Current mood:

awake

Just another day in Kazakhstan
We had a leisurely morning. Sarah did Pilates and drank some coffee. Some kind American was nice enough to leave a percolator here, so Sarah made use of the ground coffee brought from home. All they have here is instant, which I understand tastes more like dirt than regular coffee does. We left for lunch as the women of our apartment complex were out in the courtyard, beating the bejezzus out of their area rugs. Lunch was at a fast food joint with an unpronounceable name. The décor was Buck Rogers meets a beachfront diner. That’s all the explanation you get about that. They serve hot pockets of sorts; Sarah had cheese, tomato, and garlic, and I had chicken and potato, followed by the cheese and tomato option. Very good, and yet very bad for you. Of course, us typical overweight, grease guzzling, oil swimming, cholesterol relishing Americans would like the fast food as well as anything we’ve had so far.

After lunch was visit day 4 (10 more and we can go to court!). We shared a room with the Cashette family (DJ & Kim) and their little boy, who is about 1 month older than our daughter. We were able to figure out the issues yesterday about not being able to be on the floor. Apparently the floor in the room we were in yesterday is MUCH colder than sitting on a lap in a chair, and therefore it is not permitted for the children to be in that room. So, we decided to buddy up so the kids could go free-range. The nursery is about 130 degrees, so there’s no issue with the floor. It could double as a sauna (which they do have in the orphanage, and I shudder to think about how hot that room gets!)


DJ, Baby something or other, Kim, Asel, Mom and Pop

Our visit today was better than yesterday, given we could let her roam a little. She is starting to show the beginning signs of crawling, and we expect she’ll be cruising around soon. All the kids still have a cold, so hopefully once they are over that we’ll get even more productive. If you noticed weird spots on their faces in the pictures, the nurses dab iodine drops onto their face, which is supposed to help with infections and zits. I think it makes them look like they have leprosy, but I’m not a doctor. There is certainly lots of bonding going on, and it is a great pleasure to watch her look for us and smile and be able to be comforted by U.S. mom and dad.







One of our drivers (the mother of our translator) told us that our parents must be very scared for us, but they should not worry, because this is a good town, and we are in good hands. She’s very sweet, speaks little English, and gets very excited when I butcher short Russian phrases. She also refers to me at the “hot man” because I’m so studly. Though on further reflection it may be due to the fact that the coldness here does not seem to bother me as much as the locals. “I’m scared for you” was actually what she said. (So don’t worry mom, I’ve got a surrogate to nag me while I’m here.)

Audience participation time… It’s time to play NAME THAT KID!
So here’s the deal. We are keeping some incarnation of her given name (Asel), but we recognize the potential for unfortunate mispronunciation. Pronounced “uh-sell” with the accent on the 2nd syllable, her name is Arabic for “sweet.” Here’s where you come in… We are considering a different spelling and a slight variation. Please let us know which strikes your fancy and we’ll have Price Waterhouse Coopers tally the results, which will then be announced at our annual gala dinner at the Ventura Club. Please vote only once. In the event of a tie, Jeb Bush will be consulted. Actual winner may not be the winning name. Some restrictions apply. Votes cast by men residing in Albany, New York will be summarily rejected. Side effects include bloating, sinus pain, and rickets.

Okay, everyone ready? Your options are…

1. Asel “uh-sell” (just as it is)
2. Asell “uh-sell” (to help clarify the pronunciation)
3. Asela “uh-sell-ah” (some of the caretakers call her this)
4. Asella (see #3)
5. Frank

Thanks for your participation in this pseudo-democratic process. (We actually are serious about getting your input.)

This afternoon we went to the local bowling alley, which was not unlike the newer alleys in the U.S. The video screens were all in English, and they even had the darkened night-time neon glowy thing going on. Sarah and I were both wiped clean by the Cashette family, as it appeared they had actually bowled more than 4 times in their life. Sarah did manage a strike when she wasn’t denting the floor with her softball pitching style. We also had dinner at the alley, which consisted primarily of grease. Sarah had the usual bread and tomatoes, and I had the usual chicken with stuff on it. Our waitress’s name was Asel, and she appeared to be a happy, well-adjusted human being that was not enduring a lifetime of suffering due to her moniker. So that’s good! We got in early, so we’ll probably watch a DVD and hit the hay (a traditional Kazak custom). Then we’ll turn in. Goodnight! (Spa-koina noiche)

Until tomorrow…