Escape from Alca-kaz

Sorry for the lack of posts. In a nutshell, I took the overnight train to Taraz Monday night and arrived in the early morning. Vera and Medet picked me up. They took me to Interlink Sara's apartment (she was in Paris for a conference and very kindly offered me her abode for my 12 hours in Taraz) where I slept a bit. Actually, I watched Napoleon Dynamite. Twice. Well, jetlag and a kickin' DVD will do that to you!

Vera and Medet picked me up around 10 a.m. and we then picked up Laura and Steve, who were in Taraz adopting a little girl. Then, off to Umit! When we got to Umit I went to the Director's office while someone was dispatched to get Alex. Miriamgul had one of the Mexican 'telenovelas' (soap operas) on FULL BLAST the whole time I was in her office. The Kazakhs dig the Western hemisphere--loudly! Alex was brought in and I don't know if he recognized me at first. We stayed for about an hour, walking around the grounds and talking with Steve and Laura. We caused a stir amongst the caregivers since they didn't think Alex was warm enough in the 75 degree weather. I had brought an outfit of long sleeve shirt, long pants, socks and hooded jacket. However the pants kept riding up and the socks kept slipping down, which exposed his calves to the elements (i.e., the sunshine and warm weather). They were sure he was going to catch the flu, I think. As we left Vera took some photos and movies of us walking out of the Umit gates. We went to dinner with Steve and Laura that night at King David, a Jewish restaurant.

 


A few hours later Alex and I were on the train back to Almaty. Vera, Medet and Slava's entire family (including granny!) were at the train station to see us off. More than one woman at the train station admonished me for not having Alex dressed warmly enough. They must have thought I had a deathwish, being in a sleeveless shirt. Alex did great on the train.

We arrived in Almaty around 10:30 a.m. Kate and Sam picked us up and we went to the hotel to rest then went to the SOS clinic for our 2:00 appointment, then back to the hotel. I was feeling woozy and later that afternoon got really sick. Flu-like. I fell into bed around 6 p.m. and thankfully Alex did, too. We have a prolific sleeper on our hands! I didn't get back up til about 6 a.m. as did he and not a peep out of him during that time. Thank heaven because I felt so awful I don't know if I could have done anything for him. So I decided I would do anything to get on the next flight to Frankfurt, where my mom was staying until Sunday. All I had to do was go to the US Embassy Thursday for my exit interview and arrange a German visa for Alex since he was traveling on a KZ passport.

Thursday a.m.--called coordinator to see about switching flights. She had phone numbers for Lufthansa and the German embassy, including the name of a woman at the embassy who could help expedite Alex's visa. Much running around and phone calls (no such thing as voicemail or multiple lines--if all lines are busy you just keep calling). Finally, after going from the German embassy to the Lufthansa office to the US embassy for my exit interview and back to the German embassy, WE DID IT!!! Such relief! Went back to the hotel to pack and rest in order to get to the airport for the flight to Frankfurt at 3:20 Friday morning.

Our flight to Frankfurt arrived early, and I wasn't sure if my mom had received the email that I would be coming early. Turned out, Jim had called Renate on her cell phone the previous afternoon as she and mom were strolling through Frankfurt. So about 15 minutes after I got out of German customs (they tried to stop me as I was coming out of the baggage area but I pretended I was French so I wouldn't have to go through formal immigration) mom & Renate appeared. I have never so happy to see two people in my life! We got to Renate's and I caught up on sleep by taking 2 naps, 3-4 hours each. The next day we took a Rhine River cruise (may as well live it up while we're here) and this morning we are on the way to the airport in a few hours. Alex has definitely been living it up--what could be better than having TWO grandmothers looking after you for a few days?! More later, from the USA!!!

I'm Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!

Somehow I made it to Almaty on time last night! All planes were delayed going into and out of Chicago (did Chi-Town not get the memo that there should be no snowy/freezing weather in late April??) but my flight to Frankfurt was the only one that was running on time. Thanks to everyone who was praying for that!!! Once I got to Frankfurt I ran to the ticket counter for a boarding pass and got to the gate as the flight to Almaty was boarding. Whew!

Going through customs at the Almaty airport was fast and easy. I told the agent that I had to declare the US$ I was bringing in and we went into the office. He noticed I was from Texas and all was well--stamp the form, talk about Texas and it's similarities to KZ (he said that north of Almaty looks like "Marlboro Country"--his term!) and I was off.

Marina and Sam met me at the airport. Marina gave me Alex's KZ passport (!) and my train tickets and got me set up at the hotel so I was able to crash just after midnight. I was up early--too early! They don't start serving breakfast until 7:30. I just got back from a walk around town and I must say that spring is the season to be in Almaty! When we were here in March it was still gray and kind of desolate. Now the trees have leaves, the grass is green and the flowers are blooming (thousands of tulips in all colors all over the place) and the whole city is really cheerful and bustling.

Train to Taraz tonight...

Last Day

Today is our last day in Kazakhstan. We decided to go explore on our own and ended up going to Tsum, which is kind of like a mall. First floor is electronics--cell phones, gadgets, etc. At the cell phone kiosks they have lists displayed of all the cell phone numbers available and you can pick your number and they scratch it off the list. Kind of funny. The second floor of Tsum is mostly clothing and the third floor is souvenirs and housewares. So we did a little shopping and then continued on to the Green Bazaar, which is the big bazaar in town.

The bazaar was much like the one in Taraz but cleaner, not as dusty. As in Taraz you can find pretty much anything. We stumbled upon the meat pavilion again--same stuff: sheep heads, intestines, etc. You've seen one sheep head you've seen 'em all :) As we left the bazaar we caught a whiff of something wonderful: chocolate. We remembered that yesterday Katya told us that the biggest candy company in the country was located nearby so we followed our noses around a few blocks and dead ends until we found it. What fun! They have a candy shop attached to the factory and there was a line of about 20 Kazakhstanis waiting for their weekly purchase. They buy in bulk. I counted roughly 150+ different kinds of chocolates and candies plus about 20 kinds of cookies. Yum! We bought our share and continued on.

Our guidebook told about a restaurant called RVS (PBC in Russian) that plays on the kitsch factor of the Soviet era. So we walked all over the place trying to find it. After many wrong turns we were finally on the right street but couldn't locate the address so figured RVS had gone the way of the Communist party. As we were about to give up, what appeared before us but the restaurant. We went in and were greeted by a waitress. She asked us in Russian what we thought was how many in our party. We said, "Two." She said, "No." Hmmmmm...were they playing up the Soviet customer service? We tried again and asked, "Lunch?" She said, "No." Then she pantomimed "Smoking?" WE said, "No." So she pointed to the non-smoking room and gave us menus for the lunch that theorectically didn't exist. The restaurant was perfectly Soviet: you hear one thing (no lunch) but the reality is totally different (we had a salad and pizza). The interior was very retro: photos of Trotsky, Brezhnev, Stalin on the walls; busts of Lenin everywhere; Soviet style murals; waitresses in CCCP t-shirts. The menu was totally un-Soviet: pizza, salads, even vegetarian burritos. The waitresses give you Soviet reproduction postcards as souvenirs when you pay the bill. Fun!

