[kdibattista]

My huband has expressed to me today that he is very leary of the travel to Kaz. I'm heartbroken and not sure what to do. While I want respect his feelings, I don't think he "gets" Kazakhstan. Neither of us have been so I'm hoping that you will give me your experiences... positive or negative to help us work through this... however this turns out.

Thank you so much!!!

[JenniferKaz]

The worst part of the travel was the flights, but take some nyquil, or drink the wine on the plane that they offer and you will be ok. coming back with a baby, well, that is a totally different experience!

We were in Astana in May/June and I must say I never realy got bored like a lot of bloggers talk about. There was always somewhere to walk to, or a bench to sit on and watch people or feed birds (read: retirement). I knew I probably would not be able to ever return to Astana, at least not for MANY years, so I took advantage of it.

i am a home body who does not care for flying, and if I made it, anyone can.

[babypayne111]

I understand your feelings as well. We switched from Russia to Kaz and it was hard, We had never heard of Kaz and I did not know about these boards.

I know my husband would be willing to talk on the phone if yours was. My husband is a good business man and very practical. We had the biggest fight of our marriage over Kaz.

But God knew what he was doing we are now home 5 months with a beautiful boy. It was a long, hard journey but the end was priceless.

REad our blog

Kazakhstan Adoption | This is our journey of adopting our child from Kazakhstan.

Let me know if you have nay other questions. I am glad to help.

We have deciede when we can go back, that we will go and my husband will leave me there to bring home #2. Kaz is wonderful./

Hang in there

[Delmom]

What are your husband's concerns? We've been to Kaz twice (6 weeks in 2004 and 3.5 weeks last month). Neither of us had ever been on an airplane until our first LONG Kaz flight. But we made it.

As far as safety...I never felt unsafe. I feel much more uneasy traveling to big cities in the US than I did while in Kaz. Plus second trip we traveled with our 2 children. We certainly wouldn't have taken them if we thought they would be in any danger.

If he is concerned about the health of the kids from Kaz...Our 2 from Kaz are probably healthier than our biological daughter. (Pediatrician said they have built up a stronger immunity.)

You said you're not sure he "gets" Kazakhstan. Well it is a foreign country. The food, language and people are different. Some people find that interesting and enjoy the adventure.

I naturally got homesick both trips, and was so happy when it was time to go. Still I cried at the airport BOTH times at the thought I would probably never return. Hope this helps. If there is any specific questions he has, let us know. We'd love to help!

[lovestruck]

Would you explain more about his concerns?

We switched from Russia to Kaz. The time in country is much longer than I think any where else and that can be difficult or even impossible for some.

We ended up making the decision to take our two boys with us for the first month. AFter court I will stay with my younger son to bring home the new addition to our family.

I can't believe I'm going to be in a forgein country for three to five weeks without my husband, but every one says they don't feel scared. I figure this...how many people ever get to experience another country/culture for three weeks plus. It's an experience of a lifetime and you really get to learn about the place your child is from. From looking at blogs, the children are beautiful and most are healthy. It's such a personal decision. I always thought we would adopt from Russia and after making the change it took longer before accepting the change emotionally. Now that we are due to travel in less than two weeks, I am totally commited and excited! Best of luck!!

[pequele]

Originally Posted by JenniferKaz

The worst part of the travel was the flights, but take some nyquil, or drink the wine on the plane that they offer and you will be ok. coming back with a baby, well, that is a totally different experience!

As a medical profession, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE fly drug free!!! While air travel is VERY safe, if something God forbid does happen and you need off that plane FAST you need to have your full wits about you!!! I have read about people taking ambien on long flights! DEAR LORD!!! That is a drug that has found people who take it then get behind the wheel of a car get arrested for a DUI!!! I know I get completely oblithereated on it as well (but let me point out I don't drive with it in my system). The sleep aids like in nyquil, benadry etc may leave you too groggy to react quickly in the event of evacuation. These remedies are really best used at your destination trying to get yourself acclimated to the time zone.

Try what ever you want to use on the plane, try it at home and see how much you can function....can you walk a long time like to the back of a plane to stand in line for the bathroom, manage to figure out the locks on the bathroom doors, find the lights and all with out putting your head in the blue ice water???? Can you make it back down to you seat 2- rows back and still sit in the right seat.....all very commical for the rest of the plane but can actually put you in danger because you don't have full capacity. If the drugs aren't out your system by the time you arrive in immigration, do you think the incapacitated passanger is going to have an easy time going through immigration and customs???

I just want you to travel safely!

