King and Queen of the Mountain

King and Queen of the Mountain
Originally uploaded by mmfranke.

OK, one more picture. This time of the two of them near the top of the mountain where the ski resort is outside Almaty. The mountains here are quite spectacular. We may very well go back tomorrow, this time planning on doing a little hiking around the streams and such. Maybe a picnic.

Kokshetau Airport

Kokshetau Airport
Originally uploaded by mmfranke.

This is the airport in Kokshetau. There's just no way to capture the feeling, really. It feels like you're at an abandoned building from the outside. The parking lot is mostly dirt, and the pavement outside is crumbling to where the grass is starting to take over. Inside, things are nicer. I do not have the picture of the actual airplane I was hoping to get, because there just wasn't time to pause and snap one. It's quite a rush to try and get a good seat. A Kazakh lady actually spoke up for us, shouting to "let the children though!" We were very grateful.

Magic Rainbow

Magic Rainbow
Originally uploaded by mmfranke.

Here's one of the last pictures I took in Kokshetau. There's something magic about it, no?

We've Landed in Almaty!

4:27 PM - Mike here.

I'm writing to you from the comfort of our apartment in Almaty, though we do not have internet access here. I'm planning to transfer this text to a computer at the internet cafe once I get there in a little while.

Yes, we arrived safely, and without incident. Well, except for Mia peeing in Linda's lap during the flight, that is. No big deal -- we should have put the diaper on her before letting her fall asleep. We knew better. Anyway, they both slept most of the flight -- in our laps -- as we hoped.

Our apartment in Almaty is very nice. Very much like the apartment our friends Suzie and Geoff had when they were here -- we're having flashbacks. Two bedrooms, on the fourth floor (which really means the fifth) -- but we have an elevator.

Today, we drove up to the ski resort. Very nice, and just as we remembered it. This time, though, we actually took a ski lift up the mountain (last time the weather was nasty). All four of us. Good thing Linda didn't think about it too much before we left, as she was afraid of the ferris wheel in Kokshetau. Heh. Anyway, it was wonderful, and I can't wait to post a movie.

I'll be emailing our apartment phone number to friends and family. We will probably be online once a day, but that's not a guarantee.

Three more nights in Kazakhstan!

(BTW, the transfer to the computer at the internet cafe went well. So we should be able to write a bit more very soon).

Soon back in Almaty

Linda here...
We thought we might take a walk over to the ferris
wheel today, but no such luck. It is raining.

There was a change of plans this am for Sveta. She
called us at 10am. She is to go to Astana to pick up
another couple. Sveta and Oleg came over at 10:30 and
we settled all payments and talked about arrangements
for the flight. She left us in the capable hands of
her cousin Timor, a student whom we've met. His
English is certainly not as good as hers. I am sure
he will do fine, but it helps to know that she has
cell phone access with him.

Most of our packing is done. The kids are chasing
each other and getting along fantastically. Yea! We
have our ears ready for an upset, but none so far.

Just two hours to go before we catch our ride.

I am still feeling the wonderful effects of my massage
yesterday. Sveta called and had a massage therapist
come over to the apartment. We timed it so the kids
would be napping. Yes, this actually worked. I had a
honey massage that lasted an hour and 15 minutes. I
tried to give her 2000 tenge but she put 1000 of it
down and headed for the door. The massage cost about
$9. Oh, if only I could get these in the states.
The only disconcerting part was that she took my blood
pressure before and after. Humm. Seems like a good
idea really, but I just never had it done before.

Will write again in Almaty.
Linda

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The Nap That Wasn't

OK, one more movie for the road... Very cute. Check it out.

Update on Itinerary

Hello.

Just a quick note to make sure we keep you as posted as possible about our itinerary. Unfortunately, there's not much to tell yet, but I want you to know what to expect.

Tomorrow, of course, we leave for Almaty. We are due to arrive around 7PM local time (same time zone as where we are now). That should put us in our apartment at maybe 9 PM, and hopefully the kids will be in bed by 10. We'll see.

