(Maureen's Post)
Well, folks, we weren't able to meet our baby today, after all. We found out at our morning meeting with the Sisters that it was unlikely that we would, mostly because we were arriving so late into Kokshetau and that the Ministry of Education official may not be able to see us (this is a requirement prior to visiting the child). That will occur sometime tomorrow morning. Just thought I'd start with that right off the bat so that you didn't read through today's post thinking you were going to hear all about our baby! Again, remember, we must go with the flow. So, we're flowing. We're here now and that's what's important. Tomorrow will come soon enough!
So, to recap today's activities, we awoke and had breakfast at the first floor of the hotel which came with the price of the room. It was an interesting display of foods, mostly continental breakfast-type fare, but also included boiled eggs and various meats and cheeses. I ventured to try a couple of the meats. One was very similar to bologna in color and taste, but softer in texture. The other meat was some sort of sausage and looked a lot like pepperoni, but a tougher texture. I know what question you're thinking of now, and the answer is I don't know if either of them were horsemeat. I didn't ask either - ignorance is bliss, I guess.
After breakfast we had our meeting at the Sisters' office to go over arrangements for Kokshetau. We also met up with yet another set of WPA parents-to-be, Darryl and Jenny Kurtz from Ohio. After that meeting we went around the corner to what we call the Ramstore (spelled Pamctop). It's a 3-level shopping mall with an ice rink in the middle. There is a grocery store, then other shops that we would normally find in places like the Galleria - interesting combination. In the grocery store is where a currency exchange booth is located. After exchanging money and visiting with the Sullivans, Mechems, and the Kurtz's, our drivers collected all of us and took us to the airport to catch our plane to Kokshetau. Our drivers helped us with our bags through the first security checkpoint then had to say goodbye. We had our luggage weighed (remember only 44 lbs total per person allowed) and paid our overage charges. We then went through a second security checkpoint before getting on a bus outside the terminal. Once all the passengers were on the bus, we were driven out to the tarmac where our 3-engine, Soviet-era Yakovlov-40 (or Yak-40) jet was waiting. This is the first time I've boarded a plane from the rear, going through the cargo hold to get to the passenger seating area. Once we were situated we took off. Let's just say that the whole thing was quite an experience and just leave the fond memories at that. Maybe I should have done a shot of vodka first.
Once we arrived in Kokshetau, the passengers and the luggage were unloaded onto the tarmac. This was actually only a temporary stop before reaching our final destination. For 1000 Tenge (about $8 USD) we were able to get a porter with a huge cargo cart to transport all our luggage from all 4 families from the plane to the airport - otherwise we would have to do it all ourselves. We were also greeted by our interpreter, Inna, and our driver Oleg. I had seen their pictures on other families' websites so it almost felt like meeting celebrities, and Darryl Kurtz said so. Inna thought that was very funny. They will also be working with the Kurtz family and are already working with the two families who arrived last week. The accommodation details for all the families are still being worked out, so we, the Kurtz's and the Mechems were taken to the Hotel Zhekebatyr. After registering we got settled into our room a little bit. It's a nice suite with a separate bedroom and sitting/living area, and a mini-bar. The bathroom was all tile with a walk-in shower. Only the water is free in the mini-bar, though. Sean and I were a bit hungry, so we went down to the hotel restaurant on the second floor. It has very high ceilings and has a large dance floor in the middle, like a ballroom. There were only about 3 other tables with guests. They also had menus in English, which was nice. I had the chicken with white wine sauce which wasn't too bad; it didn't really come with any sauce, though. Plus I had rice mixed with carrots and what I think was bell pepper. Also, not too bad. Sean ordered the chicken risotto but ended up getting the rolled chicken dish which he said was not bad, either. I will say the chicken is not quite as lean as the chicken we eat at home. He also got pureed potatoes, which really turned out to be mashed potatoes, and he liked that. We were also joined at dinner by the Mechems. Jodi got a salad with lots of mayo in it (apparently, this is common here), which she said was okay, and Bob got a beef and tomato dish and crinkle-cut fried potatoes, both of which he liked. After dinner we went back to our room to prepare for the next day. Unfortunately, we cannot fully unpack as we may be staying elsewhere for the rest of our trip. We should find out more about this in the coming days.
We really hope that tomorrow is the day we will get to meet our baby! Stay tuned!
