Differences

I have noticed several things recently that are different from what I grew up with.  Since they have struck me as funny, I thought I'd pass them along to you.  Hope you enjoy!  

Russian Phrase:  "Don't just lie on your back spitting at the ceiling"  I think it basically means, don't be lazy ... but the image of lying on your back spitting at the ceiling isn't necessarily a pleasant one.  Guess that might be the point.  

Planting Flowers:  Our front lawn at the office has recently changed, due to the desire of several of our staff.  Instead of a huge rose garden, we now have grass (which I love), a small rock mountain, and a path leading to a patio.  The staff originally decided it would be good to get some small flowers and line the edge of the grass with them ... the only problem with this idea is that it made it impossible to mow.  They decided they needed to put the flowers in pots in order to make mowing easier.  Since the staff were working on this project with a minimal budget, they got very creative with their flower pots.  Imagine my surprise when I showed up at the office to find pigs, ladybugs, and even a turtle in the yard.  They really enjoyed the chance to be creative.  

Potholes:  It is the time of year where throughout the northern hemisphere people are trying to fill potholes that accumulated through the winter.  Here the process is the same as in many places, cut out the part of road where there is a pothole, line the edges with tar, fill the hole with gr, roll over it with something heavy.  The only big difference here is the lag time between each step of the process.  Often times a road sits with holes in it for a week before the tar is applied.  Then, it is often several days before the gravel is added.  This can add a little more excitement to our driving as we try to avoid holes that can eat our tires and tar that sticks to the car and can only be easily removed with gasoline (a skill I have recently acquired).  

Trip to Almaty

I just returned from taking the delegation to Almaty.  We had a nice time, both while they were here in Taraz and during our time in Almaty.  After the delegation left, my Kazakh sister and I went to the American Embassy so that she could have her interview to apply for a visa to the States this summer.  She has the opportunity to spend 2 1/2 months in Virginia studying English at Virginia Commonwealth University.  They accepted her application ... and she is thrilled to be able to go. I am excited that she has this opportunity to further her education as well as see another part of the world.  We arrived back in Taraz at 5 am Saturday morning and I have had two relaxing days.  We have about one week before our next delegation arrives from the States!  For those who want to know more about the details of a trip to Almaty ... you can read the details below.  There are also some pictures that were takenwhile the delegation was here for you to enjoy!

A Normal Trip to Almaty:

The trip to Almaty began at 10 pm when we left the house for the train station.  We arrived at the train station at 10:30 pm with plenty of time to spare before our train departed at 11:15 pm.  The train is a night train that arrives in Almaty at 9 am.  We had two coupes (4 people each) and then one extra bed in a separate coupe, where I planned to sleep.  You never know who will be your coupe-mates.  The two on the top bunk of my coupe were asleep before I entered.  The one on the bottom bunk was a grandmother named Shara who thought it was fascinating that I spoke Kazakh.  After settling the delegation into their coupes, giving the tickets to the conductor, and dealing with a slight ticket issue, I went to my coupe and promptly fell asleep.  At about 8 am the conductor roused us to let us know that we were getting close to Almaty and it was time to get our sheets together.  At 8:30 am they close the bathroom doors, so it is the last chance for a trip to the bathroom.  Around this time, you are also required to give your sheets, pillowcase, and small towel to the conductor.  

At 9:00 am we arrived at the train station, where we were met by our two drivers.  We had to walk up a four-story flight of stairs, above the trains, and back down to get to the parking area.  Then we piled into two vehicles and went to our hotel.  Upon arrival at the hotel, our luggage (which had gone up by bus the night before) was brought to us by a friend that we hire in Almaty.  When we checked in, only two rooms were ready (despite having reserved four) so we took all of our things up to the rooms and went down to breakfast (which closed at 10 am).  

The day was spent shopping and riding a cable car to a hill looking over the city.  While on the top of the hill, having dinner on a patio overlooking the city, a storm rolled in.  We made it inside just in time and enjoyed watching the storm while we ate dinner and enjoyed dessert.  By the time we finished the rain had decreased enough for us to ride the cable car back down into Almaty and take a taxi to our hotel.  

That evening we finished our debrief with the delegation and then everyone headed to bed for an early morning trip to the airport.  I met the delegation in the airport at 4:45 am to check out and take them to the airport.  Once they were checked into their flight, I headed back to the hotel to get another hour of sleep before heading to the American Embassy for my Kazakh sister's visa appointment.  We arrived just before another storm.  Thankfully, when the rain started blowing I was able to go inside and read a book while waiting for her.  Her visa was approved and we headed to her relative's house for some rest before our evening train.  

