19 Weeks...

This week, Baby Bruce is the size of...

No, not that Mango. This kind of mango!

And I am getting closer and closer to the size of a house!
Just kidding. I am actually kind of proud of my bump. It is looking and feeling like a real baby bump! And when I lay on my back, I can see my belly button looking back at me because my tummy below the button is pushing up. It's kind of fun.

I'm using the website this week for information because my Book is packed away in one of the suitcases that's sitting by the door!

One minute you're lying peacefully in bed and the next your calf muscle feels like it's about to explode. Leg cramps during pregnancy are pretty common (though no one knows exactly what causes them) and tend to strike at night. You might also be wondering about tingling and numbness in your fingers and toes about now. It's a weird sensation but totally normal, probably a result of your body's swelling tissues pressing on nerves. And speaking of weird, have you ever seen a mango dipped in cheese? Well, that's what your baby looks like this week due to a little growth spurt (she's about a half pound in weight and six inches long) and a substance called vernix caseosa. This greasy white stuff covers your baby's skin, protecting it from the surrounding amniotic fluid. (Without it, she'd look totally wrinkled as she entered the world.) The vernix sheds as delivery approaches, though some babies still sport a bit of the coating at birth.

-whattoexpect.com

And this picture kind of looks like my shape up above, doesn't it?

This is just a picture of us after eating at Pizza Hut for the final time yesterday with our good friends. We just had to have our picture taken in front of the Eiffel Tower! No, we have not secretly been living in Paris. Some dude had it built to get in good with the big K's President because his wife loves Paris. Funny, huh?

So, we will be heading to the airport in about five hours! Originally, we were planning to have a taxi van take us, but the guy isn't answering his phone, so that isn't going to work out.

Thankfully, we have awesome friends who are going to help us. Matt & Derek both have station wagons, so we should be able to fit everything in them. We are coming home with less than what we came with a year ago, so that's good!

Please keep us in your prayers. Huzz and I are looking forward to being on the plane out of Almaty because a lot of the stress will be over at that point. I will be going to bed in a little bit for a few hours because I'm pretty sure that without a nap, I will be crying at around 3:00 in the morning. I'm a big baby when I'm over tired. Especially when I'm pregnant. First plane taking off to last plane landing, we will be traveling for about 25 hours.

We will see some of you really soon! Love ya!

It's Over...What's Next?

It is finished. Over. Completed. That's all. Closed. Ceased. Concluded. Done for. Ended. Executed. In the past. Wrapped up. Over and done. Through.

In Russian: "fsyo"

I have had a couple of days to unwind and think about what has come to a close.

The worst professional year of my life.

Yes, this has been the most difficult year of my life, actually ~ mostly due to my job. But when you spend over 10 hours a day at a destructive place, it wears on you.

Even these goof-ball faces tortured me at times. Two-thirds of the children you see in this picture had no English knowledge nine months ago.

Now, they all understand me, verbally. Even the little guy who joined our class in March.

This is me and my teaching assistant, Katherine. Difficult year.

All lined up, ready to go to the assembly, where the Headmaster informed the entire school that I have found the atmosphere in the big K "procreational."

I wanted to crawl under my chair.

I put on a happy face for my kids, while dealing with one headache after another with administration. One headache including the accounting department deliberately choosing an exchange rate that did not exist and shorting all of us a few hundred dollars in our pay.

Don't worry ~ it just reminded me over and over that those of us who are leaving the school are doing the right thing.

I was a wreck on Friday night because I was just so relieved. I could not stop crying.

Our actual last day was on Saturday because we had this ridiculous awards ceremony that couldn't possibly have been done on Friday afternoon.

Then, we had a Summer Ball to attend on Saturday night at the school, with the parents.

A group of us decided to go for a drink before the Ball.

14 Weeks...

I am now fourteen weeks!

The past week has been a rough one, but I've survived. I'll only talk about pregnancy challenges in this post and I'll write another post and tell you all about the other things that are making my life a trial right now.

Here's my bump!


