Bonding Day 6
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Today is our last day in the Hotel Dastan. It’s too much money to stay there the entire time here, so we finally got an apartment. The apartment is actually Christy’s, as she is flying to Almaty to finalize Miss Z’s paper work. Christy left us some food, cleaning products, and more importantly a place to stay. Thank you very large Christy!! =)
As I shovel down the last morsel of free hotel breakfast, I savor every bite. I think the food is going to be the thing I miss the most when we leave the hotel. Gen and I then head back up to our room to get our luggage. We have three pieces of luggage each weighing over forty pounds, in addition to our carry on luggage as well. We haul everything downstairs to the entrance of the hotel and await our driver. The plan for today is to carry our luggage with us to the orphanage and during lunch time, move into the new apartment.
At about 9:30 we arrive at the orphanage and await Gabriel’s arrival into the playroom. I love it when his caregiver comes in and he’s got this look of anticipation in his eyes because he knows that we are here. He looks left, then right and squirms around to try and catch a view of us. The moment he makes eye contact, its like the 4th of July…His eyes widen and a big silly grin goes across that face of his. His caregiver then hands him over to me and it seems all is right in the world.
Gabriel has been learning tummy time since we arrived in Kazakhstan. At first he used to scream after a few seconds of being placed on his belly, and boy has this kid got a set of lungs. But more and more he has been getting comfortable with this. Lately he’s gotten stronger to the point of rolling back and forth from his belly to back. Now he giggles like a maniac when he does this.
After our morning bonding session ends, we bid adieu to Gabriel and head over to our new apartment. The apartment is on the third floor, so carrying up the luggage was a lot of fun. Lucky for us, Cerric, Eric and Kami helped out. Everyone takes their leave as we settle into the new place.
We unpack a couple of things and head out to the market to buy food and supplies. At first, our translators took us to the market to show us where things were and how to select stuff. This was quite the adventure trying to figure out what to buy. We thought we had gotten milk, but it turned out to be yogurt. You would think that the cow on the carton was an indication that there was milk, but that wasn’t the case. Our “sign” language has also been improving here as well. Gen wanted to get some salami, so she pointed to the one she wanted and showed the woman behind the counter how much she needed. After a series of pantomimes, grunts and nods, an 8 inch log of salami was handed over. There is one serious thing to watch for, expired food. These markets leave food that has been expired, sometimes for over a year, on the shelves.
Check out at the register was fun as well. Over here, you actually have to pay for the plastic bags that you put your groceries into. Also when small change is given back, sometimes a matchbox is given as an equivalent.
Shopping adventure completed, we head back to the apartment and get ready for the afternoon bonding period with Gabriel. Today, it’s my turn feeding Gabriel. I remember when his caregiver showed us how to feed him, and she made it look so easily. All he did was lay back in her arms as she literally shoveled the food into his mouth. I’ve only fed him a couple times and he always cries. He does not like it when I feed him, and he only quiets down when a female shows her face to him. What should take about 10-15 minutes goes on for 45 minutes. By the time we are finished, I’m dripping in sweat and wearing his food and drink. Burping duty ensues and you can add baby vomit to my wardrobe as well.
I know that we’ve got a long way to go, I just wish it didn’t have to smell this bad =)
Till next time!
Bonding Day 7
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Today’s time with Gabriel was an interesting one. The day started off as normal, with us doing his morning exercise routine and playtime. It looks like Gabriel’s legs are getting stronger and stronger each day. This morning, as we held him, he started hopping up and down. He can bear his weight on his legs with us balancing him. I put him in a walker, but he doesn’t move around in it yet. He’s content with playing with the toys that are on it.
We noticed that Gabriel kept sticking his finger in his mouth and appeared to be poking around in there. Looks like his teething is starting to really bother him. We gave him a teether but that doesn’t seem to of worked. Then we tried a teething biscuit, which he immediately took to. The look on his face was priceless when he figured out that chomping on this thing felt good.
Gabriel was able to get some playtime with Lincoln, Kami and Eric’s son. They were adorable playing with each other! At one point, it appeared that they were talking to each other. I think they were planning their escape from the orphanage!
We also got busted today for changing Gabriel’s clothes. According to the caregivers, we cannot change their clothes because it’s too “cold” in the room and the children can get sick. Mind you, this room is quite hot and on numerous occasions, Gabriel’s clothes were wet from sweat because of the heat. It’s also confusing as the caregivers in the morning told us that it was ok to change his clothes.
After a bit of a frustrating day, Biyanna took us to a local Kazakh restaurant for some local cuisine. We were offered quite the selection of vodka as you can see from the picture. Biyanna then ordered a famous dish, which I can’t remember the name of , but it consists of beef, potatoes, onions and wide, flat noodles. This dish also consists of horse meat, but we decided that our stomachs were not too adventurous this evening. The meal was absolutely delicious, the vodka smooth and the company excellent. What a great way to make up for a trying day!
