Day 8 and 9 - Dial up internet is tough

Turns out our “dial up” internet access is adding up quicker than we planned. Therefore, we have decided it wise to post updates only once every two or three days. The internet rate for prime time (daytime) is only 10 tenge (8 US cents) per minute but when it takes almost 2 minutes to upload one photo to the internet your minutes add up fast. We calculated that in the 10 days we’ve been here we’ve used around 30 hours of internet time between the two of us. Too much too soon. So, we’ll do our best to keep good notes since we’re not writing daily and please give us a day or two if you send an email you’d like a reply to.

We were on our own for most of the weekend. All the American families we met this past week have left for Almaty (where the American Embassy is located) in Southern Kazakhstan to complete the processes required for their adoptions and bring their children to their homes in the US. Two families working with our adoption agency arrive on Wednesday the 14th so I am sure we will be introduced to them immediately.

Over the weekend we ventured out on our own with trusty translator in hand and shopped the outdoor market, dined out and explored. Our big Saturday night out included walking to find something to eat, found a small pizza / pastry shop, had two meat pastries heated and continued our walk. There were lots of young people out, dressed up and all looking as though they had a fun evening planned ahead of them. Although the streets were busy with cars the sidewalks were still busy with people…just as they always are. We had a good time just walking around and checking out the Saturday scene. Last night (Sunday night) we ate a quick Italian dinner out and returned to our hotel room to watch a movie. Likely what we would have done had we been home.

Every day with Polly proves more rewarding. She has warmed up to Laura quite a bit but is still a bit cautious with Brett. Laura is feeling great with all the unsolicited hugs and smiles she gets but feels slightly guilty that Brett is not getting the same. Brett is a wonderful dad so we’re confident that once he gets her home she’ll see how much fun he is with Luke and want to be a part of it.

The first many days we didn’t get any verbal communication from her outside of a few whispers in Russian. The last three days or so we’ve not only got her speaking more loudly (in Russian) but she has spoken English words when asked (Polly, necklace, Mommy, Daddy…). She is also using more body language to communicate with us, like pointing her finger at what she wants or what she wants us to do. Now that she is displaying more of who she really is we can see that she has quite the charming little personality. She is in good spirits throughout our daily visits and has Mommy and Daddy giggling a lot at her facial expressions and mannerisms. Every day we are more convinced at how well she and her big brother Luke will likely get along.