Libby (our adoption coordinator back home) said a black leather portfolio would be a very nice gift for a judge. Dina (our coordinator/translator in Kazakhstan) disagreed.
What she said was: “I would never give her this gift.”
Which raised the question: who is this gift from? Not to mention, why are we buying the judge a gift?!
Dina explained: She’ll like a leather bag. Of course you won’t give it to her in the court room. There are video cameras everywhere. That will make it look like a bribe.
Us: In the US, if you give a judge a gift it is a bribe.
Her: I’ll give her the gift afterwards, in private, so it doesn’t look that way.
Us: But if it looks like a bribe and you give it to her secretly, what is it?
Her: (Silent. Facial expression: perplexed.)
Her: You’ll also need to buy gifts for the prosecutor, the secretary of the court, and the Ministry of Child Welfare social worker.
Her: I can give the prosecutor your leather portfolio, though it’s not feminine enough. You should get the secretary a bracelet and the social worker a nice pen and note pad set.
Us: (Silent. Facial expression: perplexed.)
3 comments:
Hmmm... welcome to the way the rest of the world does "justice", eh? Next time you'll know to buy knock-offs on the street before you go. Great to see more shots of Jem -- glad to hear you're falling in love with her. Great news! Keep on cookin'!
Just finishing up a week on P.E.I. for our 6th summer vacation in Canada. Had most of a week in old Quebec before this -- great apartment for $500 per week in the old city -- good to know about. Very amazing city -- truly like visiting Europe in America.
Keep up the great work...
xok
Congratulations on making it through your court experience! Now another 15 days waiting "patiently".
We loved your post about your court experience. Yeah, that "gift" thing is interesting, huh?!? Your post about it catapulted us back to the very same conversation with Dina mere months ago. Ah, what a journey. You are now coming down the stretch. The last turn is just a couple of weeks away.
Give Jem a big squeeze!!
Take care,
KJ, Steve and Aitugan
Such wonderful news! You passed! Made it! And Jem will be here soon. I am delighted for both of you.
Love, Aunt Marilyn
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