Remodeling

As you probably know, we have been remodeling my apartment.  So far, the work has gone well and I am happy with the quality of work.  The tile and walls in the kitchen are done (minus the paint).  The walls in the living room and entryway will be made flat and painted.  He started on the living room today and might finish up the first coat of plaster tomorrow. Below are some pictures and some funny stories from the remodeling.

Kitchen Before/After

• We picked out paint colors and bought four cans of paint. The paint comes in 5 lb buckets.  Since we bought four cans, I went ahead and picked one can up to carry out to the car.  Well, the people in the store laughed that I was carrying paint as a female.  I guess I should have let Adam take all four cans of paint.  I thought I was being really good by not picking up 2 cans.  
• The man doing the work is called "the master" here.  He is doing a great job, but each evening he asks me questions and doesn't seem to like the answers that I give him.  I keep trying to get him to talk to Aben (my Kazakh dad and the one in charge of the renovations for Interlink).  However, he seems to want to ask each of us what we think and then go with the answer that he likes the most.  
• We were one tile short for the floor, so we had to run by the bazaar and buy an extra couple tiles.  Azamat, our office driver, made our job so much easier by driving us so that Adam and I could just jump out of the car and go get the tiles instead of trying to find a place to park.  It made a one hour project a 30 minute project.  I am so grateful for the great staff we have at the office that are always willing to help out.  
• Adam has helped haul all sorts of stuff to and from my fourth floor apartment.  I have been very grateful for his willing help.  I help out some, but know better than to pick up anything really heavy.  I did break the rules by carrying a circular saw and power converter up to my apartment and a couple tubs of trash out.  
• The master and I have had 3 debates about the paint.  This evening, the final debate had him telling me I was wrong about putting primer up, that we didn't have enough paint, and that we had chosen a bad color.  He thinks we should add water to the paint to change the color ... I told him we picked that specific color, which he didn't think was a good choice.  He seemed reluctant to paint it for us.  We'll see what happens tomorrow.  
• In the midst of all of this, I am continually reminded of how thankful I am that even though the master and I have some disagreements about how things should be done, he is doing a really good job.  I am very thankful that it is possible to do this work and I don't have to try to figure out a way to do it myself.  I am also thankful that Aben (my Kazakh dad) is handling all the details and I can just point the master to him.  
• Today I took the day off and just read a book.  It was nice to just relax and not think about work.  I didn't quite realize how tired I was.  
• At the bazaar we saw a small car with a lot of foam boards stacked on top of it.  It brought us joy and laughter.  Thought you might enjoy the picture we took.  

Meeting Baba Tonya

In Kazakhstan most apartment buildings are comprised of several stairwells that open to the outside at the back of the building.  Those stairwells each go to the top floor and have two or three apartments off of each level.  Since my entire building is located above a dentist office, the first level of the stairwell has no doors (the dentist office has a large entrance on the front side of the building).  My apartment building has about six stairwells.  I am on the top floor of the third stairwell.  Each apartment has a separate owner.  The owners come together to pay for things like cleaning the stairwells or cleaning the yard outside the apartment.

Yesterday I met Baba Tonya.  Baba is the affectionate term for grandmother in Russian and is often used to show respect to someone that is of grandmother age, even if they aren't related to you.  She lives one floor down on the opposite side of the hall.  She is the governor of our stairwell.  She collects the money to pay the yard cleaners.  She also informed me that since people don't want to hire someone to clean the stairwell, everyone is responsible for the stairs on their floor.  Usually the two people on the floor each take turns. However, Baba Tonya informed me that the people opposite me are not good about cleaning.  I assured her that I would make sure our level of stairs were clean each week.  This task consists of sprinkling some water on the steps (to keep the dust down) and then sweeping the steps.  I will plan on doing this once a week, starting tomorrow

It's good to know that Baba Tonya is always around and keeping an eye on things.  She knows everyone and is aware of everything that is going on.  I never mind having someone like her around.  It will be a bit hard to communicate (since she only speaks Russian), but I hope to gain her approval by keeping my stairs clean.

That's a First

Today we went to Savva orphanage for a short visit!  It was a lot of fun to see all the kids and staff. They didn't know I was coming, so it was fun to surprise them.  It also took them a second to figure out who I was since my hair was longer than it was previously. 

