Olesya File - Adoption Journal from Taraz, Kazakhstan

Travel to Taraz, Kazakhstan

2008-06-30T18:17:00.000-07:00

This page is designed as a resource for adoptive families who have not yet traveled and are looking for ideas on what to do and bring
Travel
From USA: We elected to fly Lufthansa as we live in Denver and they offered the only 1 stop flight. British Airways, Northwest/KLM were alternatives with additional stops. International flights go to Almaty. You must find other transportation from Almaty if you are not staying there. American, United, Delta and yes even Southwest do not have service to Kazakhstan.
Waiting in Frankfurt Scat Plane unloading in Taraz
Inside Kazakhstan: We traveled between Almaty and Taraz via Scat Air, the Soviet train and the Spanish train. On the Spanish, we had a first class sleeper compartment. This consisted of two fold out beds and a restroom with toilet and shower. It was a comfortable overnight journey, leaving Almaty around 2100 and arriving in Taraz around 0600. There were a couple of very short stops but otherwise the train kept rolling. The Spanish train books fast. Our agency/coordinator seemed more organized than most and booked our train tickets while we were still in the states. There is also turbo-prop service (Russian built AN-24) on Tuesdays and Saturdays via Scat Air which takes about 90 minutes, we used this on all but one occasion and it was definitely our favorite way to go. Air Astana does not offer service at this time between Almaty and Taraz. The Spanish train was approximately $60 per person one way, the plane costs 12500 Tenge or about $95. The Soviet train was by far the least enjoyable experience. While it is about a 10 1/2 hour trip via the Soviet train, one would be well advised to avoid the restrooms if possible. The upside to the Soviet train is that it cost 1500 Tenge for all of us (about $11USD). To imagine the Soviet train, think of how it must have been to ride on the train in the days of the frontier, replace the steam engine with diesel, add electricity, subtract the Dalton Gang and the Soviet train is essentially what you will have.
Taraz Hotel: Hotel Zhambyl is a comfortable hotel in the heart of Taraz. It costs 7950 tenge, about $60USD per night. Tole bi Street 42 Taraz, Kazakhstan 484000, Telephone 7-3262-452552. The rooms are comparable in size to a Marriott Courtyard. The tv has three stations all in Russian. There is a restaurant but the dishes are different than most American tastes are accustomed to. There is a small refrigerator in each room and there is a hair salon on the main level. There is no fitness center at the hotel or anywhere in town to the best of our knowledge. If you bring a laptop you can connect to the internet via the room phone via free local call. Set up a Nursat account for free now. You can get I Cards here which are like prepaying your usage, these can also be used as calling cards. From Taraz the access number is 911911, if calling from a hotel you will need to dial 9 first so the number would be 9911911. The other hotel in Taraz is the Gazovic which is nice according to others that we have spoken to.
Interlink: They are a humanitarian organization in Taraz and one of their functions is to help the orphanages and provide assistance to adoptive families. They have many DVD's available to loan and do not charge a fee which is reason alone to check them out. Very nice people - thanks Beth and Ken!
Favorite Taraz Restaurants:

Cafe Istanbul - Pizza, Durums (Turkish Burritos), kebobs. Menu has pictures and some English. No beer/liquor but food is good and full of locals. Average meal cost with a Coke is 350-400 tenge (about $3USD) Cafe Istanbul had our favorite pizza - either Margherita which was essentially cheese or Doner which had beef, tomatoes and corn.

Cafe Bosfor - similar menu slightly more expensive and upscale atmosphere, full bar Average cost with a tall beer would be $4.50USD Try the Brizol which has thinly sliced beef and vegetables enclosed in an egg wrap with a tasty sauce, served with rice or french fries. They bring unlimited free hot bread which is very tasty.

Cafe Marmaris - Pizza, kebabs, durums - try the Ufa Kebab which is either lamb or beef (we were told both on different occasions) on a skewer with a Turkish tortilla, rice and vegetables. Full Bar and larger tables. Most entrees with a beer or Coke would be about $5USD.
Both Cafe Bosfor and Cafe Marmaris turn into popluar night spots with dancing.
There is no such thing as a non smoking section in Kazakhstan.

