Potties and Culture

This morning when we arrived at the baby house, the children were having a snack of yogurt.  Some are more adept with the spoon than others!  Some had more on their faces than in their stomachs.  After they were finished, they were herded into the bathroom for potty time!  They all sat on these tiny little tin pots (each one had their name on it) while the caregiver sang to them, I guess some Kazakh potty song.  Some of them scooted around the room, while sitting on the pots.  It was sooo cute I just couldn't stand it.  The caregivers probably thought I was an Americanski Nutski for taking a picture of the children going to the bathroom, but it was too precious to miss.  I decided it was better to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission, so I fired away.

It was very chilly today, so we stayed inside.  David brought the laptop and we all watched "Finding Nemo" in the playroom.  Some of the babies were interested, but I think the caregivers were more enthusiastic about it than they were.  The Spanish family's 6 year old son especially liked it.  I think he's probably seen it in Spanish before.  Because we didn't have our daily walk outside, and it was warm in the room, several of the babies nodded off on the floor.  One little girl fell asleep while swinging on a little baby swing.  We can't have them sleeping at the wrong time! so the ladies were saying "dzhr! dzhr!" to get them to wake up.  Well, we all know how happy a sleepy baby is when woken up.  As soon as the lunch tray arrived, though, they woke up pretty quickly.  We all wanted to stay and watch them eat, but the caregivers shooed us away.  We're too much of a distraction, I guess!

During our lunch break, Aida took us to a small museum devoted to the memory of Ilia Zhansugurov ... a man who dedicated his life to the preservation of Kazakh culture and who believed in the education of Kazakh children.  He was a prolific writer, composer and poet.  He was unfortunately executed during the Stalinist purges, but his legacy lives on in TaldyKorgan. 

Aida seems to be feeling better today, although she still wore her mask.  In the afternoon, after the museum, we brought the laptop again, to finish Nemo, and also brought a Baby Einstein DVD for the children to watch.  No plot, no story, just music and colorful pictures.  The kids were all pretty active this afternoon ... they must have had good naps.  David and I spent a good part of the afternoon tickling and tossing and rassling.  One little boy, Nury, reminds me of Dick Butkus a little .. he's such a tough boy, and is going to be a good linebacker for some team someday.  Either that or a sumo wrestler.  He's got a hot temper too ... loves to throw himself on the floor and yowl.

The caregivers had them dancing at one point ... and doing a conga line at another.  The first kid would fall to the floor, and all the others would pile on right behind.  It was hysterical. 

We called our new American friends, Christy & Cory, to meet us for dinner, and we had some really good "Lagman", which is a Kazakh noodle, meat & vegetable dish.  It was delicious!  Aida came to pick us up when we were done, also to make sure that the bill wasn't "exaggerated" for the foreigners.  We walked through the main square of TaldyKorgan, which is lit up like a Christmas tree.  All the buildings are lit up with various shades of green or blue.

Now we are up past our bedtime ... tomorrow night there is going to be a "presentation" at the Hessen Pub ... a German man is going to reveal his newest brew.  I am trembling with anticipation ...  Until tomorrow!!

Waxing Philosophical

I’m imagining myself as an ersatz Ernest(ine) Hemingway, sitting in a small attic room in Paris, far away from my home, thinking about the world and its meaning.  Why are we here?  What cosmic forces came together and created this time and this dimension?  Why of all the millions of people on this planet, are we and this small Kazakh girl put together as a family?  It boggles my mind sometimes.  Today I looked into her little raisin eyes and watched her starting to come alive, as a result of some mere kisses and cuddles.  It amazes me that a child, yes, needs food and water, but without a simple thing like love and attention, she will not grow.  

 

Waxing philosophical here, I guess.  Apparently 50% of the town of TaldyKorgan is suffering from some kind of virus.  Poor Aida showed up this morning with a surgical mask on her face, and she sounded quite ill.  The children, however, don’t seem nearly as sickly as yesterday.  I felt so bad for Aida, and kept trying to ignore the tickle in my own throat!  I’m not getting sick…I’m not getting sick …oh … and we’re back to no hot water.  No big deal!

 

Last night we watched a movie on the laptop, and were pretty late getting to bed.  Partly because there is a restaurant behind our apartment, and they were having some kind of big hoopdy-do party.  The music was blaring and the people were laughing and carrying on.  Thank goodness for earplugs! 

