Central Eurasian Mission, - Week 15 - June 26 - July 2, 2017

This was a good week for the Humanitarian Volunteers in Astana - wait - that is us!

Friday, June 30th was Project Approval Day in Moscow.  Projects are only considered and approved (or not approved) once a month, so a volunteer's 'bread and butter' is made or broken on the fourth Friday of the Month!  We were smiled upon this month when our Bolashak Mushroom Growing Facility was approved!!!  So - all the information gathering and all the planning is over and now begins the implementation stage.  First we had to get the Basic Agreement signed by all of the proper parties.  And here it is! Fancy, huh?

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There are two signatures.  You may be wondering why Dad's signature is not one of them.  Well, that's because he does not (not yet) have the Power of Attorney.  And you may ask why doesn't he? That is a good question.  We've been here three months and we suddenly find out that he has it not and that it'll take maybe...two, three weeks to get it. Groan.  So began many emails back and forth from Astana to Moscow figuring out who can and will and should sign the basic agreement.  The main problem is that we didn't know anything and, apparently, those in Moscow only knew a little bit more that we did.  We finally got the name of the person.  We can't tell the gender of the person and it doesn't sound like a Russian or a Kazakh name.  Eventually we came to learn that it is a local sister member who has been with the Branch from the very beginning.  We made copies, had the mushroom partners sign on the right and then I walked to the church to meet Zhanna to have her sign.  Whew!!  It may seem trivial to you, but it took us two days to get this to work.  We are trained, now, for the future.  We submitted all of the proper documents to the Country Accountant, and now begins the implementation process.  Wish us luck!

We, along with the YVs, went to a previous partner, "Silent World", to help them out with some busy work.  They were assembling souvenir refrigerator magnets to be sold at Expo.  Each one was a plastic case which popped open and then a color photo was put inside, and the cover popped shut.  We cut out a bizillion little photos in a small cramped room which was kinda hot.  It was fun--really.

 

We were doing this service project in the same building where the Mushroom Growing Facility will be located.  Here are some photos

Dad out in front waiting for the YVs to arrive.



This woman walked by.  I need to find out what this garb is called.  It is usually older women who wear it.  The colors are usually bright with a distinctive pattern.  And a scarf is always worn.



Across the street I saw these...uhh, what are they?  Small chicken coops?



No, they are propane pumps (or whatever).  You could smell the gas when you got closer.  Since seeing them for the first time this day, I see them frequently while riding the bus.



When we got off the bus, the side of the street was lined with these...I guess storage sheds.



This one was "not to be blocked".



We walked down this road to get to the building.



We needed pictures of the mushroom site for our records and you get to see them too!

Meeting outside



The door - it's a bit different from what you see in Oregon City.



The room that will soon be dark and warm and at a constant humidity.  Now there are bags of caramel corn which Silent World made to sell someplace.



There was still a shopping mall we hadn't been to - drum roll - Mega Silkway (I think there might be another one, but older and smaller one, called Silkway.  This one is across the road from Nazurbayev University.  Here is main entrance to the university .

 

And here is Mega Silkway!



It is really a fancy place.  Sculptures, fancy stores, and restaurants.




 



We ate lunch at "CoffeeBoom".  Very upbeat and for Millennials or maybe Xenniels, or maybe even GenXers.

Dad got a King Burger which was so thick he had a hard time eating it.



I got a sauce burger which was really good!!!



And also had a Fitness salad but I was so hungry and so busy eating it that I forgot the photo.

One of the people we work with at English Club is Aiga.  She is a grad student at NU, and her passion is to work with autistic children and use the newest and best methods.  He goal is to work in 'inclusive classrooms' where students from the general population are included with autistic children.  We told her about our desire to develop a project with partners who are working with autistic children.  She really helped us out and set up a meeting with two women, Камила (Camilla) and Сабина (Sabina) who work both with autistic children and those with Downs Syndrome.  We met at the Hot Spot Cafe.



We had a great meeting.  These women are in their twenties, have advanced degrees, are enthusiastic, and know their stuff.  They had a power point program all ready for us and answered all of our questions--and then some.  We talked about what we needed, about how to present what they want to do, and we have plans to meet again next week.  They are asking for new educational teaching tools and ipads that have apps especially designed for autistic children who are nonverbal.  The East European Area has designated autism to be one of our major focuses, so we're hopeful to do something with these two.

One evening while Dad was perusing through Facebook, an ad popped up on the screen - it was for the 'Lucky Cafe' which is about two blocks away from us.  So, one hungry day, for lunch, we decided to find the Lucky Cafe.  It turned out to be kinda funny because it was so difficult to find.  Addresses here are not by street numbers but by building number.  On the map on our phone, you can see all the numbers of the buildings, but sometimes things don't match up, and the little blue dot (representing you) really is in the wrong place.  I even went into a little fruit shop and asked in my best Russia, "do you know where the Lucky Cafe is located."  She understood me!!!!! and with an arm curved to the right pointed out the door.  We were definitely hungry - and there it was.



Inside it was so nice - actually cute - and the cuteness didn't annoy me.  The menu was totally in Russian so we ended up pointing to what the people at the next table had been served.  Yummy!! A pork loin (maybe) and grilled potatoes.'



Then I ordered something.  I wasn't expecting a cold soup, but it was very tasty.  Chopped veggies in a milkish broth with a glob of yogurt-maybe sour cream-as a garnish.  And dill, must have dill.



Tell me, because I feel kinda fluffish to always be posting pictures of food.  Do you still want them?

For dessert they had a whole showcase from which we chose these two delights.



On the way back to the apartment we walked along a, new to us, road, and we discovered this!
What could a Pampushka be?



It was a bakery!!!!!!!!!!!



We got some of these things.  Literally they are 'baskets of condensed milk'  We'd call them shortbread tarts with caramel filling.  In my best Russian I asked for ten, but it must not have been a very good request because the bag turned out to be full of about twenty.



Next week we go to Expo, hopefully meet with a partner again and then we're off to Almaty for Zone Conference.  The new mission president will be with us for the first time.  Should be interesting.