Kazakstan Adventure

We made it!  The first of two trips, that lasted nearly three weeks, went very well.  We traveled to Kazakstan and stayed in the city of Kostanay.  From there we traveled to nearby Rudny where the orphanage was located.  We saw Aleksander for the two-week bonding period, and it worked its magic.  Then on December 1st we went to court and won custody of Aleksander.  The trip exceeded our expectations because of the fine accommodations we had, but most of all because of the quality of people that we meet there who helped us.  Then on the second trip Aleks came home with us.

Click here for our email recollections of the trip

Click here for our post-adoption experience

 

Click on the photos below to enlarge them:

Kazakstan map

Day one with his new mom

Playing the pirate

The orphanage in Rudny

The suburbs of Rudny

Outdoor market in Rudny

Playing with a balloon

The crafty boy

Coloring

Aleksander's classroom

With his caretaker, Nina

The Orphanage playground

Coming upstairs to meet us

Our translator/life-saver, Dinara

Outside our hotel window

Remnants of Soviet propaganda

Russian Orthodox church in Kostanay

Lenin

The market in Kostanay

Inside the Kostanay market

Typical apartment building

The shopping mall where we killed time

Our friend/hostess Carole Foster

Bow & Arrow training

Our friends Ron & Mary "Mach" McGaw

Aleksander's sleeping quarters

He dresses as well as his Dad

Group project

Yogurt fan

Our friends Marlo & Albert Ramirez

Admiring his new watch

Focus