We came back to the apartment and are finishing packing. The movie 'Bottle Rocket' was just on TV--one of my favorites AND shot in Dallas. Sam is going to pick us up at 1:30 a.m. to take us to the airport for our early morning flight. So I guess this is it for now! We'll be seeing all of you back in the US soon.

Swoosh!

OK, here is our surprise--we went skiing today at Chimbulak! Well, Jim went skiing. I got a tiny bit down the mountain and gave up. More ski school required! Jim said it was icy, packed down and a lot of work to get down the mountain. After his run we turned in our skis but went up to the tippy top (3 chairlifts) and it was really beautiful. At the top were a few guys and an outdoor cafe (really a table with hot water for tea and some drinks) and they told us we should have the Kazakhstan cognac with Coke. We did and it was great. Then we rode the lifts all the way back down. Round trip: a little over an hour. Number of American, British or Scandinavian families: 5, at least.

While we were skiing, our driver, Sam, went to make a deal for us on a carpet we had seen yesterday. He got the price down a bit and we got the paperwork done and are the proud owners of a Kazakh carpet that will go in our living room. It will be a great souvenir, provided the airlines don't freak out about how much baggage we are going to try to get on the plane.

After skiing we came home to relax a bit then went out on a whirlwind sightseeing trip. Almaty is a great city and reminds me a lot of Paris, but without as much elegance and charm--too much Soviet concrete. There are lots of expats here--we seem to run into Americans around every corner.

We went to a fast food restaurant for dinner (think McDonald's but with chicken instead of burgers) and had to pay for ketchup, about 35 cents for a small portion. So I guess it is a good thing Sam stayed at home or his ketchup addiction would have bankrupted us!

Tomorrow we are going to go out sightseeing on our own, then pack up and get ready for our trip home.

Morning in Almaty

Vera and Medet picked us up for the ride to the train station at 9:30 p.m. and we said good-bye with hopes that it will only be good-bye for now. I know I'll see them again in about a month. Jim will have to wait longer than that. We left Taraz with great memories, wonderful new friends, and the knowledge that Alex will be home with us in about a month. And that's what its all about.

We arrived in Almaty this morning after a 10 hour overnight train ride. How was the bathroom, you ask? Not the worst I've ever seen but also not my first choice. I used it once and as quickly as possible. For future Taraz-goers, the flush mechanism is a pedal on the floor next to the toilet. I would have never figured this out had the Petersons not told me. Overall, the train ride wasn't bad at all. We had an entire compartment (4 beds, 2 up/2 down) to ourselves and it was much large than the compartment in the Spanish train we took to Taraz three weeks ago. Of course, we gained space but lost the private bathroom.

Marina (Almaty coordinator) and Sam (driver--who speaks 7 languages!!) picked us up and whisked us off to a great apartment in the middle of everything. We have a large bedroom with a bay window, living room, bathroom with shower/tub and sink plus a separate toilet area and a large kitchen with a sunny breakfast nook. I can get used to this! Did I mention the washer? And the satellite TV? Yes, I saw Oprah today, briefly, for the first time in weeks. Not only that, when we got off the train around 9 a.m. Marina asked if we would like a little breakfast. We ended up at a cafe that had excellent blini (like crepes) with raspberry jam... and... drumroll... REAL COFFEE! And espresso! I thought Jim was going to weep on the spot. A delicious snack and only about a block away.

This afternoon we are going to do some sight-seeing and look for that elusive rug we are hoping to buy. Sam knows a good place to get them. Tomorrow we have big plans but I'm going to keep it a secret so watch for the post.

Almaty is a huge city and very modern, comparable to NYC, DC, Paris, etc. Quite a switch from our little haven of Taraz. More later...

World-Renowned Jazz Trio Becomes Quartet

After a long wait in a hot, stuffy room; a change of prosecutor; many questions about Jim's passport; and a flawless speech given by Jim in Russian, Alexander William has been pronounced the newest member of our family! We are of course beyond excited and can't wait to get him home.

We were asked the standard questions Why adoption? Why Kazakhstan? Why not the US? Are you able to support another child? And Jim's favorite, Do you have any criminal acts intended with this adoption? However, the longest amount of time was spent going over the minutiae of Jim's passport.

When we got it renewed in 2001 the agency put the wrong birth year on Jim's passport. We didn't do anything about it until we started going through the adoption process and realized we had to get it changed so that all dates would be accurate. I called the passport office about this and the way they handle mistakes is to have you mail your passport in so they can print out a sentence on the last page that says it has been amended to reflect the correct birth year. I'll be the first to admit it doesn't look at all official. The KZ judge noticed this and started asking a series of questions: Where was your passport issued? When was it issued? Why didn't you get a corrected passport? Why did you apply for this passport? How long are US passports valid? After sweating a few bullets over these questions Jim answered them as best he could and the judge seemed satisfied.

Here is the English translation of the speech Jim gave in Russian:

"During the bonding period we have come to love this sweet little boy. We have decided to adopt a child and very much love this boy and hope to adopt this sweet child. We are placing our future into your hands. Thank you very much for your very careful consideration of our case".

Whereupon the judge asked Jim where he had learned Russian. After the pressure was off I joked with Jim that he should have asked the judge in response "Where did YOU learn Russian?"

We left the courtroom for a few minutes so the judge could render his decision. We all filed back into the courtroom and the judge pronounced us parents of Alex. Woohooooo! We couldn't be happier.

Tonight is the train ride back to Almaty. We are looking forward to coming home but also sad to leave this wonderful town, baby Alex (temporarily), and all our new friends.

Kazakhstan - Mountains = Texas

Today was Nauryz. We started with a brief visit to the town square to see all the preparations. It is kind of like our State Fair in that many local businesses come out and exhibit their wares, there are lots of amusements for the kids and there is plenty of food. In fact, except for the mountains, Kazakhstan is very much like Texas: lots of wide open spaces, cows, horses. Here is more proof:



The first time we went to the square he had horns (the bull, not Jim). I guess someone got gored so they took the horns off. Later in the afternoon there were about 20 kids using the bull and its air cushions as a bouncehouse. Thankfully the bull wasn't in motion at the time.

We then went to see Alex who gets more and more excited each time Vera appears in his room because he knows that she is going to bring him to those strange people who talk funny (us). The nannies in Alex's room have told Vera that the whole orphanage is abuzz and in awe of Jim since he gave such a heartfelt and eloquent toast at the Nauryz party held at the baby house Saturday. They say that I am a little shy. They think Alex is a very fortunate baby to have such a loving and kind father--and I think so, too.

