Saturday August 22, 2009

We got up at 0530, packed and headed to the lobby. I paid for our hotel bill using my MasterCard. This was the only time I used a card on this trip. It cost $130 for 2 night. I thought that was very reasonable. Our driver picked us up at 0630 just like he said he would. Throughout our trip I was impressed how prompt everybody was. If we were to be picked up at 0700 the driver was there at 0700.

We were flying Air Astana from Almaty to Qyzylorda. The plane was a turbo prop, German made, Fokkers. The plane was full. Most of the passengers appeared to be business men. Qyzylorda has large oil reserves that are being developed. Canada and China are helping Kazakhstan develop their oil fields. The plane trip took about 2 hours.

Unlike Almaty that appears to get some rain, Qyzylorda is in a desert. Not a blade of grass can be found. The Province that Qyzylorda is located in has the highest population of Muslims and native Kaz people. When we landed we were met by our driver and translator. They drove us to the baby house. We had our first opportunity to meet our new granddaughter. I think she was overwhelmed by all the attention. She did not walk during our 1 hour visit.

We did meet Karen Welsh who was bonding with the little boy she was adopting. Karen works for AID in Almaty. She has a car and drove from Almaty to Qyzylorda. It took her 2 days.

The agency that is working with Tasha provides the driver, translator and also an apartment. Tasha looked at 2 apartments. The one she selected was in a building that was a Soviet era public housing project. We were on the third floor and it was a walk up, no elevator. The apartment consisted of a bedroom, living room, washroom, toilet/shower and kitchen /eating area. It was small. Nancy and I got the bedroom and Tasha slept on the sofa. The apartment was a 2.0 but the stairwell and exterior of the building was 1.0. (4 point scale)

We bought groceries at a supermarket, I use the word loosely, and had lunch at a local eatery. We all took a short nap. Tasha and I took an evening walk down to the River. The roads were in poor shape with many potholes. I also noted that a lot of manholes located in the street and sidewalk had their covers missing. The open manholes were dangerous to cars and pedestrians. Qyzylorda must not have many personal injury lawyers.

Ossineke, MI this date in 1938. It was Monday with a cool morning and hot afternoon. John C picked up car and drove to shop to fix self starter. It cost GG $3.45 for this work. Murphy delivered 6 cords of wood.