Vigale Family

February 20, 2010

Well another pretty day here in Semey. Today I woke up a little sad because tonight will be our last Sat night in Semey. We don't leave until Sat, but even though I am excited to go home, I am really beginning to feel sad about leaving this town we have learned to call home away from home. We have had the most wonderful interpreter, Victoria, she lives in Semey with her Granny and has been so kind to us, and her English is perfect. She is the kind of person that you feel you have known all your life; without her we would be lost she has found us some really great restaurants with some of the best food we have eaten. She also has helped us in so many ways we really cannot thank her enough. Today we went to book our in country flight to Almaty, it took almost 1 hour and without Victoria we would still be there, so Semey has not only given us the greatest gift, our son Oliver, it has also given us a great new friend.

Last night we went to an Arabic restaurant. The inside really made you feel like you were in a different land and not Kazakhstan. The music, décor, everything was very realistic, and the food was wonderful. Normally I do not eat a lot of beef, but staying here I have eaten some of the best beef. I hope it was beef not horse, oh well will never know! They use lots of different spices and the flavor is great, we have tried so many different dishes.

After dinner we always walk through the park on our way back to the hotel. It is so peaceful; it appears time is standing still for just a little while.

For all of you who know me, you may remember I was worried about finding coffee, no worries in Semey. I have yet to find a bad cup of coffee, in fact I have to say it is even as good if not better than Hay Day. I never thought I would say that, I think I have drank more coffee here than at home.

Today at the baby house one of our favorite care givers was working and also a new lady on her first day, our favorite lady is called some thing like Katli goosh, she loves Isabel and now calls her by name to come and talk and play with the babies, which is nice for both Isabel and the babies. This has been a wonderful experience for Isabel, we feel so lucky to have been able to bring her, and also that she is allowed to go in the group and really see where Ollie began his life. This is something she talks about daily and also some thing she will never forget.

Today’s visit was so good. Ollie was not tired and is now starting to play peek a boo. If we put the diaper cloth on his head he now pulls it off and when we say peek a boo he laughs so loud. He also loved the bubbles we brought, we tried them the 1st week we were here and he really had no interest in them, but today he was so excited to watch them at first then to try and catch them, it was very cute to watch. It is probably the first time he has ever seen bubbles, don't worry it will not be the last. He loves to play with his daddy. We have been told some babies are a little unsure of men due to the fact all the care givers are female, but Ollie squeals with delight when Dominic does what we call the flying baby or throws him up in the air. He also was just happy to sit and play with the toys in the play room, all new for him.

All too soon it was time to take him back. When he is playful, the time flies so fast. Our favorite care giver came to take him. He loves her; as she was changing him, we heard him really belly laughing. She sings to them and they all light up when they see her coming.

After lunch we took a quick walk through the park and saw our Kaz dog this dog is always in the park and seems very friendly. There are so many dogs who wander the streets it makes me wonder how they survive in -40, but Victoria said they know where the heating pipes are and sleep close to them.

Off to our second visit we go, again Ollie seems well rested and when I see his lunch, the bowl is so large with beets, mashed potatoes and ground beef with a few carrots. It smelled so good, all home made. Sorry Ollie, that too will change once in the US. He loves to eat and again ate it all and finished his pear juice. They have little baby juice boxes, different flavors each day and he loves them all. Now its play time once again, we think he is really going to miss this when we leave next week. We know he will be well cared for, but at the same time, we wish we were able to take him with us on this trip, but he won't fit in my back pocket.

Later we went to see a few sights of Semey. We saw the nuclear memorial and the original city gates to the city. Many hundreds of years ago they locked these gates every night so the city was secure. We also just took random pictures of houses parks and every day living here in Semey, again our time here on his trip is coming to an end all too fast can we make the clock go just a little slower?