Our first of many plane rides together

Today is the day we leave Petropavl for Almaty. Our flight out is at 2:30 PM. It's a 4.5-hour flight. To say I'm nervous is like the understatement of the world. This is the old plane that about did me in last time, and now I'm making the flight with World's Screamiest Baby. But at least when we touch down, we'll be that much closer to getting out of here. Yesterday I was given the news that I would need to extend my stay by one day, which actually turned in to four days because there were no available flights out. After calling the US Embassy for the third time, they made arrangements to help me out, and it appears that I will still be leaving on Friday morning, as planned. Oh, you think I didn't have an all-out breakdown when I got that news about extending my trip? I'm so glad it worked out - as long as my coordinating team did their part, I should be taking Eva to the SOS clinic tomorrow morning at 10 AM, and then to our exit interview appointment at the US Consulate tomorrow at 3 PM. Then our plane leaves early Friday morning at 3:20 AM. A couple of quick stops in Frankfurt and Chicago, and we're home in Nashville around 3 PM. I cannot wait.

Yesterday was probably the worst so far since I've been here. Above and beyond my own hysterics, Eva was an absolute pill. She wouldn't nap, for the first time since I got her. She kept standing up in the crib, screaming her face off. So by afternoon she was unbearable. She cried from 3 PM to the minute she feel asleep at just after 7 PM. She even screamed while we were downstairs in the cafe for dinner. She wouldn't eat anything, just screamed while I ate. So I was so very glad to finally have her asleep last night, and I laid down around 8:30 PM myself. I'm scared to do anything in the hotel room after she's asleep, because I couldn't stand to wake her up.

When I get to Almaty tonight, I will be staying with a pastor and his family instead of a hotel. It will be much cheaper, so that's good. But I warned our coordinator that the baby cries all the time, so the pastor should know that before he takes us on! He said they can help me with the baby. I'm all for that, strangers or not. So maybe it will work out. And it's only for a night and a half, anyway, since Friday night we'll be at the airport around 2 AM.

The weather here is unseasonably cool. It's been around 60 degrees, and rainy. So I haven't been able to leave the hotel room in three days. I'm so sick of these four walls, I can't even tell you how bad I want out of here.

Two nights ago in the hotel cafe, I tried to order some entree that, of course, they didn't have. So the waiter suggested "meat of sour cream sauce" and I said sure, that sounds just fine. Screaming baby doesn't leave much time for perusing the menu, you know. So he brings it out, and it's like ground meat pressed into a patty with some gravy and onions on it. I ate it while Eva screamed. So last night I went back down to the cafe, and tonight's menu features LIVER IN SOUR CREAM. I don't know for sure if that's what I ate, but you have to think so. I am now scarred for life. How dare he trick me like that. Dang you, Dennis, dang you!

I should close up the old laptop for now and get the baby some breakfast. We have only a mere 7 hours before our flight leaves, and we have a lot of screaming to get in by then. I probably won't have internet access during my short stay in Almaty, so this may be my last post from Kazakhstan. If I find a connection, I'll update. Say a prayer for the flights, will you?