Day 40, Sunday Today dawned bright and sunny to temperatures 10 below F, with a very brisk wind that rattled the building. Which is no easy accomplishment, as the bones of this hotel are of an old Soviet structure, designed to withstand a nuclear bombing. Weird, isn't it? I can remember the "Cold War" and all the fear it entailed during the 60's and 70's. On flexible days, I think I could duplicate the position that the teachers taught us to take beside our desks. Memory of the parade to the nearest bomb shelter is mixed in with vague recollections of all the fire drills we had as well. There was this prevailing fear that that we might be bombed. It never occured to me that they also harbored this fear on the other side of the world. Until reading the WWII history books in the library of the boarding school, I was unaware that most of the Soviet buildings were designed in a block shape, and made of steel and concrete in hopes of surviving a war. And here we are adopting two beautiful children of Russian heritage, making friends with Russians and Kazakhs here in Siberia, and living in what was an old Soviet hotel recently renovated and modernized, quite reflective of the new economy and view of the world here. One never knows what life will bring. Today we visited the new water park in Kostanai. What an experience to go slipping and sliding down a blue tube, with the view of the frozen tundra just out the window. The park was a lot of fun with various water features, including a wave pool, one short slide and two large tube slides. To use one of my favorite East Tennessee colloquialisms, we were obviously "not from 'round here" so the staff took us under their wing and graciously helped us through the dressing rooms, stored our camera while we swam. Everyone was exceptionally helpful and kind. The manager personally brought us tubes to enjoy the big slides and made sure that we had a good time. The lady in the dressing room helped us to work the old salon style hair dryers. Interesting mix of the old and new again--the girls had to wear swim caps, use older style dryers in the midst of brand new construction and modern technology that goes in the design of an indoor water park. The sign on the building translates "Aqua-Park". It never ceases to amaze me the graciousness of the people here. No doubt there are exceptions, but most are extraordinarily kind. We feel blessed to have the great fortune to be a guest in the country of Kazakhstan. (although we miss home, nine days and counting...)

Day 41, Monday Another frozen day of -20 F, but with a glorious sun that reflected from every surface, creating almost a surreal brightness.  Because the dining room has one complete wall of glass, the coldness creeps its way into the room and we ate dinner last night and breakfast this morning with an extra layer of clothing. Monday in school is always the most difficult and today was no exception. Luda really misses her teachers at Sam Houston and so do we! Kevin is quite sure that 4th grade math teachers must really be saints in Pythagorean clothing. I believe that the language arts teachers must know some hidden secret, just for elementary teachers, for teaching all the rules of grammar. The much talked about Da Vinci's code would pale in comparison to the secrets of 4th grade language arts.  We struggled through our assignments, collapsing in a heap when they were finished. After lunch of bread, cheese, sausage and yogurt in the room, we headed to the boarding school for our daily visit. As we walked down the hallways toward Lily's group room, we shivered at the cool temperature inside the building. Luckily, they sent us the classroom for our visit, which was warmed by the sun's rays. The girls are starting to do some independent play, which was inevitable. It was a bit amusing, they divided the desk into two sections, with separate coloring books on each side of a box of markers. I smiled, as I realized that it was vaguely reminiscent of the divided back seat, established by my sister Robie and I, in the ol' Pontiac that we took on family vacations. It will just be a matter of time until we hear "Mom, she's on my side!" We are going to dinner with our friends Brett and Laura, although we will have to wear all the long underwear in our closets to survive the cold.

Day 42, Tuesday Not much to tell, the day has been the same as the last 41... :) The girls did play together today, their laughter caused their imaginary line of separation to disappear... One funny note, our coordinator Dinara commented today that we had lived here long enough to be considered locals! So we thought it would be good to make a list of what we enjoy most about living in Kostanai: 1.  Wonderful food, apparently prepared from scratch each meal, making for leisurely dining. (forces us to slow down...) 2.  Great beer selection, and the frozen patio of the hotel room makes a wonderful instant cooler. 3.  Wonderful hospitality and gracious staff at the Medeo, the Waterpark, the Russian Pub, the Boarding School and most other places that we have visited. 4.  The willingness of people to try and speak English, or to use creative non-verbal communication. 5.  Inexpensive groceries--both food and drink. 6.  The beautiful architecture of the town and ease of design of the central plaza. 7.   The restaurants with English menus are greatly appreciated! 8.  The unique blend of Asian and Eastern European cultures. 9.  Better stoplight system, the green lights flash twice before turning yellow. Drivers actually give the pedestrians the right-of-way, if you are crossing on green. (with a red light, beware--you are fair game!) 10. Nearly everything that one would need is within walking distance of the hotel. 11. The wonderful graciousness of all the American couples that we have befriended during our journey! Many thanks to Corey, Robin & Haydn; Mike & Drew; Laura & Brett; Chis, Jen & Ryan and everyone else.... Tomorrow will be a list of what we miss about good ol' East Tennessee! Kevin says to give you a hint, numbers 1-5 will be versions of "chips & salsa; salsa & chips; beer, chips & salsa etc.")

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