Love to all!
Well, folks, we weren't able to meet our baby today, after all. We found out at our morning meeting with the Sisters that it was unlikely that we would, mostly because we were arriving so late into Kokshetau and that the Ministry of Education official may not be able to see us (this is a requirement prior to visiting the child). That will occur sometime tomorrow morning. Just thought I'd start with that right off the bat so that you didn't read through today's post thinking you were going to hear all about our baby! Again, remember, we must go with the flow. So, we're flowing. We're here now and that's what's important. Tomorrow will come soon enough!
So, to recap today's activities, we awoke and had breakfast at the first floor of the hotel which came with the price of the room. It was an interesting display of foods, mostly continental breakfast-type fare, but also included boiled eggs and various meats and cheeses. I ventured to try a couple of the meats. One was very similar to bologna in color and taste, but softer in texture. The other meat was some sort of sausage and looked a lot like pepperoni, but a tougher texture. I know what question you're thinking of now, and the answer is I don't know if either of them were horsemeat. I didn't ask either - ignorance is bliss, I guess.
After breakfast we had our meeting at the Sisters' office to go over arrangements for Kokshetau. We also met up with yet another set of WPA parents-to-be, Darryl and Jenny Kurtz from Ohio. After that meeting we went around the corner to what we call the Ramstore (spelled Pamctop). It's a 3-level shopping mall with an ice rink in the middle. There is a grocery store, then other shops that we would normally find in places like the Galleria - interesting combination. In the grocery store is where a currency exchange booth is located. After exchanging money and visiting with the Sullivans, Mechems, and the Kurtz's, our drivers collected all of us and took us to the airport to catch our plane to Kokshetau. Our drivers helped us with our bags through the first security checkpoint then had to say goodbye. We had our luggage weighed (remember only 44 lbs total per person allowed) and paid our overage charges. We then went through a second security checkpoint before getting on a bus outside the terminal. Once all the passengers were on the bus, we were driven out to the tarmac where our 3-engine, Soviet-era Yakovlov-40 (or Yak-40) jet was waiting. This is the first time I've boarded a plane from the rear, going through the cargo hold to get to the passenger seating area. Once we were situated we took off. Let's just say that the whole thing was quite an experience and just leave the fond memories at that. Maybe I should have done a shot of vodka first.
Once we arrived in Kokshetau, the passengers and the luggage were unloaded onto the tarmac. This was actually only a temporary stop before reaching our final destination. For 1000 Tenge (about $8 USD) we were able to get a porter with a huge cargo cart to transport all our luggage from all 4 families from the plane to the airport - otherwise we would have to do it all ourselves. We were also greeted by our interpreter, Inna, and our driver Oleg. I had seen their pictures on other families' websites so it almost felt like meeting celebrities, and Darryl Kurtz said so. Inna thought that was very funny. They will also be working with the Kurtz family and are already working with the two families who arrived last week. The accommodation details for all the families are still being worked out, so we, the Kurtz's and the Mechems were taken to the Hotel Zhekebatyr. After registering we got settled into our room a little bit. It's a nice suite with a separate bedroom and sitting/living area, and a mini-bar. The bathroom was all tile with a walk-in shower. Only the water is free in the mini-bar, though. Sean and I were a bit hungry, so we went down to the hotel restaurant on the second floor. It has very high ceilings and has a large dance floor in the middle, like a ballroom. There were only about 3 other tables with guests. They also had menus in English, which was nice. I had the chicken with white wine sauce which wasn't too bad; it didn't really come with any sauce, though. Plus I had rice mixed with carrots and what I think was bell pepper. Also, not too bad. Sean ordered the chicken risotto but ended up getting the rolled chicken dish which he said was not bad, either. I will say the chicken is not quite as lean as the chicken we eat at home. He also got pureed potatoes, which really turned out to be mashed potatoes, and he liked that. We were also joined at dinner by the Mechems. Jodi got a salad with lots of mayo in it (apparently, this is common here), which she said was okay, and Bob got a beef and tomato dish and crinkle-cut fried potatoes, both of which he liked. After dinner we went back to our room to prepare for the next day. Unfortunately, we cannot fully unpack as we may be staying elsewhere for the rest of our trip. We should find out more about this in the coming days.
We really hope that tomorrow is the day we will get to meet our baby! Stay tuned!
Love to all!
