Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Monday, February 14, 2011
Power to the People
We've mentioned before that this blog acts as our journal and photo album of the past 3 years. We plan to get it professionally printed and bound when we get back and then add it to the kids' photo album collection. This entry is for Kyla and Cody; let's jump ahead 10 years, when you are both in college. 
December, 2008: hundreds of thousands of people protested in Bangkok, Thailand, demanding the resignation of their Prime Minister because of government corruption and human rights issues. We arrived in the city less than a week after the people forced the ruling party to resign. We saw some of the remnants of the (mostly) peaceful, but vehement, protest.
April, 2010: hundreds of thousands of people protested in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan (less than 200km's from our home) demanding the resignation of their Prime Minister because of government corruption and human rights issues. Countless people died and thousands evacuated, including two Americans and their baby who stayed with us for a few days until order was restored after the PM was forced to resign. We stood in the square above one year earlier.
February, 2011: hundreds of thousands of people protested in Cairo, Egypt, demanding the resignation of...well, you get the idea. Details in this case are not required, except to say that we cancelled our tickets for the pyramids this Spring Break. In all these cases, the people were forced to throw rocks, endanger their lives, and ruin the economy in order to prepare a better future for their kids.
February 15th, Flag Day in Canada.
December, 2008: hundreds of thousands of people protested in Bangkok, Thailand, demanding the resignation of their Prime Minister because of government corruption and human rights issues. We arrived in the city less than a week after the people forced the ruling party to resign. We saw some of the remnants of the (mostly) peaceful, but vehement, protest.
April, 2010: hundreds of thousands of people protested in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan (less than 200km's from our home) demanding the resignation of their Prime Minister because of government corruption and human rights issues. Countless people died and thousands evacuated, including two Americans and their baby who stayed with us for a few days until order was restored after the PM was forced to resign. We stood in the square above one year earlier.
February, 2011: hundreds of thousands of people protested in Cairo, Egypt, demanding the resignation of...well, you get the idea. Details in this case are not required, except to say that we cancelled our tickets for the pyramids this Spring Break. In all these cases, the people were forced to throw rocks, endanger their lives, and ruin the economy in order to prepare a better future for their kids. Kyla and Cody: to be Canadian is an under-appreciated matter for some Westerners but it is, paradoxically, highly envied by other people in the world. I hope I never have to throw rocks at my government, but I would for you. 
February 15th, Flag Day in Canada.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Janury 2011
This is +28 celcius, December 26th: Mui Nhe, Vietnam. 
This is -10 in the sun, -20 in the shade, five days later.
We arrived at the Almaty airport at midnight, experiencing a 50 degree temperature spread after a 6 hour flight.
You can spot this solitary stone on Google Earth at 43' 15.576 North and 76'01.095 East.
It's called the "Energy Rock." Not sure if it is an meteorite or an ancient tombstone or a radio-active remnant of an[other] failed Soviet experiement, but the locals revere it. We had a great day walking around in the sun, trying to feed the horses.
This is -10 in the sun, -20 in the shade, five days later.
We arrived at the Almaty airport at midnight, experiencing a 50 degree temperature spread after a 6 hour flight.
You can spot this solitary stone on Google Earth at 43' 15.576 North and 76'01.095 East.
It's called the "Energy Rock." Not sure if it is an meteorite or an ancient tombstone or a radio-active remnant of an[other] failed Soviet experiement, but the locals revere it. We had a great day walking around in the sun, trying to feed the horses. This One is for Kendra and Owen!
First of all--Congratulations Kendra on all your visits from the tooth fairy. You have a beautiful smile!! Cody has decided to join you with an impressive smile too!!
But, once again--he ate the tooth. The first one fell out while eating a camca--pastry with meat and onions inside. The next one came out while eating potatoes for lunch--he noticed something a little hard both times but just kept swallowing!!
Hil, you mentioned how Owen doesn't like to cooperate for his photo op's--well, Cody isn't too much better. I just asked that he show his teeth so that I could take a picture to send to Kendra and these are only 3 of the 7 shots. The last one was by far the best and I had to use a very serious "mom" voice to get that one. So, here's to you Owen.
This last picture is of some friends, Kyla and Cody hanging out on the stairs after having a good supper. These girls are the daughters from the "Chef" at school. Their mom is from Kazakhstan and dad is from Finland. Beautiful people!! A little intimidating cooking for a Chef--thank goodness he was gracious and he likes beer! Couldn't screw up on that one.
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