Badges? We don't need...

...no stinking badges!

On the way home from our second visit with the kiddos, Mit got pulled over for speeding, along with a handfull of other cars. Nobody was going more than 30-40 mph. The way the police officer pulled us over was to step out into the road, blow a whistle, and point Mit over to the side. We asked what was going on, and Vera said "Mit has been pulled over for speeding." She laughed, and handed Mit 200 Tenghe. That's about $1.50, and that's not a typo: a dollar fifty! Even worse, that buck-fifty goes straight into the policeman's pocket. Vera said, "He needs some money, so his boss gave him the radar" (pronounced "reDAAR" here).

So, on that note, I've decided to share our observations on the pedestrian and driving etiquitte of Taraz.

First, driving etiquette: There are some interesting street signs that are very common. A picture of a bugle with a red diagonal line across it does not mean "no bugling," but rather no honking your horns. A picture of a pair of sunglasses is the Kazakh method of letting the traffic know that there is a blind resident in the area. Stop lights are optional, as are balk lines. Anyone can do any kind of turns anywhere, and it's very common to just drive on the wrong side of the road for a short stint if it's more convenient. Also, there is no such thing as a mean honk of your car horn. If you want to let someone know they're a bad driver, you pull up beside them - as you pass in the oncoming lane - and yell at them. And they don't seem to mind!

Second, pedestrian street etiquette: It is one big ole game of chicken. Nobody will stay to the right when walking, which means anyone walks on any side of the sidewalk anytime. If you are in their way, that's just too bad. Anyone will just shove anyone else out of their way. "Excuse me" is only used to get someone's attention, not necessarily to make any sort of apology for being in someone's way or moving someone out of your way. The funny thing about it is that it doesn't bother anyone. In America, we would think any of these things quite rude.

Also, you never let anyone go in front of you, or hold open a door for anyone else. If you don't shove and push, you'll be left in the dust.

Also, a few more local quirks:

When we say "ya ni pinimayo pa russkyie", which means "I dont understand Russian", the typical response is that they start speaking really slowly and loudly...in Russian. And, unfortunately, I have become so accustomed to saying this phrase that someone even told me that they did not believe me, that I must be trying to trick them, and they laughed and went on and on in Russian.

At the GrosMarket, they make you check purse at the front desk and they have 4-5 police officers in the store making sure there is no chance of any shoplifting. Also at Gros, they have several grocery clerks going up and down each aisle cleaning and restocking every can and jar on the shelf. This store is really, really clean and organized!

But enough about all that. Today was a fun and interesting day with the kiddos. This morning, Dub was a little strange and emotional, and would NOT garshok for anything. This afternoon, all was well. He garshok'd all by himself, which is to say that we did not have to ask him "garshok?" He just went all by himself. Joksy bella!! That's Kazakh for "good boy."

So, day 6 of 9 is now in the books. They count Sundays even though we don't visit the kiddos. We're down to single digits for our waiting period!



Hello Lena.


This is one of the 'huts' that are around the campus at Umit where we flop down for our visitation periods, and where the kids' groups have their playtimes.


Lena climbs Stalin's rocket ship!


Mama and her boy.


AAAAHHHHHGGGGGG!!!


Havin fun in the sand-, er, uh, DIRT box.