New Bikes and a House

What more could we ask for when we live in a house in Kazakhstan and have happy kids--at least most of the time. We moved out of the apartment to a house in a gated community. We do realize that we live in a bubble and this isn't the reality of Kazakhstan,but it is so great for Kyla and Cody. They may go outside freely and there are places for them to bike. This gated community is right next to the school so we all walk and bike there and it takes less than 5 minutes.

The house is a great size--3 bedrooms and an office. The crazy thing is that there are 3 bathrooms in this pretty average house. It is either feast or famine here.

A Happy Birthday

I just celebrated a b-day and I celebrated it Russian Style. Russian Style means you bring your own cake and snacks to work and share them with all your colleagues. Because we have had so much trouble with buying a chocolate cake, I thought I would go for something that looked very chocolate and not worry about the price and go a little more top end and pray that it tasted good. Well, once again I got skunked on the cake. Right after Olga read the Russian label on the box I had a good laugh. I thought the flowers on the top of the cake were made from chocolate but they are prunes. The label on the cake said Prune Cream Cake. No one complained and the whole cake was eaten and no one saw the humour in it except the nurse and me.


This is our office--Olga and I work in here doing the books, registering all the new students, collectioning tuition and giving the guys money for all the errands they do for the school and the teachers. The other girls are Irena, Ludmilla, Olga, Assem, Gulmira and another Olga. It is like a pre-requisite to get a job here--have the name Olga.

On Sunday night, some friends stopped by kind of unexpectantly--I just happened to have made a pretty large--very kid friendly dinner--pizza and macaroni and cheese. They brought cake, beer, a present and flowers. The day was complete--lots of good conversation and lots of humour and laughing. Brock is from Wisconsin--he is new this year, Kyle is from Texas and he hangs out in White Rock every summer so he is now a Canadian Texan, Wendy is from New Zealand and Malu is from the Phillipines--she teaches at another International School in Almaty. A bit of a motley crew but always a good time had by all.

It`s true: Apples are from...

A highly recommended read. You`ll laugh, you`ll cry, you`ll learn something. We did. Everytime I eat an apple, I`m reminded of where I currently live and how much priviledge there is in the western hemisphere of this planet. Read, eat, remember and believe.

Apples are from Kazakhstan: Part 1

This is Edna, Kyla, and C.B., sometimes refered to by her first name, Wendy. Originally from New Zealand, C.B. is part of our regular weekend mountaineering group. Several weeks ago, our hiking group crossed a ridge, at altitude, and descended into this apple orchard. A common site in and around Almaty are huge, seemingly abandoned orchards. Not sure how this phenomenom came about, but I suspect it has something to do with the profound failures of the Soviet experiment. This lady and her grandkids were hauling out a 50lb sack of apples. She told us they were the infamous Aports and she gestured that there were plenty more up the hill. Hundreds of trees, no discernable property owner, but plenty of pickers, including 5 incredulous westerners. We climbed the trees or shook them and Cody did an admirable job of chasing the big ones as they rolled down the hill, halfway back to town.

Apples really are from Kazakhstan.

Apples: Part 2

These are Aports, and there is no shortage of them. Streets and shopping malls are named after them. They're either delicious or sour, depending on when you pick them. The free-range cows, goats, and horses that roam around within 10 minutes of the city limits feast on them. Locals, and us, can just walk into any unattended orchard and stock up for the week. Many enterprising youth will lug out a 50lb sack and then set up a fruit stand on the curb. Driving out to this area, we passed 10 or 20 such stands.

Fall colours in the apple orchard. Hundreds of trees, several varieties. Most of them were quite sour, but some were fantastic and they smelled great too.

And this is "the apple of my eye." The saying originally refered to the central aperture of the eye, presumably because apples were the most common sphere-shaped objects around. The apple and the apple tree were also sacred symbols for the early British people. Today, this phrase is usually figurative, applied to someone who is cherished--Kyla Vanwerkhoven, aka., "Loop."

