Central Eurasian Mission - Week 11 - May 29 - June 4, 2017

New word for the week:Sukhovey (Russian: Суховей, translates to dry wind) is a wind with high temperature and low relative humidity occurring in the steppes, the semi-deserts and the deserts of Kazakhstan and the Caspian region.

Except for three and a half years while we were in college, we have always lived in a single family dwelling, and for more than half of our lives, we've lived in our home on Brunner Rd.   So....I really don't know how families live in the big cities in big apartment buildings - like Chicago and ...wherever.  How and where do children play outside?  Here in Kazakhstan there seems to be a solution.  Behind or in front of almost every apartment building there is a play area, and kids are playing on the structures almost constantly.  There are amazing climbing toys, slides, swings, merry-go-rounds, sand boxes, and sand piles.  They are usually entirely fenced with a few benches for parents and wonderparents to sit on and chat.  Right now it is 8:00 PM and 80 degrees.  Our playground is in shade and whole families are out there just enjoying the evening.  All you have to do is go down the stairway, cross the parking lot and you're in playland.  Of course there is no grass and all the structures are metal, and there is no spray park or drinking fountains.  But the kids and families love the play areas.  Here is ours from our bedroom window.  Of course it is in the shade and is hard to see





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This playground is being built next to "my track".  It is behind a new school that, I think, is just about completed.  Aren't the little soccer goals great and then the attached short basketball standards - perfect for little kids.




In the school behind our apartment building, and we frequently see and hear various activities taking place.  The last day of school, May 25th, there had been quite a bit of activity - music, marching, dancing - leading up to the final day.  So we were somewhat surprised to hear music and see the area by the school filled with kids and teachers again on Monday.  It looked like there were performances taking place again, so I just HAD to go out and see what was happening.  Various classes and their teachers were lined up around the plaza by the school and each was taking turns making a presentation.  It was fun to see that the presentations were about what you would expect in elementary school at home.  Three or four girls were out in the front to lead the group, one or two of the girls were obviously the ones who had developed the routine and knew all the moves.  Front row of the group pretty much knew what was going on, but as you moved towards the back, not so much.



Someday we'll figure out how to add videos to the blog so you can hear the music, too.

At the end of the program, a little girl about 6 yrs old, dressed in a pink costume with pink tutu came out to sing with a microphone.  She was pretty good and put all her heart and soul into the song, complete with arm gestures.  As soon as she started singing, all the other kids grabbed pieces of mother and grandmother (and me) paid a whit of attention to her performance, but she was not phased a bit.  She sang through her whole song, curtsied, and was off to the sidelines.

This week we went to visit a government run mental hospital.  Our notes from the previous missionaries  had left a note saying that a fund, called Bahyt, works with patients at this mental hospital.  The leader of Bahyt contacted us, and we made an appointment to meet her.

The weather that day was horrible-strong wind, horizontal rain, and low temperatures.  I was wishing we'd taken a taxi.



We were riding happily on the bus when suddenly we realized the the road ahead of us was blocked off by police cars.  No.....................the bus was turning left instead of going straight ahead!  The bus stopped and the conductor announced and made hand gestures to us, that everyone had to get off and walk.  Well great!  So we walked about a half mile to where we thought the bus stop that we wanted was located. What we didn't realize is that we had walked on a sidewalk behind a barrier that had been erected and so we missed the bus stop meeting point altogether.

We passed (while we were trying to find our translator) a big industrial heating plant that heats all the water that goes in the big pipes.










Finally met up with our translator and here we are walking down the road and up to the building.





We entered the building and then the confusion began.  We were introduced to the director of the hospital and after a bit of conversation, she finally said, "Why are you here?"  Turned out that she was not the leader of Bahyt and really knew nothing about us or why we were there.  Awkard!   Apparently the woman we were supposed to have met was gone, or at a meeting, or was somewhere else and wouldn't be able to make the appointment with us. Eventually a woman was found who knew about Bahyt and even though she is not the leader, she was willing to show us around.

We learned that the hospital treats the mental patients and does some training with them, but....... they are not trained to get actual jobs and can not sell any of their products because the government supplies the materials and you can't sell government property.  Bahyt wants to supply them with materials (like fabric) - actually wants LDS Charities to provide materials - and then the items they make can be sold and they will feel good about themselves and will be happy and so forth.  Honestly, we were confused as it was hard to tell where the hospital and/or Bahyt ended or began.

They have a training cafe where patients can learn how to work in a restaurant



and a metal shop



a woodshop



The whole set up was really nice - I mean really nice......why do they need help from LDS Charities?
We definitely need to make another appointment and sit down with the real person and find out more details.  We have to remember the five principles of a good project:  is it something they want rather than something we think they need, will it involve the blood sweat and tears of the participants, does it develop volunteerism, is the project sustainable.....will it keep working long after we have left, and does it teach self-reliance and ownership.

Leaving the grounds of the hospital we spied this great childrens playground toy.  Wouldn't our grandchildren love this!!



