Today we brought some books for the kids to look at. We had Borya and the Burps, a story about a Russian baby boy who is adopted by an American couple; Russian Barbie ABC, which is an ABC book in Russian with the English words also (we bought that when we were in Kaz last time for Bella); and First 1000 Words in Russian, which has pictures of everyday things (classroom, kitchen, city street, farm, etc) with all the things in the pictures written in English and Russian. We had the kids practice their new names again, as well as our names and their brothers and sisters. Whenever they try to say Fred, it comes out friend, which I think is cute.
Afterwards we went shopping to buy Borya and Julia clothes they will need for their journey home. That was more difficult than I thought, and way more expensive. Five yrs ago, prices in Kazakhstan were a fraction of what they were back in the states. Today we've found that the regular stores' prices are just out of the question. So then we went to "the markets", thinking we could get things much cheaper if we were walking through puddles, down narrow, dark aisles covered by tarps, and crossing over planks. Nyet. We still had a heck of a time finding a coat for less than 6000 tenge, which is about $50.00. Even then, the coat we bought Borya, which is so heavy I have a hard time carrying it, caused our sweet translator Olga to look at us sideways and shake her head. Though the kids will not be walking the streets in winter Kaz weather, we are expected to bundle these kids as if they're going on an Arctic expedition. They will be driven by heated car back and forth to buildings so hot you could roast your Thanksgiving turkey in them, but we were given a list of things to buy the kids for the trip which included long underwear, tights, fur boots, jackets, coats (yes, I said jackets AND coats), scarves, gloves, caps and more.
Ooh, gotta go! Without looking at the TV, I can tell you that Russian SpongeBob is on. And it's not just the music I recognize (sad but true). The other day in the car I found myself singing along to a Kazakh pop song I've heard a couple times. You know you've been in Kazakhstan too long when .....
Afterwards we went shopping to buy Borya and Julia clothes they will need for their journey home. That was more difficult than I thought, and way more expensive. Five yrs ago, prices in Kazakhstan were a fraction of what they were back in the states. Today we've found that the regular stores' prices are just out of the question. So then we went to "the markets", thinking we could get things much cheaper if we were walking through puddles, down narrow, dark aisles covered by tarps, and crossing over planks. Nyet. We still had a heck of a time finding a coat for less than 6000 tenge, which is about $50.00. Even then, the coat we bought Borya, which is so heavy I have a hard time carrying it, caused our sweet translator Olga to look at us sideways and shake her head. Though the kids will not be walking the streets in winter Kaz weather, we are expected to bundle these kids as if they're going on an Arctic expedition. They will be driven by heated car back and forth to buildings so hot you could roast your Thanksgiving turkey in them, but we were given a list of things to buy the kids for the trip which included long underwear, tights, fur boots, jackets, coats (yes, I said jackets AND coats), scarves, gloves, caps and more.
Ooh, gotta go! Without looking at the TV, I can tell you that Russian SpongeBob is on. And it's not just the music I recognize (sad but true). The other day in the car I found myself singing along to a Kazakh pop song I've heard a couple times. You know you've been in Kazakhstan too long when .....
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