Mar 7--Arrival and 1st Orphanage visit
We were able to sleep fairly well on the train and arrived in Taraz right on time at 4am. Sara from Interlink was there, just as she said she would be. We collected our luggage and went to the cars. Our driver Sergei was also there and with Sara’s car we were able to get everything to the apartment. Bulat and Sergei left with instructions to be ready at noon to go to the orphanage. Sara stayed for about an hour so we could visit and unpack some of the items that we brought for the Interlink families. Then she left so we could get some sleep. It was still very dark at 6:30am. The sun rises about 7:30.
We couldn’t sleep right away so we unpacked and cooked some breakfast (Sara had purchased some food for us). After that, we watched the sun rise and then decided we’d better rest a little.
We were ready at noon and we all piled into the Mazda (Sergei, Bulat, Russ, Brooke, Paige and I). Bulat gave us a cell phone to use here in Taraz. We got to see some of Taraz as we drove to the orphanage. The weather was quite warm, probably in the 60s.
The orphanage consists of 2 buildings, in good condition with lots of colorfully painted playground equipment. Inside, there are wooden floors and lots of colorful sheer curtains. There are many plants in the windows. We were taken upstairs to a room, like a living area of a college dorm. Many children peeked at us while we sat there.
Suddenly Julia walked in, grinning from ear to ear. She’s very tiny. We gave her hugs and then started showing her the pictures that we brought. She has a very quiet voice. We learned that Vasya was at school and would not return until 2pm. So we visited with Julia and the rest of the girls in her group while we waited.
Vasya came in and was also small. He was wearing an oversized blue pinstriped suit and white shirt. He gave us hugs and immediately started looking at pictures.
We also met a boy named Alex who another family is planning to adopt. I went to visit with Alex’s caregiver and Russ stayed with Vasya, Julia and the girls from her group. The digital camera is a HUGE hit! They would pose for a picture and then run over to the camera to see it. They’re also amazed by the video camera. We’re going to see if we can figure out a way to print off some pictures for them.
We arrived back at the apartment in time to call Sara. Interlink hosted a SuperBowl party that evening (we had brought a video of the game). Beth picked us up and we went to Brett’s home and ate pizza, french fries, nachos, etc. - all the great football foods. We met the rest of the Interlink families and a young man with the Peace Corps along with several Kazakh people. Trying to explain American football to them was challenging.
Brooke and Paige fell asleep so we left when the game ended. Beth brought us back to the apartment and crashed. The end of a very full first day in Taraz.
We couldn’t sleep right away so we unpacked and cooked some breakfast (Sara had purchased some food for us). After that, we watched the sun rise and then decided we’d better rest a little.
We were ready at noon and we all piled into the Mazda (Sergei, Bulat, Russ, Brooke, Paige and I). Bulat gave us a cell phone to use here in Taraz. We got to see some of Taraz as we drove to the orphanage. The weather was quite warm, probably in the 60s.
The orphanage consists of 2 buildings, in good condition with lots of colorfully painted playground equipment. Inside, there are wooden floors and lots of colorful sheer curtains. There are many plants in the windows. We were taken upstairs to a room, like a living area of a college dorm. Many children peeked at us while we sat there.
Suddenly Julia walked in, grinning from ear to ear. She’s very tiny. We gave her hugs and then started showing her the pictures that we brought. She has a very quiet voice. We learned that Vasya was at school and would not return until 2pm. So we visited with Julia and the rest of the girls in her group while we waited.
Vasya came in and was also small. He was wearing an oversized blue pinstriped suit and white shirt. He gave us hugs and immediately started looking at pictures.
We also met a boy named Alex who another family is planning to adopt. I went to visit with Alex’s caregiver and Russ stayed with Vasya, Julia and the girls from her group. The digital camera is a HUGE hit! They would pose for a picture and then run over to the camera to see it. They’re also amazed by the video camera. We’re going to see if we can figure out a way to print off some pictures for them.
We arrived back at the apartment in time to call Sara. Interlink hosted a SuperBowl party that evening (we had brought a video of the game). Beth picked us up and we went to Brett’s home and ate pizza, french fries, nachos, etc. - all the great football foods. We met the rest of the Interlink families and a young man with the Peace Corps along with several Kazakh people. Trying to explain American football to them was challenging.
Brooke and Paige fell asleep so we left when the game ended. Beth brought us back to the apartment and crashed. The end of a very full first day in Taraz.
posted by The Petersons at 4:38 PM
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