I really wasn't wild about posting a photo of myself this week because I think I look absolutely horrible. This is mostly due to the fact that I am too exhausted to shower in the morning and actually do my hair. I barely manage to get out of bed thirty minutes before I have to leave and I get dressed, pull my hair back, and eat some breakfast.

This week, Baby Bruce is a lemon!

Welcome to the second trimester! With any luck, your breasts aren't quite as tender as they were last trimester and your energy level is making a comeback. More good news on the horizon: less morning sickness and fewer trips to the potty to pee. You might find yourself feeling pregnancy aches on the lower sides of your abdomen about now as the muscles and ligaments that support your growing uterus stretch. And though it might be a pain in the — well, lower abdomen, it's pain with a gain — and a sign that it won't be long now until your body finally starts to show that you're expecting. Meanwhile, your baby is about the size of a clenched fist and he's sporting a downy coating of hair (lanugo) that keeps him nice and warm. Not to worry — you won't give birth to a monkey; baby fat will accumulate over the next few months, keeping your baby warm and toasty — and allowing most of that hair to shed.

- whattoexpect.com

Now that all you male family members who read this know that my boobs have been sensitive...

I'm hoping that all of the above becomes true for me during the next couple of weeks. My nausea has been worse than ever this past week, which has been really hard. It's mostly brought on by my major sensitivity to odors. I got sick 3 times this week just because I smelled something and ran to the bathroom. This is very unfortunate for me because we live in an odor-filled place. The hallways and elevator in our apartment building smell like raw sewage. Horrible sewage-type smells come up through the sink drains in our apartment. The kitchen has always had a weird smell to it, which I think is from the pipes in the walls. And because we don't have a garbage disposal, all garbage goes into the trashcan. So, that constantly stinks to high heaven. Please, help me.

Meanwhile, my baby is a furry little monkey right now! Let's just hope it all sheds before the little peanut makes its entrance. Haha!

We went to a clinic yesterday to get my first ultrasound done, which my friend Katy, had scheduled for me. I was sooooo excited to get it done for obvious reasons, but also because I had probably the worst day, professionally, I've ever had yesterday. Unfortunately, whoever scheduled it with Katy wrote me down on the wrong day and they had me down for Tuesday instead of Wednesday. I am rescheduled to go tomorrow after work, so I'm really praying that it all happens.

We had no choice to shake our heads and say, "This is Kazakhstan..."

Trust me, I am extremely tired of having to say this to comfort myself. All it does is remind me of how much I am ready to leave here.

Anyway, I am trying to stay positive and I'm counting down the days! I am so thankful that I am pregnant with (as far as I know) a healthy baby. I know that My Father is going ahead of me in everything and He is in control.

The Weekend Top 10...

1. Enjoyed apple crumble with some of our friends at Matt & Sonia's. And I got to hold baby Billie.

2. In bed by 11:30 on Friday night and slept until 9:00 on Saturday morning.

3. Went to Koktobe (essentially a hill that overlooks the city) and had some chicken shashlik (kebab) and enjoyed the beautiful weather.

4. Got on the tramway to go up to Koktobe and then immediately off, due to a power outage. I am extremely thankful the power went off before we found ourselves halfway across, stuck 100 feet in the air.

5. Rode the tramway back down from Koktobe to the city center and sent up some serious big P's the whole way.

6. Made pancakes and a cheese omelette for Sunday lunch and split a grapefruit with Huzz. Delicious.

7. Took a four hour nap after said lunch.

8. Needed the four hour nap because Huzz and I stayed up until 3:30 am on Saturday night, talking about how we are going to go about firing our driver. We are slightly stressed out about it.

9. Spent the final two hours on Sunday night, dreading work the next morning.

10. Watched a peacock do his mating dance at Koktobe. Did you know they vibrate their feathers? The female ran away, clearly disturbed. I would have been, too.

Billie Visit #2...

Sonia, R'iordan, and I went to visit Billie today, since we had the day off from school for Nauryz.
Billie modeled the purple baby booties that I made for her, perfectly!

And the pointy hat, too!

She has changed so much during the last four days, it's unbelievable! She is just beautiful and should be going home with Mommy tomorrow morning.

Happy Nauryz!

