Friday, December 19, 2014

Our Kid is the Coolest


So, our little boy is basically awesome. Our first meeting with him couldn't have gone any better. He is the sweetest and smartest little thing. I can't wait until I can post the video and some pictures! For now, I can post this picture of the outside entrance of the orphanage.

We had so much fun building blocks, coloring, bowling, playing music, reading, and just hanging out together. He has such a fun and easygoing personality, and the caretakers say he knows lots of words in both Russian and Kyrgyz. He even knew how to give a high five, and he called me "Mama!" It was super hard to leave him; we wanted to take him home today! We can't wait to go see him again tomorrow morning.


In no particular order, here are some other things we've noticed so far, items of interest, etc.:

-people here wear a lot of fur...fur coats, fur hoods, fur-trimmed skirts, etc.
-the mountains are a lot bigger and more beautiful than we expected
-traffic in Bishkek is pretty crazy and crowded in the afternoon
-menu items are heavily focused on meat
-stray dogs of all shapes and sizes roam the streets
-the only thing separating the border between Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan is a barbed wire fence
-you can get 58 som (the Kyrgyz currency) per 1 US dollar today
-cars and rooms are kept at a very high temperature (I'm always taking off my coat)
-babies/kids are excessively bundled up to go outside for even a brief moment
-not a lot of Christmas lights are up, but the ones that are tend to be the rope light kind
-you can function on less than three hours of sleep in two days

Because of our severe lack of sleep on the loooooong trip here (almost exactly 30 hours from our front door in Denver to the door of our hotel in Kyrgyzstan!), Zack and I are headed to bed, even though it's only 6pm here. We hope to sleep through the night and be all caught up tomorrow. I'd like to write more about the rest of our day, but I'm ready to crash. What an amazing start to our trip though; our future son is so cool!




12 comments:

  1. Really happy for your family! Please don't worry about Xmas lights-they don't celebrate Christmas in Kyrgyzstan, it is Muslim country :)

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    1. I've heard New Year's is a big holiday here. And I guess there's the Russian Orthodox Christmas holiday in January?

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  2. So happy for you guys. What a wonderful Christmas present for you guys. Cannot wait to see more from your adventures!

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    1. Thanks-hope you had a great Christmas as well!

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  3. So happy to hear any hjas gone so well. Happy seems to be the key words posted in the comments. Since he can say mama already, next you need to work on dada or daddy, before moving on to more essential words, like mimi and papa!

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    1. Yes, we'll have to teach him that Papa is not the same as Daddy back the US!

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  4. Yay! So happy and joyful that your family is together this blessed Christmas Season! I love that he can say 'mama' ... music to your heart!

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    1. Definitely a word I've been waiting a long time to hear!

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  5. I am so excited!! What an amazing adventure for all of you. I love how you have documented the process, too. What a wonderful future gift for your son. Sending our love, prayers, and support. XOXO, Mary & Brady

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    1. Thank you-can't wait to introduce him to you guys!

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