                                                      

We had our usual visit this morning, in the courtyard.  There were more clouds in the sky today, and the forecast is calling for some rain.  It was chilly all day; I think their Indian Summer is over.  While we were sitting on a little bench, Melanie leaned into me and started humming to herself, while I instinctively starting rocking back & forth.  Before I knew it, she was fast asleep, all curled up in my arms.  What a sweet moment.  Of course, I knew that this would screw up the sleeping routine, but I just couldn’t bring myself to wake her up.  The caregivers had told us that she was so spoiled now, and that she wouldn’t do what she was told.  This morning she woke up at 5 am and sang in her crib until 7.  No wonder she crashed! 

 

For our afternoon visit, we took Melanie in the car to a small park with a river running through it.  We walked over a rickety suspension bridge to the other side of the river and sat on a blanket eating cookies and chocolate.  The birch trees are losing their yellow leaves.  To get there, we drove past small “dachas” or country houses (more like sheds) where people go to tend small vegetable gardens and just get out of the city.  Here and there we saw a scruffy looking dog or two.  All in all, very relaxing.

 

For dinner we are having some sausage and eggs that we picked up at the little store near our apartment.  Right now we’re enjoying a cup of tea and listening to the children playing outside.  David says they’re playing something that is a cross between baseball and cricket.  Hmmm….Not quite sure exactly what the rules are, but they seem to be having fun.  (Of course, there is a lot of arguing going on as well…so maybe there are no rules?)

 

Signing off for now!!  Da zaftra!

Man, nothing chaps me more ...

...than typing a long entry on the weblog, and hitting enter, only to have it say “Page can’t be found” and the words are gone into computer never-never land.  Well I’ve learned my lesson … first type a word document, then cut & paste.  I don’t know what the deal was this afternoon.  A TaldyKorgan poltergeist in the works?

 

Let’s see.  Yesterday afternoon we had our usual visit with Melanie.  Then we set out to eat dinner at the Hessen Pub with the American family from Virginia.  They are very nice, and we had a feast of pizza, sausages, some chicken dish, and little chicken nuggets-on-a-stick.  And salad.  And beer.  Oh my goodness are we well fed!  It was nice to compare stories and just get acquainted.

 

We came home and did a little reading, then lights out at about 9:30.  We were woken at 7:30 this morning by our usual phone call from home, where we got caught up on all the goings-on in Huntersville.  Everyone seems to be holding up just fine.  Our morning visit was as usual … outside in the courtyard.  The weather seems to be in a holding pattern: warm, sunny and beautiful.  I think it was in the high 80’s today.   Melanie was her adorable self, of course, but I think there’s a virus going around in her groupa.  Most of the kids were lying on the floor listlessly, coughing and rattling.  Poor babies.  Melanie seems to have escaped it so far, although she has a little runny nose.  We actually took her for a ride in Aida’s car!  We drove to the grocery store (produkti) to get a few things.  Then back to the baby house.  Melanie didn’t make a peep!  Yesterday we came across a group loading up into a van, and three of the kids were shrieking with terror!  I imagine that would be a little scary to a little person who’d never been in a car (machine) before!

 

We took it easy in the afternoon.  Aida came again at 3 to take us to an art gallery.  We saw some pretty “interesting” abstract pieces of art.  A lot of symbolism and paintings of Mosques and camels.

 

We were at the baby house by 4 p.m. where we met with the doctor.  I had a list of questions to ask, and all were answered positively.  Basically Melanie is healthy as a horse, other than a couple of bouts with bronchitis.  And of course the surgery needed on her palate.  I already have an appointment with Dr. Matthews the week after we return to the US.

 

Another machine ride, and we were off to the park!  There was a collection of carnival rides that looked like they had been around for a few decades…a ferris wheel, etc.  There were quite a few people milling about enjoying the weather.  It’s hot, but the leaves are changing and falling from the trees.  Unusual combination.  As we sat on a park bench, a couple approached us and tried to chat with us, but darn it, my Russian was buried somewhere in my occipital lobe and inaccessible.  I think they asked where we lived and why our daughter was a “Kazakska”.  I didn’t have an answer for that!  Adoption isn’t real popular here, and we’re trying to keep a low profile.  Oh, yeah, so what were we doing at a public park??  I dunno!!

 

Tomorrow Aida hinted that we may have a picnic at a waterfall.  Until then!  Dasvidanya!

