Does this platter of food look good??? Or what???
A week ago at English Club, my conversation group got talking about food - honestly I don't even remember what we talked about. But at Friday's English Club, one guy, Yerken, came up to me and asked if I remembered about the fish and the special way it is cooked.....uhhh, no, I didn't remember, but I pretended I did, and said, "of course!' From behind his back he pulled out a big plastic bag, inside of which was a cardboard tray which lovingly held this delectable fish. And then I began to remember - this was a fish.....a predator--it eats other fish---it never has disease because it is a predator - and it is special in rivers and lakes in Kazakhstan. The fish is skinned - like taking off a sock- and the meat is removed and then chopped up and then mixed with bread chunks, and onions, and carrots, and spices. Then the meat mixture is put back into the skin and the fish is baked. Yerken has a restaurant - the Arizona - and I've written about him before, and he had his chef make this fish for us. We were amazed!! And it smelled so good! He said the fish was a shuka (шука) and went on an on - he is enthusiastic about food.
As soon as I got home, I googled shyka, fish, Kazakhstan, and Mr Google told us that the fish is a Northern Pike, so it isn't really exotic at all. Dad even found a recipe for it, in case you'd like to give it a try. https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/778704/pike-farci-stuffed-pike
We had some for lunch. It was tasty - slightly fishy...like a fish finger or fish cake. I would prefer a nice Pike fillet cooked Indian style over a campfire, alongside a river in the mountains. But we felt honored that Yerken had had this yummy entree made for us.
That afternoon the sisters came over to pick up package, and we shared the fish with them....and this proves it was okay...because young American women ate it.
This week was weird - we were really busy but didn't accomplish very much. We were supposed to have a meeting with one partner (she cancelled last week), and she cancelled again this week. Apparently all of her equipment has arrived, but there is one big piece which should be a large lamp that hangs from the ceiling. She and her staff couldn't install it, and she had to call for some professional help. Maybe next week..................
We've been doing a lot of planning for the wheelchair project which should happen October 15 , 16, 17, and 18. We will have returned to Oregon by this time, and the loyal and friendly and trustworthy humanitarian couple from Kyrgyzstan will be coming to Astana to see this project through to the end. So it is super important for us to have everything, as much as possible, be totally planned so that when the Ables from Kyrgyzstan are here.......everything will go just perfectly! The schedules will work, the Project Partners with do their parts, the government charity will see to it that Customs Clearance will go off without a hitch. Anyway, we're going to do our best with the planning, and then say a prayer, get on the plane, and let the Lord do the rest.......that's what President Hinckley would have don and so will we.
One afternoon we went on a quest to get more brown sugar - the 'must have' American baking ingredient, that can only be found in one store in this city of about a million people. Brown sugar can be found at a Korean Mini Market which, coincidentally, is just below the little restaurant which has Korean Chicken from a Secret Recipe. So we decided to go a back way along side streets. Whenever we do that, we always have an adventure or a new discovery. This time it was a new restaurant that had shashlik - our favorite bar-b-qued meat on a stick.
The restaurant doesn't look all that great, but the food was!!
Surprisingly I didn't even take a photo of the platter of meat - we may have been too hungry. The decor was - there is no word for it.
We got to eat outside in the patio with the kind of tables where you kinda sit on the floor and put your legs straight our in front of you, under the table. This is Dad's favorite style of dining. He's such a good sport.
I was a bit more comfortable than he
The ceiling and floor designs were interesting.
We will be going back to this place along with Jessica, Natalie, and Bev when they come---in just two weeks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
One evening we decided to go to a park which we often pass when were in a taxi or a bus. The entrance is very intriguing with these "Seven Waters Arches", and I don't know what that means.
It is a nice park!!! New, nicely planted flowers, lots of people and little kids.
There were some camels
interesting benches
A miniature Charyn Canyon (which in real time in a miniature Grand Canyon). Kids were loving this feature and were climbing all over it - the park should have made it into a real climbing wall.
