After a long weekend of a lot of activity, today we tried to keep it low-key. In fact, we even took a two hour nap before we left for the baby house at 1:15. I guess this weekend really wore us out.
Before getting Katie, we were able to talk with Erken about the details of when we will get Katie for good and when we will be flying home. It was good to get some straight answers finally; more info to come in our next update letter.
Katie was a little shy and quiet at first but eventually warmed up to us. It is amazing seeing her react when she sees some of the toys we bring. It reassures us that she is remembering us more and more. Her very favorite toy today was the water bottle, which we even let her have tiny sips out of. She did excellent, so we are sure that she'll take to a "sippy-cup" very quickly.
After our visit, we rushed home to get ready for our dinner engagement with our new friend, Aigul. Before leaving for Kazakhstan, we met someone in Sacramento who knew lots of English-speaking residents of Astana. He forwarded our information and one of his friends (Aigul) who invited us over for dinner. The only hitch was that to get to her apartment we had to take public transit. This was a real experience for us because the bus we took was really more like a 15 passenger van with at least 20 people stuffed inside. It was so exciting! Luckily Aigul met us near our apartment and helped us catch the right bus; we couldn't have done it without her.
When we arrived at her beautiful apartment, she had a wonderful dinner prepared for us with salad, bread and a beef casserole. The dinner was SOOOO good! While we ate, we got to hear all about her work with Campus Crusade. We learned so much more about Kazakhstan, its people and their beliefs. We also got to see lots of pictures of Aigul's friends and the students she works with. Once again, it was a wonderful evening experiencing true Kazakh hospitality. (Look for more info in our upcoming update letter.)