Catching up on a couple days

Thursday night the Sarvers came over to use the internet. They left early due to Darren’s dietary indiscretion. Seems he ate a cheeseburger from the bakery, even though he had been warned.......we offered our couch to Crystal but she declined. Now that’s love!
On Friday, we ate at the Chagala Hotel and each of us had a burger. It was a good burger in fresh baked rolls. And we watched CNN while eating. It was good to have a burger and TV we are used to. You get detached from the world when over here without any daily news.
Saturday - Both visits with Krysta were very good. She accomplishes new things everyday. Today she pulled herself into a kneel & stayed there. She got the biggest kick out of it!
Tonight for dinner we returned to the Golden Cat because everyone was so happy with it the last time. So Crystal had the stroganoff again, Mike had the beef & cheese, Darren had chicken stuffed w/mushrooms. I had beef chop w/cheese also called white knight (or night). Well, it must have been a different chef. The mashed potatoes and spaghetti had catsup on them. Future travelers beware - do NOT order the beef chop w/cheese! It was inedible - so dry, it was like beef jerky...shoe leather with cheese on top! Eeeeeewwwww!
The Sarvers came over to continue our Uno tournament. They left early to take a phone call from their son. Or maybe it was cuz Eileen was kicking booty!
Mike here.....Today is Saturday, I think. The days seem all the same since we do the same thing everyday. This morning was a little different. Krysta was very active and talkative- we think she was even singing. She was crawling as far as we let her, and pulling herself up on daddy’s leg (which she was very proud of herself for doing). And we had lots of smiles and talking (making noises) for almost the entire visit- which is now an hour.
After the visit, we went to Zhas Duren to bring the big duffel bag full of packages and letters for the children there. We were met by about 15 kids at first, this was because the others were in class. As we went through the bag, more and more kids starting to show up. Soon, we were in the middle of a large group of children as Masha called out the names of the children on the packages. You could see the children after they got their package go and open it up to see what they received. Some children called out their names to see if they received a package. The children were very friendly and helpful as we passed out the packages. When we were done with the packages, Eileen pulled out the big bag of bubble gum that we brought. At first, the children were shy to ask for some and we thought we wouldn’t give it all away. Then it started, more and more children swarmed Eileen as she passed out the gum. She gave the bag to me to continue, and I tried to give gum to children that didn’t get some already. Then I gave it to Darren Sarver, thinking that since he is over 6 ft tall then it would be easier for him. The group of children followed him as he handed out the rest of the gum. It was funny to watch, and the children were having fun as well.
I noticed some children would stare for a while, then say ‘Hi’ and smile. One child went up to Darren and introduced himself. There was no way to tell which children were already sponsored and which would like to be sponsored. Some seemed shy and just smiled and waved. When we left, all the children waved and said good-bye as we drove by them. They were all very polite and in good humor.

Going for a crawl... 

Look at that smile 

Hugging her daddy 

She looks like she is thinking - she is quite curious 

She sucks in her lower lip quite a bit 

October 1

October 1st-
Had 2 lovely visits w/Krysta today. She is very easy going. Today she did quite a bit of crawling & motoring around (no we’re not officially allowed to put her down but behind closed doors...). We brought out the nesting cups and she had a blast with them. I loved watching her think and problem solve.
After lunch, Mike & I went to the market and bought a roast chicken. Despite all the scary stories, Mike had no trouble lighting the oven. I will let you know later if we were able to get the temperature right. I can hear it sizzling from here in the living room. Time will tell....
...the roasted chicken was a success. We had the chicken with baked potatoes and corn - yummy. We felt like we were back home.
Mike here......the temp here is starting to fall. We are at about 70 degrees today - so still comfortable. The forecast calls for the 50’s come the weekend. I have been enjoying watching Kaz TV....there is usually a movie on at night and you can hear some of the English before the interpreter starts. And they do not cut out the swear words or nudity. We even saw some of their version of American Idol, with the same theme music. They call it Superstar Kaz. The radio stations play some American and some Kaz music. And the restaurants with satellite will play music TV, which plays some American videos. The people here have been nice and don’t stare as much anymore. Some speak a little English, but you can’t have a conversation with them. I still think some people are talking about us when they see us.
The food we have had here so far has been quite good. The restaurants have served very good meals and we have made some good food in the apartment. The baked goods are not as sweet as we are used to. A lot of items will have photos of the key ingredient - such as Eileen’s ice cream from yesterday which had a pic of a glass of brandy (some kind of liquor). And the peroshkies from the bakery are excellent - filled with mashed potatoes, or meat and cabbage - and only $.44 each. So far in the apartment, we have made spaghetti w/sausage and the roasted chicken w/baked potatoes. We are not starving, that’s for sure.