What to Bring: toys (the selection here is not as good as in the US), books (for you and the kid), laptop, DVD's (Bring an exercise DVD if you want to exercise in your room), ziploc bags (not available here but wish we had them), camera (and all necessary accessories!), electrical converters/adapters, vitamins, prescription drugs, drain stop for the sink/shower in your room (handy for washing clothes in your room)
What not to Bring: toilet paper (it's provided and comparable to what is offered at public facilities in the US), food (plenty here though with the exception of Coke & Pepsi it will be European or Asian brands), bottled water, extra toiletries, cigarettes, liquor

Timeline

2008-06-30T18:16:00.000-07:00

Significant Steps In Our Adoption Timeline

January 7, 2005 - Sign on with Aurora International Adoptions as our adoption agency for Kazakhstan adoption.
January 8 - Sign on with Claar Foundation as Colorado homestudy agency.
January 8 - Submitted I600A
January 22 - Begin Colorado classes with Claar
February 12 - Fingerprinted
March 12 - Completed classes with Claar
March 19 - Completed homestudy visits with Claar
April 11 - Advised by Claar that homestudy was sent to state for approval
April 18 - Learned that homestudy had not been sent to state.
April 25 - Advised by Claar that homestudy was sent to state for approval
May 2 - Homestudy approved at state level
June 25 - I-171H received
July 20 - Dossier translated and off to the consulate in New York
August 4 - Dossier moves from consulate to Kazakhstan
October 27 - LOI received
November 14 - Begin trip one!
December 15 - Bonding and Guardianship completed
December 18 - End of trip 1
January 5 - Begin trip 2
January 18 - Court date (after being postponed twice by court)
February 2 - 15 day post court hold completed (adoption final)
February 7 - Olesya leaves the baby house
February 9 - Say goodbye to Taraz and head to Almaty
February 15 - Olesya reaches Denver

About Olesya

2008-06-30T18:15:00.000-07:00

What we know about Olesya - pronounced ah-LYE-syah
Olesya Addison Magoffin was born May 3, 2005 and lives in Taraz, Kazakhstan. She was born in week 38, weighed 8.16 lbs., and measured 21.65 inches. She is a very happy kid and loves to smile and seldom fusses. We are very happy that she is becoming a part of our family.

September 14

2008-06-30T18:14:00.000-07:00

Due to a slow down in Almaty we have been assigned to Taraz (formally Zhambyl) which is west of Almaty on the Krgyzstan border. We believe we will keep the name Olesya. She was born May 3, 2005 and is scheduled to be available for international adoption on December 1, 2005. At this point, we plan to travel to Kazakhstan in mid November to initiate the bonding period in advance of the court date which we hope to be on or near the December 1 date.
Since we were originally planning for a 3-4 year old, there is much work to be done in changing things to accommodate a younger child. In the grand scheme of things, this is a small problem and one we are happy to work through.
This is good news in the sense that it should allow us to attend Tim and Marci's wedding in San Diego.

May 25

2008-06-30T18:13:00.000-07:00

We learned today that Olesya is in Almaty which is a large city in the southeast portion of Kazakhstan (a map is available in the upper left portion of this page). Almaty is the main city in Kazakhstan with regards to international air traffic. It will be nice not to have to make additional travel inside Kazakhstan and at this time it is possible to fly to Almaty with only one stop (Denver-Frankfurt-Almaty) on Lufthansa. Not bad when I consider that when I was with GP I once flew to LA from Denver with stops in Salt Lake, Reno and Fresno. We are still waiting for our I171 from the USCIS. Once we get it, it should be about 4 months we learned today until we travel. There is a backup at the embassy in New York and also at the Ministry of Education in Kazakhstan. This means the timing should allow Kim to start with her new class at Asbury Elementary as she had hoped. It also means that it could come close to Tim and Marci's wedding in which Joe is slated to be a groomsman. We will work on getting this squared away somehow.
In talking with our friend Sherri who is also adopting from Kazakhstan and whom we met during the homestudy process, we are at the same point in the process with the USCIS today, with both of us receiving a request for resubmittal of some form. Perhaps we will meet up in Almaty for dinner in the fall.?.

