Jiana and Dustin Hoffman
I was looking over Nanci's post and realized I completely forgot to mention our lunch of horse meat and camel's milk. You know that life is really full and exciting when you completely forget to report that you are dining on such delicacies. Anyone who has ever done any serious eating with me knows that I am not generally a picky eater. But, even I have a few limits.... specifically they are beets, Brussels sprouts, baby corn and exotic animal meats. I guess I was so enamored by the restaurant decor, that I wasn't paying any attention to what Abai was ordering. You can imagine my suppressed dismay when I found out what was on the lunch plate. Remind me never to trust any of Nanci's friends to order lunch.

Due to our flight being delayed out of Almaty, Jiana and I missed our connection to SF and were rerouted via LA. When we arrived in London, we just missed the LA transfer and opted to spent the night in London and fly out the next day. I started this post from Heathrow, but am finishing it from home as the Heathrow connection was cumbersome and expensive.

As we went through passport control, I noticed Dustin Hoffman and his wife at the next passport control station (4 feet away). I spontaneously decided to make a impassioned appeal for a picture. Being from LA, I'm very used to running into celebrities and I normally don't bother them, but with the baby, the adoption and having my camera right there, I just couldn't resist. As I was trying to maneuver the baby in Bjorn, Mrs. Hoffman cautioned me not to bump the baby's head on the counter and took the camera, while the staff at passport control yelled at us for taking an illegal picture in a restricted area.

Other than that, the trip back home was uneventful. Jiana proved to be a very easy going traveler, who charmed the flight staff.

More wrap-up to come tomorrow and/or the next day.

g and j

Nanci's Guest Post - Travel Letter #4
Topic: From Nanci
HI again,

Almaty never ceases to amaze! Have I mentioned how cosmopolitan this city is? Imagine European stylized, beautiful, women walking around in an urban, new york style city with snow everywhere and buildings built for the soviet republic. What do they sell here? well how do chanel, brioni, cartier, yves st laurent, ermenegilda zegna, bang and olufson and (my fav) Ligne Roset(!) all sound to you? And thats just for starters.

The restaurants! Well, ok Kazakh food aside - but did I remember to mention the camel's milk (moloka) in addition to the previously mentioned horsemeat? anyway, the other meals in fine restaurants were to die for. i had entrecote last night (with chicken,mushrooms and melted cheese in a white a sauce and the best diced potatos, tomatoes, and green beans ever!) all for $8.00 USD. what can i say. but the locals never eat out. they want their "better" home cooked food and they can't understand why we eat out. well, we can't understand why they eat in?!..........to each their own.

Sights. Here is a brief update. More city walks, beautiful Panfilov Park, with unbelievably beautiful church, incredible park monuments (kazakh, yet soviet in style -> big hulking figurines representing - well, i don't know what - couldnt' read the signs - you get used to that here...), the beautiful city mosque, some incredible,delicate, old, kazakh-style buildings (few and far between) built all in wood and in startling contrast to the cement made, soviet-style hulking buildings, and lastly a wonderful museum of ancient kazakh instruments.

At the instrument museum, we paid 50 cents admission, and were followed by our personal, (unsolicited), "docent", a pleasant 70 year old (he told us) kazakh man whose descriptions of the history of the instruments were mostly decipherable through the (non russian) accent. we learned about the instruments of the kazakhs, uzbeks, russians, kyrgyks, turkmens, tartars,mongols, chinese, koreans, pakistanis, well, etc..... Oh and then he serenaded us with the 2 string dombra, performing songs of kazakh, mongol, chinese and some other styles - the contrasts and similarities were fascinating - well, then he brought out "his" tape cassette, and i suppose we were had. we had to buy it. nice scam. but it should be fun to listen to (once)!!!!! But really, he was a wonderful man to encounter and made the museum charming.

Did I mention the babuskha nazis? Genice will elaborate in the blog, but I have to say something on the subject. Babies MUST go outside with the hat on, the hood on, and the winter jacket buttoned ALL THE WAY TO THE TOP BUTTON (which is impossible to do because with two hats on, since its really too tight, she hates it and cries, and then we are stuck with an unhappy baby). But if you don't do this before you go out, you will be stopped by every woman on the street. I mean EVERY woman. So we always hat her up and button her up, to the very last button on her jacket, which i call the "Babushka Button."

