Current mood:

gloomy

Rain, rain, go away
NOTE FROM THE MANAGEMENT: Sorry it's been awhile since I've chimed it, but these journals have been so stellar, I have not had recent cause. Just wanted to pop in with an handy tip. If you dont want to see the full set of entries, simply bookmark this page: http://straus-in-kaz.greatestjournal.com/calendar
That will take you to the calendar, then you can just click on the "1" in the days you have not yet read. Handy, no? Have fun! - The management

Well, so much for our sunny weather. Today was gloomy and drizzly all day, which made our daily plans for sightseeing not pan out too well. I was privileged enough though to head out this morning to the bank with Eugene and pay our court fees ($3) and our visa application fee for Asella ($8). Also, we popped over to the train station, which is about 6 times the size of the airport, to pick up some paperwork that arrived on the 9:30 am train from Astana (the capital of Kazakhstan). I suppose it’s the Kazakhstan version of fedex. You jump into a train car and grab your package (please insert pun here). After that Eugene and I had a 2nd breakfast at the auto dealership. I had perogis stuffed with cottage cheese, which was better than it sounds. Sarah was left behind to putter away the morning, as apparently this was a one additional passenger only kind of errand.

We have nearly exhausted Kostanai’s supply of restaurants, and for lunch tried a new one that we probably will not return to. It wasn’t bad, but it was no Café Mango if you know what I mean.

Our visit was typical. They’re both still in their agonizingly ridiculous outfits. Asella smiled and laughed at us (typical Kazak behavior) and is extremely amiable, pliable, malleable, and huggable. Here she is giving Sarah a root canal.



Her cuteness is so disgustingly saccharine that I’m having trouble typing this. But, what would you expect with parents like us?



What else to do on a rainy afternoon but read, do a jigsaw puzzle and watch another DVD? Not much. It let up a bit around dinner time so we walked to the “somewhat resembling an interpretation of Italian cuisine” restaurant, had some salad, pizza, and dessert. Our waitress was surly and more or less gave me the finger when I told her that the pizza I ordered without bell peppers did indeed have bell peppers. I think the literal translation was, “Life’s tough, now eat your friggen pizza before I make you drink it through a straw, ka-peesh?” This has not been typical of the Kazak dining experience, so we’re hoping she was just having an off night or suffers from Seasonal Affective Disorder.

An uneventful day. Sorry it wasn’t more colorful. Keep on truckin’.