After our visit, we made another trip to the Russian Orthodox church for more photos, then back to the hotel. Slava's family came over and we walked around the Nauryz festival and sat down for lunch in a cafe. The weather was perfect so we sat outside and at manty (delicious! just like chines potstickers) and shashlik. We were having a good time talking when Jim slipped away to pull the classic 'Pop' maneuver of settling the tab with the waitress before the bill even gets to the table. He also asked the waitress to add an ice cream to the tab before paying since Zhenya (the youngest daugther) had been wanting one. It was really cute to see her eyes light up when the waitress brought her the dish of ice cream. She was looking all around trying to figure out who had sent it over to our table for her. When we were ready to go, Jim told Slava (via Ulia) that he had already paid. They must have thought that he was joking so Slava went to pay the waitress only to find out that you don't mess with Texas.

This was our last time to see Slava's family before leaving Taraz so we had a sad goodbye. Ulia gave us an envelope that contained their contact information as well as a very sweet letter expressing how much it had meant to her and her family to spend time with us. The feelings are mutual and we told them that we will come back to Taraz with Sam and Alex (and Natalia and Kevin) in the future.

We came back to the hotel to relax and then headed over to the Petersons for dinner. There is a Kazakh family on the 4th floor of their apartment building who works for Interlink and she had offered to cook for the Petersons so they had her make the traditional Kazakh dish bishbarmak. It was very tasty. Sholpan even made the horse sausage from scratch over the weekend and made the noodles from scratch as well, rolling them out of the Peterson's kitchen table. It was very delicious and we ate it Kazakh-style: with our fingers. Very good, even though I skipped over the sheep fat. I'm sure it is delicious, I'm just not quite to that point yet.

Tomorrow at 3:00 is our final court hearing and the judge will decide if we will indeed be Alex's parents. We will visit Alex in the morning and then prepare for that. Jim has almost perfected the parts of his speech that he wants to give
in Russian. So pray that it all turns out OK!

Flex Gym (Flex, Jim!)

Jim says...

To keep from getting too fat from the copious good food and fairly sedentary life here in Taraz, I've been working out at the local soccer stadium's "Flex Gym." They run a tight ship at the Flex.

The fourteen year old girl running the front desk has come down on me for wearing my street shoes into the gym. I, of course, thought she was asking me if I wanted another bottle of water and replied, in Russian, "Not right now." Now I understand how wars can start from a simple miscommunication. I assume they want to keep the street grime on the street and off their rubber mats. Additionally, though I've told her I can only speak a very small amount of Russian, she has explained at length that one does not jump off the moving treadmill to get their water bottle, complete with a full introduction on how to use the emergency chord. Perhaps even better was her standing about two feet from me, arms crossed, as I started the machine back up for my run. There's nothing like an audience for inspiring a good run. I really had to fight my urge to glare and shout "DA?? CHEHVO??" I was later told this would have been exceptionally rude. I've also had a female staff person whom I'd wrongly assumed was a member try to correct my form on one machine. What was funny was her correction was one that I wanted to give another fellow in the U.S. just before having a trainer use the fellow as an example of correct form. Needless to say, there's some amount of well-intentioned but unwanted attention I'm getting at the gym.

The gym is actually really nice. It's clean, has a great variety of weight equipment (if lacking on cardio equipment) and offers showers, locking lockers for free, and a variety of refreshments. The posters on the wall are a riot. Muscle-bound freaks looking seconds away from a steriodal rage and medically-enhanced softcore female shots remind you that even in Taraz, Kazakhstan (population 400,000), it's all about image. The workout music has given me a chance to catch what passes for Top 40 in KZ. It's flimsy catchy stuff just like ours but just add in an occasional accordion. They also crank up the metal, in particular German industrial metal hit "Du Hast (Mich Gefragt)." I halfway wondered what kind of looks I'd get if I let out the loudest grunt my vocal chords could muster in response.

Socially, the people in the gym are usually nice. A few guys whom I would guess were either Georgian, Turkish, or something west of here definitely stared at me. But, I should note that I wear shorts and t-shirts which in this season the locals think are a death-wish -- or more accurately asking for the flu. Men in KZ only wear dark clothes. So, my green shorts and concert shirt may look bizarre, leaning towards fruity. What can I say? I packed light. What's more, I don't much care if they think I'm Bozo the Clown. I'm there to sweat and get my workout done. The tradition I like is when a newcomer shakes hands with each person at the gym. It's not to meet people or network or anything of the sort. It's a Kazakh custom, probably from their laid-back nomadic days. However, everyone does it. Pretty cool. Bear in mind, this is not Bally's with hundreds of people. Six is the most I've seen at Flex. Working out in KZ is a fairly new thing.

Tips for Future Travelers

Don't bring anything unless you just simply can't live without a certain brand or a certain something. For example: my husband and coffee. All the coffee here is Nescafe. Jim brought some ground Starbucks and a French press so he could brew it in the room.

Call Sara or Beth at Interlink when you get here. Main office # is 45 41 01 or 45 38 97. Call during business hours--voicemail is nonexistent. Interlink has a welcome package with a map of the area featuring US friendly restaurants, grocery stores, etc. They also have a library of about 200 DVDs you can borrow. And if you want your video camera batteries recharged (or anything that needs a US plug) Sara can do it at her desk. They can also help out with any questions you have--just ask!And Sara makes the best pizza in town so try to get invited to some sort of Interlink get-together :)

At restaurants, any of the pizzas are safe (safe meaning, no strange ingredients like sheep's head). Also, doner kebab is like a gyro. Any of the kebabs are safe, provided you like the taste of gyros (lamb). What we think of as a kebab is called a 'shashlik' here. The salads might seem odd but they are good. They aren't bowls of lettuce but more like chicken salad--chopped veggies sometimes with vinegar dressing, sometimes with mayo dressing.

About 1/3 of the time we order something and are told it isn't available so have a backup plan :)

Also, they don't give you a lot of time between sitting down and ordering and they expect you to order everything--drinks, food--at once. Learn the phrase "minoot koo"--it means give me a minute, please. Menus at the popular restaurants will be in English but the ingredients generally won't, so you'll be able to read that it is a "Malibu Salad" but not that it has tomatoes, etc. in it. The menu at the Gazovik has everything in English--names of the dish and ingredients and the Sakartvelo menu has many of the ingredients in English.

Learn the Cyrillic alphabet. You can read a lot of the signs by sounding things out if you know that C makes the 's' sound, P makes the 'r' sound, etc. And, if you learn the vocabulary for typical ingredients in Russian (tomato, corn, meat, chicken, etc.) you can sound out the ingredients and know what is on that pizza you just ordered.

When ordering water: 'vada biz gaza' is without bubbles. 'vada su gaza' is with bubbles. All restaurants also have Pepsi, Fanta, etc.

If there is a charge of about 25-30 tenge on your bill and you can't figure out what it is for you have probably fallen for the bread basket trick. That bread you ate isn't free. But at about 20 cents, who's complaining? Also, they do add a 10% service fee to the bill.

Vera sells Avon!

Bring a gift for the judge and prosecutor even if your agency says not to. We hear they are big on hunting.

