We miss the 'ole Fam!

I came across this when I was looking for something else.  This was a 90th birthday party that we had for Pap a couple of years ago. We miss you all.

When you're in a pinch for a booboo bunny...

Do you know what a booboo bunny is?  I didn't until a couple of weeks ago when I was cleaning out the freezer.  I came across this washcloth folded with two ears like a rabbit surrounding a piece of ice.  Apparently the good 'ole plastic bag (that inevitably got a small leak in it and got everything soaked) is not too cool to use anymore for scrapes and bruises.  Thankfully we haven't had to use the bunny yet.

The other day while we were at language, Veta wasn't paying attention to where she was walking and knocked right below her eye on edge of the table.  As the screaming began, I searched frantically for the catch all soother-- the pacifier.  Before I could find it, our Russian teacher was out of her seat and rummaging through the kitchen drawers for something.  I thought maybe she was trying to find a plastic bag....nope I was wrong.  She was searching for a KNIFE!  Before I knew it, she was holding the side of a LARGE BUTCHER'S KNIFE to Veta's cheek.  The crying stopped, but I think it was because Veta was more scared of what was going to happen next.  Once I saw that she had the knife firmly held I started shuffling for my phone.  The first thing that went through my mind was, "I gotta get a pic of this for the blog, people aren't going to believe me when I tell them what happened."  Unfortunately the picture got blurred because I got spooked when she started staring at me.

Now i've heard of tobacco on bee stings, and superglue for cuts, maybe even gargling vinegar for a sore throat, but never kitchen cutlery for booboos...to which Stephanie and I would say, "only in Central Asia!"

Beautiful pairing of Cello and Piano for one of my favorites.

Be Thou my vision, O Lord of my heart; Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art. Thou my best thought, by day or by night, Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light. 2. Be Thou my Wisdom, Thou my true Word; I ever with Thee, Thou with me, Lord; Thou my great Father, I thy true son; Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one. 3. Be Thou my battle-shield, sword for my fight, Be Thou my dignity, Thou my delight. Thou my soul's shelter, Thou my high tower. Raise Thou me heavenward, O Power of my power. 4. Riches I heed not, nor man's empty praise, Thou mine inheritance, now and always: Thou and Thou only, first in my heart, High King of heaven, my Treasure Thou art.

5. High King of heaven, my victory won, May I reach heaven's joys, O bright heav'ns Son! Heart of my own heart, whatever befall, Still be my vision, O ruler of all.

A little Ruskie and Massive Melons!

Yesterday was my first outing to practice Russian.  We traveled over to the European side of the city where there are many clothing and textile wholesale stores.  In this district you can find many different people of Central Asian countries, including many Russian speakers.  We were pretty successful in finding and speaking with Russian speakers throughout the day.  When we came across anyone that was willing to chat, I would give them the 'ole, "show up and throw up."  I would tell them a bunch of random information about myself, and why I was studying Russian. They probably thought that I was crazy, but it was a good experience and the conversation practice really helped.  They were all very complementary of my progress and it made me feel good.  I told one of the guys that I was with, that even if they are lying through their teeth, it's nice to get some compliments every once in a while.  I don't get many from my teacher.

While we were making our way down one of the narrow streets, we came across some Turkmen (these are not Turkish people, they are from Turkmenistan) who were selling these huge melons.  The people that I was with recognized them immediately and recommended that we buy one.  I have never seen anything quite like them.  They were almost 2 feet long with a girth of about 12-15 inches, and weighed about 15-18 pounds.

It probably would have been a better idea to get them when we were finished with our day and ready to go home, but they were concerned that there wouldn't be any left, so we negotiated a price and bought two of them.

The bag that we put them in tore about a block away from where we bought them.  So the rest of the day we had to cradle them in our arms like a baby.  Everywhere we went, people were staring at us trying to figure out why these crazy Americans were trucking around the city carrying these huge melons.

Oh and by the way, remember my last post about the heat?  Our melon adventure around the city was in what felt like 100 degree weather!

Today’s Topic: HEAT, HOT HEAT, REALLY HOT HEAT, 24/7 REALLY HOT HEAT!

 Ok, so everyone knows we’re Floridians, but I have to admit that the heat over here is killing me!  I think the difference is that in Florida there is air conditioning everywhere you go, and there are plenty of shade trees.

Like so many places around here, we don’t have air conditioning in our apartment.  There are very few trees, and the ones that are around our apartment are not as tall as the 3^rd floor that we live on.  Since we stick out above the tree line, we are in constant sunlight. 

As soon as we walk through our front door we begin shedding clothes.  Our bathtub doubles as a pool for Veta and a cool spot for me while I listen to Russian and study.  I hate to think of what our water bill is going to be this month.  I think we’re averaging around 3-4 showers a person per day just to stay sane. 

For the last couple of weeks, Veta has been FIGHTING going to bed and is in the habit of waking up screaming every night.  We’re assuming it’s because of the heat, so last night I positioned the fan about two feet above her head.   Last night was the first night that she slept through the night!

When you’re hot and sticky, everything suffers.  Your (my) patience is thin, you don’t want to cook because it raises the apartment temperature even higher, you don’t want to study, you can’t sleep and the list goes on. 

Stephanie and I have a ton of studying to do throughout the week.  This week we decided that we would split up the days and one of us would take Veta in order to allow the other person uninterrupted study time.  Today I found an AIR CONDITIONED Starbucks.  I positioned myself in the corner, plugged in my earphones and tuned out the world with Chopin’s Prelude in D.  I seriously got more accomplished in this cool environment then I have over the last couple weeks in our hotbox.

Funny thing is I always wondered how people could study in Starbucks…now I’m that guy.  Please pray for a breeze…no, pray for gale force winds! J

That's the way we rule...I mean roll :)

Many have asked us if we have adopted local customs and traditions from the culture that we are living in.  The picture speaks for itself. :)  It's hard to tell, but Steph is smiling underneath her veil, and no she doesn't have gold teeth

Steph's parents came to visit us and we spent the last week and half goofing around.  It was a special time for us to catch-up, laugh, and make some good memories.  There wasn't too much resting.  We were non-stop tourists.