March 9

2008-06-30T18:12:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone,
Since we are getting overwhelmed by paperwork, and since I can't remember who I've told what to, I've resorted to mass emails. I thought this would be the best way to keep everyone updated with what's going on with things.

We have taken 2 out of our 4 classes. So far we have taken adoption basics part one and two. This Saturday is adopting from Russia and the Ukraine (not exactly appropriate for us, but that's the closest thing and we have to have 24 hours of classes anyway.) Our final class, adopting 3 and older will be rolled into our home study process since we were the only ones that signed up for it.

Now that our fingerprints have finally cleared (thank goodness we're not criminals), our home study can begin. This will consist of three visits with a social worker, at least one of which will be at our house. After this, we will receive a report which will be included in our dossier and also sent to INS. After INS processes more paperwork, we will receive the last form we need for our dossier and will then send it in to our agency. It will then get sent to Washington D.C and then on to Kazakhstan. Hopefully after our home study is completed, we will receive more information about Olesya. We really have no idea when we will be going to Kazakhstan - most likely sometime this summer. For those of you who have seen the movie, The Money Pit with Tom Hanks - remember how everything always took "two weeks" to get done? Well, our motto seems to be 4-6 weeks. It seems like that is how long everything will take.

On the decorating front, Olesya's room is painted (cream, pink, and green) with furniture in it. We have also painted the bathroom (bright blue with rubber duckies). Along the way Joe has demonstrated painting skills that were previously unrealized. :) Now with nothing else to decorate, I guess I have to just sit and wait - the hardest part.

March 22

2008-06-30T18:11:00.002-07:00

Our homestudy is done. Now it is a question of waiting for the I-171 from the USCIS. This will likely take at least another month. We also learned that we need to take another trip to the fingerprint place.
At this point, June travel is a very best case and perhaps too optimistic. We'll see...
On the brighter side, Olesya's room is complete. Her bed is made, furniture and some toys (ee-GROOSH-ka) are in place. We also have a few clothing items at this point, but are trying not to go overboard since we are unsure what size will be required once we do meet her.

February 9

2008-06-30T18:11:00.001-07:00

Today is our last day in Taraz. It is hard to believe that after almost three months, I am finally moving on in the process. Olesya is still not sleeping in her crib, but I’ve got other things to worry about. We’ll worry about that when we get home. She is already very attached to her mommy though, and refuses to go to sleep if I am not within eyesight.
For lunch today, we went to Café Bosfor to eat with Christa, Pam and Nazym one more time before leaving. The weather was beautiful today, in the fifties (Fahrenheit), so Olesya just had on a light jacket and light hat, while strolling around town in the snugli. She was very happy at lunch and enjoyed the bread. Nazym was holding her for a while and they went to the front of the restaurant so that Olesya could watch the music videos while the rest of us finished eating.
Tonight, Jeanette has invited us out for dinner and then at around 11 pm, the train leaves for Almaty! Who knows how well any of us will sleep tonight.

February 8

2008-06-30T18:10:00.000-07:00

Well, I’m sure you’re all anxious to hear how Olesya slept last night. She slept very well once Mommy and Grandma gave up and let her lie in the bed with them. Now I don’t want to hear anything about bad habits I may be starting. It is difficult to let your daughter lie in a crib and scream when it is a hotel room where she may be disturbing the neighbors. Also, since we forgot to ask anyone at the baby house what it is usually like when she goes to sleep, we weren’t sure if she didn’t like the dark, or missed her special blankie or what. Besides, we will be changing rooms several times over the next few days, so I figured it was better for her to get used to going to sleep in the dark and with me rather than a particular bed. Once she finally fell asleep at about 10:30, she slept solidly until 7. When she woke up, she turned her head toward me and smiled immediately. It is nice to see that she wakes up much easier than her mother does. Her father is also anxious to experience this phenomenon.
Before leaving Taraz, we knew that we had to go to Daddy’s favorite restaurant – Café Istanbul. The waitresses there were very happy to see Olesya and one of them was even playing peek a boo with her. She was also smiling at the man at the next table, but I’m not sure we should tell her father about this. After she ate a few of her carrot/potato mix. She loved, the pieces of pizza crust that I broke off for her. She knows good pizza when she tastes it. She is so excited to have her first bite of Nick ‘n Willy’s.
This afternoon, Aida took us to the Russian Orthodox church and two of the mausoleums in Taraz. It was interesting seeing them again with Mom, because it has been almost 3 months since I saw them. It was also fun to take Olesya.
Tomorrow night, we will be leaving Taraz to go to Almaty! I still don’t know when exactly we will be coming home, but it should be in about a week. We can hardly wait!

