Hello, Aibek!: A Journey of International Adoption

International adoption is not for the faint ofheart. That's the message Kevin and Krista repeat throughout their adoptionjourney to Kazakhstan, a country that most people can't pronounce or locate onan atlas. As they learn, it takes an adventuresome spirit and an unwaveringcommitment to follow this trail of incredible joys equaled by gnawingobstacles.Hello, Aibek!A Journey of International Adoption takes you along on that trail. Kevin and Kristacircle fog-shrouded Moscow for eight hours and then, wearing $11,000 in cash,wander the airport unable to find their escort. They live with a host familywhere the wife is mostly out of town, the husband works until almost midnight,and the 5-year-old daughter is hooked on Nickleodeon cartoons. They cringe atthe tough, indistinguishable meat served at most meals and share Thanksgivingdinner at an Armenian disco with a caged bear outside.At an orphanage named Hope, they must master aforce-feeding technique called The Shovel, watch another couple considerhalting their adoption, and confront their own fears about possible cerebralpalsy. But from his first smile, a sociable baby boy named Aibek assures Kevinand Krista that they have just begun the adventure of a lifetime.