A Beached Whale in Kazakhstan?

We only went to the morning visit today. We found out today that Milon can't leave until the 8th from Almaty because of Visa issues. This is a big blow for him because of missing so much work. Also, we are having to ask my dad to watch our dog for an extra week. This is not an easy task considering he has to go to our house twice a day to let her out!

Leah looked like a beach whale today! They had 4 layers on her today and we put her on her belly and she couldn’t move. Can you see the sweat on her head in the picture below?

It’s amazing how much fun a 3 yr old can have with a tie! He spent 2 hours playing with this tie…with the involvement of us of course!
Today was a warm day in Kazakhstan. The snow has melted off the roads and sidewalks and what is left is a slushy mess. I am not sure what the temperature was today but would guess it was somewhere in the 40’s. Big warm up from the past few days!

We spent the rest of the afternoon buying more minutes for the cell phone and going to the grocery store to stock up on the heavier items my mom and I will have a hard time carrying 1 mile! Like water, apple juice, diapers, etc. I actually went into the grocery store by myself today for practice! Rock on! I conquered my fear. Milon and Davis waited outside eating meat pies! I got everything I needed, emptied my basket, paid the cashier, told her I needed to buy 2 bags (yes, you have to buy bags here), put my groceries back into the basket, walked thru the security screener (without the basket), took the basket to the table and bagged my groceries! Now I need to practice with a lazy 3 yr old and an 11 month old in a snowsuit in tow!

I have to say Kazakhstan is a pretty interesting place. They don’t trust foreigners here! All the grocery stores have at least 2 security guards. They have walkie talkies and follow us around as we shop! Talk about feeling like a crook. I think in general they have trouble with shoplifting but because we look different and sound different, we are definitely thefts.

This trip is much cheaper than last. The Tenge is 150 to 1 dollar. A loaf of bread costs us 40 cents. I do have to say I think our grocery bill is high though! We spend on average $16 a day on groceries and go everyday! This is with buying only chicken every now and then! We have been planning out dinners (usually involves pasta) and eat sandwiches for lunch and eggs or yogurt for breakfast.

Aktobe doesn’t get many tourists here. Other than the occasional oil worker, not many people come here to visit unlike Almaty. We might be paranoid, but we don’t usually talk if we pass by a policeman or someone in an army uniform. We try to blend in as much as possible but our translator says it is very obvious we are American. Maybe it’s the backpack, lack of stiletto boots and skin tight black pants! We see the occasional Russian white person but they aren’t that prevalent….most are Kazakh.

They also freely spit on the sidewalks. There is frozen spit all over the place. They don’t even try to spit off the sidewalk so others don’t step in it!

They have a big problem with wild dogs. They are running wild everywhere. Most are limping from being hit by cars.

The stores here are much different than in the states. If you want to buy a paperclip, you buy one! There are little kiosk stores in the mall where you purchase things…no big box stores like we are use to. Everything in the stores look like it’s from Goodwill. I have no idea where they get the clothes from but they look like they are already worn and from the 70’s!

Off to make some chicken noodle soup for dinner!