The airplane ride wasn’t too bad. She did not sleep at all, but was generally happy the whole time. She flirted with a lady sitting beside me who didn’t give her the time of day! Leah was fascinated by her sparkly silver shirt and it was all I could do the entire flight for her to not touch it. I passed on the lunch they served, figuring it would be harder to eat than it was worth. I almost had a heart attack before the flight took off. I couldn’t lift the backpack into the overhead compartment and hold Leah. I pointed to the backpack and the overhead compartment and asked the flight attendant to put the backpack in it. She said okay but I never saw her do it. Then, another flight attendant comes by and hands me a checked item ticket. I call the flight attendant over and ask if this was for the stroller. She said yes, and the backpack! I said What! The backpack can’t go under the plane, it has my computer, camera, DVD player and not to mention all my cash! I almost lost it. She went and asked someone something. Came back and found the backpack in an empty row of seats. Whew, I could just imagine now, the crew rambling through the backpack like it was Christmas morning!
I am really thinking of keeping my plane tickets for April 3rd now. My mom and Davis can’t get refunded for their seats since we purchased them with frequent flier miles. That means I have 2 guaranteed extra seats beside me on all 3 flights! I think I will really need the extra room.
I did get a good practice at what the full 19 hours of flying will be like. I have a lot of lessons learned. For one, why did I wear a white long sleeve shirt? That breaks all the rules of mommyhood! No white shirts! Second, I need a short sleeve shirt. I was so hot from the cardio and strength training exercise I was getting from Leah. I am also going to have to lighten the load. Trying to carry Milon’s computer backpack (which weighs as much as I do), a big diaper bag, snowsuit for Leah, my jacket, stroller and a child who won’t sit in the stroller was awful! I had to sit on the luggage in order to lock it but will somehow have to put either the backpack or the diaper bag in the luggage.
Kate (translator) and Marina (coordinator) took me to the apartment. Both speak very good English and are about my age. They promised me they would keep me busy this last week. Tomorrow we have Leah’s SOS clinic appointment. I am not exactly sure what that is, but believe it is a medical clearance she needs to get back in the US. They also said we could go to the mountains one day. I would love that! They said a lady with a young boy will be coming on the 28th and they would introduce us in case we wanted to hang out. Company sounds great to me after being alone for so long!
Our apartment in Almaty is okay. It’s a 2 bedroom apartment. The kitchen is so small I thought for sure it was the “spare” kitchen and not the real one! I do miss the great big kitchen in Aktobe. I am glad it is just me here, because we all would not have managed in this one. I also miss CNN in English! I can’t find it anywhere, although the landlord says I get English Channels. I can’t find any. However, the weather is wonderful! No snowsuits or boots for sure! And I won’t even wear a jacket, however I will put a sweater on Leah.
We ventured to the grocery store to pick up some food. It is a few blocks away, but carrying all the groceries home and up 3 flights of stairs proved to be difficult! I will go to the grocery store again tomorrow to stock up on some more food.
There is a nice pedestrian walkway they said were I could push Leah in the stroller. They said it is very safe here and I could go out at night for a walk. I have learned that strollers are a learned preference and Leah needs some practice. She wants to be held rather than in the stroller!
Here are a few pictures I took from the apartment in Aktobe before we left. Look at the kids playing in a giant mud puddle! This canister I have labeled the "outdoor restroom" for men. They all walk back there to use the bathroom! I guess they don't think anyone is watching.
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