With any luck, we'll have internet access in the apartment, and I'm sure we'll be online that night, at least briefly, to let you know we arrived safely and probably tell you a little about our little airplane adventure. If not, you will not hear from us until we can find an internet cafe, probably the next day. Please don't worry in the meantime, of course -- no news is good news.

Remember, we'll be in Almaty for just under a week, and we're still due to land at Greenville-Spartanburg (GSP) airport on June 29. Our flight lands at 3:36 PM, I believe. We will confirm all of this as soon as we've completed the ticket transaction for Mia, which we hope to do on Saturday (though it might have to wait until Monday).

That's all we know for now. Thanks.

-Mike

Countdown to Almaty...

10:53 AM - Mike here.

I've only got a minute or two, as Sveta will be arriving to settle up payment. The kids are "practicing packing" -- Linda's idea -- which means they're mostly arguing about who gets what, running around for some reason, or screaming for help with a zipper. Tucker is actually mostly packed -- he's an experienced traveler who knows the difference between carry-on and checked baggage and understands what it means to pack things so that they're handy on the airplane. Pretty sophisticated, actually.

We leave in about 26 hours.

Strangely enough, I'm already feeling a strange sort of nostalgia for this place. It's weird, but I'll miss Kokshetau. As is easy to do in retrospect, I will harbor fond memories...

... of dust and mud.
... of feeling cramped.
... of potholes with roads around them.
... of feeling elated when the water comes back on.
... of really awesome shishkabobs, if you can find them.
... of twice-daily walks with the family.
... of feeling like a celebrity wherever we go.
... of international soccer on TV all the time.
... of paying 50 cents for a 2-month prescription.
... of learning a language.
... of practicing humility.
... of very, very whole milk.
... of vegetables with taste.
... of more use and less waste.
... of visits to the baby house.
... of becoming a papa, again.

9:56 PM

We had dinner over at the Louca's tonight for a final send-off. Very nice. We hope to see them again in the States, as they live 20 minutes from Aunt Kathy and Uncle George on Long Island.

There may be another post before we leave tomorrow afternoon, but if not, be aware that we won't be in our apartment in Almaty until tomorrow night at around 8 PM at the earliest. Even then, we don't know what our internet situation will look like, and we won't know our phone number until then. I will email family members more details. As soon as we have our ticket for Mia paid for on Saturday, I will post details of our arrival schedule.

Wish us luck, everyone. By this time tomorrow night, we hope to be one step closer to home!

Stress, no stress. Stress, no stress.

3:54 PM - Mike here

Our day started at 9 AM today, as we were scheduled to be picked up by Sveta and Alexander to go buy our tickets to Almaty, and then drive to Shchuchinsk to handle all the final paperwork involving Mia's birth certificate. You see, they issue a new birth certificate stating that she was born in Shchuchinsk, to make it easier to issue the adoption decree. Just don't ask.

Anyway, we had a harrowing start. For the plane tickets, we need passports, and we couldn't find Linda's or Tucker's. After a very tense hour of turning the house upside down, Linda finally found them in her bag where they were supposed to be, except that they had fallen through a rip in the lining, and so were in a "secret pocket", as it were. Yikes. Actually, it wasn't as tense as it could have been. I actually think we were all pretty well-behaved, and should be proud of ourselves. By the way, they wouldn't even sell me tickets for the kids -- they'll be in our laps. Oi. the seats are not very big -- not even headrests.

Then, off to Shchuchinsk, where the paperwork stuff went well, even though there was a minor glitch on one of the documents in the spelling of "Naples" (Florida), where we were married. This required several extra trips to various places, but no real drama.

So now it's 4 o'clock, and the kids are in the other room not sleeping, while Linda should be starting her massage at the Zhekebatyr hotel by now.

Tucker and Mia are very cute right now. Before today, when it was time for a nap or bedtime, Linda and I would often lay between them to make sure they didn't actually touch each other (god forbid) and start a screaming match. Today, for some reason, they WANT to touch each other. It seems I have a choice at the moment of letting them enjoy each other's company, or having them catch a nap. I'm putting up a fatherly front on the naptime thing, but there's no way they're going to sleep. I'm happy. They're actually playing -- I'll take it.

