like we do when we're talking, and then she'll just die laughing, as if she said something hysterically funny! Too funny. She's doing so well ... eating like a champ, sleeping very well. Usually when I put her down we have a few minutes of tears, while I'm sitting next to the crib telling her, "It's okay, mommy's right here, and patting her tummy. Last night I put her in the bed, and she rolled over and went to sleep without making a peep. I didn't hear anything else from her until 8:00. She is so funny ... she loves to play the "run the opposite way from where mom wants me to go" just like a professional two year old, complete with devilish grin. She wants to touch EVERYTHING ... imagine, she has lived in a room with very little "stuff" in it, and now she's surrounded with things ... things that make noise, and feel interesting to the touch. I have to stay on top of her all the time. She is a true perpetual motion machine.

I was thinking the other day about things I have learned on this trip. Call it my "tip sheet" if you will:

1. Make your child's plane reservation as soon as you arrive in Kazakhstan.
2. In TaldyKorgan, take a shower as early in the day as you can ... later in the morning, the hot water will slow to a trickle, and it's like taking a shower in the rain.
3. Bring a towel AND a washcloth to Taldy.
4. Bring some length of clothesline.
5. Bring an extra small pillow. (I brought one of those u-shaped airplane pillows .. David brought a camping pillow).
6. You can get a lot of the comforts of home in Taldy ... like M&M's, Snickers, Twix, ramen noodles and instant oatmeal. (The apple flavor is delish!)
7. Coke & Pepsi are available. The "Mirinda" orange soda is really good. You can also get Lipton Iced Tea in cans, and it's very good. Not as sweet as in the US. It comes in Lemon & Peach flavors.
8. Some suggestions for Aida: Her daughter, Saida, is 3 years old. Aida likes the US Lipton tea bags (she says they taste better than the Kaz ones). She likes children's tylenol elixir for Saida. She wears silver jewelry, likes green Orbit gum from the US, & peanut butter). She loves old English magazines.
9. The fruit juice and yogurt in Kaz. is wonderful. The "Dada" brand of juice we think tastes the best -- the cherry juice is sooo good. It tastes like eating real cherries, not the artificial "cherry" flavoring that we have in the states. The apple juice is delicious too ...
10. Bring plenty of moisturizer and lotion ... the air is very dry. Melanie's skin is very dry too, and she loves for me to put lotion on her. But you can buy it there, as well as diapers and wipes. (Or wipers & dipes as my mom likes to call it!).
Signing off for now!!

Dasvedanya, David

Last night David left for home. Emil came to pick him up at 1:20 a.m. <blech> I had gone to sleep earlier, and David woke me up to say goodbye. With the central heat on, it is very warm in the apartment, and we have been sleeping with the windows open. (That's how you run the thermostat). Anyway, there are a lot of stray dogs around the apartment, and for some reason, they bark all night long. Yap yap yap, without stopping. I haven't wanted to use earplugs, in case I got an emergency call from Melanie in the night. So I told Emil, if you see those dogs out there, please tell them to SHUT UP! (Actually I made the international sign for a gun and said, "pow pow" but I don't want to get in trouble with the animal rights folks. I do have a dog whom I love dearly). Emil said, "You know, I live over a cafe that is open 24 hours a day, and there are many drunk people there shouting all night long. I think it's better that you have the dogs!" I had an email from David that he made it to Frankfurt. He should be home at 2:30 p.m. EST on Monday.

Today is "Republic Day" in Kazakhstan. Perhaps similar to our July 4? No school today, and no shops are open. All except the Ramstore (Kazakh Wal-Mart) which I believe is open 24 hours 7 days a week. (Heh heh, so why is there a lock on the door, as the old joke goes!) Today we called Vitallik (whom we keep mistakenly calling Vassily ... so we've just started calling him Vassily, much to his amusement!) to take us to the main square, where the festivities were being held. There were vendors selling food, drinks, balloons, you name it. And there were pony and horse rides, and boys playing ping-pong. On each end of the square was a huge hot-air balloon, offering rides up, not very far, and tethered to the ground, for 500 tenge. Mom insisted that I pass, thinking about nightmare scenarios where I'm in a Kazakh hospital with both my arms and legs broken, and she taking care of Melanie, by herself! Instead, I got a wild hair and decided to pay 200 tenge to ride a horse! Had to ride a horse while I was in Kazakhstan! The horse is very much part of the Kazakh culture. Covered in a zillion miles of flatlands, Kazakhstan is home to a version of our cowboy, the nomad. They would move on horseback across the steppe with their herds of sheep or cows, searching for good grazing areas. The horse was transportation and food source (remember I ate "bishparmak" in Taldy?) and fermented mare's milk (koumiss)is known for its curative properties, especially for tuberculosis.