February 7

2008-06-30T18:09:00.002-07:00

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Olesya wanted to type the update herself, but she was having difficulty getting her hands to keep up with her thoughts, so she asked if she could dictate to me.
Today was a very exciting day! Mommy and Grandma came to the baby house at 10:00. They gave my caregiver an outfit to put on me and then they got me all bundled up in my snowsuit. A lot of people waved goodbye to me. We went into the director’s office and Aida took a picture of Mommy and I standing with her. On the way out to our car, Mommy’s friend Pam knocked on the window of their visiting room to say goodbye. Aida took a picture of Grandma, Mommy and I standing in front of the baby house.
When we got to the hotel, there were many people there who were happy to see me too. We came upstairs to the room and Mommy took off my snowsuit right away. I like having only one layer of clothes on. I am pretty ticklish we found out. I played with my toys and Grandma while Mommy was talking to Daddy on the computer. I have heard that he is very anxious to see me. I am anxious to see him too.
For lunch I ate baby food carrots while Grandma had a Brisol and Mommy had a Durum at Café Bosfor. I like carrots!
After lunch Grandma babysat while Mommy walked to Gros to get more food for me. Grandma is very good at rocking me to sleep (I’ve been told). As long as I can lay on my side and pull the blanket up to my chin, I am happy.
We will be taking the train to Almaty on either Thursday or Friday, but we don’t know yet.

February 6

2008-06-30T18:09:00.001-07:00

Well, we were hoping to bring Olesya out of the baby house today, but no such luck. The document that we need from the Ministry of Education will not be ready until this afternoon. So, we have been told that tomorrow morning will be the day. We were instructed to bring a blanket so that we will be able to wrap her up when we leave. We will do that, but as soon as we get to the hotel, we will unwrap her from everything and let her enjoy being in a few less layers.
After our visit to the baby house today, we had lunch with Christa, Pam and Nazym at Marmaris. Mom enjoyed her Adana Kebob and I enjoyed some beer after the disappointment of not being able to bring Olesya home today.
We have been told that maybe Friday or Sunday we will be able to go to Almaty, but of course who knows, until it actually happens.
Hopefully tomorrow, Olesya will be here and will be able to help with the update.

February 4

2008-06-30T18:08:00.001-07:00

What a busy exciting day today! This morning I went to the central registry office with Aida and Jeanette to sign the papers necessary to order Olesya’s birth certificate and adoption certificate. After that, we went to the airport to pick up my mother. Then after that Mom and I went to lunch and then to the baby house to visit Olesya.
While we were at the airport waiting for the plane to land I met Paula who is adopting a boy just 1 day younger than Olesya. She was waiting for her husband to arrive. I was glad to see that Mom made it safely along with all of her luggage! She was very excited to be here and insisted that we start taking pictures immediately.
After flying over 8500 miles, I was very glad to arrive. I spent a total of 19 and a half hours actually flying, 2 hours and 55 minutes sitting in the planes waiting to take off, and another 6 hours waiting in various airports. The flights were all on time and uneventful. I had a fairly easy time connecting to all flights. The Frankfurt airport was the largest and the signs, though in English, were not very specific. That was the only place I had to ask directions. Taraz is a very colorful city. Many of the buildings have beautiful ironwork and pastel colors. We are taking pictures and will post some of them later.
Of course, the most exciting thing was meeting Olesya. She didn’t know what to think of me at first but quickly warmed up. I brought her some new chew toys, which she immediately checked out. She is just wonderful. We are anxious to bring her home. We should be able to have her with us all the time early next week.