Nauryz is the Central Asian New Year holiday. I have been told that this is the biggest holiday of the year.

The flowers above were given to me from one of my students, along with the largest box of Merci chocolates I've seen. I brought the basket of roses home to enjoy, but left the chocolates at school, hidden in a cupboard so that Sonia and I can get our chocolate fix whenever we want while at work. Something tells me the box won't last as long as I think!

I just thought the flowers were so beautiful and there are so many in the basket! I can't even count how many. I just know I've never been given so many in an arrangement before. There must be an odd amount, though, since an even amount means death.

Happy Nauryz, everybody! I love these three day weekends!

Jessie Questions...

Which of the many places to eat you mentioned in your blog is your favorite, and why? Will you be bringing home any recipes with you? How is the weather different there? Are there any friendly natives there, or are all the friends you've made from other countries? What will you miss (if anything) when you come back home? - Jessie

My favorite place to eat here.... Well, the choices are very few, but I'm so glad we have been able to find a couple of places to go when you just need a meal out. My ultimate favorite would have to be the Italian place, Borgo Antico, but we don't go there too often because it's way overpriced. However, it is delicious, so when we go, it's money well-spent. The more reasonable-priced Italian place is Pomodoro, which is also so yummy, but not as fancy. The chef is Italian and is so nice. His bean and tuna salad is amazing. That is something I will be trying to recreate back in the US.

As far as recipes to bring home? Not really. I would like to know how to make the Uzbek dish, Lagmon, but I've only had it in restaurants, so I haven't had anyone's homemade version yet. If I do, I'll ask for it. But something tells me, I wouldn't get it from them! I should research and see if I can find a recipe online. The one thing that would probably be difficult to find in the US for the dish is the noodles. You can get them here in the frozen section for very cheap.

The weather: Well, we were told the winter was going to be absolutely horrendous: 6 foot high walls of snow around the city, -30 degree weather for weeks on end, just miserable.

It turns out, we caught the big K during an uncharacteristically warm winter. It really has been a lot like Colorado, minus the ability to have temperatures that rise 40 degrees in one day. We've had a few nice snowfalls of several inches, and the winter temps have been in the 20's-30's. There have been a few days in the teens, but nothing shockingly cold. Spring is definitely arriving now and it's beautiful! It's been rainy this week and should continue to be through the weekend, but I don't mind. By the time we leave at the end of June, it should be pretty warm, around the low 90's. Last July and August, there were several weeks of above 100 days. It was hot, but a dry hot, so still not horrible.

I kind of answered the one about the local vs. ex-pat friends before.

What will I miss when we come back home? I will definitely miss the people we have met. We have made friends with other teachers, people from church, and we knew our friends, Matt & Jonna would be here when we got here. Maybe we'll be able to come back and visit someday and see those people, if they're still here. This place is constantly changing ~ so many people coming and going, even locals will leave the country to go to school. Ex-pats typically stay for maybe a few years and then move on to another assignment. Even if we did stay for the three years that we originally planned, we would probably have to say good-bye to a lot of the people we know now, anyway.

Thankfully, it is not too difficult to stay in touch these days!

Good questions, Jessie!

Last night, I was exhausted after work, so we stayed home and I made chicken bake. Which reminds me, I'm going to tell you how to make that, but I left my camera with a picture of it on the dining room table, so it'll have to wait. Chicken bake is one of the best comfort foods, ever, so I hope you'll try it and love it.

the big K life...

What do you like about the big K people? and/or lifestyle of the K's? - Angie

Hmmmm, well, I have come to appreciate a good mullet.

Oh, I'm kidding. But seriously, the big K loves the mullets! There's this really nice girl at our church who has the most major mullet I've ever seen....down to her lower back, shaved underneath, kool-aid red streaks. It's amazing.

Okay, back to the question, with a more serious answer! This is actually a very tough question for me. Probably one of the greatest things I have struggled with during the last 9 months has been the people here. They are extremely frustrating because they do things so differently (in a way that does not logically make sense) but they keep doing it because someone told them to do it that way (Soviet mindset) and they are really stubborn.

Think outside the box? Why?