Bring 5 or 6 extra small gifts for helpful people along the way. For example, Sara at Interlink set us up with a Kazakh college student who took us to the bazaar so we could see what it was like and so that he could practice his English with us. He wouldn't let us pay him so we gave him a gift (via Sara).

If you are going to do laundry at the hotel buy liquid Woolite. I've seen all kinds of powdered soap for automatic washers but haven't noticed soap for doing laundry by hand. I'm sure they have it, I just haven't seen it.

Bring good earplugs. Our hotel room practically faces the square and there is always someone out there at 1 a.m. There is also some guy who can't figure out how his car alarm works but tries almost every night and every morning at about 7. Earplugs are so tiny you won't notice the extra weight in your luggage :)

Bring chapstick and hand sanitizer. Unless you are particular about brands, buy shampoo and lotion here (nothing worse than having that stuff leak in your luggage). They have a bunch of US brands as well as Western Europe brands.

Gros supermarket carries a wide variety of frozen pizzas. I've wondered if the kitchen staff here at the Gazovik would heat one up for us. I haven't asked but I bet they would.

Vera can get a small fridge for your room as well as a set of plates. Ask at the hotel restaurant for silverware. We used a hotel coffee spoon to feed Alex 1/2 jar of baby food each morning at the baby house. Also good to bring one or two of the tiny Ziploc or Glad plastic containers--we put 1/2 the baby food in it each day.

Interlingua's phone number (where you can take the classes on Kazakh culture and history) is 45 30 82. They all speak English--or ask for Adilya. Set this up early, the first week you get here, so you have time to take a good number of classes.

Depending on where you have a layover, get about $50-60 of that local currency before leaving the US. We had euros (thanks, Genie!) to spend in Frankfurt so we could get a little lunch.

Don't bring a donation for the baby house. The director will tell Vera what she wants the last week you are here.

Don't buy "Daisy Bloom" brand baby wipes. They smell strongly like the most flowery perfume ever. Makes me gag just thinking about it.

At the Orthodox Church (which is breathtakingly beautiful!) women traditionally wear a scarf over their heads, tied under the chin.

Before leaving the US check on phone card charges per minute. If you buy a phone card here you will spend $1+ /minute to the US.

We wish we had brought small plastic water bottles to carry around with us rather than buying them whenever we got thirsty. Buy bottles with a wide neck so it is easy to fill them from the water you buy at the grocery store.

There is no Equal/Nutrasweet, etc. here so if you have to have it, bring it. There is 'Pepsi Light', which we think has 1/2 the sugar. There used to be Diet Coke, but no more. Maybe it will return??

Bring a travel alarm clock--there isn't one provided in the room.

Bring a leatherman, Swiss army knife or small toolkit just in case. Don't pack it in carry-on.

Be VERY CAREFUL crossing the street. Look both ways and then look again. And one more time. A lot of times people stop for us and let us through because I think they can tell we are foreigners and are just being nice but still....look out!

If you bring flowers to someone (say, if you are going to their house for dinner) bring an odd number. Even numbers of flowers are for funerals and the dead, odd are for the living.

Sakartvelo (the Georgian restaurant) and the gym by the soccer stadium are closed on Sundays.

Sakartvelo has GREAT food! Their Greek salad is wonderful and their grilled meats are awesome, especially the pork shashlik.

Bathroom Break(down)

GOOD:
Good public restroom at Gros supermarket--downstairs and take a right. The "M" is for men, the "X" with a line through it is for women.
Interlink has the best bathroom in KZ!
Interlingua also has a nice bathroom. Watch out for the tricky lock.
Sakartvelo bathroom is also nice--toilet paper, soap AND paper towels! Hat trick!
Bathroom at Umit (orphanage) is quite nice but no toilet paper or soap. Also, the toilet doesn't flush properly so you have to fill a bucket (provided) and pour it into the toilet to 'flush'.
UPDATE--on my 2nd trip we ate at King David, a Jewish restaurant. Excellent facilities!

SO-SO:
Bathroom at Sanprize restaurant has no light so they gave me a candle to use when I had to go. It did have a toilet, soap and paper towel. Hard to tell cleanliness in candlelight.
Surprisingly, the bathroom at one of the newest restaurants in town, City Center, is a squatty potty but is quite clean (porcelain fixtures but basically a hole in the ground. The odd thing here is that the women's part has two porcelain holes with no barrier between them. Who wants to squat next to a friend, much less a perfect stranger????). Still, usable and clean. Kind of like if you were camping and had to go but there was porcelain available.
Bosfor also has unisex bathroom with squatty potties. You go into the bathroom and there is a room with a pedestal sink with two doors just beyond. Behind each door is a squatty potty (one per room, unlike City Center).
LL Restaurant is similar to Bosfor--unisex, everything in its own little room. I think LL is more like a banquet hall--it is where we went for the big 50th birthday party.

UNVERIFIED:
Marmaris has squatty potty, not sure of cleanliness factor.
Cafe Istanbul has squatty potty, not sure of cleanliness factor.

All toilet paper is either one ply, brown and smooth or thick, brown and crinkled (like thick crepe paper). So if you're picky, bring some from home.

How To Connect To The Internet from Hotel Gazovik Without Calling Nursat Guy

If you want to call Nursat Guy that is your choice but try this first:

Get an icard at Gros supermarket
Scratch off the number on the back
Set up a dial up connection to phone number 9,,,911 911
Use 'nursat' as both the login and the password (this will allow temporary access so you can set up your real account)
While waiting for connection, scratch of silver at the bottom right corner on the front of the card--you might win a prize (we won a mousepad!).
Once connected, go to www.nursat.kz
At the top of the page there is a teeny drop down menu. It will be in Cyrillic letters that look like PYCCKNN. Pull it down so it says "English".
You will go to a page in English with a couple of choices up top. Choose "Open New Internet Account"
You will be asked to accept their rules.
The next page has a place to enter the icard number. Enter it, then scroll down to the bottom. There will be a spot for you to enter a login name. There will already be a "C" there. You have to keep the C, then choose a login name that is 5 letters or less. Every time you enter a letter you will get an error message from Windows. Just close the error message box and keep typing in your login name.
Enter a password of your choosing in the next 2 boxes. Then choose a question (mom's maiden name or whatever) and answer. Click Create.
The page will say you have created the account with your login name. You have to click the button at the bottom of that page to fully activate the account.
Close the connection, then redial the connection using the login and password you just created (remember, it will start with C), and password.

Genghis Khan

We have heard many times that all Kazakhs are descended from one of three tribes, each of which lived in a certain region in ancient times and had a number of sub-tribes below them. Even modern Kazakhs know what tribe they are descended from. We found out last night that Medet is a rarity in that he is not descended from one of the tribes. He is actually a direct descendent of Genghis Khan. So if Kazakhstan decided to have a monarchy he would be in line for the throne.


