(Suzanne) Today our Spanish friends went to court and were granted custody of their daughter. They will go home tomorrow and return in 3 weeks to take her home (There is a mandatory waiting period following court. )
Later this evening as we were eating dinner, we met a Kazakh man who was here for business. Turns out he works for Proctor an Gamble distributing Mars candy bars in Kakakhstan (did you read that, Eric?) He knew only a few words of English and, like a lot of people around here, was very interested in talking to Americans. He, Dave and Nikolai went to another table to talk so I could do some work on our borrowed laptop. After a few minutes, Jaime came in and sat down with Dave, Nikolai, and our new Kazakh friend “Bek”. The scene that ensued was hilarious. One of the things I love most about Dave is his talent in communicating and making ANYBODY laugh, regardless of age, culture, or language barrier. Well, the next two hours confirmed my observations. I sat back and watched as 3 1/2 men (a Kazakh, a Spaniard, an American, and a 6 year old Russian) pantomimed, spoke in one word sentences, laughed loudly, and enjoyed each other's company for the next 2 hours. They acted as if they were long lost friends who didnt want the night to end. The night concluded when Jaime insisted we all had a shot of vodka to celebrate friendship. We all participated, even Nikolai with his apple juice. It was a night I know we'll talk about for a long time. Anna, Jaime's wife, came down to say goodbye. I always thought it was sweet how Europeans hug and then do the kiss on each side of the cheek. I hated to see them leave, especially since we were stuck here another week. I felt my eyes well up with tears . I was surprised to see Jaime and Anna well up with tears too, after all, they were going home, and I knew they were as homesick as we were! It made me realize that even with my whining about being homesick, I actually will MISS Kazakhstan. I thought about our debacle in Vienna, our daily pantomine antics, and the reason we all were here. I realized how much I have learned on this trip....that despite our different languages, kooky cultural customs, and different weird things we eat, some things are universal....kindness, laughter,a great love for our children, and friendship.
Later this evening as we were eating dinner, we met a Kazakh man who was here for business. Turns out he works for Proctor an Gamble distributing Mars candy bars in Kakakhstan (did you read that, Eric?) He knew only a few words of English and, like a lot of people around here, was very interested in talking to Americans. He, Dave and Nikolai went to another table to talk so I could do some work on our borrowed laptop. After a few minutes, Jaime came in and sat down with Dave, Nikolai, and our new Kazakh friend “Bek”. The scene that ensued was hilarious. One of the things I love most about Dave is his talent in communicating and making ANYBODY laugh, regardless of age, culture, or language barrier. Well, the next two hours confirmed my observations. I sat back and watched as 3 1/2 men (a Kazakh, a Spaniard, an American, and a 6 year old Russian) pantomimed, spoke in one word sentences, laughed loudly, and enjoyed each other's company for the next 2 hours. They acted as if they were long lost friends who didnt want the night to end. The night concluded when Jaime insisted we all had a shot of vodka to celebrate friendship. We all participated, even Nikolai with his apple juice. It was a night I know we'll talk about for a long time. Anna, Jaime's wife, came down to say goodbye. I always thought it was sweet how Europeans hug and then do the kiss on each side of the cheek. I hated to see them leave, especially since we were stuck here another week. I felt my eyes well up with tears . I was surprised to see Jaime and Anna well up with tears too, after all, they were going home, and I knew they were as homesick as we were! It made me realize that even with my whining about being homesick, I actually will MISS Kazakhstan. I thought about our debacle in Vienna, our daily pantomine antics, and the reason we all were here. I realized how much I have learned on this trip....that despite our different languages, kooky cultural customs, and different weird things we eat, some things are universal....kindness, laughter,a great love for our children, and friendship.
