The Circus, the Baby House, and Astana

Hi everyone,

Today is Sunday (even though it shows up as Saturday,) so we don't get to visit with Baby T :-(

The past couple of days have been beautiful out, so we've been taking advantage of the sunshine while it lasts. We hear that it usually starts to snow sometime in mid-November.

Yesterday, we went to the circus with some other couples who are here adopting. The circus in Kazakhstan is a permanent structure in the center of Astana with regular shows- not like the traveling circuses we have at home. Yesterday was the first day of a two day competition there with a variety of acts. There were a bunch of gymnast/ contortionist acts, a clown who did an act with a donkey, a traditional Kazakh pigeon act, and a great finale with horses. We've included some pictures below. We're hoping to go back next Saturday night when the Russian Circus is here- it is supposedly phenomenal.

This is the circus building- the roof is all lit up at night.

We've also been exploring the city during our free time- which we have a lot of! We've been taking a lot of long walks and enjoying the weather. It definitely feels like fall out- it has been really sunny and crisp. We're trying to take advantage of the sunshine while it is here. As you can tell from the pictures, there is a lot of development going on here. Everywhere you look, there are cranes and construction workers. It makes for a really interesting combination of a modern city contrasted with some hints of the old Soviet era. A lot of the development is because they moved the capital of Kazakhstan to Astana almost ten years ago. The capital was moved from Almaty because of the high number of earthquakes in Almaty. Apparently the location of Astana is more stable. As you can see from the pictures, there are a lot of really beautiful buildings here.

This is one of the shopping centers near our apartment.
Some of the high rise buildings---

This is the Cultural Museum of Kazakhstan. (Side note- they didn't want to let us in because we were wearing sneakers. They almost made us wear those booties that doctors wear. Everyone here dresses really nicely.)

This is the Astana Soccer Field

We also spent a lot of time walking through Astana Park- it is a little bit like Astana's version of Central Park. It is a huge park pretty centrally located with lots of benches and carnival rides (they only operate in the summer.) Since it was so beautiful out today, it was packed. It is right next to the Ishim River, which is the main river that runs down the center of Astana. Here are some pictures of our walk along the river and through the park.

They even have a little beach area along the river.

We are also including pictures of the Baby House here in Astana. As you can see, there is a huge playground in the center. During our visits with Baby T, we often see some of the older children out on the playground. Children are in the Baby House up until they are around 4 years old, at that point they are moved to what is referred to as the orphanage.

This is the outside of the Baby House.

This playground is basically in the center of it.

On Saturdays, all of the families at the Baby House visit during one time slot- during the rest of the week, we are divided into multiple slots, so it is much less crazy. Needless to say, Saturdays are not the best visits. I think it is pretty overwhelming for everyone, especially for Little Tennen. We spent much of yesterday's visit looking at the fish tank in the hallway. She loves the fish! On top of that, it is SO hot in the playroom, so with the added bodies, it only makes it more unbearable. Adam has started calling it "Sauna Astana." But it was still very nice to get to meet some of the other families who are here adopting. There are two other families from the States, one from Germany, and one from Belgium.

So that's basically all from Astana. Baby T is still doing great. She is feeling much better and we are definitely enjoying our time with her immensely. She has a very sweet personality and we are learning more about her each and every day.

Paca Paca

Love to everyone----

And the Russian word of the day... "Coo Coo" is peak-a-boo

PS- Congratulations on the new house Marc, Hara, and Avi--- We are so excited to have you as neighbors!