Day 5, Friday January 21 Today everyone was a little bit more subdued...including Kevin & I. Evidently, the games and dancing from the previous two days wore out everyone. (plus we had a disco playing under our bedroom til 7:00 a.m.) We started the day with the usual rocking session. She climbs up in my lap (Stacey), snuggles into place, plays with hair and we gently rock for about 10 minutes.  After she has had enough, she jumps into the next activity, which in this case, was the making of a memory book. We brought her a blank journal in which to draw pictures and to have her friends write messages. This will be a keepsake that she can take back to America.  She decorated it with her name in Russian, her first name in English, our names to the right and left of a heart--which she placed in the center.  Below, she put photos of the whole groups favorite teen idols--a Brazilian group called "Rebelde Mia". (we think)  She placed many heart stickers by her favorite, Pablo. We played a few more games, another rousing rendition of "Blind Man's Bluff". We concluded the day with video of Tennessee. Her only question was "do we have a swimming pool?"  We tried to explain what a hot tub is, but not sure we were successful. So she probably thinks we have a swimming pool! They think all Americans are rich. And by the living standards here, we probably are. After exchanging "das vidanyas" (good bye) and several kisses, we were invited to have lunch with the orphanage director again. (we think she really likes us) The food was traditional Kazakh food that was just delicious--homemade bread, beef & noodles etc. Of course, always ending with tea and chocolate!  Another lovely day.

Day 6, Saturday January 22 After a night of snow, this was a very cold day in Kazakhstan--40 degrees below, celsius midday.  The visit was a normal one, we began the usual rocking and progressed to a new toy--magnetic connectors, which were fascinating and a big hit.  At one point, she tried every trick to keep them apart, which included placing them between the fingers of mom, dad and our interpreter Natasha. Quite the spectacle, I am sure. After tiring of that, we gave her a new pink purse, compliments of grandma Peg, with nailpolish, lipgloss and hand lotion. This was a monster hit, with her and all the other girls. At one point, they were lined up to get their nails polished. The sweet thing was that Luda painted her mama's nails first--even before she would let mama paint hers. Following the beauty treatments, game time began. They started with musical chairs to the blues tune "Mojo Workin'" and followed with dance fever and a tag game. They remembered the dances we taught them a couple of days ago, which included the hand jive, the twist and the swim. Today we introduced the gator. It was also a big hit. Lunch was with the director Myra again, who heaped our plates full of traditional Kazak food. Our translator Natasha says that we are to eat lunch with Myra every day because she likes us. The food is incredible, as is the hospitality...but we will come home a little rounder! After lunch, we were invited to attend a traditional Kazak Muslim ceremony. This took place outside and was complete with Muslim prayer, which involved kneeling in the snow.  Before returning the Beybars Hotel, we stopped a market to purchase some items. To give you an idea of the prices, we bought a bottle of wine, six pack of Amstel beer, four large bottles of water, loaf of bread and a large bottle of soda for $10. (US)

Sunday, January 23 Today we were tourists and visited significant locations in Ust, since there are no orphanage visits allowed on Sunday. We began by visiting a new mosque that appears to be constructed from brick and granite on the outside and inside. Beautiful masonry work everywhere you looked. We entered the mosque during prayer and quietly went up to the second floor where the women pray. Since there were no women there, we took photos--which you can see on the photo album page.  After touring the moque, we shopped at the mosque gift table--Kevin purchased a keyring for equivalent of 80 cents and Stacey, a bracelet with a prayer by Mohammed for $1.50. We stopped at the Russian Orthodox Church, which until the fall of the Soviet Union, was used as a school. Fortunately, the staff at the church had preserved all the icons, artwork and religious relics for all these years. They are in the process of building a beautiful new building. Next we visited the World War II Memorial. Very impressive, but very cold since it sits above the junction of two rivers. There is an eternal flame and the names of the cities with casualties from the war. Shopping at the market was next on our agenda--which was quite an interesting experience. We began by visiting the indoor mall type of structure, with small, expensive boutique stores. We did find some Rebelde (teenage rock group) stickers to take back to Luda and the girls, as well as a few puzzles and games. Behind the building, was the open air bazaar. This was incredible. It looked like an East Tennessee flea market in five below weather. Included were beautiful coats, shoes, undergarmets, toys, sweaters, cd's, a meat market, goldfish and even a few mice. (the goldfish & mice were in a small building) Quite the shopping experience.

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