Here they are outside the baby house in front of the flowers. 

She likes to stand - we think she walk soon. 

Here she is with her serious expression. 

Wednesday

Last night after dinner, the Sarvers came over to use the internet. While they were here, Mike turned on the TV and we watched (more like picked to pieces) Arnold Schwetzenegger in Total Recall with Russian translation. We had some good laughs. We ended the night the same way we end most nights here- we got so tired we were silly- It was hard not to be. There was this woman in the movie that kept exposing herself & she had 3 boobs (‘groods’ in Russian). We were so lucky to get travel partners who are so much like us.
Anyway, today when we picked Krysta up in the morning we bundled her up and took her outside. Well, she threw up on herself & the blanket & Mike. I cleaned up what I could with a diaper I had in the bag. We packed up and headed in to get her cleaned up- no Masha to be found. I had to knock on the Dr’s door and pantomime that Krysta had thrown up. She understood and we took her downstairs to get a clean outfit, etc.. That all took about 10 minutes then we got her back. They told us to hold her upright & not jiggle her since she just ate.
In the afternoon visit we got to put Krysta on the floor and see her crawl around. She would put 1 hand on her cheek as if she was thinking. She also did a pose on her side with her legs crossed - kind of like Cheryl Tiegs posing. She moved along well and seemed to enjoy being down and able to move around some. Our visits are going very well and sometimes she seems sad when we leave.
After the visit we went on a tour of the city and then Masha took us to a souvenir store to get some Kazak dolls. Then we dropped off some film and went to the bakery for some pieroshkies. This time a surprise- 1 of them was fish. I ate it but would not get that one again. They don’t skin the fish so some bites had fish flesh on them.
Tonite we went with the Sarvers to the Golden Cat restaurant - having been forewarned that they do not actually serve cat. Crystal & I had beef stroganoff & fries, Mike had chicken w/soy sauce and Darren had beef in foil w/veggies. Everyone loved their food and it was super cheap, like $20 for 4 people. We stopped at the bakery for dessert. Did I tell you about my ice cream that was rum flavored? Different!
Mike just took the accordian out of the closet and is doing his best wierd Al impersonation. Oh the things we do for entertainment in Kaz.

Here we are outside and all bundled up 

Krysta in mama's lap 

Tuesday

Tuesday-
Last night was very interesting. We played cards with the Sarvers til about 9:30. At 11:30 we heard someone banging on the door. We said Hello and noone answered. I settled down to reading a book (Mystic River - very good so far) and Mike went to bed. Then we heard the banging this time on the Sarvers door. My mind was racing. Had we been conspicious? Were they targeting the Americanitz? How could we call the police (if we needed to since we don’t speak the language)? Eventually they went away. Just as I was drifting off, it started again. Mike looked out the window and determined it to be 1 confused (drunk?) man. Then we heard him go upstairs and bang on a local’s door. OK, at least we weren’t the victims of some plot. I read too many suspense novels.
Krysta was excellent this morning. She is interested in everything. She smiles and babbles. We think she knows us now. I think she looked sad when Masha took her back to her room. They are still keeping her in isolation and we’re still not allowed to put her down on the carpet. They increased the visits to 45 minutes.
In the afternoon we got more smiles and some laughing. She has a cute laugh. She babbled some more as she explored us and the toys. We took her outside for a half hour then inside for 20 minutes. It was about 85 degrees out today and we were able to take off a layer of clothing so she wasn’t so hot. Masha said we will probably be able to put her down on the carpet to play tomorrow.

Monday

Monday in Uralsk...
We took Krysta outside again this afternoon. We stayed out about 15 minutes. It was hot- about 75 degrees +. She had so many layers on. Hubby disagrees that it was too hot for her - oh well- can’t agree on everything!
Tonite we are going shopping with the Sarvers. In a week or 2, the kids will need winter coats. Also we are going to eat dinner at the restaurant in the mall. I have a cheat sheet in case there is no English menu. We’ll let you know how it goes.
Mike here.....It is beautiful outside. They are having an Indian Summer and the temp is about 75 and a light breeze. It feels like Buffalo in the fall. We found a little park nearby with a big fountain and a small cafe with outside tables. The people around here do stare at us when we walk around. I just stare back and they continue on their way. I found out not to smile at strangers- they don’t do that here. Krysta is doing so much better with each day. We got a lot of smiles today, and she is curious. She likes to touch things and examine them. We are now able to put new photos up and will add more each day
**LOGAN- I miss you little man. Hope you made it through another hurricane OK. Did you keep Ms Sandy safe?