This morning we went and picked up Alex and took him to the photo store to take passport pictures. He was very cute, all bundled up, and very quiet during the car ride. He has never been in a car so it was pretty interesting for him. After the photos we went to the amazingly beautiful Russian Orthodox church in town. There were many people there since it is Sunday and getting close to Easter. There are no pews; everyone stands. People were lined up to receive communion and blessings. There were a few groups of about 5 people who had the most amazing voices and took turns singing the most beautiful hymns I have ever heard. We wandered around a bit but couldn't take any photos since so many people but we hope to go back before we leave on Wednesday.

Double Feast Day

I can say that we are definitely the most well fed Americans to have ever visited Taraz. Today we had not one, but two stomach-expanding feasts.

We got to the baby house this morning knowing that they had planned a Nauryz celebration program and lunch. We thought they were going to have the kids come in and sing traditional songs, do traditional dances and then we would have some tea and cookies. Boy were we wrong! The party was supposed to start at 10:00 but one of the special invited guests was running late so we had our visit with Alex and returned at 1:00. When we got to the party room there were at least 80 people there. Many of the baby house workers were wearing traditional Kazakh clothing and one of the doctors was playing the dombra (Kazakh two-stringed instrument) and singing. This went on for some time and then they played out many of the Kazakh traditions that we had learned about at our Interlingua classes--what they do when a baby is born, when he turns 1, etc. Then we all got up to go out while the room was set up for the feast.

And what a feast it was! The table was piled with food and drink--salads, fruits, vegetables, cognac, vodka, etc. We tried a little bit of everything and did many toasts. We forgot that this is only the beginning. Soon the 'first main course' came out, a delicious soup named after the holiday. Then the 'second main course' came out, a dish called beshbarmak (translated it means 5 fingers because you traditionally eat it with your fingers), which is lots of meat on top of tasty wide noodles. Since we were honored guests, sitting at the head table with the orphanage director and other distinguished guests, we got the first serving and it was so much food and quite delicious. And I'm going to have to admit it--we ate horse. And it was delicious. No lie. I'll end it there, you can debate amongst yourselves. All I'm going to say is you don't know what you're missing.

To say we were stuffed would be an understatement. It was about 4:00 by this time and we went up to Alex's room so we could have a shortened afternoon visit. We met another set of his nannies and they were very nice, saying how much Alex looks like Jim. It was heartwarming to see them interact with him and to see him get so excited when he recognized us. He has 2 new bunkmates who arrived recently and they are very cute babies.

We left at 5:00 and went back to the hotel to rest up before going to Slava's house for dinner. Again, a huge meal with shashlik, and lots of tasty salads. Vera and Medet were invited, too, and Marlin (Slava's wife's brother) and Natasha were there, as well as Marlin's mother. We learned that the woman who we thought was Marlin's wife from the birthday party a few weeks ago was actually a friend named Ira (pronounced EE-ra). She's the one who got us in so much trouble with the toasting and drinking. A little mix-up but at least we now know who's who and it is true--Marlin's wife, Natasha, does not drink.

We had lots of fun eating, toasting, telling stories, sharing photos of our trip and videos of Sam, and playing guitar. We taught them "Deep in the Heart of Texas" and had them clapping at the appropriate times. Marlin played and sang a beautiful song as did Karina. As the evening was winding down Elvina, Slava's wife, said they had gifts for us. They brought out the coolest stuff--traditional Kazakh outfits for both Jim and I plus some accessories and a Kazakh hat for Sam and some toys for Alex. We were really excited and totally blown away by their generosity. We started getting a little choked up when they were helping us into our new clothes and Jim gave a toast thanking them for everything and especially for being our family on the other side of the world. We are so blessed to have met them and shared so many good times in the short time we've been here. We are planning on going to the big town Nauryz festival that is on the square on Tuesday and we will, of course, be wearing our new outfits.

We have just about a week left in Kazakhstan and only 4 days left in Taraz and we are getting sad at the prospect of leaving this wonderful town and these wonderful people. And, of course, we will be missing Alex during the month we are in the US before I return to pick him up.

Three Day Post

We had a celebratory dinner Wednesday night with Vera and Medet since we had had a good outcome at Guardianship Council. We also found out that our final court date will be Wednesday the 23rd at 3:00 so we should make our return date (but not come home early as the airlines have all kinds of dumb rules) AND get on the nicest train in KZ from Taraz to Almaty, locally known as the Spanish train. For the first time in weeks we went to a restaurant that was not Turkish. It was a nice break from eating lamb, kebabs and pizza. We had some tasty Korean type dishes as well as fish. We also made many toasts with the bottle of cognac Vera and Medet ordered for the table. We had a great dinner and told lots of funny stories and laughed a lot. We will really miss them when we have to leave. They are the perfect mix: business-like and professional but with a personal touch.

Thursday--typical schedule of visits with Alex and free time. We went back to the bazaar between our Alex visits and took photos this time. Wanted to buy a rug but they are all machine-made of synthetic yarn. We were looking for a traditional Kazakh rug but there weren't any. As with the rest of the world, the majority of the goods available at the bazaar are made in China.

Alex's nannies told Vera he is getting more spoiled by the day: wanting to be held non-stop, insisting on being fed first, etc. We showed him some short videos of Sam that we were able to upload to our computer before we left the US and he seemed interested.

Taraz started on some kind of city-wide spring cleaning today. As we drove to the baby house in the morning we noticed school kids out on the sidewalks sweeping with small brooms made of twigs. I guess since all the snow melted and it was sunny out and Nauryz is coming up (major holidy similar to Chinese New Year) everyone is out getting ready.

Today (Friday) was a busy day, getting all our final papers done before court Wednesday (Saturday through Tuesday are official holidays for Nauryz), going back to the bazaar and some stores to buy toys to donate to the baby house, taking our final language/culture class at Intrlinga and buying train tickets. The Spanish train was already booked full so we bought a compartment to ourselves (4 tickets) on one of the older trains. Pray that we won't have to use the bathroom often--I hear they are awful.

When we got to the baby house this morning all the workers were outside cleaning everything in site--pruning trees, pulling weeds, washing the windows, etc. Everyone seemed really cheerful, as if they were happy spring was coming and it was a relief to be outside in the fresh air. It was fun to watch them smiling and laughing with each other and the weather was perfect. In the afternoon, after doing all the shopping, notarizing, etc. we got to go through the museum, which was closed a few days ago. It is very nice and they have many interesting archaeological artifacts as well as many exhibits devoted to the different times in Kazakh history. Well worth the $3 it cost us to get in, which included a guided tour with an English speaking guide!


Meat at the bazaar. All of it is out in the open--no refrigeration. The funniest thing was seeing this big cold case that was totally empty except for a few apples--and about 100 lbs. of meat resting on top of the cold case, out in the open. For a traditional Kazakh feast a cooked sheep's head is presented to the guest of honor so some lucky devil got to eat the stuff in this photo. By the way, the eyeball is the most savory part.

