Friends From Faraway Lands
So, recently we've been blessed to have not one, but two visitors from across the pond come to see us in T-land! David, who you'll all remember from previous blogs, came from Canada, and P came from the US. We really enjoyed both visits, though we wished that both could have brought their wives (and stayed longer!).
Anyway, on to the pictures!
One thing you always notice when you go over the mountains into the rest of the country is how different everything is. A more "modern" feeling, etc. So, on the way back to T-land after picking up P from the airport it was clear that we were getting back home when you start to see cows blocking the road!
Still, when you get views like this, it's totally worth it.
Or not, maybe. Poor P. After a long layover and a night on the airport floor, he was exhausted by the time we got back to our house. As we entered our building, I said "Oh, I really hope the elevator is working" as it's frequently out and I had no desire to climb up to the 8th floor carrying a suitcase.
Well, it turned out that it was working ... temporarily. We got in, pushed the button for the 8th floor, and the power went out. Juuuust the way you want to end a long trip. Fortunately, P's camera had a flash and managed to capture our bemused reaction to standing in a small elevator with three men and several bags in the dark. Eventually, someone came from the elevator repair place came and rescued us so that we could very gratefully climb the stairs without complaining (hey, it's better than being trapped in a steel box!).
We wanted to show P around, so we took him all over the place. I really like how they've managed to find a translation for "Welcome" above, especially since that's not part of T culture and I've literally never heard anyone say the words on the poster.
Below are a couple of pictures from a visit to the local Buddhist temple, which was between services so we got to walk around inside a bit.
These pieces of paper lay on the table while the monks chant their mantras. They usually have the names of people or requests on them, and the idea is that the person receives what I call "karmic credit" for having their name on a paper at the ceremony (I should note that this is only partial credit, really, because they don't get as much as a person who actually attends). Interesting, no?
The Center of Asia monument, seen from down the street.
This is the kind of thing that someone from the West would notice, but you don't after you've been here a while. A truck in front of the market, selling live chickens to anyone who wants a source of eggs (and maybe meat, eventually) this winter.
Of course, we had to take P out for shashlik. Actually, I think we did it about 2-3 times while he was here.
Above: Bobbie with her (excellent) language helper, Vika. Below: Me with a friend from up north who came down to see what T-land was like.
Above: Yet another shashlik, this time in our friends' back yard.
Below: We had a couple of spare days at the end of P's visit, so we decided to take him out to see some of the natural beauty of T-land. This is Lake Chagytai, where we had an overnight camping trip.
Of course, since we were on the prairie side of the lake, the only source of fuel to be found were cow droppings, so we made our fire out of them. Trickier than you'd think, but once you master the idea of stacking them vertically it's not so bad.
I don't have as many pictures, but our friend David was also here recently. I guess you'll have to spot him by the top of his face over at the right of this picture, which I took when we hosted a goodbye party with a lot of his old buddies. We had pizza, chips, and a good time seeing all these folks, some of whom we hadn't seen in a while.
And to end with, I have some pictures of the kids being silly, mostly for the grandparents. Playing in hammocks, making faces, or "sword-fighting" with visitors, our boys always seem to be able to find adventure in simple places.
And that's about it. More on our new business and how it's progressing in our next update, perhaps. Love you all!
Anyway, on to the pictures!
One thing you always notice when you go over the mountains into the rest of the country is how different everything is. A more "modern" feeling, etc. So, on the way back to T-land after picking up P from the airport it was clear that we were getting back home when you start to see cows blocking the road!
Still, when you get views like this, it's totally worth it.
Or not, maybe. Poor P. After a long layover and a night on the airport floor, he was exhausted by the time we got back to our house. As we entered our building, I said "Oh, I really hope the elevator is working" as it's frequently out and I had no desire to climb up to the 8th floor carrying a suitcase.
Well, it turned out that it was working ... temporarily. We got in, pushed the button for the 8th floor, and the power went out. Juuuust the way you want to end a long trip. Fortunately, P's camera had a flash and managed to capture our bemused reaction to standing in a small elevator with three men and several bags in the dark. Eventually, someone came from the elevator repair place came and rescued us so that we could very gratefully climb the stairs without complaining (hey, it's better than being trapped in a steel box!).
We wanted to show P around, so we took him all over the place. I really like how they've managed to find a translation for "Welcome" above, especially since that's not part of T culture and I've literally never heard anyone say the words on the poster.
Below are a couple of pictures from a visit to the local Buddhist temple, which was between services so we got to walk around inside a bit.
These pieces of paper lay on the table while the monks chant their mantras. They usually have the names of people or requests on them, and the idea is that the person receives what I call "karmic credit" for having their name on a paper at the ceremony (I should note that this is only partial credit, really, because they don't get as much as a person who actually attends). Interesting, no?
The Center of Asia monument, seen from down the street.
This is the kind of thing that someone from the West would notice, but you don't after you've been here a while. A truck in front of the market, selling live chickens to anyone who wants a source of eggs (and maybe meat, eventually) this winter.
Of course, we had to take P out for shashlik. Actually, I think we did it about 2-3 times while he was here.
Above: Bobbie with her (excellent) language helper, Vika. Below: Me with a friend from up north who came down to see what T-land was like.
Above: Yet another shashlik, this time in our friends' back yard.
Below: We had a couple of spare days at the end of P's visit, so we decided to take him out to see some of the natural beauty of T-land. This is Lake Chagytai, where we had an overnight camping trip.
Of course, since we were on the prairie side of the lake, the only source of fuel to be found were cow droppings, so we made our fire out of them. Trickier than you'd think, but once you master the idea of stacking them vertically it's not so bad.
I don't have as many pictures, but our friend David was also here recently. I guess you'll have to spot him by the top of his face over at the right of this picture, which I took when we hosted a goodbye party with a lot of his old buddies. We had pizza, chips, and a good time seeing all these folks, some of whom we hadn't seen in a while.
And to end with, I have some pictures of the kids being silly, mostly for the grandparents. Playing in hammocks, making faces, or "sword-fighting" with visitors, our boys always seem to be able to find adventure in simple places.
And that's about it. More on our new business and how it's progressing in our next update, perhaps. Love you all!
