They’re
all of a sudden taken from everything and everyone they’ve
ever known, and can’t possibly understand what’s
going on. They also can’t express what they’re
feeling.
For the
most part, Alison is doing great. It’s only at bedtime
that she really has trouble. She’s a very happy baby,
and is absorbing everything like a sponge!
At the
orphanage, it didn’t even seem that she could crawl.
In the three days I’ve had her, not only has she started
crawling all over the place, but last night she pulled herself
up and, holding on to the chairs, walked around and around
the big dining room table! She was so proud of herself. I
got out the camera and shot a bunch of pictures. But the minute
I pulled out the video camera, she decided she didn’t
want to walk any more.
I’m
sure that she’ll be walking on her own by the time we
leave Almaty on December 13.
I went
to the “green market” Saturday. It’s like
a giant flea market, where they sell everything from toiletries
and clothing to shoes, toys, meat and vegetables. Booth after
booth of stuff, with A LOT of people pushing their way through.
I thought people hurrying down the streets of New York were
rude. No comparison! It was fascinating.
I bought
a stroller for $15 and took Alison out for a walk in it yesterday
for the first time. She loves the outside. Her eyes get huge
as she takes in everything. They don’t take the kids
outside of the orphanage, and the air in there is very stale.
I know she loved the fresh air, in addition to all the things
to look at. Luckily the weather has been great. Mostly in
the 30s, today it was probably around 40! We’re in the
southernmost part of Kazakhstan, so it’s a lot warmer
than it is in the capital of Kaz, Astana, (where one of our
coordinators had to go yesterday to get some papers signed
for us, or we don’t get to leave. It’s about 15
below zero (Celsius). I don’t know what that translates
to, except that it’s very cold. And I know that it’s
been well below zero in Moscow as well. I hope the weather
here holds up, because there’s so much to see here and
I enjoy walking around the city. I have to be careful not
to get lost since I can’t read any of the signs, they’re
all !
in Cyrillic!
I also
have to watch everything I do in front of her, because she
mimics me. Though she probably only weighs 16 or 17 pounds,
she gets heavy, and I’ve let out an “ugh”
or two. Well, I do it, and Alison does it! I blew a raspberry
at her once, and she’s been trying ever since…
usually just sticking out her tongue and blowing, but she
got it right tonight.
And I
make her bottles using powdered formula, which doesn’t
dissolve too well, so I shake the bottles pretty vigorously.
Until today, I held the bottle for her. Today she decided
she could do it herself, but she keeps taking it out of her
mouth and shaking it.
Bath time
has been rough too. The kids at the orphanage were only bathed
once a week and I don’t think they used bathtubs, I
think it was just a sponge bath. She was terrified. She’s
gotten a little more tolerant each night. Tonight she actually
sat in the water rather than digging her fingernails into
my shoulder and trying to climb over my back. She still cried
loudly, but I think we’re making progress.
I am exhausted.
She keeps me very busy from the time we wake up until I get
her to sleep (which last night wasn’t until about 10:30,
and I fell asleep with her).
My travel
plans were finalized today. I will leave Almaty for Moscow
on Tuesday night, actually Wednesday morning, December 13
at 2:00 AM. It’s a three-and-a-half hour flight, so
we’ll arrive at 5:30 AM. Once in Moscow, we will check
into a hotel, where the doctor from the American Medical Center
will come that morning to examine Alison (required by the
US Embassy to get her immigration papers). Then, as early
as possible, it’s off to the US Embassy for our interview.
The papers are usually ready by 5:00 PM if you’re there
early enough. We have to get that done because my flight leaves
from Moscow on Thursday, December 14 at 7:00 AM.
We’ll
fly to Frankfurt, have a one-and-a-half hour layover, and
then on to Miami (where we arrive at 2:15 PM). Funny, it took
two days to get here, and seven hours to get home. Good thing
I’ll be staying with my sister in Miami for a couple
of days. It’ll take that long to get over the jet lag.
I’m
beat and would love to just sit in front of the TV right now,
and do nothing. Unfortunately, the only English channel I
get is the Fox News Channel and I’m sick of the election
deadlock. I can watch a lot of American shows dubbed into
Russian, or the Russian version of “Who Wants to be
a Millionaire” (seriously, down to the same set, same
graphics, but no Regis. Lucky Russians.), but it just doesn’t
work for me. We also have the Discovery Channel, but only
some of the shows are in English. Oh well, once I sit down
and actually stop I’ll fall asleep anyway.
Alison's
Journey Home: An Adoption Story - Part 1
Alison's
Journey Home: An Adoption Story - Part 2
Alison's
Journey Home: An Adoption Story - Part 3
Alison's
Journey Home: An Adoption Story - Part 4
Alison's
Journey Home: An Adoption Story - Part 5
Alison's
Journey Home: An Adoption Story - Part 6
Alison's
Journey Home: An Adoption Story - Part 7
Alison's
Journey Home: An Adoption Story - Part 8
Alison's
Journey Home: An Adoption Story - Part 9
Alison's
Journey Home: An Adoption Story - Part 10
Alison's
Journey Home: An Adoption Story - Part 11
Alison's
Journey Home: An Adoption Story - Part 12
About
The Author
Nicole
Sandler is the owner/producer of Legacy Video Productions,
specializing in producing adoption stories. You can see Alison's
Journey Home, the video at www.legacyvideoproductions.com.
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