We experience this constantly at the school because much of the administrative staff are locals and their inefficiency effects the rest of the staff greatly. When we suggest that they change the way they are doing something, they refuse. But we have found that if we keep at it, they finally realize (several months down the road) that the way you are suggesting is much easier and more efficient and they act like it was their idea all along! You have to swallow your pride constantly around here. This is so difficult, coming from a Western background, where speed and efficiency are so important to life function. So, to sum up: everything is a battle.

Obviously, this attitude is not just in the workplace, but spills over to every part of your lifestyle. We are actually floored when we eat at a restaurant and our salad comes out before our main course and when we can actually eat our meals at the same time. What is typical is they bring out whatever is ready, whenever it is ready, regardless of what it is. Many times, I have had soup or salad for dessert. Also, rarely is the food hot. One of the most noticeable inefficiencies we noticed within the first week of being here is that each restaurant has a cashier. This is the only person in the place who has access to a cash register (due to the lack of trust). They are usually locked in a tiny room in the back, so when you ask for the check ("shutt"), it takes about 10 minutes to actually see the check. Then, once you put your money inside, they take it away and it could be a good 20 minutes before you get your change. So, we are usually sitting at the table with no food or drinks left, just waiting. It's even worse if you want to pay with your credit card, so we made the switch to all cash a long time ago. If you want to pay with your credit card, they take your passport with the check, which is a nerve-wracking experience.

You learn to accept things and laugh about it. And learn that leaving a restaurant when you're finished is not a quick and simple task.

Without trying to be rude, or whatever, I'd have to say that the reason I'll never live in an ex-Soviet country again is because I don't have the patience for the above reasons for the lifestyle here. I have learned to accept everything, but I don't like it. It has been one of the most difficult times in my life, mostly because I can't understand the stupidity.

I could go on and on about more examples of the odd lifestyle here, but I won't.

Unless you want me to. I don't want to gripe and complain, but most of the stuff is so funny! But at the same time, it's funny because it's so unbelievable, so then I sound negative.

Obviously, experiencing the life here is something I will never forget. It makes me appreciate life in the US so much more. It puts the little trials in the US to shame.

My Favorite Thing(s)...

My question is: What is your favorite thing about the Big K.? make a list. Your probably going to say grandma you are nuts. Oh well. from the picture the mountains are beautiful, and some food (adventure). Love you!!! - Gramma

That's my Gramma G. She has a blog that shows how talented of a painter she is. Quite the artist! She is so creative and is always making things....paintings, quilts (for ALL of her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren - that's 30 quilts, people), cooking, sewing, painting pottery (she painted me a set of pasta bowls that I just LOVE), and knitting. I'm sure there are plenty of other things she is creative with, but you get the idea.

Anyway, to Gramma's question...

Gramma, it is hard to say what is my favorite thing about the big K right now. I suppose one day, my favorite things about here will be some things I despised while I was here! I have to say that right now, my favorite thing has to be the people we have met and come to know during our time here. We know mostly ex-pats, but we have come to know a few locals. At first, the local people here come across as extremely rude. Most of the time, I still think they are rude. They don't smile, they push you out of their way, they are very impatient, and they tend to yell at you in Russian to show their disapproval. Then, when you tell them you don't speak Russian and you don't understand, they continue to yell at you in Russian, expecting you to respond. It's very humbling.

But, once you get to know someone and they realize you are trying to learn Russian and you are trying to live in their culture, they are very warm and hospitable and understanding. It just seems to take a long time to win that chance.

I would not say I love the food here, as it is very meat & potatoey, cabbage-ey, horsey-type food. It's not really my cup of tea. This is not what one would call a culinary capital. It's stick-to-your-ribs, survival food that reminds you that these people have lived through some very difficult times and ate what they had to eat. They continue to eat it because it is all they know. Since the cities are becoming more and more westernized, they are being exposed to the strange foods from far away lands, like Italian. And from what I understand, they love them some pizza.

Good question, Gramma!

Tomorrow, I will answer the next question, which I believe was from my Daddy.

Have a good Monday!

4th Worst...

Haha! I just love this. Of course we are living here!