Favorable Decision

We went to Guardianship Council and were given a 'favorable decision'. Yahoo! We went before a 3 person panel (one man, two women) plus a stenographer. Vera made some opening remarks and then they asked us a few questions. The whole thing took about 10 minutes. I got nervous toward the end when the head of the council made a long statement. I was sure she was saying, "That's all well and good but I don't think we should rule in your favor," but actually that was the part where she told us they were ruling for us. Most of the build-up was a statement about wanting the orphans of Kazakhstan to go to loving homes and their priority is to place them locally but they know that isn't always possible. The Petersons went after us and we didn't stay to hear how they did, but I'm sure it all worked out. (UPDATE: Just talked to Wendy--all went well).

The electricity has been going off and on, mainly off, all afternoon. Since we didn't have an afternoon visit with Alex, Vera and Medet arranged for us to go to the town museum, which is on the square about 100 yards from our hotel. When we got there we were informed that the electricity was off there as well and we wouldn't be able to go in because we wouldn't be able to see the exhibits in the dark. I bet they really don't have anything in there but when they hear that tourists are going to come visit they turn off all the electricity to the town square and say, "Sorry! No lights!"

We headed back to our hotel and decided to stop into a little cafe that has piqued our interest. It is called Cafe Astana (Astana is the capital of KZ) and is on the square, attached to the main government building. We have always gone to 'Tourist Friendly' spots until now but wanted to see where the locals go for a cup of tea. I thought it might be closed due to lack of electricity, like the museum. We went in the door and found that the cafe was down a flight of stairs in the basement of the building and I didn't have to worry about it being closed due to lack of light--nearly every light fixture in the ceiling was missing its fluorescent tube anyway. All the lights were out but there was plenty of sun coming through the windows. Very simple--about 10 wooden tables with oilcloth table covers and a one page menu. There was a little bar in the corner (where you could buy eggs?!) and the place was big enough to shove the tables to the side and have a band play with room for a dancefloor. We ordered our tea and tried to read the menu. They have lunch items (samsas!) so maybe we'll go back tomorrow.

A funny thing we saw today at one of the little news/bookstands (a liberal term--it is simply a folding table and people sell books, magazines and newspapers on the street): a copy of the Kazakhstan driving rules for people trying to get their driver's license. If you've spent more than 5 minutes in this country you would question the existence of any driving rules. The lines in the road are merely suggestions. Imagine yourself driving on a two lane urban street, like Lower Greenville. Here, if the car in front of you is going too slow, you can just use the oncoming traffic lane to pass them, even in the middle of the city. And don't be surprised if another car comes up on your left, even farther over in the oncoming lane, to pass you. At stoplights the drivers slam on their brakes when the light goes from green to yellow. We have seen cars come to a literal screeching halt for a yellow light. Sounds good, right? Well, they do this because the cross traffic starts going as soon as they see that your light has turned yellow. They start into the intersection while their light is still red and often people behind them will honk their horns if the driver in front hasn't started through the intersection before his light has even turned green. Needless to say, this makes crossing the street as a pedestrian akin to an Olympic event.

We have also learned that how you honk your horn can tell you a lot. Two short beeps means "Look out" and is typically done for a pedestrian who is trying to cross in front of you. A longer single honk is done for a slow vehicle in front of you that you want to pass. However, a long-ish honk followed by two short beeps usually means that you are simply greeting a friend on the street. If you are driving a Japanese vehicle with the steering wheel on the right it is OK to pull over, roll down the window and shake hands.

We see police cars all the time but are not sure what they are doing--nobody gets stopped, ticketed, etc. Usually there are 2-3 officers either in the car or milling about. A lot of times there are two or three cars with about 6 officers total hanging around and shooting the breeze. We have been told, however, that there is a seatbelt law (hahahahahahahahaha!). In fact, one of the Interlink gals has been pulled over for that. If you don't have the appropriate papers (or the appropriate paper currency, ahem) your car can be impounded until you get things settled. In case of a car accident (we've only seen 2 since we've been here) the two parties typically settle the matter in cash without involving the police or insurance. It isn't unheard of for the wronged party to impound the car of the person who was responsible for the accident until restitution is made.

There is a good joke about the police department because they do pull people over on occasion for 'speeding' and will settle the case on the spot for 200 tenge (about $1.50). This usually occurs when pocket money is getting low. The joke is that a young officer approaches his boss about working some extra time so he can make more money for his upcoming wedding. The boss, instead, hands over the radar gun. Haha!

FICA

Forgot to write this in the last post...as we were leaving after our second visit we noticed a bunch of the baby house workers, including the director and doctor, walking from one of the outbuildings back into the baby house carrying plastic grocery sacks. The sacks seemed fairly heavy and Jim noticed that they were first weighing things on a scale on the sidewalk before carrying them inside. I thought maybe it was a load of potatoes or something and they were weighing out portions for the kitchen, although why they wouldn't just do that in the kitchen I couldn't figure out. Then this guy got out a big hatchet knife and started hacking away and we realized it was some kind of raw meat. By this time Vera arrived and we asked her what was up. She said that she heard they had bought a whole cow at the bazaar (you can buy an entire butchered cow or sheep) and were dividing it up. It is more economical that way and I guess the babyhouse pays for the cow so the workers don't have to pay for the meat at the time of purchase--the wages on their next paycheck will be garnished (no pun intended) to pay for their share.

Kind of like FICA.

Overkill

We had a good visit with Alex today. When Vera brought him in she said that he has a cough and runny nose (which he has had for the past few days) so we couldn't take him outside or get him too hot because then he would sweat and that would give him a chill as they walked through the halls. She said that if the cough and sniffles didn't clear up the doctor said they would have to give him a shot, which shocked us. Vera told us that going to the doctor here was a pretty regular occurrence and it seems that they use the doctor almost like we would use a pharmacy--just go in for some routine thing.

After the visit we went to Interlingua for some more classes on Kazakh history and culture and I mentioned it to Adilya, our teacher. She said that they would probably give him antibiotics. I couldn't believe it. I told her that in the US a cough and sniffles would barely even be remarked upon, much less cause to go to the doctor and get a shot. Anyway, we are going with the Kazakh flow on this one. He didn't sound any better during the second visit so maybe a good round of penicillin will clear it up...ya think?

We feel like we are officially locals. When we were grabbing lunch at a cafe before the Interlingua classes Karina (one of Slava's daughters/our Korean friend) showed up at the cafe with two of her university classmates. What fun to run into familiar faces out and about! We had a great chicken pizza that also had some corn and peas on top. It was yummy but I had to quote what Sam would have said if he had been with us--"Eeeeeeeeeeew! That's yuck!"

Vera says she knows that the missing judge for Guardianship Court is on her way back to Taraz so we should have court tomorrow. Then we can schedule final court. Pray that final court will be on the 23rd, partly so we can have plenty of time to get back to Almaty to fly home (possibly a few days early) and partly since the "Spanish train" (by far the nicest and newest train in KZ) will be running that night. We can return to Almaty in style!