[kdibattista]

Thanks everyone so much... I really appreciate the responses. To clarify a bit... he has no concerns about the children, the orphanage care or the culture. He's concerned about the status of American's safety overseas and that we are staying somewhere that we really don't know too much about on our own for several weeks if that makes more sense. I think for him it's the unknowns.

babypayne - thank you so much for the offer... I may take you up on that.

[hml1976]

Please don't worry about your safety, we were in Uralsk in the summer of 05 and walked the streets every night by ourselves, besides a few strange looks we never had a single problem.

[sak9645]

Pequele,

You raise an excellent point.

Also, if you MUST take a medication -- either for severe anxiety about flying or for a reason unrelated to flying -- please try it out at home before you go. Never take a medicine for the first time, while on a flight.

Remember that, if you have an adverse reaction -- and some drugs can cause reactions ranging from hallucinations to anaphylactic shock -- you simply won't be able to get treatment when you are flying over the Pacific Ocean. Even if you are lucky and there is a physician on the plane, he/she probably won't be carrying the resources needed for your care.

I have also heard many people recommend that parents give Benadryl to babies, so that they will sleep during the long flight home from overseas and won't be anxious.

While Benadryl is generally a very safe medicine, it should not be given to a child on a plane, if he/she hasn't taken it before.

The reason is that, while Benadryl generally causes sedation, it CAN have the exact opposite reaction in susceptible people. Some children become exceedingly "hyper" and over-stimulated. You do NOT want a hyper and over-stimulated child on a long airplane flight, where he/she will be confined to a seat for half a day or more.

Also, even if your child IS sedated by Benadryl, be aware that many people become very "hung over" when it wears off, especially if they are very sensitive to medications. Both my daughter and I are this way. Both of us need to take only about half the normal dosage for people of our age and weight, or we become zombies the next day.

If you are planning an airport party, or even just expecting a few people to show up to drive you home, do you really want your child to be groggy and, possibly, very cranky because he/she has a headache and feels like you would if you drank to excess?

Sharon

[Mich71]

We also felt safe while we were in Astana last year.
Our agency did a great job of keeping an "eye" on us.
And making sure we were in a safe apartment.
As long as you have a good agency you will not be on your own unless you want to be...loved our translator and driver.
Most of the Kazak people we met on the street really enjoyed seeing Americans and wanted to talk with us...even though we did not speak Russian.
And if you are lucky you will meet up with some other families at the baby house.

[sak9645]

Certainly, there are people in the world who don't like the U.S. and who commit terrorist acts aimed at the U.S.

But, actually, we are probably at greater risk of harm from these people, just by being in the U.S. Look at what happened on 9/11/2001. Many Americans lost their lives just by going to work.

Yes, planes can be hijacked. Yes, Americans can be targeted overseas. but these events are actually very rare. Also, just because its name ends in "stan" does not make Kazakhstan on a par with Afghanistan in terms of the danger to Americans. Kazakhstan is not a hotbed of terrorism.

I guess we all ought to decide, in any case, how we should react to any threat of terrorism. I, for one, am not going to restrict my life unduly. To me, that's letting the terrorists win.

No, I won't do obviously dangerous things, like taking a job in Iraq. I am the mother of an 11 year old, and I want to remain alive and well for her.

But I WILL go to work, visit major U.S. cities, fly in airplanes both domestically and internationally, etc. I will attend synagogues, even though synagogues have been the target of hate crimes, and even send my daughter to a Jewish school that has a lot of Israeli diplomats' kids and that could be the target of extremists.

And if I were young enough to adopt again, I wouldn't hesitate to go to the country of my choice to meet my child and bring him/her home. Most of the countries from which Americans adopt are fairly safe.

Kazakhstan has not been the subject of any State Department travel advisories. The most recent travel advisories have concerned certain African countries and countries in the Middle East. Colombia was also the subject of an advisory about a year ago.

Sharon

[hbaileymom]

If your husband is anything like mine, he did not read boards (addictively!) or blogs.

My suggestion is to talk to a lot of people who have traveled to Kaz. Talk to your agency, and ask to talk to families who have been there recently. See if your husband will get on the phone with the dad, or even all four of you. Email them. If he hears about people going to the regions he would possibly go to, he may feel safer.

I know that our agency gave us a cell phone while there. This made us feel really safe, and we slept with it beside our bed! We never needed it, but we felt great w/translator's number programmed in for sure.

You'll always look like the American who sticks out, but we found the Kaz people to be very warm toward us. And our translator/driver very protective toward us!!

Heather