We are all very sad here after saying goodbye to Karla's sister Kristin who came to visit us for a little over 2 weeks. She arrived just before our Fall break started so that we would have a whole week off to spend with her. We took her to some of the "traditional" tourist spots (the parks and bazaars) but also showed her off to some of the friends we have met here. Although she struggled a bit with jetlag, the kids were very excited to have their "Nona" with them and regularly woke her up in the morning by climbing into bed with her.
Although Kristin isn't quite the avid shopper that Karla is, she was dragged off to at least three different bazaars, including a great bus ride to one of them where Kristin was given a new Kazakh name by a fellow passenger and got up close and personal with a whole lot of others. We also showed her our "city of contrasts" by taking her to the expensive and posh Mega center where we took the kids to a games and amusements place called Babylon (complete with bumper cars and the like). Most things are geared towards kids, but the Dance Dance Revolution was too much of a temptation for Karla and Kristin.
I think Kristin's highlight was going on hike with me and my friend Pete. On a beautiful Saturday morning, we drove up into the mountains, parked the car, and started what proved to be a pretty tasking 4-kilometer march up to the ski resort Chymbulak. We stopped for a snack and then took three chair lifts up to the top of a ridge where we started our second, much more vertical, challenge. Pete was eager to climb to the highest peak, but we decided to try for the top of a closer ridge. It was a tough climb! And then we had to walk all the way back down again! But a great day and it finished off with our good friend Meiram cooking us
shashlik (lamb and chicken kebabs) for supper. Thanks again Kristin for the great visit and the goodies you brought us from home!
We are all very sad here after saying goodbye to Karla's sister Kristin who came to visit us for a little over 2 weeks. She arrived just before our Fall break started so that we would have a whole week off to spend with her. We took her to some of the "traditional" tourist spots (the parks and bazaars) but also showed her off to some of the friends we have met here. Although she struggled a bit with jetlag, the kids were very excited to have their "Nona" with them and regularly woke her up in the morning by climbing into bed with her.
Although Kristin isn't quite the avid shopper that Karla is, she was dragged off to at least three different bazaars, including a great bus ride to one of them where Kristin was given a new Kazakh name by a fellow passenger and got up close and personal with a whole lot of others. We also showed her our "city of contrasts" by taking her to the expensive and posh Mega center where we took the kids to a games and amusements place called Babylon (complete with bumper cars and the like). Most things are geared towards kids, but the Dance Dance Revolution was too much of a temptation for Karla and Kristin.
I think Kristin's highlight was going on hike with me and my friend Pete. On a beautiful Saturday morning, we drove up into the mountains, parked the car, and started what proved to be a pretty tasking 4-kilometer march up to the ski resort Chymbulak. We stopped for a snack and then took three chair lifts up to the top of a ridge where we started our second, much more vertical, challenge. Pete was eager to climb to the highest peak, but we decided to try for the top of a closer ridge. It was a tough climb! And then we had to walk all the way back down again! But a great day and it finished off with our good friend Meiram cooking us shashlik (lamb and chicken kebabs) for supper. Thanks again Kristin for the great visit and the goodies you brought us from home!