The baby is doing GREAT. She eats and eats and gained ONE POUND in 16 days. Not bad. She loves to play and has a wonderful laugh. She makes sentences: "blah blah blah blah blah blah BLAAAAA". And she has perfected the fanciful raspberry spit-rolling, with delight. Watching the catchup development on a daily basis is heart warming. I identify areas of weakness, like she is a wobbly sitter, and we work on it. Every day she has sitting time. Now, she sits well for at least 10 minutes without falling over. Its incredible to see these changes.

I had my first experience GOING to the pediatrician. Can I say how bizarre that was? All morning i was preparing for the visit, thinking things like - what should she wear, should we feed her first, what if she spits up- oh that will be terrible. OH and then I had my WAIT A MINUTE moment: I am a pediatrician. Babies spit up in my office all the time, i never notice. their outfits, i never notice. Are they fed? Oh yes I notice. (Pediatricians don't like to examine hungry fussy babies! ) How funny it was to catch myself thinking not-like-a-doc.

Two more days. Have tix to opera and ballet (4 bucks each) in a fancy opera house that makes the Met look blase. Trip to the mountains upcoming. Some shopping and thats it.

Really looking forward to coming home though, as much as i love it here. I am far, far away in a strange land, like i've never been to before and literally on the other side of the planet. It will take me a while to complain about going all the way across town to the toronado for a beer or for a drive down to the south bay to meet up with my friends! (ok, maybe not too long, so don't be getting all your hopes up!!! :)

Miss you all, thanks for all your well wishes along the way,
Nanci
ps still searching for Borat (for you HBO fans)

Thursday, January 20th

Jiana's very first email
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Finally... the story about our adoption day
I'm finally back to a reasonable Internet connection. The other one was impossible as some guy was downloading a really humongous file. Ugh!

So, here's the full story...

I was a bit uneasy the night before the court hearing as I was afraid I wouldn't be up and ready in time. And then on top of that right before bed I realized I was down to 3 diapers. The babysitter was going to arrive at the apartment by 7:30 am, and it seemed like I created a possible disaster and then everyone would be in complete dismay as to what an unfit mother I would be.

My insomnia got me up on time, everyone arrives, and we left the apartment by 7:45 am with gifts and cakes for the orphanage staff. We drive back to the small town of Ecik (about an hour outside of Almaty) and back to the orphanage where I have to sign the register indicating that I have visited the orphanage for the past 14 days, which of course I didn't as I took illegal temporary custody on the 4th day. We have a nice visit with head doctor and take some pictures. Then the head doctor and Aigul (my facilitator) get in Aigul's car to pick up the lady from the Dept. of Education and the prosecuting attorney. Nanci, Alicia and I are suppose to meet them at court. Our driver gets lost on the way to the courthouse and we have to stop 3 times to ask locals for direction. Fortunately, it's a small town.

We eventually arrive at the courthouse with 5 minutes to spare before my court appointment. And as luck would have it, everyone is late. No Aigul, no Orphanage Doctor, no one. So we wait and wait and I start getting anxious and impatient (me... can you believe it?) Aigul and the Orphanage Doctor finally show, but we are still waiting for the department of Education person and the prosecuting attorney. So we go into the judges chambers, which are completely freezing. Everyone is walking around in coats and gloves. Another 15 minutes later, the Department of Education lady arrives and then 10 minutes more, the prosecutor finally comes in. Interestingly, everyone involved in the hearing: the judge, prosecutor, Dept. of Education person, court reporter, translator, my facilitor and I are all women.

The judge was an interesting looking character. She had a 1970's haircut, was wearing a full length mink coat, and had half her mouth capped in gold. Everyone else looked less intriguing. The doctor and I are wearing practically the same outfit: black pants, black boots and pink turtle neck sweaters. (By the way, I am holding Jiana as I write this standing up and typing with one hand.) So court, finally convenes... I was afraid I was going to freeze to death waiting. The questions directed at me are fairly standard... how are you going to support and care for this child? Does your family support your decision to adopt? Why did you pick Kazakhstan?... At that moment, I was sort of wondering that myself. ... What if you get married?... Will you love this child as much as a biological child you have? All expected questions, the only was when I was asked if I believe in G-D.