This was an interesting feature - an apple like globe of the world (apples are big time in Kazakhstan because some plant people say apples originated near Almaty, Kazakhstan.)
Here Dad is pointing to where Oregon City should be on the apple
And we ran into a guy from English Club - just shows that if you live someplace for a least a year, you're bound to to see someone you know at a park. This is Aibek - he's studying Petroleum Engineering.
Remember last week I showed you pictures of the Triathlon Academy.......or the site of the future building or the pictures of the building placed on the metal fence?
Work is progressing. We stopped by one evening and watched for about 15 minutes as a big tractor pounded 40 foot concrete spikes into the ground. Ka.....chunk....ka....chunk......ka...
and the next morning there were even more concrete pillars pounded into the ground..
Here in the distance is the shipping container which has been transformed into a workshop by adding some siding and a blue roof.
and the next day the fence is complete around the building site - we will never see the Triathlon Academy. All is blocked from the sight of onlookers.
Do you remember pictures I posted of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church of Joseph the Wanderer? We decided to visit it to see what it is like-----like how does it compare with the Cathedral in Santiago de los Campostelos in Spain. Well, we'll never know because it was closed. But we got to see the main entrance.
One morning, on my regular walk along the canal, I noticed the canal was both blue and green. There was a massive algae bloom or something. The green part was just full of little green round spots.
No swimming for me here!
Here I'm standing under a bridge and reading this sign. "The object is under video surveillance". Nope, no graffiti for me today.
But, to comment on Penny's comment about graffiti. ..... Since she made her remark, we have seen some but not as much as back home in the free country.
sign sprayed painted on the walkway alongside the river. "Value the lives of your children"
Maybe it has to do with this sign - there are three, that I know of, alongside the river. "Causes of Death. Your Life is in Your Hands." I wonder if there has recently been a drowning death. The black ribbon is 'telling'.
At Sacrament Meeting today there were 9 people - seven English speaking and 2 Russian speaking..... six missionaries and three members. This is indeed on the Fringe of the Church's Frontier.
We invited all who attended Fast and Testimony meeting to come to dinner. Missionaries on the left. On the right is Sister Zhanna (one of the very first members in Astana), Sister Lyudmila (Sister Willardson's mom) and Brother Holm who just arrived in Astana this morning. He will be working at the St Regis Hotel here in Astana - it is part of the Marriottt chain.
We had an object less on how to build a firm foundation - from Helamen 5:12. How to place a Book of Mormon on only two cups and using four knives.
This is one of my favorite photos
And I like these two - they are the bridge and skyline with a super morning blue sky. And it rained on me that morning too.
Dad says......crickets
We had some for lunch. It was tasty - slightly fishy...like a fish finger or fish cake. I would prefer a nice Pike fillet cooked Indian style over a campfire, alongside a river in the mountains. But we felt honored that Yerken had had this yummy entree made for us.
That afternoon the sisters came over to pick up package, and we shared the fish with them....and this proves it was okay...because young American women ate it.
This week was weird - we were really busy but didn't accomplish very much. We were supposed to have a meeting with one partner (she cancelled last week), and she cancelled again this week. Apparently all of her equipment has arrived, but there is one big piece which should be a large lamp that hangs from the ceiling. She and her staff couldn't install it, and she had to call for some professional help. Maybe next week..................
We've been doing a lot of planning for the wheelchair project which should happen October 15 , 16, 17, and 18. We will have returned to Oregon by this time, and the loyal and friendly and trustworthy humanitarian couple from Kyrgyzstan will be coming to Astana to see this project through to the end. So it is super important for us to have everything, as much as possible, be totally planned so that when the Ables from Kyrgyzstan are here.......everything will go just perfectly! The schedules will work, the Project Partners with do their parts, the government charity will see to it that Customs Clearance will go off without a hitch. Anyway, we're going to do our best with the planning, and then say a prayer, get on the plane, and let the Lord do the rest.......that's what President Hinckley would have don and so will we.