What to Write...

I have no idea. Huzz and I are just plugging away. Well, I am mostly plugging away, while Huzz is sleeping in to all hours of the late morning/early afternoon. Granted, he is staying up until about 2:00 am, when the markets close in the US, but still...

I am slaving away at this thing called a job.

Let's see...My friend, Julie, is getting married this weekend, soooooo....

HAPPY WEDDING, JULIE & DAN!!!

What else? My sister dyed her beautiful hair black while on spring break in Florida last week. I totally understand the whole dye-your-hair-while-on-spring-break thing, but I always got carried away with the hi-lighting kit with my cousins and ended up with super-blonde locks.

Sista and I may look and sound alike, but we are very different. In good ways, of course!

Only 1 1/2 more days till the weekend. It could not come soon enough. Seriously.

I am having total writer's block. So, here's what I'm going to do...

It's Question Time. If there's something you're wondering about living in the big K or what's been going on during this past year, ask me! I want to answer questions about here while I'm living it so that when we get back to the US, I'm not racking my brain, trying to remember. Plus, since this is the only version of a scrapbook I'll actually take the time to make, it will be a great way to keep these things documented. You know, for all the generations of my offspring that will read it. Ha!

Ask your question by leaving a comment, and I will answer on this here blog. Isn't that quaint?

My Big K Gal Pals...

On the actual day that is of the woman, which was Sunday, most of the lady teachers from my school got together at this Middle Eastern restaurant, Saffran, for some good grub and socializing.


These are my nice girlfriends, here in the big K. Sonia (from Ireland), Katy (from England, with Billie almost done in the oven), me, and Narita (from Scotland).

I was miserably full by the end of eating my Hommous, Moroccan Bean Soup, and Khachapuri. But it was so delicious.


Then, on Monday, we had the day off of school because Women's Day is a national holiday here. Huzz suggested we go back to this great Korean restaurant for spicy ramen. Good choice, Huzz.

Look at all the food we got! We were only expecting the ramen, but then they brought SEVEN complimentary side dishes. There was plain kimchi, which we didn't touch, cucumber kimchi (yum), onion omelette thingy, seaweed strips, some type of warm, kimchi-tasting thing that was delish, and another kimchi thing that I liked.


And the ramen was sooooo tasty and spicy, I almost died. My ears were burning, it was so hot!

The best part of it all was we got all that food and two liters of cola (I don't want a large Farva, I want a friggin' liter of cola! -- name that movie!) for only 2500 Tenge, which at this day and age comes to about $17.


Can't beat it.


I love Women's Day. New delightfully delicious holiday!

Woman's Day...

Today is International Women's Day, or as the people here like to call it, "Woman's Day." It makes me laugh a bit.

Apparently, it is a huge holiday here, as we don't have school on Monday because it is a government mandated holiday. Even though it's International Women's Day, it is only recognized as a holiday in a few countries. Seems to be countries that are not known for treating their women so nice in the past.

The more I think about it, I think it is a holiday worth celebrating here (maybe all businesses and governmental buildings closing is a little overkill, but...) because the women here have overcome a lot in the last twenty years or so. I have been surprised at the volume of the woman workforce here. It seems that most women do work and the majority are business-oriented. This is interesting because it also seems that the local men here are quite lazy. Not all of them, mind you. I don't want to get into trouble here. But as a whole, it is quite the opposite of what I thought it might be like.

Anyway, I was bombarded with flowers on Friday from students and parents. The big K-ers love flowers. And you better be careful when you give or receive flowers because and even amount of flowers in your bouquet symbolizes death. Thankfully, I have received only odd amounts of flowers. This is sort of weird to get used to, where in America, they sell flowers by the dozen and half dozen.

Look at these beauties! I love, love, love fresh flowers. But I know nothing about greenery of any type. I do not possess a green thumb of any kind. I get sad when they die. But I do know that I received tulips. Four bouquets, actually.

These yellow tulips are the most unique because I've never seen this kind before, with the frayed-type edges.

But my favorite are these. They're orange with purple tones on the underside of the blooms.