Hike: Part 1

A few weeks ago we were tripping around in the mountains here: The Tian Shan. At the end of the day we spotted a huge peak that was shaped like a pyramid, without snow on it. We came back to work and told a bunch of our fellow hikers and then organized a loose group of them to go back and climb it. We call ourselves A.I.C.H. Almaty International Club of Hikers (pronounced, fittingly, ache).

We began our hike at about 5,000 feet. Unlike B.C., there's very few trees above 5-6,000 feet. It was a nice sunny day. We found some early 'September' snow, but that didn't stop us. At about 8,000, there was a neo-yurt. They were selling tea, bread, coke, and, of course, vodka. So we had some--tea, that is. This is Kyle, Malu, Streeter, Brock, and the Gaines gang, enjoying a little break. The locals were a little concerned that we were just sitting around in our T-shirts soaking up some sun. Anything to do with "the cold" horrifies them, including ice-cubes in their drinks. Most of them are 100% certain that you can get a cold if you eat too much ice-cream (I'm not making fun of them; they really do believe it).

Hike: Part 2

This is Josh Gaines. He's pointing to the top of a peak that we have planned to climb. He's from Idaho. His wife, Tara, and a bunch of our friends here are going to climb up to the Everest Base Camp (18,000 feet), during our Christmas holidays. So this should be easy for him.

My new GPS indicates 10, 042 feet. Getting close.

I don't want to use the name of the guy that has been in hiding since that 'incident' in New York eight years ago (the bastards at the CIA are electronically tracking every thing I write), but when you see landscapes like this, you begin to realize how big the world is and how many hidey-holes there really are. We're only two countries away from Afghanistan, but he's probably living in Okeefenokee Swamp, Florida.

This is the very top. 10,682 feet. We were tired and hungry but quite happy to reach the peak. The views were spectacular in every direction except to the north--Almaty was shrouded in smog.

Hiking at Chimbulak

A couple of weeks ago we headed up to the mountains to check out the ski hill--they said the chairlifts were running. It was a beautiful day--we left and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. There were 3 chairlifts to get to the top of the mountain. We took the first one, hiked the second lift and then it started getting pretty cold and the clouds started rolling in. Sometimes, we couldn't see the top of the hill. There was a break in the clouds so we took the last chairlift. It was great up there but very cold and then the clouds moved back in--the ride down was very cold. They were renting coats at the bottom of the hill for 300 tenge--I guess we should of gone for the deal of the day. Once again, I should of listened to the old man that walked up to us and told us in Russian--couldn't quite understand him but I got the point--dress your kids better, they need jackets. I think that is the third time in a year that I have been reprimanded for that. One time a man gave me a little shove and then proceeded to bawl me out that Cody should have his coat on and that it should not be in the grocery cart. I gave him my best "drop dead" look and I think he too got the point.
Dave thought this sign was the best. These people hiked all the ways up--she was wearing flip flops!!! As we hiked down, they waved to us from the chair lift. When we were hiking up, there was a man that yelled at us in English, asking where we were from and we told him--he was from Russia and then laughily added "The Rockies Suck!" What is up with that? He didn't make any new friends that day.

These animals were at the top of the second chairlift--not sure what they are but I wasn't going to get too close--those are long horns. Dave went for the National Geographic photo while we hung back.

Friends In Canada!!!

We had a great visit in Canada this summer. Visiting was a top priority and if you ask Dave, we did plenty of that. Kyla and Cody had a great time getting together with all their buddies!! Thanks again for being such great hosts!!!

London

Buckingham Palace and Trafalger Square. Beautiful places, but packed with tourists like us. London must be the most visited city in the world. There's so much to see and you can walk most of it. Everybody is helpful, unless you need a bathroom. Big Ben can be heard anywhere in the downtown core and you have to be careful crossing the street because of the right-hand drive thing--we habitually look to the left when crossing but the danger is actually on your right-side.

Kyla and Company

This is Kyla's afterschool gang. They play in the school compound together after their last class while they wait for Edna and I to finish for the day.