One afternoon we went on a quest to get more brown sugar - the 'must have' American baking ingredient, that can only be found in one store in this city of about a million people. Brown sugar can be found at a Korean Mini Market which, coincidentally, is just below the little restaurant which has Korean Chicken from a Secret Recipe. So we decided to go a back way along side streets. Whenever we do that, we always have an adventure or a new discovery. This time it was a new restaurant that had shashlik - our favorite bar-b-qued meat on a stick.
The restaurant doesn't look all that great, but the food was!!
Surprisingly I didn't even take a photo of the platter of meat - we may have been too hungry. The decor was - there is no word for it.
We got to eat outside in the patio with the kind of tables where you kinda sit on the floor and put your legs straight our in front of you, under the table. This is Dad's favorite style of dining. He's such a good sport.
I was a bit more comfortable than he
The ceiling and floor designs were interesting.
We will be going back to this place along with Jessica, Natalie, and Bev when they come---in just two weeks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
One evening we decided to go to a park which we often pass when were in a taxi or a bus. The entrance is very intriguing with these "Seven Waters Arches", and I don't know what that means.
It is a nice park!!! New, nicely planted flowers, lots of people and little kids.
There were some camels
interesting benches
A miniature Charyn Canyon (which in real time in a miniature Grand Canyon). Kids were loving this feature and were climbing all over it - the park should have made it into a real climbing wall.
This was an interesting feature - an apple like globe of the world (apples are big time in Kazakhstan because some plant people say apples originated near Almaty, Kazakhstan.)
Here Dad is pointing to where Oregon City should be on the apple
And we ran into a guy from English Club - just shows that if you live someplace for a least a year, you're bound to to see someone you know at a park. This is Aibek - he's studying Petroleum Engineering.
Remember last week I showed you pictures of the Triathlon Academy.......or the site of the future building or the pictures of the building placed on the metal fence?
Work is progressing. We stopped by one evening and watched for about 15 minutes as a big tractor pounded 40 foot concrete spikes into the ground. Ka.....chunk....ka....chunk......ka...
and the next morning there were even more concrete pillars pounded into the ground..
Here in the distance is the shipping container which has been transformed into a workshop by adding some siding and a blue roof.
and the next day the fence is complete around the building site - we will never see the Triathlon Academy. All is blocked from the sight of onlookers.
Do you remember pictures I posted of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church of Joseph the Wanderer? We decided to visit it to see what it is like-----like how does it compare with the Cathedral in Santiago de los Campostelos in Spain. Well, we'll never know because it was closed. But we got to see the main entrance.
One morning, on my regular walk along the canal, I noticed the canal was both blue and green. There was a massive algae bloom or something. The green part was just full of little green round spots.
No swimming for me here!
Here I'm standing under a bridge and reading this sign. "The object is under video surveillance". Nope, no graffiti for me today.
But, to comment on Penny's comment about graffiti. ..... Since she made her remark, we have seen some but not as much as back home in the free country.
sign sprayed painted on the walkway alongside the river. "Value the lives of your children"
Maybe it has to do with this sign - there are three, that I know of, alongside the river. "Causes of Death. Your Life is in Your Hands." I wonder if there has recently been a drowning death. The black ribbon is 'telling'.
At Sacrament Meeting today there were 9 people - seven English speaking and 2 Russian speaking..... six missionaries and three members. This is indeed on the Fringe of the Church's Frontier.
We invited all who attended Fast and Testimony meeting to come to dinner. Missionaries on the left. On the right is Sister Zhanna (one of the very first members in Astana), Sister Lyudmila (Sister Willardson's mom) and Brother Holm who just arrived in Astana this morning. He will be working at the St Regis Hotel here in Astana - it is part of the Marriottt chain.
We had an object less on how to build a firm foundation - from Helamen 5:12. How to place a Book of Mormon on only two cups and using four knives.
This is one of my favorite photos
And I like these two - they are the bridge and skyline with a super morning blue sky. And it rained on me that morning too.
Dad says......crickets
Dear Sister Zhanna!
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