251400OCT2007R
Constitution Day in Kazakhstan!! Congrads to all the people of Kazakhstan for asserting their independence and defining their own political foundation in their Constitution. It’s a great milestone in any country and worth taking time to reflect upon if not celebrate.
This past week I had and overcame “Stalin’s Revenge.” This is similar to the Mexican version “Montezuma’s Revenge” caused by bacteria in water but I think this is viral in nature. Regardless of the origin in was equally diabolical.
Last Friday night while dining at the hotel restaurant we were fortunate enough to meet Mike Baker who is an American Astronaut here for the landing of the Soyuz capsule on the following Sunday. He was dining with a bunch of Russians in some kind of a uniform and we over heard their English translation. It was really nice that he came up to us after we approached on of the “Recovery” folks (Don Hammel) that was accompanying him.
Long story short…and many shots of “vodki” to celebrate the bridge that both the space program and international adoptions are attempting to bridge between the old USSR and the USA… later, I awoke in the middle of the night with a pounding headache, a fever and fluid coming out of either end of my body. I have honestly not been that sick since I was in Sarajevo in 1995.
Finally, after three full days in bed I was able to begin getting around a day or so ago…just about the time Bonnie started to get a touch of it. I think that “Uncle Mike” from Phoenix was patient zero and that somehow I caught it from him. Shit happens when you’re in a foreign country, especially one this far out of the envelope. Hopefully, Mike and his sister Sherry are back on terra firma in the U.S. by now and making arrangements to finalize Sherry’s adoption.
Yesterday, I went to Dolphin House by myself and did the whole routine solo from feeding, to dressing, playing, etc. I did pretty good considering. At one point Saulia began to laugh and offer help because Alex was crying as I was feeding him but I said that I was O.K and went on to finish the job. He gets finicky if there is a nano-second between mouthfuls of his porridge. I just had to let him know that he was not in a democracy yet and that I was in charge and that he’d get his chow as soon as Daddy was ready. In spite of the language barrier he got my meaning and settled down.
Afterward we played and I took a few pictures. I can see a change in only two weeks. I’m not sure if that is due to his identifying with us, or just the natural development of a child his age but it’s rewarding nonetheless.
Yesterday I went to the museum here in Kostani. It was pretty interesting but also pretty small. It was like the Academy of Natural Sciences, the Art Museum, and the Franklin Institute rolled in to one facility. A lot of the exhibits were pretty old according to Olyesa who said that “Moose and Squirrel” (ala Rocky and Bulwinkle) have not moved since she was there as a child.
One of the more interesting parts was the military history department, which focused on mostly the War Against Fascist Dogs or WWII. It had some interesting artifacts like a German SS helmet, some weapons, uniforms of soviet hero’s and plenty of biographies of people from Kazakhstan that fought on the “Eastern Front” …as we know it from the Western perspective.
The other part of the museum that was very interesting was the part about the development of the area around the turn of the century as White or “Imperial” Russia began to lose it’s grip on power and the Communists started to take over. There were apparently people from Russia (West and North of here) that migrated this way seeking to get away from the pressure and unrest closer to Moscow. The area was bountiful in natural resources; food and commerce began to flourish until around 1914 or so when the communists began to take control. Private citizens of any wealth of course lost everything as the state took control of real property and assets if you had any.
There were lots of pictures of German families that migrated and settled here too. The land was very productive and apparently the place did pretty well.
I think tomorrow we are going to try bowling…Kazakh style. I’m not sure if it’s the same as back home but I am game for any kind of entertainment I can muster at this point.
The time line for the court process is murky at this point. If you thought that Phila traffic court was confusing and chaotic you have not been to a former Eastern Bloc country and gone to court. Like any bureaucracy they are habitually inefficient but here there is an overlay of centralism. To me it feels like vestiges of the old communist system where it was nearly impossible for anything to get done unless you knew somebody or were somebody. Of course that’s a projection of my prejudice developed after decades of duck and cover drills as a child and being told as a young soldier that the Soviets can’t make a move without Moscow’s approval.
Regardless, where we stand now is that we have completed the required 14 visitations with Alexei and have petitioned the court for a date to appear to petition the court for a formal court date where we can make the deal happen and finalize the adoption. The delays have come in several forms. The first of which is that the Kazakh Courts are computerizing their system for caseload assignments. I’m told that is an effort to level the playing court and speed up the process. Personally I think it is an effort to prevent favoritism and corruption within the court system. In either case it is a good move for Kazakhstan with an unfortunate side effect for us because it may cause a delay of several days.
The second is Constitution Day, which is actually three days, and is a national Holiday when govt offices are closed. That threw us back a few days as well.
The third is that in the midst of all this, and to coincide with modernization of the computer system, they are moving into a new building. May or may not be a few days.
So all that is about another week or so.
If that isn’t bad enough, there is a natural suspicion among some, I stress “some” in Kazakhstan about the whole concept of international adoption. The reservations run from crazy stories about foreigners adopting children to farm body parts to graft and corruption in the system whereby children are being sold to foreigners for a profit. Some people are just stubborn and believe that the children are better off in an orphanage that is sorely under funded than a home abroad where they can have the benefit of the love and resources available from a family that has everything to offer.
This of course accounts for the isolated instances of abuse that I am sure have occurred in some adoption somewhere but for the most part that can happen in a biological family just as easily and those incidents statistically remote. I would venture a guess that a couple that invests tens of thousands of dollars and travels half way around the globe is not likely to fit the profile of abusive parents.
So we wait to hear from the court and pray that the winds of the Asian steppes carry with them good fortune as they have done for many generations here before, and that we are swiftly able to complete our business and bring Zach one step closer to his new home.
That’s all for now. Here’s a bunch of pictures and vids.
