It is so hot here! It’s like being back in Memphis. Darn! I thought I might get a break from the oppressive Memphis heat but alas, I am not. Oh well, at least I can feel somewhat at home while I’m here.
Today we headed to the baby house around 3:30. We had a different driver this time and a new chariot…a minivan. I think the new driver is Janette’s husband. He was an older man, very kind but still drove like a bat out of hell! Who doesn’t in this country?!!! That’s another blog entry all it’s own. So with this new driver, we take a different route to the orphanage. These new streets that we took looked no different than the others. They were all lined with people, dogs, houses with fences and gates around them some more ornate than others. The more upscale houses are painted really bright colors like pink and blue which seems to be a favorite around here. It reminds me of Miami. As we get closer to the baby house, things start looking familiar….the more run down houses or apartment buildings with laundry hanging either off the balcony or from a clothes line in the front courtyard. Children are playing everywhere and anywhere they want no matter if it is in the street or in the courtyard. The adult men are huddled under a tree at a picnic table trying to stay out of the hot sun probably swapping stories of better days.
We pull onto the dirt road that leads to the blue and yellow iron gates of Umit. I can already hear the laughter of many children. It is a welcome sound and one I thoroughly enjoy. We get out of the minivan and head down the pave stone path lined with beautiful budding flowers and, of course, the weeds. We start toward the front door which is open and I see that Alina’s group is playing in what I can only assume was an old fountain in the courtyard of the orphanage. It serves as their pool on hot days. It doesn’t have any pipes in the middle anymore. They have been removed and tile squares have replaced the bottom of the octagonal rock wall pool. I come through the front doors of the orphanage and Alina’s back is to me. She is sitting on the side of this pool with her little feet in the water with no shirt on and in some underwear…boys underwear I might add. One of her playmates who sees me walk into the courtyard points to me and says, “Alina’s Mama!” Alina instantly turns around and gives me a big smile and a wave. I walk over and pat her on the back. I get splashed by one of the other boys playing in the pool. Hey…it’s just water and I shrug it off and pretend to splash him back. It was to his delight and to the others as well. The caretaker didn’t like him splashing me and she scolded him, lightly, for it. I did not mind and thought it was quite fun to be able to connect to the other kids in Alina’s group.
After about 10 minutes, it was time for the children to get out of the pool and dry off. The caretaker took each child and one by one pulled them out of the water, stood them on a wooden slated platform to drip dry for 2 seconds and stripped them of their wet undies, wrapped a towel around them and sat them on a bench. She did this with great precision and quickness but with a gentle touch as well. The children who were wrapped in towels sat on the bench very quietly until they received dry underwear. As soon as Alina got hers on, she ran up to me with arms open wide. She wanted me to pick her up which I did most promptly. She gave me a big hug, laid her head down on my shoulder, and we stood there rocking back and forth for a few minutes. It was wonderful! Now, it was time to go get some clothes on. As Alina’s group starts toward their upstairs room, I thought she would want to walk upstairs with her group so I put her down. She took two steps inside the door, turned around to see if I was there, and then proceeded to reach up to me again. I, again without hesitation, picked her up and carried her upstairs to her room to get dressed. The caretakers took her into another room to get dressed. While I waited, all of Alina’s other playmates, roommates came up to me. They would say something in Kazak which I didn’t understand and then just laugh like it was the funniest thing in the world. I would just nod my head and laugh right back. I told one little boy that his hair was all wet and I rubbed his head. At the next moment, I had 12 others coming up to me to have their heads rubbed. It was very sweet and, if I could afford it, I’d take every single one of them home in a heartbeat! They are all so precious and deserve to have families.
Alina comes running out of the room that she was taken into to get dressed. She runs right up to me and wants me to pick her up. I do so and we proceed to head downstairs again and go into the courtyard where the “pool” is. We sit on a little bench and one of the very nice female doctors comes out and joins us. I had told her earlier that I brought medicine from America for Alina’s skin condition. I handed her a small tube of it and Janine read what was written on it to her. She said that we would try a little on Alina’s arm to see if she had any reaction to it. If she didn’t, I could start using it on her everyday that I came to visit. We followed the doctor back to her office and she puts a little Aquaphor on Alina’s right forearm. We then go to what seems to be “our” gazebo to play. After about an hour, the female doctor comes out to check on Alina’s arm. She has had no reaction to the Aquaphor so now I can start putting it on her. Great I thought. Ha! Alina will have none of that! I can’t even get to hold her arm much less put something on it! So, I let it go for now and will try a little later when she is more use to me.
Alina’s is not in a very good mood today for some reason. She was delighted to see me and wanted me to pick her up twice today but as the afternoon wore on, she because quite testy. It was getting close to dinner time and she had been swimming. Not to mention, it was very hot. So between being tired, hungry, and hot, she had every right to be a little fussy. We played some more and worked around the fussiness until it was time to go. She did let me pick her up again to say goodbye. We took a picture with her Nanny and she was then peeled out of my arms again screaming for Mama. Ugh! That is so hard especially two days in a row! So, Janine, Janette, and I hop back into the cab and make our way back to my hotel. One the way, Janine and Janette show me some restaurants to eat at that are close to the hotel and have good prices. I had heard of most of them through the other families that had traveled her but had no clue where they were. Café Istanbul is a five minute walk from the hotel and you walk through the town square. There’s Café Medvet that is also just a short walk from the hotel going away from the town square. There’s also a grocery store called Gros that is about a 15 minute walk. It has a lot more items than the little market across the street. I hope to go there tomorrow to buy some breakfast and lunch items.
After I get back to the hotel, I just go to my room and work on the presents that I am giving to Janette, Janine, and all the people at the orphanage. I have made all the orphanage staff a placemat purse, either a knitted or crocheted matching scarf and hat, and necklace/earrings to match an another pair of silver earrings. I will give Janette and Janine one of my other purses that are not placemats but were designed and constructed by me out of designer fabric. They will also get a scarf/hat and jewelry. I have some gifts for men but I really don’t know who I would give it to at this point. I have all the purses and jewelry made but still lack some hats and scarves. I figure I will finish them up while I’m here. I’ve got plenty of time on my hands. Once these presents are finished, I brought the tiniest sewing machine in the world with me and I plan on making sun hats for Alina’s orphanage. The children always have hats on when I go to see Alina. I am also going to make her first outfit that she will were when she leaves the orphanage AND her coming to America outfit. I have to keep myself busy or I will go stircrazy!
Wow! Only three pages today! You guys are getting off easy with this entry! Until tomorrow….
Paka (Goodbye in Russian)
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