The girl on the left is Rufina. She was born in Kazakhstan but she is Uiger. The Uiger people don't have a homeland. Most of their ancestors are from a distinct region of northern China, but China won't let them back in the country. They aren't Kazakh until they are 18. Then they can apply for citizenship. So they're actually refugees. Only a few countries will recognize their plight: Canada and, I think, Belgium. They want to establish a homeland called Uigerstan, but I don't think it will ever happen.

The other two girls are Tiba and Nabia. They were born in India. They're moving to Aktau,

Kazakhstan, on the Caspian Sea, next week. Our friends and co-workers move all the time.

Cody's Birthday Party.

Cody turned 6 years old in August. Cakes are beautiful here but not always so tasty and we are never sure of what is under the icing until we cut it open. Before we left for Kazakhstan we had a birthday party in Canada and his Auntie Tina and Uncle George supplied Cody with his dream cake--chocolate both inside and outside. He had another small party with some friends in Kazakhstan. They had a great time being quite silly. Kyla was pretty happy, she got a few gifts 's from her aunts b/c it was her brother's birthday.

Buskers

busk: to entertain in the street or other public place in the hope of receiving money from passers-by. (wikipedia)

What this guy could do with his balls was amazing!

The Thames

The next time you see a bottle of HP Sauce, compare the logo to the backdrop of these photos. HP equals "Houses of Parliament." That's the Thames right in front. This 'statue guy' was fairly impressive. Covered in silver paint from top to bottom, he would stand absolutely motionless until someone dropped a coin in his cup.When he heard the 'clink,' he would move a little. Kyla droppped in enough money so that she could shake his hand. Street busking is a very common sight in London.

A Visit with Liz?

On our way to Canada we had 24 hours in London. We made the most of it and headed straight to the Tube and got on the first train to Buckingham Palace to have tea with Liz. She was little busy so we just walked around her place. We got the last two minutes of the changing of the guard. We saw about 10 black bear hats from Canada walk by and then it was over.

Right after the tour of Liz's place we headed down to Big Ben and Kyla tried out a couple of telephone booths. We are standing around and I am taking this picture and some Russian guy comes up to me and tells me how to take this picture and that I have to have Big Ben in the background. It was a good suggestion but we are only out of Kazakhstan for 10 hours and I am still being bossed around by the Russians!!

We were getting pretty tired but we did manage to find one geo cache in London. This one was in a very busy intersection and it took us about 10 minutes to find and I am sure a few people thought we were pretty strange looking everywhere and under everything in this little square--but we were successfull. It was on the back side of this arrow sign--seems pretty obvious now. It was a magnetic key box so it just had notes in it--no prizes for the kids.

Nectarines from China

These nectarines are from China, a scant 100km away. Can anyone out there read what it says on them? Not sure how they do it. Does it say "Produce of Chernobyl Farms?"

Cody the Orator

Cody completed Kindergarten last June. He can, essentially, read. His teachers, Mr. Cobbs and Ms. Sergeava, have been awesome with him this year. At the end of the year, the kids presented poems that they wrote and then they hosted a classroom party where they read their work. Here's Cody's first published piece, subject to copyright:

McQueen 95

McQueen is a car.

McQueen can won a race.

McQueen can race.
McQueen has a girlfriend.

Note the subtle references to angst, competitiveness, and sexual tension. McQueen is a mysterious blend of subject and object, of the ethereal and the static; the torturous relationship between the kinetic and the raw release of primal vigour has never been expressed more poignantly. A bright future for CJV.

Back in Almaty

Greetings. We are back in K'-town. We've recently moved to a new home and our Internet isn't hooked up yet. We will publish photos of our recent trip to Canada and England, shortly.

It was great to see so many of our friends and family. It was equally great to speak unabated English for 6 weeks.

We've all been back in school since August 24th: Edna-office; Kyla-Grade 3; Cody-Grade 1; me-classroom.

We enjoy getting e-mails from you and comments on the blog are always welcome.

Have a great September.

The V's.