Day 2- A Better Day

We sleep well for the most part. I fill the gaps by playing Sudoku on my iPhone. I cannot believe how bad I am at this game. It takes me 20 minutes to complete the easiest levels but it passes the time until I can sleep again. At 3:00 a.m., the neighboring roosters crow. Dogs bark for most of the night. At 6:00 a.m., we hear loud chanting and singing over a loudspeaker. The man has a rather nice voice but not at this hour. I think it might be a happy drunk, but we find out later it is the local Muslim monk in his morning routine. At least his timing is better than the rooster's.
Monte makes a grocery list and I head out for the local market. I find Coke and water, ramen noodles, Twix bars, sugar for tea, and a collection of other stuff that looks edible. I choose the hot dog looking package with cows on the front instead of horse. After delivering the goods back to the farmhouse, I am off again to the Internet café to see my Russian friend. I say hello in Russian (repeated from my iPhone translator application) and get stared down. Today, Internet is working and I hang out with the local Kazakh kids who are playing multi-player, first-person combat games.

I head back to the farmhouse. Monte is ready and waiting for the dream team to arrive at noon. Noon becomes 1:00 p.m. 1:00 p.m. becomes 2:00 p.m. 2:00 p.m. becomes 2:30 p.m. and we see another day passing away with no progress. Then the dream team calls with news that we are heading straight to the baby house. Natalia negotiated with the government official to allow us to skip the interview as long as we drop off copies of our passports at the regional Ministry of Education office.Regional Ministry of Education

After a brief stop at the regional office we drive through the country side with a nice mountain range in view and arrive in the small village of Karakastek. On the outskirts, and beyond the Muslim cemetery, there stands an old 3-story government building. It is by itself and away from everything. It almost seems to be placed there on purpose where these kids are out of sight and out of mind.

Karakastek VillageMuslim Cemetery

The baby houseNatalia prepares a traditional donation for the orphanage director in a little red envelope. We are then invited in. On the second floor, we see a few older children, 3 or 4 years old, who have lived there their entire lives. We make our way to the third floor where the babies are. We expect to get a tour, but are directed to a visitation room which is the nicest room in the place. We meet the doctor, a friendly Kazakh woman with a warm smile. Monte's eyes are tearing up and she can no longer take a breath we wait for the next step.

After a few minutes, they bring in a baby girl named Deanna (Dee-Ahna) who has striking brown eyes. She is of Kurdish (Mideastern) descent. Kurds are a minority in Kazakhstan. Her birth mother is 26 years old but little else is known about her. The baby is very calm and makes good eye contact with us. She is very nice and the doctor says that Deanna will look just like Monte when she grows up. They say this type of thing a lot, but it may actually be true this time. Before we have a chance to get to know Deanna, they enter with another baby, Cholepan. Cholepan was born on the same day, April 10, 2009. Both are 7 months old. Cholepan is of Kazakh descent. Her birth mother is 18 years old and a star student at the university. Cholepan is nervous with this whole process but really took to me and studied my face. Both babies are very cute and sweet.
We are a bit shocked at this process and have both babies in our arms together, at the same. We need some time to pray, think, and talk this through. But within 15 minutes, they are asking which one we want. They don't understand that I shop at four stores before buying a new washer/dryer, and it takes us 20 minutes to decide what to have for dinner. It is late in the day and they want to get on with things. The dream team explains we need more time and we will give them an answer in the morning. We say goodbye to the babies and head back.
We talk it over with the dream team. We review the medical reports and check our hearts. It is time to sleep on it. Anna takes us to the city centre where we find a nice mall and an Italian restaurant. Civilization at last! We ask why they put us up in the sticks while they have actual cities in this country. They agree to move us from the farmhouse to an apartment in the city. Our drive to the baby house will be longer but we would accept a 10-hour commute if it means we can escape the farmhouse.

They decide we must make the move tonight. So we rush back to the farmhouse, quickly load up our stuff, and bolt. We leave the keys and money for our two nights stay with the driver Adil who delivered it the next day. We are happy and free. Until the apartment in the city is ready, they put us up in a nice hotel. Here is our small but fancy room - MC Hammer style. It even has a shower and mattress!It was time to sleep after a long day, before our big day and decision tomorrow.