Just like Herding Cats....

David here...I actually wrested the keyboard from Liz!   We had a great morning, but I don't know what the kids were fed for breakfast, but they were full of beans this morning during our "laps" around the babyhouse.  It was another beautiful morning, so when we arrived, Melanie's groupa was getting dressed to go outside.  I tell you, these women that work here have the patience of Job...just think how hard it is to get one toddler dressed, and they are getting 12 dressed at the same time!  As we started our walk, Melanie, Damir, Nursaltan, Alisher, and Aigerim took off in 5 different directions...and it was like that the whole morning.  As soon as you would chase one down, another would cut from the herd and take off.   I was wore out by the time we got back to their room. 

Anyway, Liz is dying to say something...I just wanted to prove that I am here!

Liz:  Yes, David is definitely here, otherwise I would be up the creek without a computer.  Yesterday was a national holiday for teachers, so while the children were sleeping, we presented several caregivers with a beautiful cake and tea.  We chatted for quite a while (through Aida of course) about our parenting philosophy and other heavy matters. 

After tea we went outside again ... I wonder if they ever have bad weather here?  It is picture perfect!  Unfortunately this morning there were quite a few runny noses and coughs among the babies, so there must be some pollen or something floating around.  Melanie has a new trick where she runs to me with both arms wide open and leaps up into my arms for a kiss.  Her smile has enough wattage to light up New York City.  She had on a new dress we had brought yesterday, and she was strutting around like a proud peacock.  With her little white beret and flowered tennis shoes, she is quite the "photo model".

We ran into an American family here with another agency.  They looked quite shell-shocked, as they had just met their new baby for the first time, on a blind referral, after going to another city first.  I hope we will be able to see them.  I'm sure hearing some good old Americanski language would be comforting.  Aida was going to hook us up with a Peace Corps volunteer who lives here too.

Aida's daughter stayed at our apartment with Inna, the cook, while we visited Melanie.  She watched "Finding Nemo" on our laptop four times!  She is just as beautiful as Aida! 

Wow, cat seems to have my tongue ... why is it while we're walking around the Baby House I think of a zillion things to say, but when I'm on the spot ... well ...

Talk to everyone tomorrow!

Praise the Lord and Pass the Hot Water!

We are happy campers today, as the hot water has been turned on!  I tell ya, there's nothing like sitting in a tub with warm water circulating around your body, after almost a week of polar bear spit baths.  You haven't lived until you've gotten a cold water headache while washing your hair with Arctic sea water.  I heard David in the kitchen singing, "Praise the Lord!"  I knew it was Sunday morning and thought maybe he was having his own worship service.  I walked in there and he was running the water into the sink ... and it was HOT.  You've never seen him smile that big.  (Well, maybe on the bus in Urlask after a few toasts on the last playground trip in '03 ... right Susan?)

Last night we went to dinner at the Hessen Pub.  (Okay, David wants to make some snide comment about my misunderstanding of Aida's accent ... it's not "Hessenpop" but "Hessen PUB" yeah, yeah, okay, I feel stupid.)  It was a great trattoria with a microbrewery in the back.  The pizza was better than any old Pizza Hut guy could deliver, and the beer was pretty good too.  We were escorted by our substitute driver, Kareem (not Abdul Jabar, unfortunately) since Aida's sister was in the hospital with kidney stones.  We were able to carry on a pretty good conversation; I think we're invited to his wedding in two years, and have to bring them a horse as a gift.  But I'm not sure.

This morning, after dancing around celebrating the hot water, we sat outside waiting for Aida to come.  We watched the small world of TaldyKorgan go around, with rugs hung out in the communal area to air, and laundry hanging out to dry.  When we arrived at the Baby House, Melanie was dressed in a cute number we had brought yesterday.  We called to her, but she sat with the other kids on a little bench.  Soon a caregiver came out with a tray of juice cups ... she was going to have her juice before she came to us!  Imagine a line of 12 18-month old sized kids, all drinking their juice out of a ceramic mug ... sup sup sup ... it was soooo cute, I couldn't stand it!

We went outside again, as the weather is primo ... warm and sunny.  All the "groupas" (that's what they call them, not a typo) were out today, so it was kids and more kids as far as the eye could see.  One little girl is waiting for her family to come next month, and for some reason she has attached herself to me.  At one point I leaned down with Melanie on my knee, and Nastya climbed on the other knee.  I felt myself falling, but could do nothing about it as my hands were full.  Boom! ... the kids were safe, but I scraped my knee and hand.  Oh well, as long as the kids are okay ...

