Wednesday, August 26, 2009

I just reread Monday’s post and I have to apologize for all the misspelled and missing words not to mention the grammatical errors! I guess my head was not where it needed to be when I wrote that post. Hey, can you blame me?
Anyway, today’s visit was special indeed. Knowing that Alina is officially my daughter is making these last visits with her more bearable. It still drives me crazy that she has to stay there until Sept. 9th but at least I know that day is coming. It gives us something to look forward to. Hey, I’ve waited this long, what’s 13 more days, right? She was especially giddy today along with her usual talkative nature. She almost ate all her snacks before she drank any juice which is very unusual but she eventually drank the entire box of apple juice. I took all new toys for her to play with. She had puzzles, my little pony’s, and new barrettes (Thanks Rachel!!!). These were all in the care package that I got last Friday. There are more new toys but we are introducing a few at a time so we can have something new to play with each time I visit her. Alina LOVED the puzzles, as I knew she would, and liked all the other new things as well. Eleven thirty came to quickly today and my girl had to go and eat her lunch. I was just about to take her to her room when one of the caretakers came down to get her. She went without hesitation. She said bye, bye to me, looked back once as she was walking away and waved. Only four more visits and then we’re outta there!!! I CANNOT WAIT!!!!
Shirin took me to the Bazaar today after the visit. The driver dropped me off at the hotel so I could stash the toy bag in my room and then we were dropped off at the Bazaar. This place is crazy and amazing at the same time! There were soooo many people there. It’s not a place where you go to shop. It’s a place where you know what you want, you get in and get out as quickly as possible. Everyone is always in a hurry. And it’s HUGE!!! Shirin was navigating this place like a pro though. Thank God she was with me because there is NO WAY I could have gotten back out of there myself. She knows this place like the back of her hand as she should since she and her friends go there quite often. She grew up going to this place. I wish I could describe it well enough to give it justice but I can’t. You really have to experience it for yourself. I can’t wait for Mom and Dad to go just to see the look on their faces!! Anyway, I wanted to buy a small red potty like the kids use in the orphanage. Alina is terrified of a regular potty as I mentioned before. I am going to try really hard to get her out of her fear of the big potty by the time we leave Taraz and go to Almaty. If I can’t, I am going to use the little red potty as a backup. It’s small enough to were I could bag it up and put it in my carryon for the plane and airports if I had to. Yes, I know that sounds gross and I will have to clean and sanitize it every time she uses it but I can’t think of anything else I can do. I also bought a stroller. I know she is five and doesn’t need one but I want to try to contain her as much as I can while we are in the big airports. I know at one point when we get off a plane somewhere that she will be sleeping so I wanted it for that purpose as well. And, Mama doesn’t have the Mama muscles built up in her back yet to carry/hold a sleeping, dead weight five year old for three hours while we are waiting to board a plane. Also, I paid half the price I would have paid for a stroller in the US!!! Score one for Mama!!! We can also us it back home when we go to the zoo or other outings. As I said, she is five but her stature is more like a three year old and I know those little legs are going to get tired sometime along the long journey home. I also purchased a fork. I know…I’ve been here for going on seven weeks now why didn’t I buy a fork the first time I went to the Bazaar? I ask that question every time I’m eating my Ramon noodle type lunch with a spoon!!!! Ok…purchases made and we head back out of the craziness of this place. Did I mention that personal space doesn’t exist in Kazakhstan? Yeah…well it’s the worst here. You have people bumping into you right and left and you bumping into other people because they literally cut you off. It’s a mad house!!! We are weaving our way through the gaggle of people and finally make it to were the taxi’s are waiting. Shirin talks to a taxi driver and asks him if he will take me back to the hotel and how much….250 tenge….that’s about $1.85 for a ten minute ride. Not bad, right!!! I say ok and I ask Shirin if she would like us to drop her off at her house but she opts to walk back. She lives very close to the Bazaar. I thank her, give her a hug, and she kisses me on the cheek. This kiss is traditional in Kazakh. You always kiss your friends when you greet them or say goodbye to them. It was the first time she had done it. I felt very privileged that she thought of me as a friend. I jump in the taxi and we’re off. This taxi ride is not as crazy as the ones to Umit believe it or not. The taxi driver starts talking to me in Russian and I say sorry American. I told him I speak a little Kazakh so he starts talking to me in Kazakh and when I understand what he is saying, I try to answer him in the Kazakh I know. He got a real kick out of it! He has the radio on in the car and when he realized I’m American, he switches his music from Kazakh speaking musicians to American songs. How thoughtful was that! We arrive at the hotel, he helps me take the stroller and little red potty out of the car. I thank him in Kazakh and go up to my air conditioned abode.
I should mention that I made a hat yesterday. I turned my dining room in my hotel room into my sewing room. As you all know, I don’t go to the baby house on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Well yesterday, I broke out the new sewing machine that was in my care package (yes, I had my friend Tamela buy another one just like the one I brought and burned up weeks ago because I didn’t use an electrical converter), got the patterns out for the toddlers hats, ironed some fabric, and went to work. It was great fun! I almost made two hats yesterday but I still lack putting the lining in the second one. I’ll finish it on Thursday and take some pics.
That’s all for today. Until Friday….


Cheers,
Alina’s mother…..I love the sound of that!!!