I'm including some pictures of our apartment here in Karaganda in today's post. It has one bedroom with a pretty good layout, a washing machine, and enough storage space for all of the toys/books/workbooks we brought along to keep James busy during the down time. A lot of the storage space for James' stuff as well as all our gear for the laptop, portable DVD player, iPod, camera, and video camera was all in the TV entertainment center, so that was very convenient. There were even some toys left behind from families who were here before us.
Speaking of TV, we actually have a few cable stations we can watch. Of course, it's all mostly in Russian. Among the available channels are national channels in Russian, as well as a national cultural Kazakh channel, Russian MTV, Sport 1 and Sport 2 (similar to ESPN 1 and ESPN 2), some European sport channels, and other channels we are already familiar with, such as Discovery Channel, National Geographic, Nickelodeon etc., but dubbed in Russian. This is an upgrade from our entertainment selection on the TV when we were in Kokshetau in 2007. Our apartment there did not have cable, only 2 local channels - snowy and snowier. One was in Russian, and the other was in Kazakh. If it wasn't for the DVDs and the portable DVD player we brought with us back then we would have been bored out of heads. We brought lots of DVDs with us of mostly TV shows (we are currently alternating between Season 6 of "24" and Season 1 of "Big Bang Theory"). Just like last time, we brought cables to connect the portable DVD player to the regular TV. There's a lot to be said about watching the adventures of Jack Bauer on a screen bigger than an 8 inches.
A few nights ago we watched a show called "Takcи," or "Taxi." It's basically Kazakhstan's version of "Cash Cab." "Cash Cab" takes place in NYC, I believe, where "Takcи" takes place in one of the bigger cities in Kazakhstan, probably in Almaty. It has the same premise where people flag a taxi to go somehwere only to find out they are now contestants on a game show and must answer different trivia questions in order to win money, even soliciting help from passers-by. The show had two very pretty young ladies hailing a taxi one evening (on the way to the club or a party, maybe?) with them doubling down on the last trivia question once they arrived at their destination and winning a total of 15000 KZT. The following evening's contestants were a young couple with a toddler daughter. They ended up having to use a "lifeline" (I think they called the guy's dad) and also doubled down at the end to win 35000 KZT. Very interesting to watch!
Before we left home for Kazakhstan, Sean and I listened to our Pimsleur Russian I lessons on our iPods to give ourselves a refresher course. However, I can't stress enough how helpful it has also been to learn the Cyrillic alphabet, or at least to be familiar with the sounds each alphabet character makes. Knowing this makes it so much easier to decipher food labels, store and restaurant signs, weather updates on the TV, and even the settings on our washing machine. Our pocket Russian phrasebooks have also been valuable resources.
We continue to have good visits with Michael! He smiled at me today when I went to his crib to pick him up, so he's starting to recognize me. He sure did have a surprise waiting for us, though - a very big mess that escaped the confines of the diaper, even. Changing him as he kept wiggling around and trying to roll over while trying not to continue to spread the mess everywhere was a challenge! He played hard again and fell asleep in my arms right when it was time to take him back to his crib for the mid-day nap. He did, however, wake back up when I put him down because one of the other babies was crying, but I think he was too sleepy to cry. My afternoon solo visit with him was also good, and I was able to take him outside. He's usually more quiet once we're outside; I think it's because he's so busy looking around and observing all the things that are new to him.
Here are more pictures for you to enjoy!
Thanks for stopping by! See you tomorrow and love to all!
