(Maureen's Post)
One thing we've noticed is that from this latitude it is very obvious that the days are getting longer. When we first arrived in Kokshetau on January 24th, sunrise was at 8:19AM and sunset was at 5:49PM. We've been steadily gaining more light each day, a little over 4 minutes of additional daylight each day. Yesterday sunrise was at 8:16AM and sunset was at 6:55PM. So, just in the time we've been here we've already gained a little over an hour of daylight. So, you can imagine how long the days are in the summertime here.

Today was a cold (of course), but beautiful, sunny day - a good day for a trip to Lake Boravoi. It's about 95 miles away from Kokshetau and takes about an hour and a half to get there. This time we had a different babysitter watching James while were were gone - Oleg's mother, Galina. She is a very sweet lady and James did very well with her. She said he was a very good boy.

It was neat to leave Kokshetau and see the different landscape on our way to Boravoi. Most of Kazakhstan is arid steppe, so for the most part the landscape was very flat and covered with snow. Every now and then there would be some very large snow-covered hills and some little mountains, but otherwise it was flat. There's so much land here that's seemingly untouched. About halfway there we passed a little town (I forget the name) with a huge grain elevator and a few homes, restaurants, and hotels, but that was about it. As we got closer to Boravoi we passed through Tschuchinsk, which is the city where the Baby House is where some of our travel partners are visiting their children. It looked a lot like Kokshetau, just smaller. Once we left Tschuchinsk and went into the Lake Boravoi region we could see a rapid change in the landscape. There was forest of mostly birch and fir trees with snow-topped mountains rising up in the distance. It is very beautiful to see. Apparently this is the only place in the entire country of Kazakhstan like it. Supposedly there is a push to develop this area into a more touristy spot, bringing in casinos and more hotels and the like. Unfortunately, if that were to happen then I would imagine that trees would be cut down to make room for development. That would be a shame, as there is so much unspoiled beauty there.

As we drove back to Kokshetau and were making our way back to the apartment when we were back in town, I couldn't help but reflect on the experience we've had here. As I was watched people walking around town in the snow, just as I've seen them do every day since we arrived here, I realized that leaving Kokshetau will be bittersweet for us. While we are very anxious and excited to be another step closer to bringing James home, there's a part of us that will be sad to leave. We have made some very good friends while we were here, and we will definitely miss Inna and Oleg quite terribly. We are just so glad that we have had the chance to spend time in James' birthcountry and will be able to tell him about Kazakhstan and Kokshetau as he grows older.

That concludes today's post - paka!