I also got a couple of little gifts: Dior j'adore perfume, which smells amazing, a card that has a bunch of Russian writing it and I have no idea what it says, but it probably says something like, Congratulations on being a woman and being my teacher. May you have happiness bless you all the days of your life. That sounds like a typical big K wish. And I got this book called, God, A Brief History. It actually looks like an interesting book, but it seems like such an odd book to give someone, especially your teacher! Only in the big K...

I will enjoy my Women's Day fully by sleeping in and going to the Korean restaurant for lunch to indulge in some Ramen noodles.

Happy International Women's Day, everybody!

Red Means Cold...

As I have mentioned before, we really like our new apartment. It's homey, it's comfortable, and it's a little quirky.

We have had some issues with the plumbing since we moved in. Nothing too major, but remember the incident with the police, and that whenever we shower, our floor collects considerably large puddles? Also, our kitchen sink faucet was bordering on inoperable. I kept telling Huzz that one day when I'm doing dishes, the handle was going to bust off and slightly cloudy big K water would be spraying everywhere.

Well, since Huzz spends the majority of his time working from home now, he has the time to be available for such things to get fixed. We decided to keep the shower situation on the down low, as we still aren't too keen on having our bathroom ripped apart while we are living here. Because in the big K, a job is rarely actually finished.

Our lovely Landlord, who speaks no English brought a plumber with him, who also spoke fluent Russian only, and they decided that instead of fixing the kitchen faucet, that they would actually replace it. I am still shocked about this! I was fully expecting them to fix the faucet, which would work fine for a few days (more like hours) and then probably bust off, like I had predicted.

Anyway, the new faucet works fantastic! Get this guys, it turns on and off with little effort at all. And, I can regulate the temperature! It brings washing dishes to a whole new level! I know, I know, I'm spoiled. But seriously, you know you're learning something about yourself when you feel spoiled because your kitchen faucet turns hot and cold water on and off. It's the little things.

I just have to keep thinking when I do turn the water on because it is hooked up backwards. Hot is to the right and is color-coded with the blue dial. And now that I think about it, in the three apartments we have lived in here in the big K, all of the kitchen faucets have been hooked up backwards. Is this what happens when you live on the other side of the world? Did Blue switch to meaning Hot?

It will be interesting to see if when we get back to the States, if I am actually used to the hot being to the right!

No Home...

As I came out of our apartment building this morning, I noticed an abundance of stray dogs. It's like they all came out of hibernation this week. Do stray dogs hibernate? And I got to thinking about it and realized I had heard a lot of barking last night. I continued on my merry way to the bus and when I glanced at the little park to my right, I saw at least 10 stray dogs, running around, fighting and yapping. One little chihuahua-type dog ran right in front of me and looked startled, as chihuahuas tend to do all the time.

All of a sudden, I noticed there was an Australian Sheperd-looking-type dog right behind me, sniffing my bag that was holding my shoes (I was wearing my wellies), water bottle, hard-boiled egg for breakfast, and my actimel that keeps my tummy in check.

I jumped and ran out of the way like a little girl.

I love dogs! I'm not afraid of them, and my theory is the bigger, the better. But I'm scared of stray dogs. They freak me out. They're so scraggly looking and they look like they might have some bloodlines that should be familiar to the common dog-lover, but not quite, and they are scavengers. They're stuck between domesticity and wildness, and they go back and forth without a moment's notice. I was afraid this dog might bite me. And give me rabies.

And then, she just stood there and looked at me all pitiful-like and I think she had been smelling my bag for food. I didn't tell her about my hard-boiled egg.

But I just felt so bad for her. I feel bad for all of these stray dogs. If they didn't freak me out so much and if we lived in a country where there were decent vets and if there was a humane society-type program, then I'd be very tempted to take in a stray, or at least give them to the shelter.

But I'm not. Maybe it has something to do with the dead ones I've seen in parking lots, on the side of the roads, and in the gutters. I dunno...maybe.

I'm Losing It...

Have any of you ever just passionately disliked your job?

Like, hate it?