Constitution Day in Kazakhstan!! Congrads to all the people of Kazakhstan for asserting their independence and defining their own political foundation in their Constitution. It’s a great milestone in any country and worth taking time to reflect upon if not celebrate.
This past week I had and overcame “Stalin’s Revenge.” This is similar to the Mexican version “Montezuma’s Revenge” caused by bacteria in water but I think this is viral in nature. Regardless of the origin in was equally diabolical.
Last Friday night while dining at the hotel restaurant we were fortunate enough to meet Mike Baker who is an American Astronaut here for the landing of the Soyuz capsule on the following Sunday. He was dining with a bunch of Russians in some kind of a uniform and we over heard their English translation. It was really nice that he came up to us after we approached on of the “Recovery” folks (Don Hammel) that was accompanying him.
Long story short…and many shots of “vodki” to celebrate the bridge that both the space program and international adoptions are attempting to bridge between the old USSR and the USA… later, I awoke in the middle of the night with a pounding headache, a fever and fluid coming out of either end of my body. I have honestly not been that sick since I was in Sarajevo in 1995.
Finally, after three full days in bed I was able to begin getting around a day or so ago…just about the time Bonnie started to get a touch of it. I think that “Uncle Mike” from Phoenix was patient zero and that somehow I caught it from him. Shit happens when you’re in a foreign country, especially one this far out of the envelope. Hopefully, Mike and his sister Sherry are back on terra firma in the U.S. by now and making arrangements to finalize Sherry’s adoption.
Yesterday, I went to Dolphin House by myself and did the whole routine solo from feeding, to dressing, playing, etc. I did pretty good considering. At one point Saulia began to laugh and offer help because Alex was crying as I was feeding him but I said that I was O.K and went on to finish the job. He gets finicky if there is a nano-second between mouthfuls of his porridge. I just had to let him know that he was not in a democracy yet and that I was in charge and that he’d get his chow as soon as Daddy was ready. In spite of the language barrier he got my meaning and settled down.
Afterward we played and I took a few pictures. I can see a change in only two weeks. I’m not sure if that is due to his identifying with us, or just the natural development of a child his age but it’s rewarding nonetheless.
Yesterday I went to the museum here in Kostani. It was pretty interesting but also pretty small. It was like the Academy of Natural Sciences, the Art Museum, and the Franklin Institute rolled in to one facility. A lot of the exhibits were pretty old according to Olyesa who said that “Moose and Squirrel” (ala Rocky and Bulwinkle) have not moved since she was there as a child.
One of the more interesting parts was the military history department, which focused on mostly the War Against Fascist Dogs or WWII. It had some interesting artifacts like a German SS helmet, some weapons, uniforms of soviet hero’s and plenty of biographies of people from Kazakhstan that fought on the “Eastern Front” …as we know it from the Western perspective.
The other part of the museum that was very interesting was the part about the development of the area around the turn of the century as White or “Imperial” Russia began to lose it’s grip on power and the Communists started to take over. There were apparently people from Russia (West and North of here) that migrated this way seeking to get away from the pressure and unrest closer to Moscow. The area was bountiful in natural resources; food and commerce began to flourish until around 1914 or so when the communists began to take control. Private citizens of any wealth of course lost everything as the state took control of real property and assets if you had any.
There were lots of pictures of German families that migrated and settled here too. The land was very productive and apparently the place did pretty well.
I think tomorrow we are going to try bowling…Kazakh style. I’m not sure if it’s the same as back home but I am game for any kind of entertainment I can muster at this point.
The time line for the court process is murky at this point. If you thought that Phila traffic court was confusing and chaotic you have not been to a former Eastern Bloc country and gone to court. Like any bureaucracy they are habitually inefficient but here there is an overlay of centralism. To me it feels like vestiges of the old communist system where it was nearly impossible for anything to get done unless you knew somebody or were somebody. Of course that’s a projection of my prejudice developed after decades of duck and cover drills as a child and being told as a young soldier that the Soviets can’t make a move without Moscow’s approval.
Regardless, where we stand now is that we have completed the required 14 visitations with Alexei and have petitioned the court for a date to appear to petition the court for a formal court date where we can make the deal happen and finalize the adoption. The delays have come in several forms. The first of which is that the Kazakh Courts are computerizing their system for caseload assignments. I’m told that is an effort to level the playing court and speed up the process. Personally I think it is an effort to prevent favoritism and corruption within the court system. In either case it is a good move for Kazakhstan with an unfortunate side effect for us because it may cause a delay of several days.
The second is Constitution Day, which is actually three days, and is a national Holiday when govt offices are closed. That threw us back a few days as well.
The third is that in the midst of all this, and to coincide with modernization of the computer system, they are moving into a new building. May or may not be a few days.
So all that is about another week or so.
If that isn’t bad enough, there is a natural suspicion among some, I stress “some” in Kazakhstan about the whole concept of international adoption. The reservations run from crazy stories about foreigners adopting children to farm body parts to graft and corruption in the system whereby children are being sold to foreigners for a profit. Some people are just stubborn and believe that the children are better off in an orphanage that is sorely under funded than a home abroad where they can have the benefit of the love and resources available from a family that has everything to offer.
This of course accounts for the isolated instances of abuse that I am sure have occurred in some adoption somewhere but for the most part that can happen in a biological family just as easily and those incidents statistically remote. I would venture a guess that a couple that invests tens of thousands of dollars and travels half way around the globe is not likely to fit the profile of abusive parents.
So we wait to hear from the court and pray that the winds of the Asian steppes carry with them good fortune as they have done for many generations here before, and that we are swiftly able to complete our business and bring Zach one step closer to his new home.
That’s all for now. Here’s a bunch of pictures and vids.
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