Between 5:30 and 6:30 today, I expect a sumptuous meal to be delivered to us from our favorite soup kitchen. It's been ordered. Yee hah.

Tomorrow will be a day of packing. My main concerns are packing things so that we have a reasonable chance of carrying all our stuff in one trip, and to make sure we have whatever supplies we need for a smooth landing in Almaty (like food for the evening, for instance -- maybe). Definitely things like extra changes of clothes in case of accidents, plenty of water to soothe Linda's coughing throat, nosebleed supplies, etc... With any luck, the kids will sleep on the plane (they won't get a nap).

By the way, I don't know what our email situation will be until we get to Almaty. We may or may not have internet access from the apartment we'll be staying in. We'll surely have internet access from a cafe somewhere, but that may take some time to get organized. As soon as we can, we'll keep you posted, and probably send our new phone number to family members. I'll mention all this again just before we leave. We're still here for 44 hours or so...

(I can hear them talking in there... TALKING! Can you believe it?! Oohh oohh -- LAUGHTER now!)

Snippin' VS Snippy

Snippin' VS Snippy
Originally uploaded by mmfranke.

A rare picture of Tucker and Mia in perfect harmony -- each with their own pairs of scissors and their own paper to cut. Actually, today was a day of better than average cooperation between them. It's still largely a contentious relationship though, at least on the surface.

The nose knows no's

The nose knows no's
Originally uploaded by mmfranke.

Ah, yes, Mia with another nose plug. This one happened during a crying fit.



Incidentally, I've formed a theory about the nose bleeds. It seems they started happening the day Linda laid claim to the inside of Bacha's nose. My theory is that Bacha started the nosebleeds as a form of rebellion. Sabotage, if you will.

Moods, Planes, and Soup

2:07 PM - Mike here again (yeah, I know -- I should get a life).

Our morning excursion today was a walk to the park. I choose the word "walk" carefully. You see, we usually alternate between taking the strollers, which give Linda and me more exercise, and not, which makes the kids work. This morning it was about walking the kids. Tucker, bless him, was very good -- and he made sure to tell us so. Bacha, on the other hand, bawled and stomped much of the way there, until I started walking Tucker along the top of a wall, at which point Bacha switched over and was very happy.

Have I mentioned Bacha's on/off switch? It's truly amazing. One second, she'll be the child from hell, or the child with parents from hell (depending on whose side you take), and then the next minute she'll be the angel-faced smiling cherub that we first fell in love with -- tears still rolling down her face, though the floodgates have been closed. It's truly amazing. Works the other direction, too, of course, which is what keeps us on our toes.

Tucker doesn't have a switch like this. Working Bacha's moods can be likened to flying a stunt plane -- very unstable, but consequently very maneuverable, at least in theory. Managing Tucker's moods, on the other hand, is more like flying a jumbo jet -- advanced planning is required and it can take miles to do a 180, but the situation is much more stable and comes with a decent autopilot.

Of course, sometimes the stunt plane flies inexplicably straight and level, while the jumbo jet has computer problems. <shrug>

So anyway, I'm sitting here writing with Bacha asleep in the other room, while Linda and Tucker are still out. Makes me a little nervous. But we agreed to split up when my hayfever started generating in me a splitting headache, and couldn't bear to go shoe shopping. Linda had had it with Bacha's morning temperament, so I took her. Poor Tucker really didn't know what he was getting into. Shoe shopping -- uhgh. I fear I might have scarred him for life. They've been gone over an hour, which seems like an eternity to me. But then, one hour shoe-shopping for Linda is like one soccer match for me -- a good example of how the observer can effect the events being observed.

Aha -- they just walked in. Linda landed two pairs of new shoes (actually, I'm very happy for her), and Tucker scored two puzzles. She tells me this was the deal they struck. No nap for Mr T. today, I guess.