So there I was, riding across the square on my trusty silver steed, named "Sobyet" (a communist horse?) and as we approached a carriage being pulled by another horse, I had a vision of him bolting and running away, depositing me ceremoniously on the concrete ground. I thought, "Maybe I should have ridden in the balloon! It might have been safer!" However, I don't think Sobyet would have broken into a slow trot if his tail had been on fire. He pretty much just loped around the square, and came back to the same spot that we left. His handler, a boy of about 14, never left his side, so I'm sure it was all safe and risk-free. I didn't let on that just the other day I had feasted on his cousin in TaldyKorgan. We got the requisite photo op taken care of, then wandered back to the main staging area, where several hundred school children were assembled, dressed in every type of national costume imaginable. Some were in the Kazakh dress, some in Ukranian, Korean, Russian, Polish, you name it. Probably representative of all the ethnic groups that live in Kazakhstan. It was quite beautiful, and they all had a small bouqet of flowers that they would wave over their heads in time to the music. A man on the stage (think of a big outdoor concert with mega wattage of speakers stacked on top of each other) would read poems and shout instructions to the kids as they danced. Color and motion captured the eye. We decided we had seen enough, so we repaired to the Dublin Pub, which we had seen on the way to the square. We had a nice lunch of smoked salmon, goat cheese, and Shepherd's Pie (which Melanie and I shared), and listened to "City of New Orleans" in Russian. (Hint .. places that cater to foreigners tend to be a little pricey).  We stopped at the Ramstore for water and eggs, and of course left with 45 other things too. We all crashed pretty hard for two hours, and feel better for it after yesterday's marathon.

Tonight we went to eat Indian food at Govinda's. Both David and my dad despise Indian food, so when mom and I are together, we always take advantage and gorge ourselves on Tandoori chicken and naan and whatever else we can get our hands on. Govinda's is a vegetarian restaurant, (no chicken tonight) and the "Complex Lunch" gives you a sample of all types of different dishes. One with cheese, one with "aubergine" (much nice to say than eggplant), a soup with green beans,some kind of dough with a cucumber-yogurt sauce, chutney, and these light puffs of pastry. Plus dessert .. .which was sort of like rice pudding, only with cream of wheat. It tasted very nutty. Aida joined us, as did Vittalik, but they didn't eat .. they just had tea & dessert.

All in all a very nice day; tomorrow we're going to TSUM to get some souvenirs.

 

A Bizarre Bazaar

Yesterday was "getting acquainted with Almaty" day. David had several errands to run in the morning; go to Lufthansa to tussle with them about his ticket and Melanie's. He and Vitallik, our driver, ran out to do that, and to buy an I-Card (phone card for the internet and long distance -- no other long distance cards will work here: not MCI, not ATT, no one. Can you say, 'monopoly'?) When he got back he took Melanie to have her picture made: 2 5x5 shots of her for the embassy. David walked around the neighborhood to get acclimated. Mom and I literally stayed in our jammies until way after noon. That felt really good! After Melanie's nap Vitallik arrived and we did a quick walk-through of Panfilov park, where there are several large (huge) sculptures glorifying the heroes of the Great Patriotic War (WWII). It was a beautiful Saturday, and there were quite a few wedding parties around having their pictures made, and laying their bouquets at the eternal flame. We meandered down through the park to the cathedral (need to look up the name of it ... you know, the big gold one). It was just our luck that there was a mass going on at that time, and we stood and listened to the beautiful choir singing and chanting, and watching the priests and other golden-robed men walk out of the altar and circle around, swinging the incense. Several of the ladies were crossing themselves and bowing deeply. I felt a little like an intruder, but no one seemed to mind.

