Reunited!

I'm back in Karaganda, and everything is going great!  My flights went well - I was diverted before I even started to Toronto instead of Montreal because the Montreal flight was running late and I would have missed my connection to Frankfurt, but in the end that worked out fine and everything went smoothly.  I even had a very comfortable exit seat on the flight to Astana.  By flying into Astana this time instead of to Karaganda via Almaty, I had a much shorter trip - 'only' 24 hours, including the 3.5 hour drive on this end.  I arrived at my old apartment in Karaganda at about 4 am this morning.  It was just as I left it 5 weeks ago - even the shampoo and soap bottles I left behind were still there!  The biggest difference was that I brought a smaller suitcase this time, and it looked tiny in the place where I was used to seeing the much larger one.

After sleeping for about 4 hours - from 4:30 to 8:30 am, I spent the morning unpacking, getting some groceries, and getting organized.  Then this afternoon I went to the baby house at the regular 2 pm visit time.  It was strange being back without any other foreign families around.  I am the last (as far as I know) to come and pick up my daughter of the wave of adoptions that occurred in the Fall, and the place seems empty.  As of January 1, they suspended all international adoptions while Kazakhstan rewrites its adoption laws, and consequently there are no new families until it reopens, which might be in 4-6 months.  Since I arrived in Kazakhstan on my first trip in mid-December, I was one of the very last people to be matched with a child before this closure.

So I have just come from seeing my daughter after a 5 week absence!  I was thrilled to see that she was happy to see me - all smiles and very excited.  She wouldn't let me put her down without crying, but was very happy as long as she was in my arms.  She looks great - healthy and happy and very active - her hair has grown and she looks a little older somehow.

I have two and a half days here, then I'll be back on that drive to Astana and flights through Frankfurt and London before arriving in Ottawa on Monday.  It's a short trip, and while it's nice to be back, I will be very happy to finally take my daughter and go home!