We're getting all kinds of smiles now from Melanie ... she is just blossoming before our eyes.  She is so beautiful ... and she is definitely a Kazakh Princess ... strong willed and knows what she wants.

Today is a national holiday for teachers, and we are taking a cake and other sweets to the baby house to celebrate with the caregivers.  They have all been so kind to us, so we look forward to showing them how appreciated they are.  They do so much for these little babies ... you should have seen them getting all twelve of the little ones down the marble steps and outside without too many wimpers.  One little boy is new to the group and seems a little out of sorts.  Poor baby.

That's about all for today ... we are loving it here, but of course miss everyone at home.  Love to Colin, Quentin, Christian and Lisa ... and of course to Grandmama and Granddaddy, who deserve a medal for all they are doing to keep the homefires burning!!

 

Doing the Bunny Hop

<Groan>  We're relaxing after another delicious lunch prepared by Inna ... a Georgian dish with soup and noodles, and a ragout of meat and potatoes.  Definitely not South Beach diet friendly.  So, if we roll off the plane in 4 weeks looking a little rounder than you remembered, you'll understand!

Yesterday we we able to spend both visits with Melanie outdoors.  It's beautiful here, warm and sunny, but not hot.  We of course bundled her up within an inch of her life, only to have a caregiver tell us she was too hot!  Usually it's the other way around here ... they dress the babies so warmly and will fuss at you if they're not bundled enough.  She was happy to walk around the perimeter of the baby house holding on to our fingers.  She is still very serious, only smiles when we swing her around.  However, she has definitely tagged us as "HERS" ... as we dropped her off with her group yesterday afternoon, the other children scrambled around us.  She started pushing them away, one by one, as if to say, "MINE!  MY PARENTS!  HANDS OFF!"

We watched "Diner" last night before turning in ... David fell asleep reading his book, and the next thing we knew it was sunup.  Another brisk bath and breakfast of bread, cheese, apple and imported Community Coffee.  Then off to the baby house, where we once again made the circle around the baby house, again with the group, and with the Spanish family.  We were able to talk to them quite a bit ... the husband speaks very passable English.  We chatted with one of the doctors, who said that typically cleft children in Kazakhstan don't have their surgery until five years of age. 

At one point the Spanish family asked me to take their photo, and I dropped Melanie's hand.  She immediately threw herself to the ground in tears, and David swooped in for the comforting.  Yep, she's ours all right.

Tonight Aida says she will take us to the Hassenpop ... ?? ... for dinner.  Something about German ... and beer ... sounds good to us!  Just getting out and about sounds appealing.  I'm reading a great book called "Flyboys" -- highly recommend it!  Until tomorrow ... da zaftra!  

PS ... if you want to reach us, please leave a comment on this website, or email us at  twighz376@yahoo.com ...

We're treading very carefully, as apparently we can only load pictures at this exact time of the day.  And if we tiptoe, it will work.  You can't be too careful with these delicate electronic processes.  David is standing on one leg, facing east and holding his nose, so we hope for success.

We just ate another delicious lunch prepared by Inna, our cook.  (Who looks like she is about 18 and not too hard on the eyes).  Potato & corn soup, some kind of barley rice dish with pork and Korean carrot salad.  Man oh man.

We had a nice visit this morning with Melanie.  She was dressed in a beautiful red sweater with white tights.  Her group was on its way outside so we bundled her up and went along.  It was funny how this one poor caregiver was herding the babies right and left.  Perhaps a horse or a sheep dog would have helped.  David and I did our part, and have learned most of the babies' names.  One of the little girls is being adopted by a family from Spain.  They don't speak English, and my Spanish is rudimentary at best, so we communicate with nods and smiles.

This afternoon, Karim, our driver, is taking us to the bazaar before our afternoon visit.  Should be interesting!  Aida, our interpreter, was called to Almaty to work, so we are on our own.  His English is about as good as my Russian.  But he is very friendly and eager to please. 

Last night we watched an episode of the Andy Griffith Show, which made us feel a little comfort of home.  Now we have an Eagles CD running in the background.  All in all, it's a quiet life we're leading here.  We're safe, comfortable and happy!  We have a peaceful, easy feeling.... now, cross your fingers that this entry will load!