You're probably wondering why we haven't shown any more photos of malls - --because we've been to all of the "destination" malls.  But.....we had one bazaar left to visit - The Central Bazaar.  The name would make you think that it is in the center of the city, but no, it is on the absolute edge of the city.  It was the longest bus ride we have yet taken.  Here we are



Inside the warehouse part were the many glass booths that can be moved around.



Then there were rows and rows of outdoor booths which had most everything - maybe not plumbing supplies



Isn't Dad, very dapper indeed?



Here's Dad in his dapper hat holding our new food grater which is sharp enough and big enough to really show any carrot who is boss.



We ate dinner at a little cafe inside the market and had shashlik and a soup.  No photos cuz you've seen them before.



The bus trip back was horrible,  Hot, crowded, long, traffic jam to the max.  It was kinda weird how I felt.  We'd been on the edge of the city where everything was rough - dirt, construction, bus meeting places for out of town trips, many little shack shops, heavy traffic.  We were really on the edge



Once we got back into the downtown part of the city, it was a relief - kinda like getting back to civilization....did I really say that?

One evening we went on an excursion to "Astana in Miniature".  Dad had read about this in the online newspaper called Astana Times.  It is a display of Kazakhstan in miniature showing mountains and rivers, and the Caspian Sea, and buildings of all types.   It is located in a humongous park where there is a big hill from which there is a good view of the park.





This is the Caspian Sea.  The shape is correct but you can't really see it when you're up close.  And these ducks were swimming in it.  Wait,those are decoys!  But one was swimming and moving.  Upon close inspection we could see a frog swimming underneath of one and its kicking made the duck move.  See the frog to the left.




There were many models of different buildings which, unfortunately meant little to us as we had no clue what or where there are located.





We both kinda thought the place looked like (I am writing this in my very small, inside voice) it should be a mini golf course.

One part of the attraction was indoors.  It was a layout of the most architecturally identifiable buildings in Astana.  We did like this because we could recognize many of them.






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We are now buying all of our fruits and vegetables at this little stand near our building.  We're wondering what will happen in December when it is freezing and snowy outside.



The vendor is super nice (blue t-shirt) and never asks for the coins to make up the total amount due. She often gives us a couple of bananas or apples as a -thank you, maybe.  She's bagging up our strawberries (clubneekie) which are from Tashkent.



We noticed that the cupboard doors in the kitchen were not closing - they were trying to overlap each other.  Upon further inspection, we realized that the whole wall unit was coming off the wall.  Here is the unit sloping to the right and on the next photo, maybe you can see where it is unattached from the wall.





The land lord and lady and grandson came on Friday to collect the rent.  We showed them the cupboard.  They said someone would come today and look at it - - or would come on Saturday.  By Saturday night we knew that wasn't going to happen, so we called them (not really- we had  a YV call) this morning (Sunday) and were told they'd come this afternoon.  And they did.  They're working on it now.  I think they brought a power drill but they're using our screwdriver, extension cord, and pliers.  I'll be glad when we can fully use the kitchen again so I can make gourmet meals.

We have great experiences at English Club which is at the Church on Tuesdays and Fridays from 7-8.  For that hour the Young Volunteers do some sort of activity - usually a game that involves words - like Scattergories - that involve vocabulary.  Then at 8:00 the organized class is over, and the Kazakhs are told that class is over, but "we will be here until 8:30 and you can talk to us and do whatever you want."  At 8:30 the lights blink, and we all leave the building, but as Ray and I head off to our apartment, we can see the group hanging out on the stairs - if any of them ever join the church and develop into testimony holding members, they will realize that they didn't want to leave because they could feel the Spirit, even on the steps to the church.  

We are instructed to not talk about the church at English Club because that is against the law.  So we don't.  Pretty much the same group gathers around us each time.  They are older and seem to want to talk to us older folks rather than to the twenty year olds.  They often want to talk about politics.  

English Club is a great place for us to get our questions answered.  For instance - you can easily tell the Kazakh people because they are brownish and have many facial features unique to Asia and the steppe.  They look a lot like Latinos with Asian eyes.  The Russians look Russian - actually just like white Americans.  I almost want to go up to them and start talking, and then I realize they are speaking Russian amongst themselves.  So I asked the English Club folks how do you feel about the ethnic Russians - those Russians were probably born here and their parents too and possibly their grand and great grand parents too- are they Kazakhs too, like you, or are they Russians?  The said, "Oh, they are Russians".  

Then we got into discussions about African Americans and why they aren't just Americans. And on and on.  The Kazakhs who come to English Club are an ambitious group.  They want to learn, they have good ideas, they are fun and funny, they love their families.  One man, who is a cargomaster for the local airline (Air Astana) came for the first time last week because a coworker had told him about English Club.  So he came and was surprised to find himself in a church.  He told Ray, "I have never been in a church before!  I will have to tell my friends"

We have a dinner appointment tonight.  The Holmgren family often asks all the missionaries to dinner along with anyone else who might be interested in meeting all of us.

Hope the kitchen repair is done in time.

Until next week!