After I answered the questions and there was quite a bit of back and forth in Russian. They then asked, why I was requesting an immediate decision. I was coached to say the child needed immediate medical attention in the States. More back and forth in Russian, and finally it was translated back that they would wave the 15 day waiting period if we filled out a different set of forms. So then I was once again forced to do what I promised my father I would never do... sign documents without reading them. What could I do... they were all in Russian?

So finally, they read the court's decision and everyone congratulated me. We then went to the Ecik Hall of Records (another freezing building) to wait for Jiana's new birth certificate. So, 4 hours later, we were on the road back to Almaty.

Yesterday, I signed more documents in Russian and today we visited the SOS Medical clinic for my medical sign off for the American Embassy. Turns out that Jiana has gained one full pound since I gained illegal temporary custody of her 16 days ago. 17% growth is a pretty awesome ROI, isn't it. Tomorrow I visit the for my exit interview and then on Sunday morning I fly back to the US.

We've been running around the past few days to get in last minute sightseeing and shopping. I'm getting good at 4-wheeling the stroller through deep snow and slush. But, we have to be very careful to make sure baby's hat stays on straight, as it seems everyone on the street is very concerned when it slips down or when buttons are left open, and we are constantly being stopped by strangers requesting that we fix it.

That's all for now. Baby is strangling me by pulling on my necklace. Gotta run.

Jiana's mom.
Mom and baby are thrilled to be family. (Well at least I hope baby is thrilled.)

It's official: Moldyr Ospanova is now Jiana Hilda Jacobs
And I'm finally a mom.

Yesterday was such an amazing experience and I have quite a story to tell. But, I'm on borrowed time here as we are at the Internet club accompanied by my daughter Jiana, and the Internet connection is painfully slow tonight. I keep feeding her Cheerios and trying to entertain her with various rattles between sentence fragments.

So, here's the short version... the long version will come at a later date. We went to court in town of Ecik, the adoption was granted, the judged waved the 2 week waiting period and I am flying back home with my new daughter this Sunday.

Gotta run,
Jiana's mom

How's that for anti-climatic after a year of adoption drama?

Nanci's Guest Post - Travel Letter #3
hello - i am in the Ramstore (spelled Pamctop in cyrillic)

its a huge shopping mall that in the most american like place i've been to here.

i'm getting better at reading cyrillic. it reminds me of reading hebrew. once you get it down, you can start sounding things out. i love it when i recognize a word. like the other day i figured out a sign that said "bistro."

my internet connection today is very slow, so thats why this is brief today.

you can read more on genice's blog - but i can tell you now. hers is BRIEF too!!! :)

We had a wonderful day on sunday with our new russian friend Svieta whom we met at the Arsana bathhouse (can I say how GREAT that was again?). She took us to her house for a lovely family meal. They served - meat. then we had a lovely tour by car (finally not by FOOT!) of the city.

Monday was super long. We went to the town of the orphanage (Ecik - in cyrrillic, pronounced Issyk). I got to go to the orphange, but saw no children, met the orphanage doctor. then court and legal proceedings - which took like 5 hours. and i had to wait in the car for most of it with the driver, who speaks no english.

Today, we went back to the fabulous green bizarre which only pictures can do justice, (but its the place where i saw the animal heart last week) so you'll have some wonderful pictures to see soon.