February 3

2008-06-30T18:07:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to Olesya! Okay, so it’s not her actual birthday, but she did turn nine months old today. Also today, the court decision is final. After our visit to the baby house, we went to the court to pick up a copy of the decision and then we went to the central registry office so that Aida could fill out some paperwork. Tomorrow morning we will go back to the central registry office so that I can sign some documents. These documents will be necessary to get Olesya’s birth certificate and to register the adoption so that I can take her out of the baby house. Aida and Jeanette keep telling me to be patient, but I am hoping that I will be able to take Olesya out on Monday or Tuesday. I think I have been patient enough.

Mom is on her way to Almaty right now! Tomorrow at this time, Mom and I will be watching movies together. Or she might be sleeping off some jet lag. It sure will be nice to have the company. I know Olesya is looking forward to meeting her babushka. We have been talking about it a lot lately.

Today I went to a new restaurant with Christa, Pam and Nazym. It wasn’t a new restaurant, but it was new to me. I don’t remember the name of it, but it has a lot of Uzbek dishes. I ordered something pronounced mon-thee, which was very similar to pirogis. They were dumplings with beef inside and very good. Christa and Pam ordered Ploff which is like rice pilaf and it was also very good. Nazym had a kind of soup with lots of noodles and beef. It looked very good. It is always nice to be able to add a new restaurant to the rotation.

Congratulations to Karen and John! Karen arrived back in Taraz yesterday with her sister, and she was able to take Maeve out of the baby house!

February 2

2008-06-30T18:06:00.000-07:00

What an exciting day we had today. Olesya got to go on a little outing! We went to a photo store to have her passport photo taken. First though, we had to get her dressed for her first “official” picture. I brought in an outfit with a yellow fleece top and flowery knit pants. When they brought her back to me, that outfit was on her, but they also put a blue shirt underneath and another pair of pants underneath as well. She also wore her purple snowsuit, a knit hat, and a scarf around her mouth. I didn’t bring the scarf, but the ladies at the baby house insisted on it.
When we got to the first photo place, Olesya was sweating because she was so bundled up. It helped to make her hair stand up though. We couldn’t get the photos done at that store though because they didn’t do the size that was needed for the American Embassy. So, we had to go to another place. Olesya did a very nice job of sitting in the chair, but she wouldn’t look at the camera because there were so many other people to look at. The photographer had to ask everyone else to step outside so that he could take a picture with Olesya looking at the camera. I had spiked her hair for the picture, but they smoothed it down. It was a little difficult, but eventually we did get a picture of her looking at the camera. She looks very serious though. Then, we had to wait forever to have the pictures printed. Olesya was falling asleep in the car on the way back because she was so tired of waiting. She was very well behaved though and seemed to enjoy riding in the car. Even if she was so bundled up that she could barely move. For those of you familiar with the movie A Christmas Story, that is exactly what Olesya was like in her little snowsuit.
Tomorrow we will be able to start all of the necessary paperwork to get this process finished. In less than a week, we hope to be in Almaty!

February 19

2008-06-30T18:05:00.000-07:00

I’m sure many of you have been waiting for a final update, or maybe you gave up hope of ever seeing one by now.
Our trip home was long, but smooth. Olesya has proven to be quite the traveler. She slept through all three take-offs and did not seem to be affected by air pressure. She slept when she was tired and ate when she was hungry. The only crying she ever did on the plane was when she was getting tired, but as soon as she found her thumb, the crying stopped.
As soon as we cleared customs in Charlotte, Olesya became a US citizen and will retain her Kazakh citizenship until she is 18. Since I have spent so much time in Kazakhstan over the past 3 months, I too am pursuing dual citizenship (just kidding).
We were so excited to get to DIA so we could finally meet up with Joe again. He was excited and happy to see me, but I think he was more excited to see Olesya. He took her from me right away and did not give her back. I had to take my own heavy suitcases off of the baggage carousel and drag them through the parking lot while he got to carry Olesya. After being away from us for almost four weeks, I guess he was entitled to that.
Olesya has settled into life at home quite easily. After having to fight with her and her father for the covers my first night back, I decided to put her in the crib the next night and that worked out just fine. She eats everything she tries and after sleeping all afternoon, evening and night on the 17th, she has settled into a fairly regular sleep pattern, and didn’t seem to suffer much jet lag. She has enjoyed the outings we have had so far to restaurants and shopping because she loves to look at everything. We were worried that she might be afraid of our dog at first because although he is gentle, he is kind of big (lab mix), but those worries were not necessary because she was not frightened at all. Every time he gets close she opens her mouth and tries to lean in to kiss him on the nose, but he keeps just out of reach.
We have appreciated all of the kind thoughts and messages many of you sent while we were in Kazakhstan and we are also thankful for the many congratulatory messages we have received from friends and strangers who have been following our story. For those of you who are still in the process, we know that it can be long and frustrating at times, but we are proof that eventually there will be a happy ending.