If you have, or do, help me out. Tell me how you keep on going. Tell me how to get up in the morning, without feeling sick to my stomach. Tell me how to write the term reports that are due next week. Tell me how to have patience with my students. Tell me how to discipline without anger and annoyance and attitude. (The 3 A's - hehe) Tell me how to get through until June 12th. No wait, June 13th. We were just told today that the last day of school is actually on Saturday, June 13th because we have to have the awards ceremony for the students! Silly me, I would've thought that was scheduled for the last day of school on Friday. I mean, that is what every other school does.

So, we have been forbidden to fly out on that Saturday because our attendance is mandatory at this thing. That's not it, though. That evening, there is a "Summer Ball" that we are required to attend with the parents.

Seriously.

It's this junk that keeps me from enjoying any part of being here. I just want to leave...yesterday.

Internet, Schminternet...

We have been having some problems with our internet in our apartment. It doesn't like to work between 7-10 pm. Our best guess is the infrastructure cannot support the volume of internet users each evening, but we wanted to make sure there was nothing else interfering with our ability to use Skype.


So, Gulnara came over the other night and was going to bring an internet guy with her. She came and immediately realized that the cordless phone doesn't work. We knew this and had told them, but whatever... We were pretty sure this wasn't effecting the internet capabilities, since the cable runs through a splitter.


Gulnara called her mom (landlady) to tell her the phone doesn't work and we could tell they were arguing about that. Saida called back to tell Gulnara that the phone DOES work, even though it doesn't. Really.


The next part got Stephen and I chuckling because as Gulnara was on the phone with her mom, her speaking slowed down and her voice got loud and firm as she said, "Mom, eta telefon nee ra-bo-ta-yet!" She pronounced each syllable deliberately, much as I would if I were trying to make a point. The exact translation of what Gulnara said is, "Mom, the telephone does not work!"


We have told this story to our parents on skype and they didn't really laugh. We think it's hilarious! You are probably thinking, "Yeah, that's not that funny." I guess you had to be there.


Sometimes, we just find comfort in knowing that there are similar cultural things that happen, even if you're on the other side of the world. A daughter making a point to a stubborn mother can be handled with pro-nounc-ing each syl-la-ble, care-ful-ly, and loud-ly.


Just thought it was funny.

Could It BE Any Colder...

There is something wrong with this picture:

Can you tell what it is?

Yes, we are inside.

Yes, my students are wearing coats.

Why, you may ask? Well, today, my thermostat started to drop drastically. It started off at a comfortable 23 C. That's what it's set at. For all y'all who don't know Celcius, that's about 73.4 F.

Within a half hour, I watched the temperature drop down to 17.5 C. That's 63.5 F, people. That's when I sent my teaching assistant to find out what in sam hill was going on. She was told they were changing the filter in the furnace.

I watched it drop down to 16.0 C. That's 60.8 F. The F stands for FREEZING. That's when my kids' lips started turning blue and one of them asked me if it was going to snow in the classroom. We all put on our coats and tried to "toughen it out." I'm a very motivational speaker sometimes.

The fix-it man (if you can really call him that) stopped by at the end of the day to say it probably won't be fixed tomorrow. I told him (he speaks Russian) that it dang well better be because I have twenty students whose tails will freeze off if it's not fixed. He just looked at me with that Lady, I have no idea what you're saying and I don't care look.

And here's a glimpse into ex-Soviet living.

This is called: Here's a fancy-schmancy electronic thermostat so you can see how hot or cold your classroom is, but we don't trust you, even enough to control the temperature in your own classroom, so we're going to put a plastic case over the thermostat and a LOCK so that this one maintenance guy in the building can decide if your classroom's temperature is conducive to learning or not.

Plumbers, Police, and big P's...

Last night started like any other night...for about the first 5 minutes.

Huzz and I went to the bank on our way home after work to talk about our options with money, since the Tenge has lost about 25% of its value in the last week. It's just not good, people. Especially when your husband is a finance guy. Needless to say, I am learning all about "exchange rates" and "pegging to the dollar" and various words like that, which I never had any interest in before. Well, I still don't actually.

