Women’s Day

Terri here. Today we woke up to snowfall that got heavier as the morning progressed. By the time we were supposed to go to the baby house, the streets were becoming slick and we slid around a bit. Today is a national holiday that basically translates to Women’s Day and is a hold over from Soviet times. It’s like mother’s day, but for all women. Anya and Bulat were very thoughtful and gave me a card, a Kazakhstan chocolate bar and a jar of homemade cherry jam—it was very sweet of them to think of me and include me in their holiday. They clearly know me well enough to know of my sweet tooth. By the way, the Kazakhstan chocolate is excellent! When Anya first told me about it and how her friends from Russia take boxes of it home with them when they visit, I was skeptical. You see, the packaging is less than impressive—but it is fantastic and delicious and I plan to bring home a box full of the bars to give as souvenirs (the ones I don't eat, of course).

We arrived at the baby house, the car slipping and sliding on the drive in. This time, we decided to change things up a bit and I went with Anya to go get Aidan and Steve went to the baby group for Liam. Steve really wanted me to see the kids in Aidan’s group… some of whom are very charming. Aidan was ready to go and came over to me, smiling, and took my hand and we walked together most of the way to the baby room. Steve was waiting with Liam and we went into the playroom and visited again with Sue and Anna. I think all the little ones were glad for the group situation because it automatically increased the number of available toys! Anna seems well bonded to Sue—very relaxed and verbalizes her delight at their interactions with screeches and squeals. Aidan and Liam are much more relaxed these days, too. Tomorrow will be Sue and Anna’s last day in Ust-Kamenogorsk as they will be flying out to Almaty for the final adoption processing at the U.S. Embassy. We are so happy for them!

When it was time to go, we were told that there would be no afternoon visit today because of the holiday. The women of the orphanage need time to celebrate, too. We were sad we wouldn’t get to see our boys a second time, but know that the folks who care for the children here are really devoted and deserve the break.

After we left, we decided on a quick and simple lunch at Pizza Blues which is not far from our apartment. Steve tried something different that translates to “King-Like Beef”—a casserole like dish with beef, potatoes, mushrooms and sour cream served in clay pot with lid. Steve must have liked it because he finished it. I had a Greek salad and little fried ravioli like things with dipping sauce. We noticed that there were a lot more kids at the café today and Anya said it was a holiday from school as well. It was really cute watching some of the boys running around and giving chocolate bars to the girls for Women’s Day—lots of giggling and whispering.

We opted to go straight to the apartment so Anya and Bulat could also enjoy the holiday and not have to spend it shuttling us around for errands, souvenirs and trinkets. This set the stage for a marathon of 24 to where we finally finished season 3. All in all, a quiet Women’s Day for us.