(Maureen's Post)
This is it - our last full day in Kazakhstan before leaving for home! It was a very busy day, so I'll just recap the highlights. Actually, we have less than 2 hours left before midnight, which is when our driver, Andrei, will pick us up to take us to the airport. Our flight for home leaves at 3AM - less than 5 hours from now!

Last night was a much better night for James. He finally slept through the night, only stirring a few times but not needing to be picked up. He's starting to adjust to us being in Almaty and in this apartment. He was definitely a happier baby today. Too bad we're leaving again in a few hours and we're back to square one on the adjusting.

Today was another sunny and warmer day with high temperatures in the 40's. Andrei picked all 3 of us up at about noon today to do a little bit of sightseeing before our meeting at the Sisters' office. He took us to 28 Paniflov Heroes' Memorial Park which honors veterans from the Russian Revolution and WWII. There's quite a large bronze statue commemorating WWII veterans upon entering the park with an eternal flame. As we learned in Kokshetau, it is common tradition for newlyweds to have their pictures taken at such memorials and to lay down flowers at the eternal flame. In the middle of the park is a beautiful Russian Orthodox cathedral, built in 1907. What's so amazing is that it was built without any nails, yet it was one of the few buildings standing after an earthquake in 1911. After we left the park Andrei took us to the Small Almaty River. Apparently, there are actually three rivers here. It is tradition to bathe in it on Saturdays after fasting on Friday (at least I think that's right), even in winter weather. As we left the river we drove by some very large homes (relatively speaking). Andrei explained to us just how the housing market has boomed within the last five years, causing prices to skyrocket. We also saw some babushkas selling flowers at the side of the road, probably in preparation for International Women's Day, which is on March 8th. It is like Mother's Day and Valentine'sDay combined with all the gifts and flowers, but it honors all women of all ages. Andrei says it's the one day out of the year where the cost of flowers can be 2-3 times higher than normal. I told him it sounds like Valentine's Day in the U.S. when roses become very expensive compared to the rest of the year.

We then spent the rest of the afternoon finishing up paperwork at the Sisters' office. Then, we had to take care of one more thing before we could come home to the U.S. - our exit interview with the U.S. Embassy. It was more like a quick interview with someone behind a glass window and signing paperwork. We received James' passport with his U.S. visa in it, and it was thrilling to receive that. We also received the originals and the translations of his birth and adoption certificates that we first saw in Kokshetau last week. After we left the U.S. Embassy we met with the Mechems for dinner at Stetson to have one last meal together in Kazakhstan, not to mention today's Jodi's birthday! They have menus in English, but the waiters did not speak English. With our limited Russian we were able to communicate our order and also ask for some hot water so that Bob could get Owen's rice cereal and bottle ready. They ended up getting barely warm water, instead, so something must have been lost in translation. It was all good, though - everyone managed fine. We all had cheeseburgers with fries, which were very good. Actually, Sean first ordered a slice of pepperoni pizza, but the waiter then returned a few minutes later to tell us they didn't have it today. It's just one of those things you expect to happen here sometimes!

We then made one last quick run to the Tsum store then returned back to the apartment to get our packing together. As I type this post, Sean is finishing up what we have left and is happy to be pulling on his last pair of crunchy, line-dried jeans. Actually, since Andrei will be here shortly to pick us up, I will have to close out this post so we can also pack away the laptop and the necessary accessories. We have pics for today, but with our time constraints I will wait until we arrive home (that sounds so nice) to post them.

Our next post will be from home! At 3AM our 23-hour journey home will commence (18 hours in the air with a 5-hour layover in Germany). Let's hope we have uneventful and quiet (yeah, right) flights home.

Da Svidanya and love to all!