Another thing about Bacha. The pupil of her right eye is rather - cat-eye shaped. I noticed it just the other day. It's hard to tell, you see, because she has dark brown eyes. But it's definitely there, and we're not sure what it means. Her medical report referred to her having recovered from what was translated as glaucoma -- which we don't believe for various reasons. But there's clearly something going on there. Her vision seems fine, including when we do little tests on the one eye in particular. Don't know -- just something we'll have to check when we get home.

Home. Turns out we have one full day left in Kokshetau. Tomorrow we travel to Shuchinsk for some final paperwork involving Mia's birth certificate, and Friday we fly to Almaty, leaving at about noon. We're starting to form an exit strategy which includes the logistics of packing, food supplies, and how the heck we're going to pack everything onto that little airplane.

This would be a good time to mention the little airplane we're going to board to fly to Almaty. If you'll recall, we didn't fly from Almaty to Kokshetau on the way out here -- we flew to Astana on a very nice airplane and drove the rest. However, we're familiar with our upcoming flying adventure, as we did it twice during our trip two years ago. Here's what the literature from our adoption agency says about the flight:

"The plane ride ... is unfortunately everything that you have heard about travel in the former Soviet Union. The plane is an older jet with seating for about 40, and then only after scrunching yourself in. It is common for people to stand on the flight. It is common and acceptable to smoke on the plane in the back, but since it is small this makes little difference to sensitive noses. There is no bathroom on the plane. You carry your own bags on board through the rear tail stairs, throwing it into a luggage area before finding a seat. The best suggestion is to find an isle seat as the plane gets cold and your leg will go numb if you keep it next to the plane walls. You will see frost start to form about halfway into your journey. With all that being said, for those feint of heart, you may want to take a pill or shot of something stronger than the mineral water they give you shortly after takeoff. Rest in the knowledge that there have been no problems with this flight in the 7 years we have been flying families there, and know that you will not likely be the first! No, you cannot take the train, sorry."

Most of this is true -- all but the bathroom thing. There does seem to be a bathroom in the back because we remember people seeming to go back and use it. As for the luggage, it's all true, and I might add that on our last trip (get this) there was actually a crate of live chicks -- yes, baby chickens -- in the luggage compartment. It was like something out of an Indiana Jones movie. Also, last time we traveled with two other couples adopting a total of three other kids, and some of them ended up sitting in the rear of the plane, where (they don't tell you this in the literature) it apparently gets pretty uncomfortably hot, despite the encroaching frost, because you're sitting near the engines. We had some poor, screaming kids last time, too (and one poor, crying mother), which didn't make matters easier. In our case I remember holding up my third ticket, which we'd bought for Tucker, when it was clear before takeoff that there was a 12-year-old girl looking for a seat. When we started to taxi and we observed that she was sitting in her mother's lap, we couldn't bear it and gave her our extra seat (Tucker was Linda's lap anyway). The girl ended up being the captain's daughter. The flight, incidentally, is about 4 hours long.

Our strategy on this flight is, first, to drink as little as possible to avoid an in-flight pee break (Mia will be wearing a diaper). I'm also preparing myself mentally to push and shove to get to the front of the line so that we can get good seats, together. Pushing and shoving is expected, apparently. This is a stressful time, as we have a lot of luggage -- more than we can really carry in one trip.

One final note... I actually did call Sveta for a soup delivery today. Turns out the kitchen is closed to the public for a private party today. Just our luck.

Nosebleed update

10:53 AM - Mike here.

Hiya. Just a quick note before we head out for our morning excursion. No nosebleed last night! Woo hoo! Also, Sveta came by today with a prescription for Mia, which she got after having spoken to the pediatrician at the baby house, who knows her history as well as anyone.

The prescription could break the bank, though. Two months worth of a steroid to strengthen her blood vessles (half a pill twice a day with food), plus a bunch of calcium pills, cost 65 Tenge (yes, that's about 50 cents).

