Back in Crazy Land

That's how it feels sometimes. We touched down in Kazakhstan and we feel it, the little bit o' chaos that is life here. I'd forgotten the crazy traffic, the torn up streets full of construction, the dust, and the general feel of life here. Yesterday we went to the Green Market which is the bazaar in the downtown of the city. We wanted to get a few things like a bath mat, mop, and other stuff for our new apartment. It's hard to explain how things are different, but in the course of our trip there we experienced cars driving across the center line coming toward us, a man so drunk he fell down next to the sidewalk and lay there for some time, and a boy running away from the market with a belt he'd stolen. Not the stuff we usually see in America.

Ah, America. We enjoyed our summer thoroughly. Highlights: We loved visiting everyone, of course. Sophia loved her cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents. She is currently most excited by Arianna's picture. She points and screams at it. She liked having little kids around to imitate. We loved being in Iowa's nature. Our week-long visit to our cabin was so relaxing. We got to fish, go to the beach, hike, and read! Our training in Seattle was a bit boring, but it was fun checking out the city and going out just us adults. Sophia's broken leg. It's hard learning how to walk! Only two weeks in her little mini-cast and she was back running around again. Getting to talk to everyone in person or by phone. The ease of life in America. Shopping, shopping, and shopping. The excitement of all that accessible junk food. The quiet. The clean air. The feeling of being home.

All good things. As usual, we didn't feel ready to head back to life here. Life here means work is around the corner!

I'm going to try to post some of the pictures from the summer. They may come in waves since I'm at a net cafe right now and we don't know how long it will be before we have internet at home.

(A side note - some people asked about Leia. I didn't realize I didn't explain the whole story. She wasn't getting along so wonderfully with Sophia. Sophia was harassing her and Leia wasn't happy. Leia would growl or get a little snippy. We were really struggling with what to do. There's a lot of force in a pit bull, after all. In the end, we decided that we couldn't have Leia getting angry with Sophia, so we decided to find her a home. We couldn't find her one until the last minute as I said in my post before. That's the short version of the story. It's hard not knowing how she is.)

So, now that I am ready to post the pictures I don't think I'll be able. I can't figure out how to access my flash drive on this computer and it's all in Russian. Okay, soon!