We’re back from our meal at Dixie Pub. They have an English menu & a waitress that spoke s0me English. However she got a little confused and it cost us big. Somehow she said we ordered extra salads- 1 was a main dish salad w/meat (pricey) - along with our meal. My steak already came with a salad!! So we ended up paying for them. Dinner for 4 was $48 (you pay for soda refills). Aside from that, it was a good meal. Mike & Crystal had some BBQ pork w/fries. Darren had salmon steak and I had T-Bone with fries. Everyone enjoyed their food and watched MTV. Crystal & I ordered desert. She ordered apple strudel w/ice cream and I ordered sticky toffee pudding w/caramel & Baileys cream. Crystal’s strudel came in a beautifully decorated pool of melted ice cream. My pudding was not pudding, but a dense cake w/caramel topping & whipped cream (not Baileys)- never the less we ate it all.
Have I told you about the spit? Well, there’s spit on the sidewalk about every 3 ft. Of course, you’re saying “Eileen, don’t look down if it bothers you so much” Well guys, the pavement, ground, walkways are NOT even, level or in good repair. Therefore, I must look down - lest I fall face first into the aforementioned oral secretions!

Here she is with mama 

Here she is with Dada 

Sunday in Uralsk

Look- photos.....
Sunday- I think I should start journaling twice a day cuz by evening I forget details.
Yesterday we went looking for restaurants. We found the sign for the Chagala Hotel. Previous visitors recommend this place for its pizza, and that sounded good to us. The sign was on the corner but the buildings around it didn’t have the same name. We even went into a building that looked like a restaurant, and we when we went in and said “coo-shets” and gestured like we were eating. “Nyet” said the stern man in a suit. So off we went. I figure he was probably muttering “idiot Americanitz” After lunch at the bakery, we finally did find the hotel **Future travelers- its on the same side as the casino, but several blocks down on a seemingly residential back street. We’ll try it out later in the week and give you a critique.
This morning, we went and saw Krysta. While they won’t let her on the floor for fear of drafts, they said if it gets warm out, we may dress her warmly (but not too warmly) and get her out in the fresh air. Pray for sunshine in Uralsk! Her breathing was so much quieter today and her color was better. I can’t wait to get her home and fatten her up.
After the visit, Mike & I walked to the mall. Don’t get too excited. It’s just a grocery store and a restaurant. We did find pampers, peanut butter and Hunts spaghetti sauce.- so we’re set for a few days. Future Uralsk travelers will not be without their creature comforts. We have Tide, Mr Clean (called Mr Proper) and Honey Nut Cheerios. We did laundry yesterday and since there are no clothes dryers, the clothes are hanging on the porch. I must say, they looked better before we washed them.
--more tonite, we have to get ready for our afternoon visit.
Yeah! We got to take Krysta outside this afternoon. Of course, she was bundled like a burrito- but still!! Hopefully the pix will come up. She looked so cute in her outfit. We stayed out for about 10 minutes then went inside for a half hour. She is still such a little peanut. She is still not 15# but she is not as frail as I had thought. She can support her full weight on her legs. When she hugs, you know it. I think we found a little gymnast! Per haps her birth mother is Olga Korbet?!
Mike & I decided on pasta for dinner. We found this rather thick pasta (only cost about $.30) and used Hunts spagh sauce. Who said you can’t have pasta in Uralsk? It was yummy, fast & cheap & satisfying. We’ll be having it again soon. We’re waiting for the Sarvers to come over so we can put our photos on disk
and on the blog.
**LOGAN- I’m so sorry Mama wasn’t there for you when you knocked your teeth out. Mr Thomas told us what a brave little man you were. We are proud that you are being such a good boy and that you’re having lots of fun. We are counting down the days til we can see you again. Are you counting too? I love you and miss you. SEE YOU LATER ALLIGATOR.
--Mike here.....The store we went to in the mall has many of the items we would need, and are American brands. It’s like a small version of a supermarket. We did not see paper plates or paper towels - 2 items that would be handy to bring with you. Yesterday, Eileen and Crystal Sarver bought a blow dryer to share and they will leave it in the apartment for future travelers. It only cost 1750 Tenge. The washing machine in the apt is sufficient for small loads. Previous travelers have filled out a journal in the apt and has info on the area and instructions for the washer. Once you start to wander around, you will find places that have been mentioned and you can walk into a store and check it out to see if it has anything you want.
And if you like ice cream....I found a chocolate ice cream bar with chocolate crisps that is large and delicious. I have been enjoying it for a couple days now. We buy a plastic bottle of Pepsi for about $.25. I am a happy man with my soda fix.

Here she is with Dada