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| [9:02 pm] |
| Subject: Better |
| Mood |
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 pleased |
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Indeed, today was a better day. Though still cold, the sun was shining and the sky was blue. After puttering around the apartment in the morning, we had lunch at a cheap, kazak style fast food restaurant. We think it was called “Bistro,” but that may have just been the sign telling us that this place is a bistro. One never knows. Alex, our weekend translator rejoined us for the fun and games. We tortured him a bit today, but we’ll get to that later.
Asella definitely is in the throes of a full-blown cold, but her mood was far better today than yesterday. We got some laughs and giggles and she didn’t need to be held the entire time. Here she is looking slightly evil, but we promise she’s not.
While bouncing on dad’s knees, Sarah captured this lovely photo montage that I like to call: The Many Faces of Asella. Please enjoy.
About 45 minutes into our visit, Asella decided that she could not fight the overwhelming desire to get some shut-eye, and fell asleep like a herd of rhinos navigating an escalator. There was an audible slam when her eyes snapped shut. She was out. Comatose. Good night Irene. Babies screaming in the next room, weird music on the stereo, people opening and closing the door; nothing could rouse her. This is a big no-no for mommy and daddy, since we’re supposed to be keeping her awake during this time, so that she can be ready for nap-time afterwards. Oh well, she’s sick, she needs the sleep.
Oooooh. Artsy.
We did manage to wake her up a little before we had to leave, and much to our delight and surprise, she did not scream bloody murder, but actually seemed happy to see us. I think it was an, “Oh! You’re still here? That’s swell.” moment. And then we left.
After the visit we went to another open-air marketplace to do some clothes and souvenir shopping. We generally struck out, though Sarah got some scarves. There was store after store filled with knock-offs fresh off the train from China. Tons of boots, hats, leather jackets, and other assorted potentially shoddy accoutrements for not too reasonable prices! Yippy. I love shopping. Alex struggled to keep us all in his line of sight, as we Americans tend to wander aimlessly. We also forced him to do some negotiating when clearly it would get nowhere. Here’s the home depot section of the market.
We hit a rather silly café across from the bazaar, which had very little food and was not interested in serving us what little they did have. They also seemed confused that we just wanted some bread. Our translator laughed when we suggested some olive oil to go with our bread. How uncouth. We ate it plain and liked it, garsh dangit.
We spent a brief moment at home working on our jigsaw puzzle, and then went back out for dinner. Our first two choices were booked for wedding banquets, so we ate at the gas station. Now, I know that there have been many seemingly bizarre and unexpected references to the automotive industry that are incongruous with the activities described therein, but rest assured, the gas station is the name of a restaurant. It’s shaped like a bus. It appears to be the sister restaurant of the one shaped like a submarine. Next week we hope to go to the one shaped like a dirigible. Alex earned a bit more of his paycheck with the special order desserts. Ice cream with bananas and chocolate is perhaps the weirdest dessert ever created in Kazakhstan. So remember that when you come visit. Sarah and I also spent the evening getting stared at by 3 women at the table across the way. I’d like to think it was luridly, but judging by the laughter, I’m inclined to disagree with myself. Par for the course.
And that, as they say, was that. Time to figure out what trouble we can make for ourselves tomorrow. Dos-vi-dan-ya. |
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