February 14

2008-06-30T18:04:00.004-07:00

Happy Valentine’s Day! Even though Joe and I could not be together, we got the best Valentine of all – Olesya! Our trip to the Embassy was very easy and just involved paying for Olesya’s entry visa to the U.S. and signing a few more papers. We have a sealed packet that we will present when we go through customs in Charlotte, North Carolina. I guess that means I don’t have to declare Olesya on the customs form.
We will have a celebratory dinner with Sheri and Helena and then we will finish our packing and head to the airport in the middle of the night to head for home. This will be the last update that I send from Kazakhstan. We are finally brining Olesya home!

February 13

2008-06-30T18:04:00.003-07:00

WE ARE COMING HOME! All of the documents have been approved at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Astana and will be delivered to the Embassy tomorrow morning. We will be leaving Almaty with Olesya on Wednesday at 4 am (Almaty time) or 3pm Tuesday afternoon (Denver time) We will fly from Almaty to Frankfurt to Charlotte to Denver. We should arrive in Denver around 7:30 pm (Denver time) on Wednesday night!
Today was just a lazy day in the hotel room. It was a bit cooler today, so we weren’t that motivated to go outside for a walk. We will probably meet up with Sheri and Helena for dinner in the hotel restaurant a bit later.
While I am typing this update, I have iTunes playing in the background and Olesya is dancing! She waves both hands and wiggles both of her feet and bounces. She is also very excited to get home to Colorado!

February 12

2008-06-30T18:04:00.001-07:00

Today was a very exciting day! Our friend Sheri arrived from Colorado and she was able to bring her daughter Helena out of the baby house. On her first trip, she stayed here in Almaty, so she was able to tell us how to walk to the grocery store and tomorrow we may go shopping! The girls were not quite sure what to think of each other, but they shared their toys nicely. We all ate dinner together down in the hotel restaurant.
I know that these updates are getting shorter, but Olesya is demanding more of my time, or I would just rather give her more of my time. Tomorrow her passport should get the last stamp it needs and then Tuesday we have our interview at the emabassy and then I should be able to bring her home!

February 11

2008-06-30T18:03:00.003-07:00

Today was quite the busy day! This afternoon we went for a ride to the mountains. The highest mountain is 3,000 meters. There were a lot of pine trees with snow on them, so it reminded us of home. We saw a skating rink and also a ski area. Olesya had fallen asleep in the car, so she and I missed the ski area, but Mom enjoyed it. The skating rink was a large arena where a lot of people were skating. There were also some carnival rides going. We saw several wedding parties that drove up to the mountains to celebrate.
The ski area was small, you could see from the bottom to the top. There was one long chair lift and there was also a rope tow. There was a hotel right at the bottom of the slope. The ride up to it was very steep, narrow and winding. There were a couple of times when we weren’t sure if we would make it up the hill, but we did.
Olesya again proved to be a wonderful traveler. The change in altitude did not bother her ears and she was able to sleep in the car even though we were going down curvy roads.

