Karaganda
Its 6:00 am Sunday morning here in Karaganda which, translates to 8:00 pm Saturday night (EST) back in the states. We’re no longer lagged and are running on KZ time.
We typically see Boeden twice a day but will only see him once today as the Baby House staff gets some downtime on Sundays. We learned from Olga, our translator, that Sundays here are big family days with generations gathering, spending the day together catching up and eating (something I remember doing occasionally growing up).
Anyone that has gone through this process will tell you that coming over here is not a really vacation. It is beginning of stage of something that takes between 9 months and 3 years to complete (for us it took 1 and 1/2 years to complete the paperwork and get invited). Some of the variables are; how long it takes to complete your paperwork (the ONE thing you have control over). Has the Country changed the paperwork since you started? Are your Notary Seals current? Has the Country put a freeze on adoption? Are there any babies that are in the range you requested?
It’s a very different process than natural childbirth but I image they are similar in yielding a wide range of emotions, doubts, exhilaration and growth. Once you are here and choose a baby (hopefully) you only get 4 hours a day with him or her. And that is 2, two-hour sessions. So, you are left with quite a bit of time on your hands. Mind you, there is still paperwork to do, Doctors, translators, and others to meet with, but you will have time to explore.
We have gotten to the point where we can shop for anything with ease and in certain instances move like typical northeasterner’s. Within walking distance from our apartment is the opera house (we have been and that could be an update of it’s own), at least 2 baby stores, 2 Malls, The Ministry of Sports (I think), an ice skating rink, an outdoor football (soccer) stadium, an internet café, sporting goods, 3 pharmacy’s, many restaurants, pubs and boutiques.
Kazakhstan is the 9th largest country in the world (3 time the size of Texas) and Karaganda is one of the largest cities here; boasting a population of over 500,000. It’s emerging as a metropolitan type area but still has many agricultural and past generational influences. It is a very different part of the planet than where we are from but our experience is that, people are people, and we have enjoyed getting to know the ones we’ve encountered.
We typically see Boeden twice a day but will only see him once today as the Baby House staff gets some downtime on Sundays. We learned from Olga, our translator, that Sundays here are big family days with generations gathering, spending the day together catching up and eating (something I remember doing occasionally growing up).
Anyone that has gone through this process will tell you that coming over here is not a really vacation. It is beginning of stage of something that takes between 9 months and 3 years to complete (for us it took 1 and 1/2 years to complete the paperwork and get invited). Some of the variables are; how long it takes to complete your paperwork (the ONE thing you have control over). Has the Country changed the paperwork since you started? Are your Notary Seals current? Has the Country put a freeze on adoption? Are there any babies that are in the range you requested?
It’s a very different process than natural childbirth but I image they are similar in yielding a wide range of emotions, doubts, exhilaration and growth. Once you are here and choose a baby (hopefully) you only get 4 hours a day with him or her. And that is 2, two-hour sessions. So, you are left with quite a bit of time on your hands. Mind you, there is still paperwork to do, Doctors, translators, and others to meet with, but you will have time to explore.
We have gotten to the point where we can shop for anything with ease and in certain instances move like typical northeasterner’s. Within walking distance from our apartment is the opera house (we have been and that could be an update of it’s own), at least 2 baby stores, 2 Malls, The Ministry of Sports (I think), an ice skating rink, an outdoor football (soccer) stadium, an internet café, sporting goods, 3 pharmacy’s, many restaurants, pubs and boutiques.
Kazakhstan is the 9th largest country in the world (3 time the size of Texas) and Karaganda is one of the largest cities here; boasting a population of over 500,000. It’s emerging as a metropolitan type area but still has many agricultural and past generational influences. It is a very different part of the planet than where we are from but our experience is that, people are people, and we have enjoyed getting to know the ones we’ve encountered.
posted by Geoffrey Horowitz at 4:55 AM
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