Party

We had a fantastic time at the birthday party last night and we have the photos and grogginess to prove it. I'm going to let Jim write eloquently about it later since he has that gift. I will just say here that it was a big party, about 120 people, that was equal parts banquet, circus, variety show and disco. The people we met were fantastic and we felt like part of the family. We hope to run into some of our new friends around town before we leave and have plans to get together with Slava and his family a few more times before we leave Taraz.

The town square is being scrubbed in prepartion for Women's Day and the street surrounding the square has been blocked off so we can actually cross it without taking our lives into our own hands. It is pretty quiet today as it is an official holiday. A few people have set up booths that I assume are for taking photos. They are very ornate and most of them feature a large yellow chicken (?) and they have little couches for mom and dad to sit on for the photo as well as ride-on vehicles, mainly motorcycles, for the kids. I'll take a photo soon and post it so you can see what I mean and I'm sure we'll have the booth owners take photos of us as well.

Saw Alex this morning and he is as cute and smiley as ever. We have figured out his cues for "I'm tired"--mainly he gets fairly vocal, and rubs his face in your chest. He likes us to rub his back as he looks over our shoulder and then you have to pick the exact moment to move him to the 'football hold' across the front and then he falls asleep. Very cute.

I'm at the internet cafe so can't post photos from here. I decided to get out while Jim took a little nap. Plus, it is fun to be among the locals. And at a dollar an hour for internet access you can't go wrong!