Venicia Group

Venicia Group
Originally uploaded by mmfranke.

Here's our crowd. From left to right: So Jun (remember, he's from Orange County), the owner of the Venicia, Linda with Tucker, Chris with a squirming Nastya, and Inna with Bacha.

Mia at the Venicia

Mia at the Venicia
Originally uploaded by mmfranke.

As I mentioned, Mia stole the show tonight. Of course, I'm biased...

Dancing at the Venicia

Dancing at the Venicia
Originally uploaded by mmfranke.

This was the scene for much of the night after dinner. I don't know the songs we were dancing to, of course, but at least one of them had a lot of names of local towns and regions in it, so it was clearly a favorite.

Chrisslyk

Chrisslyk
Originally uploaded by mmfranke.

This is Chris, digging into his Shashlyk. The plate in the foreground is the barbeque chicken platter. Thanks for a great dinner, and a great time, Chris.

Mia Upside Down

Mia Upside Down
Originally uploaded by mmfranke.

Here's Mia having a blast, just hanging upside-down from Mama's lap. Check out the look on her face -- it's the same look she gets when I tickle her. She really is just a little whacko. Incidentally, even though she hung upside down, danced like a fool all night, jumped up and down, wrestled, ran, screamed and cried, we had no nosebleeds until we got home and put her to bed. Go figure.

Venicia

11:14 PM - Mike here.

We went to dinner with Chris, So Jun, Inna, and the kids of course, to a place called the Venicia. So Jun is a friend of the owner, and he had dinner with us and treated us like family. We had a fantastic time.

Dinner consisted of barbeque chicken as good as I've ever had, plus an assortment of salads, french fries, grilled potatoes, lots of beer, and fresh veggies. Very, very nice, and with the owner being very generous, Linda and I would have only paid 2000 Tenge -- but Chris even sprung for that tonight.

At one point, the owner proudly escorted me to the "kitchen" where the chicken was being prepared (allow 40 minutes to cook). I had to duck my head several times and watch my step as we ended up out behind the restaurant, where the chicken was on a grill made of what looked like an old oil drum, cut in two pieces (one for the bottom, one for the lid). The chicken was on a bed of burning wood, and the lid of the grill was propped open with a piece of sheet metal for ventilation. Each piece of chicken itself was sliced several times, and the cuts were filled with a mix of sauce and herbs. The actual kitchen which we passed by on the way out, was a room about 12-by-12 with a counter, a sink, and a trash can. I didn't see a refrigerator, though there must have been one. Probably in the next room. it was poorly lit. No health codes here, apparently.

Music was provided by a man with a keyboard (synthesizer) and a PA system, and who had a very nice tenor singing voice. On queue from the owner after dinner, he cranked up what must be well-known favorites, because everyone was out on the dance floor. "Everyone" here included us and the other table, a group of about 12 who were there celebrating a birthday. Everyone stood in a circle, and people took turns taking the center. I noticed that men didn't necessarily dance with women. In fact, it was the owner himself who ushered So Jun and myself to the dance floor to join the group when the music started.

Bacha stole the show. She spent almost the whole time in the center of the circle, trading partners that included several people in the other group. Tucker had a blast, too, mostly chasing Nastya (Chris' daughter) around.

We finally left at about 10 (four hours after arriving). As a farewell number, the owner specially requested the Eagles' "Hotel California" for us. It was just a little surreal, with lyrics like "we are all just prisoners here, of our own device..."

It was the best time we've had since we arrived here (meeting Bacha notwithstanding, of course). I think I'll post a bunch of pictures.

Shampoo for bloodstains

Linda here...

I woke this morning to Bacha's bloodied face.
Sometime after 1am she had a nosebleed. Of course she
seems to spin during the night when she sleeps so
there was blood everywhere. We went out this morning
to find hydrogen peroxide which I had heard yesterday
was good for removing blood from clothing. We called
Sveta to help us.

We bought a small bottle of "like" hydrogen peroxide
to use on a piece of cotton for her next nosebleed,
but I wasn't so sure this was the right stuff ofr
bloodstains, so I did the most resourceful thing and
went to Google for help.

