Weekend in Kaz

It's Saturday in Kazkhstan, and things were a little quieter at the orphanage - except for Emma's giggles. Nick called while we were there to tell us about his week and Rivermont basketball's win (congrats Nick and Rivermont - Go Lions!). He and Aunt Lynne got to hear Emma's giggles from the other side of the world. Emma is getting more cuddly towards us once she is worn out from swinging, singing, eating, pounding and playing. We have wandered about more these last few days once our visits at the orphanage are done (freezing our behinds off in the process). Here are a few photos we took during our walks, as well as our daily photos of Emma at the orphanage. The city of Almaty used to be the capital of Kazakhstan, and is an interesting mix of old Soviet style architecture as well as new and varied construction. The sidewalks and streets are not cleared of ice and snow like they are in the states, and we are amazed at the number of women who walk around in high-heeled boots on 6 inches of ice without falling and breaking their hips. Jim and I have stuck to our flat shoes and boots, thank you. There were lots of places we saw on our walks that we would have liked to enter, but since we can't read Cyrillic, we didn't go in. We have vowed to learn at least some of the letters before our next trip. Today we asked our driver to take us somewhere that had "American" food. He took us to Mad Murphy's - home of the $20 hamburger! Sadly, it wasn't worth the 20 bucks. The dollar is so weak right now that the cost of living here for us is higher than anywhere in the states. This afternoon we went shopping and ran into an Amercian couple living here with their sons. He is a physician for the US Embassy, and his wife is the same lady who helped us on our first day in the grocery store. It was great to talk to people who could speak English. We miss America and all things American more than we thought we would. It is strange to be in a place where you're really completely illiterate, not even being able to read simple signs or ask a simple question. It's humbling in a way. Now it is time to watch more BBC (sort of like a British CNN, but with much shorter segments and the same commercials repeated over and over and over). Either that or more old "Friends" DVDs. Enjoy your weekend everyone!