We then drove to the "Arba" restaurant, which serves authentic Kazakh food. David and I chuckled when we drove up to the restaurant (we didn't know where we would be going) because we have been there before! On our last trip to Almaty, to adopt Lisa Asel, we ate at the same restaurant with several other WPA families. Our driver at the time, Sasha Ponytail (for those of you reading this who are WPA vets) told us that he would call the restaurant after we ate and see if we were done, and then come pick us up.  We all finished eating and wandered out to the front to wait for our drivers. Everyone else's driver came and they left, and then it was only us, and our travel partner, Donna. We waited. And waited. We were in a fix because we had no idea what the address of our apartment was, or how to tell a taxi how to get there.  We had left our bags with all of of our information in them, in Sasha's car, since he said "no problem, I'll pick you up".  We stood there, not knowing what to do, as the children got tired and cranky. The waitresses didn't know what to do with us either, but finally an older lady, the cook at the restaurant, came out and told us, by sign language, that she was going to drive us home. We drove and drove, looking for a familiar landmark, until suddenly I remembered a childrens' store down the street from our apartment, "Detsky Mir" (Childrens' World). I leaned forward and started yelling, "DETSKY MIR! DETSKY MIR!" and she nodded enthusiastically. In minutes we were home. Turns out that Sasha had called the restaurant, and since we were out in front, the staff told him that we had left! He was sooo embarrassed! He couldn't have apologized more ... but it made a good story.

So there we were, again at the scene of the crime. We had a great dinner of shashlik and plov and other great Kazakh dishes. We came home and crashed pretty early; mom was feeling the jet lag big time.

This morning Melanie slept until nearly 8:00! Meanwhile the kids had called from home to say hello at 7:30, so the timing was perfect. Aida is in town for a couple of weeks, so she agreed to take us to a bazaar today, "Baraxoka". Her sister, Alia, agreed to babysit for Melanie for the afternoon. The bazaar was a literal maze of stalls and shops with everything imaginable for sale. We were looking for a stroller for Melanie (Frankfurt's airport is huge) and perhaps find a deal on a leather jacket? I swear I will never go shopping without Aida again. She is a ruthless haggler, and I walked away with a beautiful Turkish leather jacket. Poor mom's tongue was dragging on the ground (her stamina ain't what it used to be!) and we set out for the mountains south of Almaty. "Medeo" is a national preserve .. forests and walking trails and picnic areas. Winding up the mountain at a 12% grade you arrive at the Medeo skating rink, a huge outdoor rink where the Kazakh speed skaters train for the winter Olympics. On up even further is a ski resort, Chimbulak. Today was Sunday, so there were gobs of people milling about, and I heard a virtual UN of languages around me. We ate lunch at a restaurant down a bit from Chimbulak, called "The Kazakh Aul". The restaurant is all in yurts, the collapsible round tents that the original Kazakh nomads lived in. The walls are covered in colorful embroidered fabrics, and the ceiling goes up into a point at the top. There were musical instruments on the walls too. Again, we had shashlik and I had "monte" which are small noodle dumplings filled with meat.

While we were eating, we casually mentioned the fact that we had been "stranded" at the Arba restaurant on our last trip, and suddenly Vitallik started laughing.  He had heard the story from Sasha, and he was cracking up that he was now our driver.   We're famous.

A quick stop at the Ramstore, and then home. David and I walked to a grocery store for some provisions ... and he leaves tonight for home. He will be picked up at 1:30 in the morning for his 4:00 flight. Mom and I will be doing the same thing this Saturday. What torture.

Tomorrow is a national holiday, Republic Day, so there will be a lot going on in the streets. All the stores will be closed, so I guess mom and I will stay close to home. Maybe a driving tour of the city? I think we will be meeting up with some other WPA families in the evening. In the meantime ... happy trails to David. While I know it's good that he is going home, I will feel a little strange without him. He always takes care of the piddly details like the money, the cell phone, the credit cards and such, so now I have to step up. Oh well, we will be fine. I think our medical appointment is this Thursday, and we will visit the US Embassy on Friday. Then off to points West on Saturday. (Didn't I already say that? I must be looking forward to going home!)

For some reason the pictures are not loading here in Almaty. I'm planning to just email my journal and pictures to David the rest of this week, and he can update the blog from home. The internet connections here are s-l-o-w and sometimes finicky. Until tomorrow.