Questions and Answers

Nothing fancy today - in fact, few pix. They're just randomly placed with the text - no connection.

A number of people have asked us questions on the blog, and we’d like to try and answer them. In no particular order, here we go:

Why would Nan’s hair smell like vinegar?

Well, the water here has some unusual scents and minerals, some of which tend to remain after the shower. This can make your skin and scalp sort of itchy, and can make your hair feel like straw. A very dilute mixture of white vinegar and bottled water, used as a final rinse, can help that tremendously, but you are left smelling a bit like a salad.

Why did we have on do-rags in the pix of us feeding Nicholas?

Short answer: because we were told to; longer answer: it’s probably to keep hair out of the food. The baby house cares for over 90 children. They have some very specific protocols to follow in order to help them stay as healthy as possible. We also have noticed that if a pacifier drops on the floor, it is immediately whisked off to the sterilization room – no kissing it up to God. However, if a chew-toy hits the floor, it just goes back to the hand it came from.

What is food shopping like?

This depends on which store we go to. Within easy walking distance are two western style supermarkets – much smaller than ours, but still well stocked. For those of you in the South End, one is about the size of Foodies; the other half that. Among the familiar brands we’ve seen are Coke, Sprite, Gillette, Nice & Easy, Dove, Nivea, Corona, Dannon, Heineken, Twix, KitKat, Pampers and Rubbermaid. American consumer products are well represented here! Beyond that, and as at home, many packages have labels which are unambiguous about their contents (canned veggies, rice and pasta fall into this category). However, it’s very helpful to learn the Cyrillic alphabet and the words for common food items – for example, chicken filets are in a package that has opaque wrapping and no picture of a chicken, but the word for filet is basically a straight phonetic match. It’s also important to know the words for milk as differentiated from kefir. The packages are similar (blue vs. green, but same shapes and markings) but kefir is a kind of fermented yogurt – not yummy to our taste buds!

One significant difference between these grocery stores and ours is that these seem determined to help accomplish full employment in Kostanai. There are always at least 2 staffers per aisle. Probably a security measure, but they also ensure that if you take an item off the shelf, all of those behind are immediately pulled forward – so no-one has to reach.

Aside from lactose-free milk, there’s very little we haven’t been able to find. However, since this isn’t a disposable society, some things are in scant supply: disposable razors are thin on the ground; diapers come in packages of no more than 25 – most people use cloth. We haven’t been into an apothecary (drugstore) yet, so can’t comment on supplies there. And it’s almost impossible to find good, fresh vegetables.

What about TV?

Soccer, Animal Planet, and a really lame and over-the-top version of candid camera. At least in Kostanai, there is no English-language television, with the exception of some of the promo pieces for Animal Planet. There are about 40 channels, but only about 10 stations broadcasting, so a run around the dial means repetition. Some other stunners we’ve seen have been Russian versions of Married with Children, a home design show that would make the folks at HGTV cringe. But the news this morning, on the Russian Today show, had a few pieces on preparations for Easter. Most we couldn’t follow, but the bit about painting the eggs was universal! Oh, and then there’s Fashion TV, and their Models Talk segment – kind of a misnomer considering the giggle factor. The word “like” should be banned.

When are we coming home?

Still don’t know. We’re waiting for the judge, who has had our file for a week, to set a court date. “Maybe” is a word one hears a lot…and it isn’t really helpful to the control-freaks of the world who have been away from all that’s familiar for a long time.

If we’ve missed anything, let us know, and we’ll do a part two.