Meeting with the Chief
Tuesday, June 27th- This day had some ups and downs...
We had a scheduled meeting with the Chief of the Department of Eductation. The normal process is to meet with one of his assistants, but we were requested to meet with him after the delays with the letter of invitation. Our driver, attorney and translator picked us up at 8:45am where we drove around the block to the Dept. of Education. The Department building is normal for the region and as with 95% of the buildings (the one I'm in now included) does not have A/C. Before meeting the chief, we meet with his assistant on the 5th floor. No elevator and 80degrees outside (hotter inside even at 9am) makes for some good exercise. Our attorney, translator, Kim, Rylee and I sat around a small desk to answer some questions. Most were directed to the attorney and we did not have a glue what was being said, but they had smiles. The lady then turned her attention to Rylee. She was asked if she was excited, if she wanted a boy or girl and age of the child. Like a true spokeswoman, Rylee was quick on her feet with great answers. She got out the photo album and took the group through a guided tour of family, friends, our house and her action shots. The translotor at the end stated to the group that there was no need for all of the paperwork, just let Rylee talk...
After this 15 minute meeting up stairs, we were escorted to the 2nd floor where we went into a conference room with a large table in the center. There was the 1st lady we meet with, another lady taking notes and the Chief. He fit the description perfectly. A very strong faced military type middle aged man that was very cordial to us. He gave us the look over and commented on why he wanted to meet with us and appreciated us coming to his country. Suprisingly, he had only 3 questions for Kim and me. They were: Size of our town, finacially able to support another child and if we were religious. All were answered in brief sentences then he asked Rylee if she was excited about the adoption. She said "Everyone's excited", which put a smile on everyones face. The Chief stood up and shook my hand, that was it...
Our next appointment, with the department of education for the city, was set for 12pm so we were dropped back off at the apartment for a break. Our crew arrived at 11:45am and we were off. This building is near the beach (yes a beach)which is 10 minutes from our apartment. We were waiting on the 3rd floor at 12pm when our attorney came back to advise the lady we needed to meet with was out, but we can come back around 3pm to meet with her assistant. With 3 hours to waste, we went with our translator to a Russian restaurant(photos attached). The food was good: I had salmon with potatos and sour cream, Kim and Rylee had chicken. Our translator order us a traditional cranberry juice drink and a congealed beef-pork mixture. These were not as good as the main dish, but we were good sports about it. After the meal we went shopping. Kim found some video's and cd's with an English/Kazakhstan mix that will be a great way to step into the new life for the baby. Kim also found a hairdryer (sorry Kari, yours died) for 1,700 tenge. How much is that in US dollars?(about $14-$15, which she gladly paid due to the fact she dried her hair with the fan in our bedroom this morning! lol) After the shopping our translator called our attorney to see if the meeting was on. It had been moved back and we were to get notice around 4pm if we could meet today. Again we were dropped off at the apartment where we got the call around 3:45pm that we would be going in the morning around 10am.
As we complete the meeting with the city Department of Education, we should have all the paperwork to go see the babies at the baby house. We will keep you posted.
FYI, our guest book is having a little trouble, so you can email us at Kimwoodard2003@yahoo.com. We are also having trouble downloading pictures, because in order to do so, you much read Russian. We will try to bring our translator here to the cafe with us tomorrow to assist.
We had a scheduled meeting with the Chief of the Department of Eductation. The normal process is to meet with one of his assistants, but we were requested to meet with him after the delays with the letter of invitation. Our driver, attorney and translator picked us up at 8:45am where we drove around the block to the Dept. of Education. The Department building is normal for the region and as with 95% of the buildings (the one I'm in now included) does not have A/C. Before meeting the chief, we meet with his assistant on the 5th floor. No elevator and 80degrees outside (hotter inside even at 9am) makes for some good exercise. Our attorney, translator, Kim, Rylee and I sat around a small desk to answer some questions. Most were directed to the attorney and we did not have a glue what was being said, but they had smiles. The lady then turned her attention to Rylee. She was asked if she was excited, if she wanted a boy or girl and age of the child. Like a true spokeswoman, Rylee was quick on her feet with great answers. She got out the photo album and took the group through a guided tour of family, friends, our house and her action shots. The translotor at the end stated to the group that there was no need for all of the paperwork, just let Rylee talk...
After this 15 minute meeting up stairs, we were escorted to the 2nd floor where we went into a conference room with a large table in the center. There was the 1st lady we meet with, another lady taking notes and the Chief. He fit the description perfectly. A very strong faced military type middle aged man that was very cordial to us. He gave us the look over and commented on why he wanted to meet with us and appreciated us coming to his country. Suprisingly, he had only 3 questions for Kim and me. They were: Size of our town, finacially able to support another child and if we were religious. All were answered in brief sentences then he asked Rylee if she was excited about the adoption. She said "Everyone's excited", which put a smile on everyones face. The Chief stood up and shook my hand, that was it...
Our next appointment, with the department of education for the city, was set for 12pm so we were dropped back off at the apartment for a break. Our crew arrived at 11:45am and we were off. This building is near the beach (yes a beach)which is 10 minutes from our apartment. We were waiting on the 3rd floor at 12pm when our attorney came back to advise the lady we needed to meet with was out, but we can come back around 3pm to meet with her assistant. With 3 hours to waste, we went with our translator to a Russian restaurant(photos attached). The food was good: I had salmon with potatos and sour cream, Kim and Rylee had chicken. Our translator order us a traditional cranberry juice drink and a congealed beef-pork mixture. These were not as good as the main dish, but we were good sports about it. After the meal we went shopping. Kim found some video's and cd's with an English/Kazakhstan mix that will be a great way to step into the new life for the baby. Kim also found a hairdryer (sorry Kari, yours died) for 1,700 tenge. How much is that in US dollars?(about $14-$15, which she gladly paid due to the fact she dried her hair with the fan in our bedroom this morning! lol) After the shopping our translator called our attorney to see if the meeting was on. It had been moved back and we were to get notice around 4pm if we could meet today. Again we were dropped off at the apartment where we got the call around 3:45pm that we would be going in the morning around 10am.
As we complete the meeting with the city Department of Education, we should have all the paperwork to go see the babies at the baby house. We will keep you posted.
FYI, our guest book is having a little trouble, so you can email us at Kimwoodard2003@yahoo.com. We are also having trouble downloading pictures, because in order to do so, you much read Russian. We will try to bring our translator here to the cafe with us tomorrow to assist.
posted by Woodard's Adoption | 7:54 AM
2 Comments:
It's exciting to be part of your journey. Thanks for sharing such a special time in your lives. Rylee, this must be so exciting for you! You are all very special! Kim, bummer about the hairdryer!
Love,
Natalie
This all sounds so exciting and kind of like a novel. Your blog is so fun to read. I have a picture in my head but for some reason it is all in black and white like an old movie or something. I am picturing the people as you describe them and it is so fun. Please keep us posted! love ya. The Newton gang
Post a Comment
<< Home