Later we meet up with my Kazakh friend, Abay, (named after a famous Kazakh poet from late 19th century - he has many things named after him such as the opera house here). I met him on the plane over here. he teaches geology at the university. He took us for a traditional kazakh meal in an unbelievably beautiful and fancy restaurant. So what is that - well - meat. seems similar to the russians. But not so. Our appetizer was many variations of horse meat (and from what i could tell horse fat). Yes, I ate it and behaved politely, saying how wonderful it was. this was followed by a wonderful lamb dish. It was amazing, but i'll just say this - i probably won't be going back there before i leave! :)

the events to come are a trip to the opera one night and hopefully a drive to the mountains this weekend!

the weather here is spectacular. its about 32 degrees every day, and there is NEVER a wind which makes it really pleasant. it snows on and off almost every day. but for the last 24 hrs its been snowing constantly, yet only seems to have accumulated about 1 or 2 inches. i hope we get a sunny day too, maybe i'll get my wish on the day we drive up to the mountain.

thats it for now,
will be home soon, happily!

dobre vecher, (good night),
nanci

finally... the long awaited massage
Privet,

Baby is developing more and more everyday. It's amazing. In the last couple of days, Nanci has taught her to give me a high five, wave bye, bye (sort of) and she is started taking a few steps (with assistance). I think she is really beginning to bond with me as she is not nearly as cranky as she was just a few days ago and is much more responsive to my attempts to soothe her. We even got to sleep through the night last night, which was a huge breakthrough.

Yesterday, I onced again commissioned the Kazakh babysitter (the one whose baby feeding talents put me to shame), and Nanci and I finally had the chance to visit the Arasan baths, a somewhat decrepit, but very traditional Russian style bath house. The Arasan bathhouse turned out to be one of the great things in life that the US is sorely lacking.

Nanci and I arrived at the baths only to find out that we had a bit of a translation problem.... (Even with Nanci's valent attempt to learn Cyrillic, we were challenged. At the perfect moment, we were rescued by a Russian woman, name Svetlana who spoke good English and offered to show us the ropes. We purchased our bath tickets, which entitled us to a 2 hour visit for around US $4, and then bought rubber sandals which were sold in a Kiosk outside for around $3. We entering the bath and joined Russian and Kazakh women in various states of dress and were assigned a locker. What an amazing experience this turned out to be. It really ranks with being buried in hot sand on the beach of Beppu, Japan, my encounter with the leaf carrying ants in Costa Rica) and dancing with the pilgrims in Muktanath, Nepal. I would of killed to have started shooting off my camera, but I guess that wouldn't have been too appreciated. There were women dressing, being massaged and getting facials and enjoying tea in their underwear. I couldn't help but notice the underwear and that most of the women weren't wearing matching bras and panties.

Svetlana, who it turns out works for one of my favorite American company's Philip Morris) helped us to schedule massages and showed us to the sauna room. There were two sauna rooms, one with dry heat and another with steam. After a week and a half of carrying around baby, my muscles were so sore, I practically collapsed in the steam room. Later Svetletia asked if I would like to have a women hit me with a branch of myrtle leaves, which I believe is a Russian bath treatment. I couldn't think of a good reason why not, so I said sure bring it on. The Russian bath lady gave me a good whacking in hot steam, and then poured three buckets of freezing cold water over me. It was great and I was about ready to collapse (in a good way now) when she was done. I took a dip in the pool, spent more time in the dry room, took a shower and sat in a mesmerized state waiting for my massage. I visited to toilet only to find newspaper, in lieu of toilet paper. Enough information.

Finally, Svetlana came by to say my massuese was ready for me. This woman was amazing... She came right out of that TV commercial from the '80s, with the Russian fashion show where all the women were wearing grey smocks. The big, strong massage woman clad in a red shirt, white sarong, and a pink terry cloth headband. She had short bleach blond hair and was about 80 pounds overweight and perspiring... sometimes on me. But, wow did she give a great massage... perhaps the best I've ever had. After I was done, Nanci was her next victim. After showering and dressing, we thanked Svetlana and exchanged phone numbers and made arrangements to meet the next day (today). We visited the small snack bar in the main area, where I had great fresh squeezed orange juice and a pastry. I then showed Nanci to the Green Market and I ran off to relieve the babysitter.

Later that night, venture off for dinner a couple blocks from our apartment and stumbled upon a fabulous Romanian restaurant. Baby got cranky upon our being seated and we were saved again by a waitress who picked up and soothed the baby while we ate. Of course, I never let them out of sight for a second and after I started following around the restaurant (it was a small restaurant), she got the message that she shouldn't be more than two feet away from me. The wait staff was incredibly nice and the food was spectacular.