Our train in the evening left at 7:30 pm and arrived back in Taraz at 4:45 am.  One of our coupe-mates had ridden with me the last time I took the train to Almaty, so she asked me specific questions based on our previous conversation.  I felt kind of bad that I really didn't remember much about her.  It was nice to be in a coupe where she already knew me and I didn't have to answer the normal questions about myself (Who are you, Where do you work, Are you married, Why not, How old are you, What kind of work do you do, Do you have any children, What year were you born, Why do you speak Kazakh, Where did you learn Kazakh, Can you teach my child English, Do you like Kazakhstan, Is Kazakhstan or the USA better, What is your salary, etc).  We arrived home at about 5 am and I went back to sleep for a few more hours and basically relaxed for the rest of the day.  

Delegation Preparation

Happy Mother's Day to all the mother's reading this.  I am so thankful for my mother and the way that she built into our lives.  I am thankful that she chose to allow us to be adventurous even when it might have scared her a bit.  I wouldn't be in Kazakhstan today if it weren't for her encouraging me to follow God's plan for my life and being willing to let go of me in order to allow me to travel halfway across the world.  I am also extremely grateful for my grandmothers and the blessing they have been in my life as well.  Their support has always been an encouragement to me.  I realized today that this is the first mother's day without my Grandma Coggins.  It is kind of sad to think of not being able to call her and wish her a Happy Mother's Day.  I am blessed to have the mother and grandmothers that I have.  

This week has been one of preparation for our first full delegation.  We have four people arriving on Wednesday, adding to the two already here, to make a total of six delegates.  They will be in-country for one week.  I have been working this week with two of the members of our youth department to set up a schedule for them.  Setting up a schedule includes thinking through activities, translators, transportation, and participants for each activity.  Our entire staff gets to be a part of preparing for the delegation.  The delegates are going to be living at the house with us, so Vicki and I are thinking through meals and other items together.  

I realized the other day that you might enjoy hearing the story of how we make lasagna, since it is a bit more complicated than in the States.  Vicki and I went to the bazaar the other day and purchased some of the items needed, included cheese, ground beef, curds and cream.  

The cheese is purchased by the kilo (or portion of the kilo).  In this case we purchased 2 kilos (4 pounds) of cheese.  They cut the cheese from large blocks of cheese and then weigh it to make sure it is the amount that we request.  The sellers are really good at estimating the exact quantity of cheese to cut.  We then shred the cheese and use it in the appropriate layer of lasagna.  

We don't have ricotta cheese here, so we have to make our own.  We purchase the curds (what would be our cottage cheese with the liquid drained off and dried some).  Then we combine this with a thick cream that we purchase.  As we purchase this and the cheese, we are encouraged to taste them to make sure they are good quality.  

The other day as we were walking out of the meat house in the bazaar, we noticed some exceptionally good ground beef.  Sometimes we choose not to buy ground beef at the bazaar, but this looked like some of the best ground beef that both Vicki and I had seen.  I find it kind of funny that ground beef would catch my eye and I would be excited.  We decided to go ahead and purchase 4 kilos (8 pounds) in order to make spaghetti, lasagna, and hamburgers for next week.  The seller had to run across the way and get some more ground beef (which looked as good as the first).  This was cooked and put aside to be combined with tomato paste and juice and some spices in order to make the sauce for the lasagna.  

Lasagna noodles can now be purchased here, so this makes our job a lot easier.  Due to the busy schedule when the delegation is here, we will probably put the lasagna's together a couple days early and either refrigerate or freeze it until it is needed.  

It was fun to go to the bazaar and see the cheese seller that still remembers me and others that I have bought items from before.  With those that I knew, I had to explain why they hadn't seen me in a while.  With those that I didn't know, we had to convince them to speak Kazakh (not Russian) and then explain why we know Kazakh, how long we have been here and all the other info they wanted to know.  Despite the fun of seeing those I knew and meeting new sellers, about an hour at the bazaar is enough for me and I was glad to return home.  

I hope you all have a wonderful week!  We are hoping for some sunshine since we have had an unusual amount of rain here these last few days and we need the sunshine to dry the clothes and bedding hanging on the line and around our house.