memories of Ust

when we got home, i wondered... should i post photos and talk about the trip when things were so hard? but then i thought--why? why wouldn't I? this was our experience, and these are our friends! there were many good moments that we enjoyed a lot, and despite all that has happened we still see kazakhstan positively and hope to return one day...

so here are some of our memories of our trip to Ust...

still fairly fresh-faced in frankfurt

the reality of layovers

almaty airport, from our window at the Asunkar, our four-star hostel ;-p

glorious, but no tub or shower to be found

a typical breakfast at the shiny river breakki buffet (minus the eggs). since coming home i've been craving carrot and cabbage slaw, instant coffee, and little hot dogs-- can you imagine that? we've found that turkey frankfurters are a nice substitute.

one of many snowy walks over the Ulba.

outside the baby home, every day, 4-5:30.
i don't think i ever got a photo of our van driver Bulat - bummer.

yummy food at BBQ, one of our fave restaurants.

tony & kamila

one of the many markets in Ust!

layer upon layer of snow; everyday we thought we should take a photo of this view out the window...this is after many, many days of melting.

Olga, our first translator, gave me this card on International Women's Day
- a huge holiday in kaz.

supper at the Chinese restaurant - same place as the famous "duckhead" supper

and the bowling alley - a nice diversion in Ust!

(which also happened to have some of the best, most reasonable food!)

judy & karissa

mike & jennifer

believe it or not, two kamilas

honey, not only are you cute - but you can bowl it up with the best of 'em

olga took us to a Russian Orthodox church the last Sunday. we learned a ton from our friends tony and judy who explained what was going on during the service. (being Byzantine Catholic, there is a lot of similarity in their worship format.) we learned a lot, but would definitely wear more comfortable shoes the next time. ;-p

my sweeties from california, whom i miss very much! karissa and i very quickly learned how to ask if they have ice cream: yist marazhinya? by the end karissa was calling me her big kid friend. (apparently i wasn't "stuffy" like"all the other adults", meaning her parents, i think!) perhaps my playing in the snow shenanigans were what won her over?

keith and rayna, boy do i miss you guys!

the whole gang, sharing supper at the internet cafe on our last night there

dinara, our translator, was really quiet at first, but we really grew to love her by the end; when our decision was becoming really hard, she was so kind to us

me with alma, our fearless coordinator, and olga, our first translator. we were probably not one of alma's easiest "cases" but we thought that she was willing to take this photo with me must be a good sign.

trying to finish our 6% milk and baby snacks in our hotel room the last day!

almaty, in all it's smoggy glory, after nearly killing ourselves trying to cross the freeway to get a photo!
my favorite shot of almaty. bet it's a beautiful city in the springtime.