Well, I made it to my sister’s in Germany.  The flights were not fun!  I ran into Kim’s mom on her way home from being with Kim and her new daughter for a few days in the Almaty airport.  So strange to run into someone from Illinois that you know in Almaty.  You should have seen her reaction…..”AMY?!?”  And I had to stare at her for a few seconds before it sunk in.  What a hoot!  I got to see some more lovely pictures of Kim’s little girl and then met two new mothers with their Kaz infants going home.  Then I tried to board the plane only to realize that I was boarding a flight that had been cancelled yesterday (the one Kim’s mom was on) so if Kim’s mom is reading this realize I did not get on that flight (she probably was looking for me later because she boarded first)  I ended up sitting in the Almaty airport to wait for my flight to board (an hour and a half later) to go to Frankfurt.  Are you confused reading this yet?  I am a little and I experienced it!  LOL.

 Anyway, it was unpleasant and unnatural leaving Karina.  So much of this process I find to be completely unnatural.  From the mountains of paperwork turning into a child to being declared their parent only to leave the country without them the next day.  Back at the hotel in Ust several of the other adoptive families and I laughed about the nightmares we have all been through to get where we are now when everyone else out there in normal land just has to do the deed to get to a child.  Ironic huh?  I am going to really try and get a video up of Karina before I leave Germany so you can all see just how personable she is!  I was really missing her today and worrying about her and if she is wondering where I am.  I don’t have any idea how I will be able to last for four weeks since my heart hurt so bad today thinking about her and if she is okay. 

Court – would have been easier if I didn’t have that voice in my head telling me that what was happening right then was probably the most important thing I would ever do in my life – I think I really worked myself up into a nervous panic.  I was reading my speech with one fist clenched as tight as I could to stop myself from losing it.  I think a big part of the stress was the completely vulnerable position I felt I was in with my hand open asking for this child ( it was a very humbling experience and one I am so glad is over) like Oliver Twist asking for more please.  To me this was the worst part of the trip so far second only to having to leave Karina in Ust. 

Miscellaneous things that I wanted to mention.  Ust (and I am sure all of Kaz) has incredible juice.  I think the other APs I was with got sick of hearing me sing the praises of the juices.  But they were great!  I wish I could have brought some, back.  They had cherry, green apple, red apple, nectarine, peach, mixed juices, pear, orange, etc, etc.  So delicious.  Sugar free no preservatives no additives.  Let me mention that back in the states I don’t really drink juice at all.  The orange juice is so acidic and (sorry if this is tmi) it goes right through me.  And I can feel the acidity all the way through if you know what I mean.  I don’t drink the other juice because pretty much all of it has corn syrup added and you can taste the sickening sweetness of it.  I don’t understand if we are supposed to be such an advanced country why can’t we easily find healthy fruit juice without treking out to the local health food store far away from your normal grocery store and paying double for it?  I talked to at least three AP families in Kaz who had said they noticed bodily issues resolved once they started eating the food.  For one it was heartburn that she had had disappeard….another was constipation…crazy stuff huh?  I experienced it too and think it has to do with eating fresher foods that were easily found everywhere, eating food with less sugar in it again found everywhere, and eating foods that didn’t have tons of preservatives in it.  There is a reason why all those Kazakhstan people were thin and healthy looking and why Americans as a nation have become fat and prone to heart disaease, diabetes, etc.  When everywhere around you is healthy food that is as natural as possible in Kaz and in America everywhere around you is the opposite it doesnt’ take a brain surgeon to figure it out.

The people of Kazakhstan are as nice and as not nice as everyone else everywhere else.  There are polite people, rude people, friendly people, not friendly people, more soon……nieces and nephews need me!