071300OCT2007
This morning we went back to the orphanage. Andre (our driver) picked us up promptly at 09:15 and once again navigated our way to the orphanage through Kostani. The orphanage is in a neighborhood that seems underdeveloped with some streets that are not paved. At one point he drove us on the sidewalk (dirt path beside the road) to get to the building.
Andre it turns out was in the Army. He was in Kabul during the Russian occupation there. Since he doesn’t speak English I haven’t gotten more than that but I will ask him more about it later when our interpreter (Oleyssa) is with us. I am eager to get his impressions about what it was like when he was there since we (the U.S.) are now knee deep in occupation.
Neither Olyeesa nor Nelly accompanied us today so we were on our own during the visit. Armed with my Russian At-A-Glance phrase book we made it through. The caretakers are two Kazakh women. Kazakhs are Asian in appearance as opposed to Russians who are Caucasian in appearance. Oleg (Alexei) is a ½ Kazakh and ½ Russian.
He was again in great spirits today. As we walked into his room about 10 babies all around the same age lying in their cribs overwhelmed us. I have never been around that many babies!! They were all adorable. There was one little girl (Nora) that immediately caught my eye. She has also been adopted by an American family and is a gorgeous little girl.
The children are fed each day at 09:30 so our visits correspond with the morning feeding time. Bon did the honors and gave him his first meal, which was prepared by the care
givers. The children eat a mixture of porridge and a fruit puree. I tasted it and it was pretty good. Today was apricot.
Watching Bon feed Losh (short for Alexei) was a hoot. The caregiver dressed her in the appropriate bib and babushka looking scarf and off she went. At first Losh began to cry and Bon couldn’t figure out what was the matter. After a moment she came over and started shoveling food into his mouth and he immediately piped down. Lesson learned…when you feed the baby don’t give him a spoonful and wait a moment and then give him another, just start shoveling it in his mouth. It may have something to do with getting gassy or something. They don’t feed with bottles and formula here. He is eating solid food already albeit pureed.
After feeding we took him for a stroll around the grounds during which we met Michael and Sherry a brother and sister from Pheonix, AZ. They have been here for about 2 weeks. Michael is accompanying his sister who is a single parent.
They’re very nice and told us that there are several other couples in Kostani that are adopting so we are going to try and link up with them each day and do some fun stuff like bowling and dining, etc. I am used to being in foreign places and having to deal with the language barrier but having other Americans around was a relief even for me. There is only so much At-A-Glance language wrestling I can stand.
This afternoon we are chilling in our room and will probably meet up with Mike and Sherry for dinner.
This morning we went back to the orphanage. Andre (our driver) picked us up promptly at 09:15 and once again navigated our way to the orphanage through Kostani. The orphanage is in a neighborhood that seems underdeveloped with some streets that are not paved. At one point he drove us on the sidewalk (dirt path beside the road) to get to the building.
Andre it turns out was in the Army. He was in Kabul during the Russian occupation there. Since he doesn’t speak English I haven’t gotten more than that but I will ask him more about it later when our interpreter (Oleyssa) is with us. I am eager to get his impressions about what it was like when he was there since we (the U.S.) are now knee deep in occupation.
Neither Olyeesa nor Nelly accompanied us today so we were on our own during the visit. Armed with my Russian At-A-Glance phrase book we made it through. The caretakers are two Kazakh women. Kazakhs are Asian in appearance as opposed to Russians who are Caucasian in appearance. Oleg (Alexei) is a ½ Kazakh and ½ Russian.
He was again in great spirits today. As we walked into his room about 10 babies all around the same age lying in their cribs overwhelmed us. I have never been around that many babies!! They were all adorable. There was one little girl (Nora) that immediately caught my eye. She has also been adopted by an American family and is a gorgeous little girl.
The children are fed each day at 09:30 so our visits correspond with the morning feeding time. Bon did the honors and gave him his first meal, which was prepared by the care
givers. The children eat a mixture of porridge and a fruit puree. I tasted it and it was pretty good. Today was apricot.
Watching Bon feed Losh (short for Alexei) was a hoot. The caregiver dressed her in the appropriate bib and babushka looking scarf and off she went. At first Losh began to cry and Bon couldn’t figure out what was the matter. After a moment she came over and started shoveling food into his mouth and he immediately piped down. Lesson learned…when you feed the baby don’t give him a spoonful and wait a moment and then give him another, just start shoveling it in his mouth. It may have something to do with getting gassy or something. They don’t feed with bottles and formula here. He is eating solid food already albeit pureed.
After feeding we took him for a stroll around the grounds during which we met Michael and Sherry a brother and sister from Pheonix, AZ. They have been here for about 2 weeks. Michael is accompanying his sister who is a single parent.
They’re very nice and told us that there are several other couples in Kostani that are adopting so we are going to try and link up with them each day and do some fun stuff like bowling and dining, etc. I am used to being in foreign places and having to deal with the language barrier but having other Americans around was a relief even for me. There is only so much At-A-Glance language wrestling I can stand.
This afternoon we are chilling in our room and will probably meet up with Mike and Sherry for dinner.
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