(Maureen's Post)
Today was an event-filled day. In the morning it snowed pretty hard with very large flakes falling from the sky, the biggest snowflakes we've seen yet! Despite the weather, Sean and Bob Mechem went for a walk and took some pretty interesting pictures of some statues in town. In the afternoon, the snow stopped falling, and I had a chance to get out and walked with Jodi Mechem and the Sullivans over to the Tsum store. We met up with Jenny Kurtz and two more families who came to Kokshetau after us and are also staying at the same hotel the Kurtz's are staying in. Our walk was pretty interesting in that we were approached by a young Kazakh guy, probably in his twenties, who may have been trying to be friendly because he heard us talking and figured out we were Americans and tried to talk to us (the Sullivans did smell a little alcohol on his breath, though), but with the language barrier communication was difficult. Add to the fact that we're not really trying to call attention to ourselves, as it may cause some misunderstanding, and you've got a very tense situation. International adoption is not always looked favorably upon by everyone. He kept asking us if we spoke Russian and even looked at me and asked me in Russian if I was an American, too, maybe because my appearance is similar to a Kazakh. He finally left us alone once he found someone to light his cigarette for him. It was quite an amusing encounter.
Today was an event-filled day. In the morning it snowed pretty hard with very large flakes falling from the sky, the biggest snowflakes we've seen yet! Despite the weather, Sean and Bob Mechem went for a walk and took some pretty interesting pictures of some statues in town. In the afternoon, the snow stopped falling, and I had a chance to get out and walked with Jodi Mechem and the Sullivans over to the Tsum store. We met up with Jenny Kurtz and two more families who came to Kokshetau after us and are also staying at the same hotel the Kurtz's are staying in. Our walk was pretty interesting in that we were approached by a young Kazakh guy, probably in his twenties, who may have been trying to be friendly because he heard us talking and figured out we were Americans and tried to talk to us (the Sullivans did smell a little alcohol on his breath, though), but with the language barrier communication was difficult. Add to the fact that we're not really trying to call attention to ourselves, as it may cause some misunderstanding, and you've got a very tense situation. International adoption is not always looked favorably upon by everyone. He kept asking us if we spoke Russian and even looked at me and asked me in Russian if I was an American, too, maybe because my appearance is similar to a Kazakh. He finally left us alone once he found someone to light his cigarette for him. It was quite an amusing encounter.
Anyway, it was nice to just walk around and see the different vendors and what they were selling. I was able to actually find some cheese that resembled colby cheese. I will try it and let you know the verdict. There really aren't too many different flavors of cheese found here like at home. Usually you can find mozzarella, but other than that, there's just simply cheese without a whole lot of flavor to it; we've tried a couple of kinds. Sean did mention earlier finding edam when he went to the Viola Market. It was kind of interesting because the lady at the cheese counter tried to get him to taste it first before buying it because she thought that it might be too strong or salty. Of course, we're used to more flavorful cheese at home, so it was fine for us.
Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent for us. Sean learned from Rada, the Mechem's interpreter, that last Sunday was Pancake Day. The Sullivans told us that the Baby House in Tshcuchinsk celebrated Pancake Day with pancakes, of course, and a clown to entertain the children and get them to play games. We did some research online and learned that traditionally Pancake Day is a feast day meant for people to use up all their eggs, oil, and dairy before Great Lent in the Russian Orthodox Church. During Lent they also fast and abstain from meat until Easter Sunday (called Great and Holy Pascha) as we do, but their dietary restrictions are much stricter than ours, including full fast on the first day of Great Lent and full abstention from all meat until after Easter. I think there may be one day when caviar is allowed. Anyway, Rada went with Sean and Bob to the Viola Market on Monday when they were taking care of errands and helped Sean get the Russian pancake, bliny. They were probably left over from Pancake Day on Sunday. The blintzes Sean brought home were filled with sweetened condensed milk and caramel. We had them for breakfast on Fat Tuesday; we heated them up in the microwave and ate them with raspberry jam - delicious! Sean was able to find some frozen fish sticks at the pick-up store so we ate those and some french fries for our one meal today. You can probably guess what we'll be having on Friday, too. We learned during our city tour last week that there is one Catholic church here in Kokshetau. However, it's not really within walking distance from where we are, and with so many adopting families here in Kokshetau the drivers are spread kind of thin right now so we didn't want to impose on them. So, unfortunately, we have not been able to attend Mass, which we miss very much.
Well, we finished watching season 1 of "Lost" yesterday. We have decided to pick up with the next season after we get home. Auntie Marilyn, if you're reading this, we may be asking you to bring season 2 with you when you come to visit us in a couple of months!
That concludes today's post. Paka, everyone!
