Almaty Day 1: The Good and The Bad

I realize that the London entry left you hanging with no pictures. Our laptop battery went completely dead in Starbucks, and we had to hop a plane shortly thereafter, so I was unable to hook up again. I’ll add those photos when we get a stable internet connection.

We arrived in Almaty early this morning, about 4 AM local time. There were two other adopting couples on the plane, and we spoke to them briefly. We followed behind them in the Customs line. I was nervous to go through with all the adoption money, but it was actually quite easy - a stamp on the visa form and a wave on through. We didn’t have to declare anything, either, which was a courtesy extended and not the norm. The Almaty airport is new and modern, and much less intimidating than I thought!

Our luggage made it safe and sound, and our translator and coordinator were waiting for us outside the airport. Our driver arrived shortly, and they took us to a grocery store to get some basic items. We bought some bread, salami, yogurt, cherry juice and plum juice, eggs, frozen tortellini type pasta, hot tea, cereal, plums, apples, milk and cheese. The milk we bought was 2.5%, the very lowest fat available. The standard milk is 6% fat! Our translator (Anastasia – she is absolutely fabulous) picked out our cheese. We think there was a miscommunication because she told us it was dog cheese. We think she meant goat. We bought it anyway, and put it in our eggs this morning. It has a very sharp flavor. The juice is wonderful. We drank all of the plum juice with breakfast.

So after some brief shopping we came to our apartment to get unloaded and try to sleep. The apartment is very nice. It is newly remodeled, and no one has stayed here since the remodel. It has air conditioning and a washing machine, two very important items! We were able to grab a couple hours of sleep this morning before our coordinator came over. We were awakened by some dogs barking like crazy, and Keith said, “They’re unhappy – probably getting milked for the dog cheese.”

Here’s where the story gets rough.

The coordinator arrived with his in-country person. We all came upstairs to our apartment and sat around the living room. He told us that he does many adoptions with this woman in this country, and it is a very smooth process. He said he went this morning and looked through the databases, and found a very good, very cute, Caucasian healthy child for us (“Looks like you, Robyn,” he said). This child is a boy. He is about 2 years old. He pulled out pictures for us to see, and hee’s right, the boy is very cute. Long blonde hair, big blue eyes, looks about Ari’s size, absolutely adorable. I immediately started crying, mostly because I was so, so disappointed. Not that we didn’t want the boy, of course we did. But we came here for a daughter. So when I started crying, our coordinator said he would leave and let Keith and I discuss the boy. I said there was nothing to discuss, we came here for a girl. Keith said it’s not that we wouldn’t like the boy, we know we would. But this coordinator knew long before we came to this country that we were coming for a girl. We gave him an absolute (and teary) “no” answer and he left the room to make some calls.

When he returned, we went to lunch and had a very large and very tasty Russian meal (no horse meat yet). Then we took a short drive around the city by taxi, while he showed us some sights. He dropped us back off at the apartment to get some sleep, which we promptly did. He called back a few hours later to tell us that he needed some time to work on a couple of scenarios, and will call us tomorrow.

So that’s where we stand, totally hanging with no idea if we will be bringing home Eva, or a baby boy, or any baby at all. Not a good feeling, and one that leaves me prone to sudden outbreaks of tears, but a feeling that is recurring in this adoption.

The bright side is, the apartment is wonderful, the city is beautiful, and the weather is absolutely perfect. We are on the 8th floor, and have a great view of the mountains. We are also right across the street from the Ramstore, which is the large mall and shopping area that so many adopting parents frequent on their trips here to Almaty.

Keith and I are praying very hard that tomorrow will bring better news, and that tomorrow will bring Eva.

We don’t have internet connectivity at our apartment yet, but are using an Internet café for now. I can upload more pictures as soon as we get our own connection.

Dear Owen and Ari,
Today we went to a big mall, and there was an ice skating rink! We thought about how you guys like to ice skate in the living room with your socks. There was also a big kangaroo painted on the outside of the building, and a painting of a boy having a birthday party! We think he was 7 years old, because there is a big 7 painted beside him. I will try to send some pictures so that you can see everything. We haven’t found Eva yet, but are still trying to find her. I hope that maybe tomorrow will be the big day! We heard that you went to the zoo! Was the crocodile house finished yet? Have so much fun with Nini and Mam. We love you very much! Mom and Dad