This morning I ran out and bought a stroller at the Green Market and Nanci and wrapped up the baby and took her to the Central Museum, where we met up with Svetlana. It turns out the Svetlana's family is from Ecik, the same town as the orphanage my daughter was in. We had a great time at the museum and gift shop and then went over to Svetlana's house to for a late lunch with her mother, daughter, and daughter's boyfriend. We enjoyed a traditional Russian lunch of sausages, salami, mashed potatoes, cheese, juice, vodka, coffee and pastries. I could go on and on about how wonderful they were and what a wonderful time we had.

I need to sign off now as the internet club is about to close, and I need to get ready for my big court date tomorrow.

Paka,

Genice
who is making new friends and having a great time.

Nanci's Guest Post - Travel Letter #2
Hello!!!
Zdrasvuite

I love this city/country. Genice and I are having alot of fun exploring.

I finally got my luggage two days late, another detail in the travel hell experience - and only two pieces of clothing were wet. As i was on the shuttle at London Heathrow, about to miss the only plane to Almaty (for two days), my shuttle followed a little cart (the size of a parking ticketers' cart), pulling luggage at 5mph on an open bin. in the rain. i guess thats how my luggage got wet and missed my plane. as for me, i managed to get on that plane by the skin of my teeth - i had to run - (15 min walking distance to the gate, per the sign) - since the monitor said my flight was "closing". got to the gate and they wouldn't let me on. but being british, they were oh so polite about it. i begged and cried - alot - but being cottonmouthed/dehydrated, i doubt they understood a word i said! somehow they took pity and gave me the last seat on the plane (which was broken). when i got onto the plane, all the flight attendants said to me 'youre really lucky!" So i said, hey can i have one of these 1st class seats (which were all empty). i figured i'd test how much luck i could get! (didn't get it).

anyway - here in almaty - we have been walking and mostly seeing shops. an outing can be as simple as going to the OVIR (office of visa and immigration registration) which i did yesterday.

The rule is all visitors have to register their passports. it was about 30 minute walk. since the building has NO SIGNS on it, i ofcourse couldnt find it! but i asked people and as luck would have it (there's been alot of that on this trip), a well dressed man with briefcase spoke english and said he was going there too!! so he took me to this building with zillions of people coming and going, and all kinds of goings on, including the construction on the first floor, which was basically a dirt floor. he asked people, and floor by floor we found my window!!! there i waited in line with these very pushy people. man they make new yorkers look like wimps!! after being pushed to the back a few times i got my chance at the window. 3 windows later, i paid them, and now they have MY passport. i have alittle piece of paper ("don't lose it" the only english speaking worker said) which i must bring back on monday (between 6 -7) to get back my passport.

on my way back i found a little open street market and got a bagful of "mandareen' oranges for 80 cents plus a few pictures of the vendors. (they loved and kept wanting me to take more pix)

today has been full of BIG adventure.

Genice - the brave - wanted to go to the bathhouse and so i followed. Nanci - the wimp - would never have done this without encouragement.

its a huge building - you go below street level and pay. then you go up to huge front entry - soviet style - and inside is huge entry with grand staircase. up you go to the women's section. inside you get a locker and you undress - there are lots of rooms - with lots of women of all ages running around - at best with a towel on. (ok - you guys!) as luck would have it - again - we met an english speaker right at the beginning when you pay - or we never would have navigated this! Svieta - our saviour. with her guidance, we found showers and saunas, and a huge, round beautiful but Freezing swimming pool. genice had the 'leaf beating treatment' in the sauna. they have a handful of dried leafy branches about the size of a thick fan, and they beat your backside with it. then we got our "massazhes." you have choice of face, back, or full body. guess what we chose??? honestly, it was the best and most interesting massage ever, altho not always pleasant. (no pain no gain?) at times i thought maybe i was at the chiropracter! and even my belly button got attention. :)

i had a brief walk through the famous green market. this is a HUGE indoor market - one giant room, with all kinds of foods. Ofcourse the meat section was my favorite. Each meat counter had the head of their animal displayed - i guess so you know what youre buying? But the best was the bowl holding the cow's heart - brought back fond memories of gross anatomy! OK, i'm sure some of you are queasy now! How bout them fruit? the fruits were displayed and magnicent looking. makes Whole Foods pale in comparison. I will have to go back with the camera next time.