Shampoo, any old shampoo will remove bloodstains.
This we have. I spent the last 20 minutes scrubbing
shampoo on the stains with my fingernail and it looks
like all the blood is gone. Just to be safe I left
all the sheets to soak in the tub. Yea for Internet
access.

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Pea Soup

1:32 PM - Mike here.

Linda and I don't argue much. Perhaps it could be said that we "bicker" a bit -- and that's almost surely my fault. But actual raised-voice, sustained, pointed, head-to-head arguments are very, very rare. I'd say there have been about five of them in our 9 years of marriage, over who-knows-what, and they've always been short-lived.

Today, we argued about pea soup. Her argument was that we agreed to have soup every day, and I have ignored that agreement and found ways to make this molehill of a chore into Mount Everest. I concede that we haven't had soup every day, however in my defense I claim that the soup run was pre-empted both yesterday and today by other events which were not completely in my control. I don't think we've had the agreement for much longer than that.

It is true that, at best, a "soup run" consists of a pleasant 15-minute stroll down what, with a little imagination and a hint of romance, might be called a rustic, picturesque path, followed by a light 10-minute Russian lesson with a very helpful and forgiving restaurant hostess, completed by a repeat of the stroll in reverse, this time carrying four lovely clay pots of tasty, nourishing soup costing about a dollar.

At worst, the whole thing can be an exhausting 60-minute round trip including wait time, for starters. The "picturesque path" might, on some days, turn into an obstacle course of alternating dust-exhaust clouds and mud puddles in 90-degree heat, the air filled with a whiteout of poplar fluff and various species of pollen which seem specifically engineered to attack Western sinuses. Obtaining the goods might include a harrowing, confusing conversation with several people while feeling uncomfortably conspicuous and dodging the regular goings-on of men dressed in camouflage uniforms and hurried women carrying all the stuff you'd like to order but they can't slow down so you can point at it. They might not even have the soup you want; partly because they don't make it every day, and partly because when they do make it, they make it different every day. Oh, it's always good, but a bit of a grab-bag.

On some days, the family is happy with my hard-won bounty, and on some days it is met with a wall of "ni-godoos". Linda, at least, is always happy, bless her heart.

So, you see, I have to admit to being less than enthusiastic about the idea of a daily soup run, though I still maintain my innocence in the face of the accusation that I've been avoiding it.

On the other hand, it just occurred to me that a call to Sveta and an extra 200 Tenge will have it all delivered and possibly improve our marriage.

Tonight, dinner with friends. Tomorrow, I dial.

Foliage

Foliage
Originally uploaded by mmfranke.

Chris's new friend So Jun informed us where the Peace Corps resource center is, just behind the Tsum store. It's called "Globus", and they have lots of English-language resources, including DVDs, videos, books, and maps. Chris and I walked back there today, though it was closed. This is just a picture of some of the interesting weeds along the way. Some of you might want to click on the image to have a closer look. (Don't worry -- we're told it's the kind you make rope out of -- though I'm not so sure).

Chris and Tucker

Chris and Tucker
Originally uploaded by mmfranke.

As I mentioned in my recent post, Chris, Tucker and I (Tucker later replaced by Bacha) hung out and did the male bonding thing outside the Tsum store today. Here are Chris and Tucker. You can see the famous ferris wheel, in the middle of the main park in the background right behind Chris.

Father's Day

7:07 PM -- Father's Day. Father, here.