Today I experienced a first that I thought you all would enjoy.  I went to the gas station to fill up the car.  Here, a man pumps the gas for you.  First, you get out of the car and tell him what kind of gas and how much you want.  Then, you go inside and tell attendant.  If you asked the man outside to fill it up, then you wait inside until he has finished pumping your gas and then pay for it.  

I had asked the attendant to fill the tank and was waiting inside when, much to my surprise, I saw the whole van shaking.  It was as if I was back in youth group and everyone in the vehicle was trying to rock it back and forth.  This was especially funny because Barb, Larry, and Zarina were sitting inside the van waiting for me.  I was trying really hard not to burst out laughing, especially as I could see Zarina's face.  He shook the van for about 10 seconds and then went back to pumping.  Then he shook the car again and pumped a little more.  I think that was the fullest the van has ever been.  I guess he took me literally when I said I wanted him to fill it up.  

A busy Four Days

Hi everyone!  I made it safely to Kazakhstan and have had fun starting the process of getting settled back into everyday life.  I figured you might enjoy reading about some of the things that I have been doing (all in random order).  It's been fun, but a bit of a crazy four days.

• Purchased a blow-dryer and flat iron (extremely important)
• Removed the pink, sparkly wallpaper in the living room
• Got gas for my car
• Unpacked my luggage
• Bought a Brita filter to put water in after I boil it
• Attended a birthday party
• Attended a staff training at the office
• Hung out with my Kazakh family
• Played toss with my Kazakh brother
• Went to some hardware stores
• Hung a towel rack
• Changed the location for the hand towel rack
• Purchased shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, and other essentials
• Mopped and vacuumed all my floors (especially necessary after the removal of wallpaper)
• Picked out a vacuum cleaner for the apartment
• Slept in until 9 am one morning - not bad for jet lag
• Went to the store to look at TV options
• Purchased a full line of cleaning supplies
• Tried to do a load of laundry (realized the washer needs work)
• Bought groceries
• Went to a friend's house for dinner
• Figured out what parking lot to park the car in
• Read part of a book
• Boiled eggs
• Caught up with my friends at the office
• Spoke on the phone to one of my past roommates 

Unexpected Trip to Istanbul

Well, I can now say that I have been to Istanbul.  The last 24 hours have gone very differently than planned, but have turned out well.   I got to the Richmond, VA airport and was the only one in line to check-in.  Then I went through security where there were about 10 people in front of me.  The flight coming into Richmond from Chicago was delayed, so we boarded the plane a few minutes late.  We were zooming down the runway when all of a sudden the pilot slammed on the brakes.  That was a first for me.  A light had come on in the cockpit indicating a problem.  We went back to the gate and they had us deplane while the plane was looked at.  Several hours later, we were still sitting there.  Thankfully, the staff were very helpful and re-routed me through Istanbul since I would not make it in time for my original flight through the United Arab Emirates. They got most of us onto the next flight to Chicago, which left about 30 minutes late due to the chaos of switching so many passengers and their luggage.  Thankfully, I was one of the first one switched, so I am pretty sure my luggage is probably coming with me.  However, they didn't give me the new baggage tags, so hopefully this will not be a problem in Almaty.

We arrived in Chicago about the time when my plane was supposed to start boarding.  I was in the terminal that serviced American Airlines.  As a result, none of the screens told me where to go to catch my flight.  Someone helped me find out that the international terminal was terminal five and then a security guard guided me in getting there.  Changing terminals required going through security again.  Also, they weren't able to give me my boarding pass in Richmond, so I had to get it in Chicago.  I was racing through the airport and when I got to the gate I realized I didn't need to rush since the boarding process still hadn't begun.

I had a great flight.  I sat next to a man from Somalia who was heading to see family in Kenya.  It was fun to be able to tell him I had lived in Kenya when I was small.  I slept most of the 10 hour flight.  Turkish airlines has foot rests on their planes, which is convenient for those of us that are short but were not very helpful to those that were tall.  The man beside me had his knees up near his chin when he put his feet on the footrest.

Well, I am currently in Istanbul waiting for the last leg of my journey (by plane).  I will arrive in Almaty at 5:10 am and then head on a train to Taraz around 3pm.  I should arrive around midnight.