Anyway, we got home and I ran to the Toilet Room and noticed the toilet seat was wet. I promptly accused Huzz of weeing on the seat. After an insistent, "I didn't do it!" I looked up and noticed some droplets of water on the ceiling. We decided to keep an eye on it. Well, by about 7:30, it was constantly dripping all over the toilet and the floor, so we called the landlords. Their daughter, Gulnara, speaks great English and lucky for her, has automatically been designated to deal with us. She came over and took a look at it and agreed that it's not good and a good amount of water is coming through that there ceiling. She said her mom was going to call the plumbers and they'd probably come over. If we need translation, just call her and she'll talk to them.

The plumbers showed at about 9:30 and took a look at the dripping, told us they'd go up to the apartment above us. They were gone for about 10 minutes, came back down and said they'd be back.

I went to bed at about 11:00 and shut the door. That was the last of what I knew until this morning, when I asked Stephen what happened the night before. He replied, "The police showed up."

Um, what? Why? He didn't know why, but the upstairs neighbor showed up at the door at 11:45-ish, with two big K policemen standing behind him. They looked at the bathroom....those policemen know so much about plumbing, you know. And then they demanded to see Huzz's passport. That's when Huzz called the landlords again and let them know what was going on.

Apparently, he checked out alright, and they left. I stayed in the bedroom, and they never knew I was there. We are so thankful that He protected us.

Now, it just smells really bad in both the toilet room and the bathroom. We don't know why, but horrible fumes are coming up through the sink and the water in the toilet room just makes it smell so musty.

It just seems that when you're living someplace far away, especially, asking for big P's for our safety never seems to go out of style. It is very scary when you live somewhere where you cannot even trust the police.

Along with that, late last Friday night, a group of teachers were walking back from a restaurant and were approached by police who wanted to see all their passports. One of the teachers, who speaks Russian, didn't have it on her, so they walked to her apartment and she showed it to them and they went away....only to show up at 6:00 the next morning, demanding a cup of tea.

It's just scary! So anyway, if you think of it, please keep sending up the big P's not only for us, but also the other teachers and friends that we have made here. Corruption plays a big part in our lives here, which is scary for those of us who have not had to deal with this kind of corruption all our lives. We don't understand it and it effects us.

New Apart-a-mento

Hey there! Welcome to the big K, and welcome to our apartment that we moved into about a week and a half ago. Please excuse the piles of things around the place, as that's what happens when you live in furnished apartments. There's nowhere to put your STUFF that you brought with you.

So, this is what it looks like when you walk in the front door.

Don't you love this little sign? Our good friends, Matt & Jonna, gave it to us. We will keep it forever to remind us of our time here.

To the right is the living room. Now, here's what I'm talking about: there are no bookshelves in the apartment, so we have nowhere to store all of our DVD's and books, which are extremely important to us here! So, they are living in the box next to the couch.

This is the dining room, which is across from the living room. It gets lots of light because of the big window. That's why I liked this apartment. It doesn't feel like a hole.

Here is the kitchen, which is open to the dining room. It's alright. No dishwasher, though, and if you know me, you know that I DESPISE doing dishes.

This is the view from the kitchen. A few things to notice here: the drying rack for our laundry. The washing machines are just KILLING our clothes here. Air drying your clothes makes them very crunchy and threadbare...that and the fact that they spend about 3 hours in the washing machine with each cycle. Also, the curved doorway is leading to the living room.

This is the second bedroom that we only use to store a bunch of our STUFF and Stephen's clothes go in the wardrobe in there. And, all the bedding that the owners were storing in the wardrobe is now on the bed. There were about 10 blankets, none of which we are using because it FREAKS ME OUT to use strangers' bedding.

This is the toilet room. Not to be confused with the bathroom.

That is next door. Why they are separate, I'll never know. I'm sure there's some non-logical reasoning behind this.

This is the view from the bathroom, looking back at the front door.

And this is our bedroom. It's pretty much just big enough for the bed, bedside tables, and wardrobe. The sheets are ours and the afghan is one that I knitted a few years ago. Those are the only bedding items that my face will be touching.

Looking out of our bedroom.

And this is how I feel like it is sort of home: our books and pictures are arranged on the window sill in the living room. I look at these every day!