Morning weather report: 39, feels like 33. Projected high: 45 with light rain throughout the day (so much for sight-seeing!)
Meanwhile back in Memphis: Overnight low of 49, heading back to 68 and sunny (can you send some of that weather back this way?!?!?)
No visit with the kids today. 8-( Masha and Sasha had to go to a town 30 miles away to have a Judge make some corrections to a document we will need to finalize the adoption. Since Thursday was a holiday, banks, post office, government, courts, etc. were closed. However, to make up for the closure, government was in session today despite it being Sunday. Suzanne and Hilton also had court today and are now proud adoptive parents. Congratulations!
It’s funny how you get out of touch with little things back home like when Daylight Saving Time adjusts. Especially when you’re somewhere that’s on a little different schedule. Last night, Moscow time changed in observance of the end of Daylight Saving Time. Since the train and airline schedules follow Moscow time and Russia does observe Daylight Saving Time (we were two hours ahead of Moscow and are now three hours ahead), we didn’t think about it. Soooo, after several friendly reminders from everyone back home who let us know that the “adjustment” doesn’t occur in the US until NEXT weekend, we won’t change our dual time zone watches until then.
This will be a topic for later research… We wonder how long it took for other countries to start doing Daylight Saving (no “s” on the end) Time and whether or not they will also shift their “adjustment” dates. Masha tells us that Kazakhstan used to observe Daylight Saving Time, but stopped last year… Maybe it just got too complicated?
Now that it has been mentioned, we recall all the fuss over the change this past spring when the adjustment was moved up two weeks and the “fall back” date was moved back a week. Newer computers/operating systems got an update to make the change, but older systems didn’t. Since our laptop has Vista, which takes all that into consideration, we didn’t see a pop-up notice telling us that our time was adjusted. So, as Cathe would say, “Bob’s your uncle.” (Google the phrase to read all about that)
It’s a small world and things seem to work for a reason. With Cathe’s flight being moved up, she got a direct flight to Almaty on a “newer” AN-24 instead of the decrepit YAK-40 we flew up in (comfort was spared in favor of utilitarianism) which makes one scheduled stop in Kokshetau along the way (although our flight up did make an unscheduled stop in Karaganda. That was fun!). According to Cathe, the AN-24 was a little more comfortable (the YAK-40 seating didn’t make that standard too difficult to exceed!) and the total flight was almost two hours shorter.
Oleg was there to greet her, right on schedule. Fortunately she was there because the two little girls who were on the same flight would have been waiting with Oleg for the day. Instead, they spent the day with Cathe, giving her some “young child refresher training.” They wanted to show every one of their treasures, press every button and look in every drawer/behind every door in the hotel room. Since their English is very limited, Cathe also got a little Russian workout too.
Meanwhile back in Petro, Bill did a LOT of walking today, taking pictures of many interesting sights listed on Jim’s map (Thanks again Jim and Jen!). There are many statues and memorials scattered throughout the city, mostly WW II. There are also a few remnants of the former Soviet society, with the remnants of the Hammer & Sickle logos. He also found the New Car dealer which specialized in Chevrolet, Lada, and Skoda. For 2.5 million Tenge (about $21,000) you can get a brand new Skoda sub-compact. The price tags for the nicer vehicles were not visible through the window for some reason…
For dinner, Bill, Suzanne & Hilton, and Anne from Belgium (also adopting) got together at the Italian restaurant to celebrate the new parents. Tomorrow Bill will be back in the visit routine. After three consecutive weekends of off-campus adventures, we bet they’re raring to go!
Seen around town:
Russian and Kazakh WWII monuments.
WWII monument and Opera House
A prominent H&S and a mosiac over the car dealer signifying the friendship between Russia and Kazakhstan and their membership in the USSR
The "Famous" Doner Cafe. (Don't tell Hannah-Barbarra about copyright infringement of Tom & Jerry!)
The Old Water Tower and some ever-present steam pipes. This time they're covered in spray-on foam instead of asbestos!
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