Our Kazak friends insisted on striking this pose

Even the pigeons are friendly here

It has been one really great memory after another the last few days.   We have had tons of things to laugh about ever since we started this trip.  The people we have met over here have been amazing in so mamy ways. Yesterday we had the opportunity to sightsee around Almaty with two of the staff team.  They took us to a huge park where they have a memorial to Kazaks who fought and died in WWII.  For a fairly new country (they gained independence in 1991) that has had a long, long history of being occupied by foreign empires they are a very proud people.  Even though it was freezing cold the park was busy with couples getting wedding pictures made, tourists, and locals.  From there we went to a huge bazaar, visited a beautiful Russian Orthodox church, got pecked and pooped on by a bunch of aggressive pigeons and had my new favorite meal sashlink or something like that. I can’t spell it or say it but it is real tasty.  These people know how to eat meat. No need for fancy side dishes or vegetables that could get in your way.  Anyway, I have single handedly destroyed many a  skewer of these things and only expect that to continue.

The train ride last night was crazy.  Eric in an attempt to improve US-Kazak relations mistakenly gave some 3 year old ruffian a Pez.  After an epic wrestling match to try and keep him from taking the whole Pez dispenser instead of just the one Pez candy it was game on the rest of the night.  This little boy who I named Pedro wasn’t giving up easy. He kept coming in to our private car demanding candy, grabbing things and trying to run off with any of our things he could grab.  Word to the wise don’t give a three year old Kazak boy candy and then expect him to leave you alone or behave.  Since my Russian is so horrible I talked with him in Spanish and had fun with that watching him try and understand me. I don’t know why I went with Spanish seeing how I can’t speak that either and he would have been equally confused hearing English.  We finally were able to get his Dad involved and he left and we drifted off to sleep serenaded by the cries of babies, barking dogs,  snores coming from either Eric or Rachel, and the usual noises of a 50 year old train that has been used hard over the years.

Looking forward to our next adventure. My hope is that it includes more little fellas and some sashlink.