Court Delay

We ended up not having court today as the head of the court had to go on a business trip to Almaty. She will be back tomorrow and we'll have court on Wednesday. This gives us a one day delay in our overall plan. We have to have Guardianship Court before we can get a final court date. We can't apply for our final court date until after our 14 day visiting period ends, which is Tuesday. So we were going to file for final court Wednesday morning but since we have to wait for Guardianship Court we won't be able to file until Thursday. It is fine since we have a few extra days built into our travel time but we were hoping to get a final court date for the 21st or 23rd (the 22nd is a holiday) and be able to come home a few days earlier than we had planned as we are really missing Sam. However, it looks as if the 27th is a more likely return date for us.

Alex is getting stronger by the day. We are trying to teach him to roll over from back to front and hopefully he will have it perfected before we leave so he won't spend so much time on his back while he is in the nursery. He does pretty well rolling front to back, but a lot of times that is accidental. We are also trying to teach him to take a regular bottle. The boy does not know how to suck, which I know all babies are born knowing how to do. He'll chew on the bottle and get a few drops in his mouth and swallow them (I guess) but he doesn't know how to take a bottle otherwise. I think it is because the holes in the nipples of the bottles he is used to are so large the milk just pours out of them. We may just move straight to the sippy cup, which is fine with me. Sam never took a bottle either so we skipped the aggravating stage of moving from bottle to cup.

We are trying to venture out a bit in the eating department. There are about 4 restaurants here that have menus in English and they are all owned by Turks and they all have basically the same menu, save the Georgian restaurant which is FABULOUS! Anyway, we decided to go into this nice looking place today to see if we could stumble through a menu entirely in Russian. And stumble we did! I decided that I would order some kind of soup since that seems a pretty safe choice no matter where you are. We started out confusing the waiter by ordering water to drink and then asking for a minute to look over the menu. Every place we've been they want to take your entire order practically the minute you sit down. We mimed that we needed a minute to look at the menu and we couldn't figure out much since it felt like we were under pressure to choose something. The waiter came over and we said, "Soup?" and he pointed out the soups on the menu, then started reading them off the menu. The only soups we know of in Russian are borscht and solyanka, neither of which he said. When we heard "Goulash" we decided we had a winner. We ordered two bowls of goulash and waited.

Waiting is usually a fun-filled time for us because we are bombarded by either Kazakh rap, Russian pop or American tunes. Once there was even a DJ singing karaoke for the entire restuarant. This time we heard an instrumental version of Lionel Richie's "Hello" followed by the original version, which is more Lionel Richie than I've heard since 1985. We also heard a live version of "Hotel California" and some oldie I can't recall along the lines of "Blueberry Hill". About 10 minutes later our goulash arrived. It wasn't like any goulash I've ever known--clear chicken broth with potatoes, carrots, green beans and a few chunks of beef seasoned with plenty of dill. It was really good (the dill made is especially tasty) but not the thick, hearty goulash we were planning on. Oh, well. We'll take our Russian dictionary along next time and try harder.

We were convinced that the hotel housekeeper was mad at us because for 3 days she left only one big bath towel and 2 smaller hand towels for us. I had a theory that since we were using some of the towel hooks for drying socks and such she didn't leave a second large towel because we were hanging stuff on the hook it usually hangs on. Not that there isn't plenty of room to leave a big towel somewhere--on the bed, desk, back of the toilet, perhaps. We tested out the theory by removing all the drying laundry from the hooks before we left the hotel this morning. Et voila, a second towel appeared in the appropriate spot!

Dinner Guests

Last night we had dinner at the home of Ulia and her family. The father, Slava, cooked shashlik out on the 'barbie', thus underscoring my theory that outdoor grilling is an inherently male event. His shashlik rocked. The table was covered in food as we'd seen at the birthday party. I wondered how the drinking would go when Slava broke the seal on the vodka, but it was mainly used for making a mercifully small number of toasts. It was very clear that they had gone out of their way to present us with a feast. Being hospitable folk, they encouraged us to eat tons of it. We happily obliged and really paid the price for it today with overexpanded stomachs.

Ulia's translation skills were wonderful, so we're hoping to connect her with our translator to see if that could prove mutually beneficial for a job. Conversation ranged from sharing family photo albums to life in Dallas to life under Soviet rule to music to work. Slava has four jobs currently which really put in perspective how tough life must be for the middle class here in Taraz. When I told him about my work, he mentioned that he and some of his associates had talked about putting together something like an ISP that might be able to offer Internet voice (VoIP) services. I told him we would definitely be interested in helping out.

When we found out that Karina, the middle daughter, and Slava both play guitar, I had to hear them play. They pulled out a guitar that I would assume is Russian, brand named "Western." Slava strummed out a few chords. Then they wanted to hear what I could play for them. The action was pretty high which made playing a task. I used a credit card as a pick and played a few songs, including "House of the Rising Sun." It wasn't Eminem or Linkin Park, so they didn't recognize it. Karina took a turn and sang beautifully with her two sisters. Throughout the whole evening, Zhenya, the youngest daughter, drew wonderful pictures of birds. Her skill was really pretty amazing for being only 7 yrs old. We also found out that she stays up til 10 p.m. on schoolnights and 2 - 3 a.m. on the weekend watching MTV and horror movies, amongst other things. I was blown away that she didn't get nightmares or have trouble getting up in the morning.

The house, while being described by Slava as "not rich," seemed very roomy to us. As with nearly all of the private houses we've seen, they have a wall surrounding their property with a very heavy metal door to allow in cars or guests. Once inside, they have a nice main house, a few covered patio areas, a garage, an addition that Slava built, a large garden (tomatoes, cucumbers, etc.) with multiple fruit trees (apple, apricot), berry bushes and a walnut tree, a chicken coop, a dog run complete with German shepherd, and a variety of storage sheds.

Through talking about our driver Medet and translator Vera, we found out that Slava's relative Marlin went to school with Medet. This just confirms that Medet truly knows EVERYONE in Taraz. The guy is amazing. We also found out that Marlin's wife Natasha, who led so many additional toasts at our table at the birthday party, "doesn't drink." We pressed this point and Ulia confirmed that Natasha would raise her glass but didn't actually drink. So, it would appear we fell for the oldest trick in the Russian book. Silly Americanskis!

New Rules

We got to the baby house yesterday to see Alex and Vera told us that we needed to make sure he stayed awake during our entire visit. Usually he falls asleep while we are with him because the end of our visit bumps up against the start of nap time. His falling asleep with us was causing problems back in 'the crib' since he would wake up when Vera would take him back to his nannies and he wouldn't fall back asleep. He was getting upset and wanting to be held all the time and that just didn't work with their program. So for our morning visit we kept him up and awake just fine. In the afternoon it was more of a problem since we visit from 3-5 and nap time starts at 4. He was getting really cranky toward the end of the afternoon visit and we asked Vera if in the future we could cut that visit short, to 4:30, for Alex's sake and ours. She said that the afternoons weren't as much of a problem and it would be OK for him to fall asleep with us during that visit. We'll put that into effect Tuesday since we won't have afternoon visits today or tomorrow.

