We’re sharing about 10 hours of sleep between us since the last post, but we are safe and sound in Kostonai. It is cold, but not bitterly so. The hotel is lovely, spacious, and much more luxurious than we’d anticipated, apparently with even a gym and spa ($5 manicures!). There are plenty of conveniences within walking distance, as well as a large park. We have translators to accompany us for outings, and have not suffered thus far for lack of vegetarian food. We’ve made a trip to the grocery store, and most of the comforts of home are readily available, though I suspect by the time we’re home we will be in green-vegetable deprivation. Here are pix from lunch today, where I had a really great bowl of borscht:
We were really fortunate to have made the entire trip in the company of another family, who already have a 4-year-old daughter adopted from Kaz. For their privacy, I’ll call them Bill, Maureen and Sarah. Their company has been genuinely enjoyable, and they’ve been incredibly helpful, having already been through the entire process. During the 14-hour layover in Frankfurt, we made a trip to the zoo. In my sleep-deprived stupor, I earnestly tried to convince Maureen & Sarah that a group of grey rocks under were a tree were actually sleeping capybara.
On a practical note, the step-down transformer that I went out of my way to find, is not suitable for laptops – fortunately, Bill & Maureen had a spare converter with them that works, or we’d’ve been out of business, from a cyber perspective. And, since no-one told us, save your boarding pass because you have to present it to the judge at court (and we lost ours). Lastly, the navigation bars on Blogger are magically in Russian, complete with Cyrillic alphabet here, which is a bit confusing.
And the biggest news, (you can now exhale!) – we will be going to the baby house tomorrow, and it sounds like we will be meeting a baby girl between 6-7 months old. We showed the coordinator a picture of Ava, and were told that this little baby really resembles her. I am so full of joy, imagining holding her in my arms tomorrow afternoon, I don’t know how to begin to express it.
On a practical note, the step-down transformer that I went out of my way to find, is not suitable for laptops – fortunately, Bill & Maureen had a spare converter with them that works, or we’d’ve been out of business, from a cyber perspective. And, since no-one told us, save your boarding pass because you have to present it to the judge at court (and we lost ours). Lastly, the navigation bars on Blogger are magically in Russian, complete with Cyrillic alphabet here, which is a bit confusing.
And the biggest news, (you can now exhale!) – we will be going to the baby house tomorrow, and it sounds like we will be meeting a baby girl between 6-7 months old. We showed the coordinator a picture of Ava, and were told that this little baby really resembles her. I am so full of joy, imagining holding her in my arms tomorrow afternoon, I don’t know how to begin to express it.
7 comments:
So glad to hear you got there safely, and what a blessing you're there with another family who's already been through the process. I cant wait to hear about meeting your baby and seeing pictures!
We'll be logging on early tomorrow to hear more news! I'm impressed that you fit the zoo visit in to the trip. We're sending positive thoughts and prayers your way. Congrats on making it this far! Karen.
Hurray!!!! Dad and I are so-o-o happy for you both, and can't wait to see pictures of the baby. Sounds like you have all of the comforts of home - and possibly more. Don't remember if I ever served you borsht at home - it used to be one of my favorite drinks as a kid, but I never found anyone else who liked it.
On the home front, Dexxie went 'duck' hunting with Max and Ranger yesterday and had a grand time swimming into the pond to try to steal bumpers from Ranger. No real ducks ever appeared.
Plan to call Sandy today to arrange an outing with Ava. I am off work next Friday, Mon & Tues - so I'm hoping that at least one of those days will work.
We love you both and can't wait to read your next blog! Mom & Dad
great to hear you arrived safely. Can't wait to hear how tomorrow goes.
Quite wonderful to see your progress and hear of your trip. We hope things continue to go smoothly for you...we hope to travel by the end of the year. Can you clarify what kind of converter we need over there to power a laptop? Thank you!
-Keith
I am so happy that you are their safely. I can not wait to hear about the baby and seeing pictures.
Congrats and I hope you are able to get some sleep before tomorrow.
Sandi
Glad that you arrived safe and sound! I cannot wait to see your little one. What an exciting time! I will be reading your blog with much interest - we are also vegetarian and will, in all likelihood, be traveling with a 4 year-old. Thanks for sharing your experience!
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