So what do we do the rest of the time?

Family Picture!

Several people have asked what we do with the time we aren’t with Nicholas. What – we have lives other than those 1 ½ hours? Well, we’re trying to learn a bit about Kostanai and its people while staying in touch with the outside world. Jim and Robertson spent about 2 hours wandering this afternoon, while Michele, Zhanat and Nan were having their nails done.

We have yet to find an English-language newspaper or TV station, so the internet is our source of news. Thank goodness for phone cards! The favorite TV station is Fashion TV – 24 hours a day of runway shows and cute young things…well, at least one of us appreciates it! For the past few days there has also been ice skating, synchronized swimming and diving competitions on – you really don’t need to understand what they’re saying to follow along.

Re food: We’ve been eating quite well, if with fewer vegetables than normal. It’s tough to find fresh veggies here – guess it’s a combination of the climate (cold & dry) and the distance from actual farms. We generally stop at the grocery every other day. There are actual western-style grocery stores, in addition to collections of small markets, and we’ve found familiar brands, such as Nivea, Dove, Lipton and Dannon. We haven’t seen any lactose free milk, but have been astounded by the fat content in the milk. Zhanat, our coordinator, says that 10% milk-fat is her favorite, but she’ll drink the 6% in a pinch!

We usually get up between 6 and 8 (Jim at 6, Nan at 8!). First thing is to check our e-mail, and your responses to the blog. It really is great to hear from everyone. This is when we have our breakfast. Jim brought a pound of coffee and a French press, and just yesterday we discovered that the market next door has ground coffee (from France?) rather than the more commonly available freeze-dried that the locals prefer. Starbucks, where are you??? Then we sometimes go for a walk to explore, or do some laundry. We’re lucky to have a new washing machine, very similar to the one we have at home – front loader with a variety of cycles. However, and this is a biggie, we think that the only water coming in is hot, and the capacity is fairly limited – yesterday’s load managed 2 pairs of jeans and 3 t-shirts, and that was pushing it! There is no dryer, so we’ve strung up a line between two doors. Things dry fairly quickly here, but are a bit crunchy when done!

As for the weather, when Zhanat told us this was spring, we initially laughed, but we now understand. It’s very cold in the morning (around 15-20F), but once the sun comes up, it starts to warm pretty rapidly. Yesterday afternoon and today it felt like about 40. While that’s wonderful, the impact is melt. The sidewalks become tracks of slush leaving everyone jockeying for the dry or high ground. There seem to be very few storm drains, so the roads are rivers, and pedestrians must stay well back of the curb or risk a mud bath. And have we mentioned the drivers? The concept of lanes is a fairly loosely observed, especially when it becomes necessary to avoid the car-absorbing potholes…and no-one uses seat belts.

After the visit with Nicholas, it’s into the center of town to explore. We went to a new neighborhood yesterday – similar to ours, but with some different restaurants. We’re still looking for the bazaar we’ve been told about…with lots of fresh food, and less expensive consumer goods (we need a serrated knife, and a new fry-pan would be nice as ours takes longer to clean than it did to cook whatever we made!).

Evenings are either at home, or out to eat. So far, most dinners out have not cost more than about $8 to $10 per person, including a beer! Last night we were treated to a home cooked meal by Michele and Robinson. It was a very enjoyable evening of food, wine and conversation for which we thank them. Later on, we frequently watch one of the DVD’s we brought, then head to bed by 11ish. And then groundhog day begins again.

Today's visit was extra special. We brought cakes and joined the caregivers for a little afternoon tea and conversation. Lots of fun, and we got to hear Nicholas actually laugh for the first time, when he was playing with his favorite, a very nice young woman named (we think) Nadia - will verify that.



There was quite a bit of cruising around the ball pit today, and lots of active crawling and drooling. One interesting facet of Kazakhstani cultural ideosynchracies (sp?) - children are not supposed to be cold in any way shape or form. Since Nicholas is teething, I asked if I could bring in one of those teething rings that are kept in the fridge, so they are soothing. The answer - Yes, but it must not go in the fridge...it would be too cold and might make him sick. Hmmm, well, we aren't home yet. Then we had a lesson in blowing raspberries (gotta be ready when the Yankees come to town!).

We'll leave you today with a photo of the sign for the Dolphin Baby House - a most excellent place for Nicholas to have gotten his start.