Happy Nauritz (Kazakh New Year)

Wow, it is Wednesday already! We have a lot to write about since Sunday's post. We have had 3 more visits with Bryce since we last wrote. Each day we see a little bit more of his personality unfold and he seems to recognize us better every day. We've been able to make him smile and giggle, and today he was quite conversational. Unfortunately, his thoughts were so profound that we couldn't understand them. I think he was babbling in Kazakh! He is a very curious boy and watches everything. We bring a bag of toys with us to the Baby House each day. None of them seem as interesting as Chuck's digital camera, but sometimes we can get him away from the camera and playing with blocks and books. He seems to be popular with all of the caregivers at the Baby House. Today, many of them stopped by to say hello to him and he greets them all with a smile. He obviously knows who they are! Today was visit 4 of 14 visits. On day 14, we petition for a court date which is tentatively set for April 8th.

We only visit the Baby House for 1.5 hours each day, so we have lots of time to explore the city of Almaty. Yesterday (March 22) was the Kazakh New Year - a holiday called Nauritz (phonetic spelling). What a time to be in Kazakhstan! Throughout the city there were several huge "party areas" in closed off streets. At these festivals you could get traditional Kazakh food such as "manty" - steamed dumplings filled with meat, "plov" - rice pilaf with carrots and lamb, and of course fermented camel milk. We didn't try the camel milk. There were also people in traditional dress, yurts, and Kazakh music played on the dombra (a small guitar-like instrument). We spent the morning wandering through Republic Square observing these uniquely Kazakh sights. In the afternoon, we went up into the mountains outside Almaty. We drove past the speed skating rink at Medey and continued to Shambulak - a ski resort. At our driver's suggestion, we took the lifts up to the top of the mountain (10,000 feet). Wow! What a view. We took 3 lifts up there - two double chairs and a single chair that looked to be about 100 years old. Because of the holiday, we did not have a Baby House visit yesterday. There were also fireworks at midnight. We could see them from the window of our apartment, and they were very loud - far louder than any in the US (tons of car alarms were set off).

Other things we have done in the past 2 days......
This morning we visited the Green Market. It was like something you would see on National Geographic. Tons of dried fruits, spices, and colorful products displayed out in the open. And that includes meat too - chicken, pork, beef, sheep, and horse. There was also Korean food (Chuck bought a bag of kimchi which is quite pungent), cheese, and of course fermented horse and camel milk. Our driver escorted us in and helped us negotiate a few purchases. I don't think we would have been very successful on our own!

We also took a walking tour of the city as described in the Lonely Planet Central Asia book. The tour took us by many of the city's sights including a beautiful Russian Orthodox cathedral, the city's largest mosque (Kazakhstan is pretty evenly divided between Russian Orthodox and Muslim religions), and many parks. Almaty is a city of fountains and trees. When we come back for our second trip, we might be lucky enough to see them in bloom.

The weather here has been great, and we have been walking everywhere (except to the Baby House). Our driver says in his 4 years of driving families, we are the first to walk so much. But it has been about 60 degrees and sunny - perfect weather so far.

That's all for today. We'll post another update about Bryce and our trip soon!