February 10

2008-06-30T18:03:00.001-07:00

Last night at 11 p.m. we boarded the train to Almaty. This train is known as the Soviet train because it is from that time period. We had a four person sleeping compartment for the two and a half of us so that was nice that we had the cabin to ourselves. The toilet was down the hall. Mom and I slept off and on, but Olesya fell asleep as the train was leaving the station, and woke up about thirty minutes before we arrived in Almaty. It is such a relief to see that she can fall asleep anywhere and stay asleep very easily.
Upon our arrival in Almaty we were driven to the Hotel Kazzhol which is where Joe and I spent one night on our very first night in Almaty, three months ago. Our friend Sheri will be arriving on Sunday to pick up her daughter Helena, and she will be staying at this hotel also. We are looking forward to introducing our daughters to each other.
This afternoon we went to the SOS Clinic for the check-up that Olesya needs in order to be cleared by the embassy. It was helpful that the staff also spoke English, so that I could ask questions and understand the answers easily. Olesya weighs almost 19 lbs. and is 69 cm. long.
After that, Bulat delivered our papers to the embassy and they were all approved. On Tuesday afternoon, Olesya and I have our interview at the Embassy. Things seem to be getting done quickly and we are excited to finish this journey.

February 1

2008-06-30T18:02:00.001-07:00

Well, we still haven’t been out to get Olesya’s passport photo taken, but hopefully that will happen tomorrow. She seems to get happier and happier every day. I think she knows that Babushka will be coming soon for a visit and she will be going home soon. Today, while I was nibbling on her fingers she was laughing. I wish Joe was here to hear it. It was the best laugh she has ever done. Of course it made me laugh too. Aida has taught Olesya how to give high fives, and she did that several times also. Toward the end of our visit, one of the nurses came to give Olesya some medicine. This looked like the capsule we had bought yesterday dissolved in warm water. The nurse gave Olesya a spoonful and she took it very nicely. I hope her calm temperament carries through the rest of her childhood and adolescence. Like her mother, she is a Taurus, so I don’t know if this is possible.

The weather here today was downright balmy! About 8 degrees Celsius. Maybe Springtime is coming to Taraz. With the arrival of February comes the crazy realization that I have seen 4 different months in Taraz. It seems like I have been living here since mid November with a three week vacation to Colorado for the holidays. I am looking forward to being in Colorado for four different months.

December 9

2008-06-30T16:46:00.003-07:00

We were in the small upstairs room again for our visit with Olesya today and were allowed to feed her again. It seemed to go smoother than yesterday. She seems to be getting bigger and our interactions are very easy and familiar now.
Last night we had dinner with the Interlink folks followed by a game of Mexican Train which is dominoes based. We had never played before but really enjoyed it. The dinner was fantastic, Mexican theme with fresh tortillas, beef, salsa, tomatoes, cabbage (no lettuce here) and sour cream. They offered to help us with our picture problem so we now have all our pictures on a DVD and will send a few off at a time since we are on an ultra low speed connection.
While playing with Olesya today, I was able to get her laughing. I was raising her up and down and then kissing her on her neck (under her multiple chins) and she just loved it! We have never heard so much giggling from her and it was very nice to hear.
For lunch today, we decided to switch it up a little bit and go to Cafe Bosfor instead of Cafe Istanbul. I had a brisol with french fries and Joe had his usual - cheese pizza.

December 8

2008-06-30T16:46:00.001-07:00

Today when we arrived at the baby house, Olesya had not yet eaten. They offered to let us feed her which we accepted. This was the first time we were able to see what she was eating. They called it porridge and it seemed like a plain baby cereal with a sprinkling of bleu cheese on top. We would give her a bite and as soon as she swallowed it, she would scream bloody murder until the next bite was in her mouth. This continued until she was about half way through and then she didn't scream anymore. She ate and drank well, which probably explains her good size. One lady commented that she is not a fast eater, but is a good eater. Our visitation time seemed to go faster than normal since we had the added activity of feeding on the front end. I doubt that this will become part of the daily routine, but it was nice to do it once. She still has a little bit of a cough, though it is improving from previous days. The doctor came in and checked her out while we were there and gave us a list of three medications which we bought at the chemist on the way back to the hotel.
Today was probably our coldest day, topping out at about 30. We check the weather on the internet and saw that it was only supposed to get up to 8 in Denver and generally it has been warmer here than in Denver on a daily basis. For the next week, it looks like clear and temperatures steadily rising into the mid/upper 40's. If I had realized that this adoption gig would land us in a far off locale for over a month in the winter, I would have investigated places like French Polynesia instead...
For his first time feeding a baby, Joe did pretty well. I just held her on my lap while he did the feeding. We were using a table spoon, so it was not the ideal size, but that is what they gave us. The juice that she drank was pink, some kind of blend probably and they warmed it a bit. At the end of our visit, we also got to feed Olesya a bottle of milk. It was about 12-16oz I think, and she chugged that too. She was very playful and happy during her "tummy time" on the floor today and started to get tired toward the end of the visit, but didn't fall asleep.