It's an early evening -- the kids are already in bed. We met with all the other Americans at a "childrens' restaurant" nearby at 10:30 this morning. Nice place. Essentially just a regular cafe-style restaurant with a special kids' room off the back, and a little seating area sort of guarding the door to it. Very strategic. Only problem was that we had trouble ordering until Inna showed up (I've been spelling that "Ena" -- sorry). Inna is the interpreter assigned to both the other American families at this point. She's an angel -- putting up with three families trying to order for themselves and kids, including dietary restrictions and last-minute order changes. She also is a constant companion to Nastya (Chris and Suzie's new 10-year-old daughter). This is great for Nastya, who craves someone she can talk to, and Chris, who is now playing "Mr. Mom" with Suzie at home, and shows visible signs of relief when Inna is around. Oh -- we did draw first blood with Bacha today. We learned that she might be prone to nosebleeds. She came down with one today for no apparent reason, and no pain. Plus, when we treated it in all the standard ways, she accepted treatment as if it were normal. This included having her walk around with a rolled-up piece of napkin stuck up her nostril for a while.

Ah, yes. Father's Day. Rocky night sleeping last night for Linda, who's still struggling with a cough, and for Bacha, who seems to be having a lot of bad dreams. Perhaps she's having what I've heard termed "night terrors." Anyway, she goes back to sleep, but it's often a fitful sleep, and we are on the alert. Tucker slept fine, and I would have if it hadn't been for being on guard duty. I also ended up in the bedroom with Tucker after putting Bacha on the sofa in the living room (Linda was on the floor), but slept east-west across the bed instead of north-south, which wasn't a problem except that all my dreams were sideways. ?

But morning was very sweet. I was awakened with both my kids climbing on top of me. This rare indeed for Bacha, and even more rare to see the two of them "sharing" me in this way. Blissful, it was.

The restaurant was fun, and included a long spell of Tucker, Mia, and Lilly (she's 2) all gettin' down to some Russian hip-hop. Damn -- I knew I should have brought the video camera!. During breakfast there, we were invited to watch "Jungle Story" at a local cinema, at 3 PM. So for Linda and me, it was decision time, since this would mean no naps. Tucker, we knew, could go without a nap, though he would likely get temperamental. Bacha was virgin territory to us in this regard. So we went to the Tsum store to kill time (shop). Most of the time, I hung out outside with Chris and all the other Kazakh men (it seemed), and one child (tag-teaming for either Tucker or Bacha). Ice cream helped calm the wild beasts. Inna is apparently a wonderful shopper -- which meant Chris and I had some quality time together.

The movie was lots of fun. All in Russian, of course, so I could exactly tell what was going on all the time. Even the songs were translated, which I was thankful for. A true international production. Tucker is very sensitive to "scary parts" in movies, and hid in my shoulders almost any time the big Tiger (was his name "Sultan"?) came on. It's very cute. He's particularly sensitive, it seems, to scary soundtracks, and they had the soundtrack turned up really loud. This seems to be a trend, as they did the same at the childrens' play (Alladin) that we saw a while ago.

After the play, we went home, and Linda tried to occupy the kids with "Shrek" on DVD while I ran to the green market to buy dinner. I'm getting pretty good at finding my favorite spots now, so it didn't take long to buy all the fixins for what I'll call "Salad Bachabye" -- my attempted replica of the salad that Bacha devoured at the Shashlyk place the other night. I did a pretty good job of replicating it, I think, but the stars were not aligned correctly and Bacha didn't eat much. Really, she almost fell asleep at the table.

So Linda put her to bed, then came and got Tucker. Shortly thereafter she staggered out and passed out on the couch in front of me.

I'd like to wish my own Happy Father's Day to all the papas out there. As a tribute to all the work that goes into being a good dad, I'd like to offer this personal list of personal fatherly goals, in the form of advice I say to myself in the mirror. A couple are particular to my situation.

- Learn to speak Russian well, and German fluently -- just because.
- To be an adult is, among other things, to handle your money well. So keep practicing.
- Anybody can be a good listener when it's easy. It counts most when it's hard.
- The word "no" is limited in supply and effect, so don't waste it.
- Whether positive or negative, mean what you say and say what you mean.
- Kids don't miss ANYTHING.
- Realize that you can do some things "with" your children, and do some things "for" them. (Thanks, Dad).
- Never forget that your kids will be out of the house in 15 years, but your wife will still be with you. (Thanks, Mom).

I think I'll post a few pictures of today's adventures now...