Our new friend Svieta has offered to drive us to the mountains tomorrow. i can't wait. I also made a friend with a kazakh brother and sister on the airplane - 10 hrs in the same row helps develop friendships. I am hoping they can show us some of the sights or restaurants too.

And now, for the baby! she is such a treat. She and Genice are bonding beautifully as genice tries to learn how to comfort her and figure out her needs - each day it gets easier for them.

sometimes we take turns going out, so i get some prolonged time with jiana by myself. I am ofcourse doing developmental evals (and bits of a physical exam here and there - well ok, while changing her diaper i examined her abdomen - which she giggled throughout, and then checked her hips for dislocation - which sent her wailing!!!! )

okay, so developmentally - well she's incredible. she's not delayed by much. she started crawling with genice before i arrived. she sits by herself but falls after a minute and she doesnt really stand well. so i started working on her. she couldnt take steps when being supported in standing position - and after 2 days - she CAN!!! she couldn't clap hands with us (like high 5) because she'd make a fist. I showed her once how to do it and now she does high 5. and she even started to wave after i showed her. i think this child is really bright, just seeing how quickly she learns. She is also eating a ton and already feels heavier to genice, and she says the baby has a bigger tummy now too!

Well i can't end this letter without commenting on the driving here. OK, I just love it. Again, New Yorkers have nothing on these kazakhs and russians. Did you say lanes? You can apparently drive on any part of the road you want. Seems a 2 lane road is just a suggestion - why not make it 3 lanes?

And lastly, i want to mention the architecture. its so big, bulky and cold, yet beatiful and ugly at one time. Everything here is big. Lots of cement style bldgs. Really the soviets had huge impact. i hope my pictures can do it justice. But just the opposite are the people, all beautiful and elegant and warm and friendly. its an odd contrast.

Only 8 days left here! Time is flying!

Miss you all,
Nanci

Saturday, January 15th

Nanci's Guest Post - Travel Letter #1
all is well here,
i am here in kazakhstan, on the other side of the planet. (14 hours ahead of SF) this is a wonderful city. i have not had chance to see enough of it
yet, sightseeing is slowed down ALOT when you have a baby to care for!

there is always some snow on the ground, which makes everything so pretty. there are the dramatic, huge, snow covered mountains just south - that are beautifuyl.

my study of cyrillic alphabet is helpful - i can read street signs and a few words, but what helps even more is that there always seem to be someone who know just enough english! (anglyski)

we have our own apt, a driver and a translator for adoption related activities, which fortunately includes shopping - just food shoppingso far, but that was a BIG adventure. very upscale store in a mall called Silk Way.

the baby (jiana) is a cutie pie. she's very small, 8 1/2 months old, we are trying to figure out her routine so we can anticipate her needs
before her meltdowns! so far, we have a lot to learn. i now know that she only drinks her formula if it is warm (otherwise she spits the bottle out -
after she sips a taste test!) using the stove is hard since you have to light it with a match every time - so far i have no success. don't even ask about the oven!! for anyone in my office reading this - don't let word get out but we are heating formula in the microwave! and we are probably breaking alot of other rules too. we are really limited in our resources here.

the flight here was - oh lets just say - difficult. the flight movie was around the world in 80 days - and my itinerary became just that! SF - Portland - Frankfurt - London - stop over in katerinasburg, russia - looked desolate at 5am, but almost all the passengers got off there and were Well Dressed!!!! then we all moved around the plane and each got our own row for the final 2 or 3 hours to almaty. only to have low fog. after 3 landing attempts - with wheels down - and low enough to read the words
on the trucks - 2 landings were 'aborted' We circled in total for about 1hour and i saw a spectacular sunrise over almaty's mountain range.

so in total - my flight included 2 sunsets and 2 sunrises!

more sooon,
nanci

Our new phone number
Our current phone number from the states is:

011-7-3272-610-193

Thanks to everyone who has called so far. It's been wonderful to hear familiar voices.

Paka, paka