Shymkent/Chimkent

If you look on the map, Shymkent is about in the center. It lies in the valley of the Sayram River in the foothills of the Ugam Range at an elevation of 1,680 feet . Originally a settlement on the caravan route from Central Asia to China, Shymkent dates back at least to the 12th century and was more than once destroyed by nomad attacks. It was captured by the Russians in 1864. A pharmaceutical works was constructed there in 1885. Shymkent is the third largest city in Kazakhstan and a major industrial and cultural centre, as well as an important railway junction. The city has large lead and cement works and also a chemical industry. .

While the areas outside Almaty reminded me of Arizona, the areas outside Shymkent remind me more of Colorado. As I will be flying into Shymkent, these may be the only pictures I will have of the countryside.

This is a picture of the MIG monument and Shymkent. Google maps of Shymkent show a large part of the airport devoted to bunkers that store MIGs. I'm not sure what they are doing there or what the connection is.This is Shymkent's memorial to WW2 veterans. Most Kazakhstan cities seem to have many statues and parks. Shymkent also has many fountains. They also have a Children's park that I am trying to find some pictures of.
Shymkent does have a superstore which is their version of a mall. It is filled with many small stores. In addition to the small neighborhood stores, Shymkent also has a green bazaar with vegetables, food and other items.

Shymkent is not as European a city as Almaty. It is a mix of the past and the future and will be a great place to try to learn about the Kazakhstan culture. Since the US embassy is in Almaty and all adoptions must be processed there before families can go home, there is a lot of information from other adoptive families on Almaty, but not as much on Shymkent.

Region- Round 3??

Yes, I haven't left the country yet, but I am doing the full tour of Kazakhstan. I found out Tuesday that my region has been changed to Shymkent(also spelled Chimkent, Shimkent). Shymkent is about an hours flight from Almaty. It is the third largest city in Kazakhstan with a population of about 500,000. So even though Almaty would have been nice, Shymkent is also a good place to travel to.

While it does require an extra flight to get there, it is a region that is still completed in 2 trips or 1 trip and escort. So I will likely be going over there for about 4 weeks and then travel back for a week or have my daughter escorted home a month later. I'll post more details on Shymkent this weekend.

6 months from dossier submittal

Saturday was 6 months since my dossier was submitted. In the excitement of getting my region this week, I overlooked it. Since I was only counting to see when I would get my region, I guess I can stop now. Now I can concentrate on how long from when I got my region to when I get my LOI. I am hoping for 3 months or less, but I do not have a good estimate yet.

Almaty or Alma-Ata

Because of translations to english, most places seem to have multiple spellings. The name Almaty or Alma-Ata comes from "rich with apples" or "grandfather of apples" as it has the largest variety of apples anywhere. It was the capital of kazakhstan until they changed it to Astana in the 1990's, but it remains the business center of Kazakhstan. Most international flights land here so it makes travel so much easier. This is a picture of the airport.

There are about 1,200,000 people who live in Almaty. Most speak Russian or Kazah, but many people in the hotels and some in restaurants speak English. It is relatively expensive to stay in Almaty. Hotels run from $100 to over $500/night. I haven't decided if I am staying in an apartment or a hotel, but it won't be the $500/night 5 star ones!


You can't talk about Kazakhstan without talking about the traffic. Traffic lanes are more like guidelines so if you need 5 or 6 lanes on a 4 lane road, then go for it. If one of those lanes is half on the sidewalk, that is ok also. When you think of a pedestrian trying to cross the road, think of the video game Frogger except you are the frog. Horns are installed in cars so use them- constantly. There are no seatbelt laws since most of the cars do not have seatbelts. No one would use them if they did. I will have a driver to get me where I need to go so I will not be driving here. I'm pretty happy about that.



This is a picture of the Tsum store. It has a little of everything in it. Almaty has everything from the small shop in the front of someone's home to designer clothing stores. In some regions, you have to bring many items with you, but you can find almost anything you need in Almaty, although it may be very expensive. Think $30-40 for a baby outfit.

There are a lot of places for tourists to go visit. I don't know which ones I'll be able to get to, but here are some of the ones I hope to see:


Zenkov Cathedral is surrounded by Panfilov Park, a pleasant rectangle of greenery. The Park was named after the heroes of World War II. The Cathedral is one of the few tzarist-era buildings to survive the 1911 earthquake, despite the fact it is built entirely of wood and constructed without nails. It is also one of the eight most unique wooden buildings in the world. After the revolution it was used as historical museum, cultural center, and just in 1990 again it was given a status of a Russian Orthodox cathedral.(copied from the Kaz Tourism site)



A cable car takes you to the top of Kok-Tobe(I've seen many spellings). At the top, there is a great view of the city, restaurants, along with an amusement park. It is one of the standard tourist places, but also sounds like a nice trip. The second picture is the view from the top.


This is the ice skating rink at Medeo outside Almaty. It is a very popular place in the winter. Once you get out of the city, there is some very beautiful and different landscapes. There are mountains and steppes. Some of it reminds me of the American Southwest.

Region- Round Two!

I think I may have set the record for shortest time in a region! Thanks to another adoptive family, I found out about some potential issues in Esik. They may or may not have affected me, but my dossier is going to be registered in the Almaty region which contains Almaty City, Karakastek, and Esik(rather than just in Esik). This way if the issue in Esik does turn out to be a problem like I think it will, then I can go to one of the other baby houses without having to move my paper work. It is most likely to be Karakastek, but I will not know for a while. I am very glad my agency is willing to be flexible. The facts haven't changed much. I will stay in Almaty City no matter which baby house I go to. The Karakastek baby house is a 2 hour drive so I will spend more time on the road. I may still end up in Esik, but I think that is not likely. I will still be making 3 trips. I'll post more about the region once a day or two has gone by and I know it is not going to change again!

For those not familiar with international adoption, there will probably be many more surprises along the way! There is no set path or set timeline and things happen when they happen. They say international adoption is like a roller coaster with many ups and downs. So I think it is time to buckle up and try to enjoy the ride.

Region!

I got a call at work today and found out I am going to go to Esik. This means that I will be living in Almaty and traveling each day for about an hour to Esik for the visits to the baby house. Almaty is the former capital of Kazakhstan so it is a major modern city. Esik is one of the regions that requires 3 shorter trips. The bonding/visiting process and the court process happen in 2 different trips unlike many other regions. So the first trip will be slightly less than 3 weeks. The second trip should be just for court and be about a week. The third trip will be 10 days or she can be escorted home by one of the coordinators in Kazakhstan that I will be working with for the first 2 trips. I'll post more later on the region and the process.

More decorating

It is a little hard to see in the picture, but this is a growth chart and the little birds can be moved to mark the latest height. It is made from wood and goes well with the rest of the room.