December 7

2008-06-30T16:45:00.004-07:00

When we arrived at the baby house this morning, we learned that our normal visitation room was unavailable. We were assigned a small anteroom that is located adjacent to Olesya's dorm area. This made it difficult to engage in many of our normal activities, but she seemed rather quiet today and did not seem to mind. She was able to see her first snow from the upstairs window. It was actually a good vantage point and we were able to see large flakes float quietly down on a windless day as a few dogs and birds scrambled about for her entertainment. We gave her a new stuffed dog that we got at the grocery store yesterday. She seemed to like it as her other toys are hard plastic rattles (which hurt when she bangs them on you).
Today was our third attempt at the Guardianship Council meeting and under the rouse of "third time is a charm" we actually had the meeting. When we got inside, the panel members and our interpreter engaged in a lively Russian dialogue while shuffling through our paper work. As the minutes passed, I could see that a problem was developing. After about 15 minutes, we were advised that an additional paper was required and that our meeting could reconvene on Monday. There is another family that we know from the baby house who had their meeting immediately after ours. The script was the same. They will also be coming back on Monday with some other paper. Once we have this meeting satisfactorily archived, we can move on to the court date. It is our understanding that December 16 is the magic zero day and our court date is likely to be scheduled for some date beyond that.
When presented with her soft new puppy, Olesya immediately put one of its ears in her mouth - which is a sign that she likes it! When she was starting to get tired, she held the ear of the puppy and sucked her thumb. Usually, she likes to hold onto part of her shirt while sucking her thumb, so the puppy was a nice replacement. We heard her laugh again today when I was making silly faces at her. That always makes Joe laugh too. Since we did not have the CD player that is in the regular visiting room, Joe sang Christmas carols while rocking Olesya. If any of you have trouble sleeping, let us know - Joe should be releasing his first album sometime soon.
We were surprised to actually be meeting with Guardianship Council today because we were told that they only meet on Mondays. I guess today was a preliminary to let us know what paper work we were missing. Of course there is always something missing. Since we finally made it in to the building, we are optimistic that Monday's meeting will occur as scheduled and we will have 1 step of this long process completed.

December 6

2008-06-30T16:45:00.003-07:00

Apparently Olesya had not slept very well last night because she had a bit of a cough, so when we got to the baby house, she was sleeping. When she was brought in to see us, she was a bit groggy, but perked up quickly. She was up on all fours a lot today. She did a little bit of rocking back and forth, and a lot of scooting backward - that whole crawling forward thing is a bit tricky. She was very happy and we took several pictures of her with a big smile. Since she had taken a nap earlier, she managed to stay awake for the whole visit.
Christa and her mom, Pam, have the same visiting time that we do. They also seem to be on the same schedule as far as the whole process is concerned. They have been here since November 7, and have not yet met with Guardianship Council either. We are very pleased with the help we have been getting from our agency in the states and the staff here in Taraz.
Pam and Christa told us about the Interlink office. Interlink is a humanitarian organization with an office in Taraz. They don't assist in adoptions, but they do have an English speaking staff and a collection of DVDs. So, Joe and I went there today after our visit to check out some movies and visit with some Americans. On another happy note, the humidity in Taraz is higher than in Denver (what isn't) so I have had delightfully curly hair the whole time. Which is a good thing since my straightening iron was fried by the outlet. Yes we were using an adaptor, but something still went wrong.