Tomorrow we go to Guardianship Court, the first of two court appearances we'll make while we are here. It is a court of 5-12 people (I guess it depends who shows up that day) made up of community leaders who determine if they think we are worthy of moving on through the process. Honestly, we aren't sure what it is about but it will be good practice for the final court hearing when we will be officially named Alex's parents.

Forgot to write that the day before yesterday we went to the class on Kazakh culture and traditions at a language school here called Interligua. It was very interesting and we are going back Tuesday to learn some more. This is a new program and we were the first to participate. We learned about what life is like for the Kazakhs who lived in nomadic tribes prior to the Soviet takeover. Most interesting was hearing our teacher, Adilya, talk about her mother who remembered what it was like when the Soviets took over and forced the Kazakhs into collectivisation. Adilya's grandfather had been a fairly well-off fur trader, which didn't sit well with the Soviets. The came and took their furniture, other possessions, and finally their house simply because her grandfather 'had too much' and was therefore an 'evil' person. He packed up his family and fled their village rather than wait for the Soviets come back to kill them. They traveled for 3 days and were finally taken in by another village. They eventually came to Taraz and set up a good life. Adilya's mother married a man who became a judge so was fairly well taken care of during the Soviet times but she couldn't talk about her family having been in the fur trade and basically capitalists in the past for fear that it would ruin her husband's career. Adilya surprised us by saying that growing up in Soviet times wasn't all bad--they had good education, free healthcare, the kids were fed 3 times a day at school. She put it well when she said it was all free, but perhaps the price they paid was in their inability to say certain things for fear of imprisonment. All in all it was an eye-opener and we are looking forward to our next class.

Sling

We tried to put Alex in the baby sling we borrowed from a friend (thanks, Rachel!) and he kind of liked it.  By the way, I highly recommend the sling if you can figure it out. It is a great back-saver and leaves both hands free to do whatever. I wish I had used one with Sam.

Still rainy this morning. Last night we went to the Knauss' house. David Knauss is the head of Interlink here in Taraz. Every Friday night they have family night--pizza and movies. We watched "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow" (is that the title?) with the usual Interlink suspects. Good movie, good pizza, good times. Beth and Sara also came over earlier in the day bearing gifts--a loaner guitar for Jim and some coffee. The timing was perfect since he had just run out of the Starbucks he had packed. He has been brewing it in a French press we brought over.

This and That

Sorry for no posts. Our icard expired and we had to figure out how to get the new one set up. Nursat Guy to the rescue?

Alex continues to make progress with every visit. His legs are much stronger than when we first arrived and he is able to support weight on them for longer periods of time. Even his nannies have remarked to Vera that he uses his legs a lot more. He also used to always have his fists clenched and his arms held tightly to his body but yesterday when Vera brought him in one of his arms was down, loosely across his chest and that hand was spread out which was a first. He is also able to hold his head up while on his tummy a lot longer than he was able to when we first met him and he has become very vocal. Yesterday he talked up a storm and was very fond of blowing raspberries. He really loves to 'converse' with us as we try to mimic his noises.

We walked to the 'Gros' supermarket the other day after lunch and, amazingly, were not trailed throughout the store by the security force. Perhaps we are blending in?

Jim has gone jogging a few mornings and gets curious looks from the locals who are heading off to work. The sun doesn't come up here until about 7:30 so that is when he goes. Vera also took us to a gym that is at the soccer stadium and Jim bought a month-long pass. It is small but has free weights and such and is just what Jim was looking for. There are usually only about 4 or 5 people there working out (it is pretty expensive by Kazakh standards--our pass was about $25). As with everything else here, it doesn't open until 9 a.m. so Jim has to work out after our visits and before dinner.

Last night we met up with the Petersons for dinner at Sakartvello, the Georgian restaurant. After dinner we walked to their apartment with them so we would know exactly where it is. The building itself is crumbling and looks like a place you wouldn't want to be after dark (although it is safe--we asked Vera and Medet and they said it was fine and they would have told us if it weren't). The 'lobby' was also depressing, just what you'd think a Soviet apartment building would be like--lit by a bare bulb hanging from the ceiling and without a paint job in years. We rode the refrigerator-size elevator (it took 2 trips to get us all upstairs) to the 8th floor and saw that their apartment is actually quite nice. The thinking is that since the people now own their apartments they really take care of them but since they don't own the building itself--who cares! The apartment was large with a living room, dining room, bath, 2 bedrooms and kitchen. Since they are on the 8th floor they had an amazing view of the city. And did I mention the practically brand-new washer? We had a great time and hopefully helped them somewhat with their jetlag, keeping up until almost 10 o'clock.

Today between visits we are going to take a class in Kazakh culture at Interlingua, a language school here in Taraz. We are going to be guinea pigs as I think we are the first to take the courses. They are offering 5 weeks of classes, 2 classes per week, on the history of Kazakhstan (nomadic roots, Silk Road, Soviet control; Kazakhstan today (independence, current government and economic status); traditions and customs; national food and drink; and language (Kazakh and Russian). Since we only have about 1 1/2 weeks left in Taraz we have asked if we can just start with the customs and traditions and maybe do a little language.

Yesterday we got together with Zhanibek ("you can call me Johnny"), a local college student who enjoys practicing his English with Interlink's Sara, for a trip to the bazaar. And what a bazaar it was! You could buy anything there, from clothes and shoes to sheep head and intestine (let's just say the 'meat pavilion' is not for the faint of heart). My favorites were the women selling spices--paprika, curry, etc. in smallish burlap bags and you buy spices by the scoop--and the people selling cookies and sweets, all stacked up neatly and tons of them. It was very interesting and we'll have to go back and take our camera. We bought some dried apricots, almonds and chocolates as well as a few souvenirs. We ate lunch there, too.

They sell these triangle shaped savory pastries called 'samsas' from little kiosks or on the street The ones we happened to buy came straight out of an old Soviet oven that looked to be of the same generation as our trusty O'Keefe and Merritt back home. The pastry is very flaky, like phyllo dough (yum!) and they triangle-shaped and as big as your hand. You can get chicken, lamb or cheese and we've heard that sometimes they are just filled with fat (Kazakhs love fat). We had one of each and the cheese was the best! Each samsa cost 20 tenge, about 15 cents, and are worth every penny. Very delicious.

This morning we have rain for the first time since we've been here. This will mess up my laundry schedule since I'm sure our things won't dry at all, the good news being that the hotel has a laundry service that is pretty reasonably priced. I typically do a small load in the morning in the bathtub, wring it out and rinse in the sink, then hang to dry on the window sill. All the wringing, etc. is doing wonders for my biceps! Today I was sewing a small hole in Jim's sweater and thinking, "What's next...darning socks??"