Only a Few More Days!

Getting things ready for this trip has been a chore! My husband has suddenly morphed into the packing police and keeps lecturing me on keeping our luggage to a minimum so we can remain “agile.” We have settled on one suitcase each, although his original idea was for the two of us to share one – ha! We are busy getting all of JJ’s things packed and ready to go. (Who knew a tiny little baby would need so much stuff?!)

We leave on Friday and will travel through Istanbul, Turkey on our way to Bishkek. We will not arrive until early Sunday morning and will not see our precious baby until Monday. But the good news is that once we meet him, he is forever ours and will stay with us from that day forward. I am a little nervous about seeing the orphanage where he currently lives and all the babies who live with him. We were originally granted approval for 2 kids (and still are) so I know I will be wishing the entire time that we were bringing another one home with us as well. It’s going to be hard!

After the required three day stay in Bishkek we will travel by car to Kazakhstan where we will visit the US embassy to fill out all the documents necessary to bring our baby home. We have had some difficulty finding a hotel in the region as they are all currently booked for some odd reason. The prices are outrageous and range from $180 to $465 USD per night. Our agency has reserved us a room that is middle-of-the-road pricewise, but we are free to stay wherever we choose.

I am most worried about finding things to eat while we are in-country. Because I don’t care to eat anywhere the USDA doesn’t apply, some people might say I am a picky eater. In fact, my college roommates labeled me a “food snob,” (although I would hardly say that scoffing at a person eating cold spaghettio’s from a can is any reason for name calling. That’s just downright nasty!). Jerret considers himself a world traveler now that he has been to China 3 times and insists I will have no problem finding things to eat. I have already removed meat, dairy, raw vegetables, and water from my “Approved Foods to Eat While in Kyrgyzstan” list and hope to find comfort in the fully-thriving breads and grains category. Not that I am in any danger of withering away down to nothing. A 10-day diet should do me some good!