When in Rome . . .

Well here we are again, with another week down. I am not sure how many weeks we have been in Uralsk but we have made it our home which makes the time go quickly. There are so many things that have happened since I wrote last but I will do my best to share as much as possible.

First and most importantly on Friday we were finally granted the privelage of seeing our son two times a day. Yeah!! This was great as he was so suprised to see us in the morning that he laughed out loud when they brought him to us. The other big thing is that because it is so warm here we are now allowed to take him outside. This is very exciting as he has never been outside before because he has only been here in the winter. He enjoyed his first trip very much and this is now something we get to do for 15 minutes of each visit. Ma and Don he now has the first flower and first bird on his life-time list. A sparrow and a lillac.

In our spare time (which is dwindling) we have been spending it with the many Kazakh friends we have here. On Thurday we managed to run into two girls from class that took us around the open markets and helped us to get a Kazakh- english dictionary. Too bad we are still very slow to learn the crylic alphabet. It is coming, but very slowly. Yesterday we did treat ourselves to a hot shower as we have been sponge bathing due to no hot water in our apartment for the last 5 days. It is very polluted here and muggy right now, so this was a necessity.

Yesterday was also the day that our landlady cleans the apartment. One thing about our apartment is that we found it through a friend of a friend sort of arrangement. We are well aware that we are paying above kazakh prices yet we are still getting an excellent deal compared to the hotel or agency apartments. So yesterday morning she comes over and we come back a few hours later to find her still there. Well she not only cleaned but she also stuffed our refigerator full of food including soups, meats and the most amazing pastries I have ever tasted. She has a heart of gold. John and I could not stop laughing at how well all of y’alls prayers are working for us.

Last night we were once again treated to the famous Kazak hospitality. When we had dinner at friends last week we were invited by the air traffic contoller to come to a birthday party at his house the next week. As with many things here, bits of details don’t always get translated so much of our outtings are surprises to us. We took a taxi to their house to find it to be absolutly amazing. The table must have been 12 feet long and set to feed 25 people. It was piled high with food and traditional dishes including Russian caviar, traditional breads and five fingers (yes we ate horse meat again.) We kept up the motto of “when in Rome...” and had a blast. The evening included, many toasts (too many toasts!), singing of folk songs, dancing and Kareoke of all things. They owner of the home also loved Elvis so he was at the party too. What a wonderful family!

What amazes us about our time here is having the opportunity to know people for who they are as individuals. Not as a religous group, former solviets, or Kazaks, but as real people with familes, homes, dreams, and worries ... We have been very honored and blessed to have had so many wonderful memories created through the friendships we have made here.