Day 11 - Goldtooth's Return and Cholepan Sr.

World War II Memorial

Our interpreter Anna joins us again today, and I catch Adil with his Terminator shades on.

Nina is a little tired today and doesn’t last long before drifting off to sleep. Before that happens though, Monte gets a chance to change the first of many poopy diapers to come. After that excitement, Nina gets another outfit. It is amazing how she and Monte coordinate each day.

Baby laughs during exercise.

It is a low-key day with Nina but we get a couple of jewels at the end of the day at the baby house. First, I am so happy to see who enters to get Nina at the end of our session. It is our friend Goldtooth! I was totally prepared for this moment, well almost. Nina gets excited when she sees her, and we have a precious moment where Goldtooth talks to Nina. Of course, we get a glimse of Goldtooth’s smile as well. I promise to find out her real name! In the meantime, here is the video. Please be warned that this clip is not without some technical difficulties that are as yet unresolved. You may want to tilt your head before hitting play. It is still cute though.

The second jewel is stumbled upon completely by accident. We are leaving the baby house and the nurses ask if we can give some lady a ride. We don’t know who she is or where she is going but assume Adil and Anna will figure it out. We say yes.

I decide to secretly snap a few photos of her with my iPhone for fun as she sits next to me in the back seat. She elbows me in the side after the 2^nd "snap." We ask Anna to find out who this mystery rider is. Her name is Cholepan! She is a nurse at the baby house who needs to go to town for some business. We say, “Cholepan? That is the baby we met.” The nurse reveals that she is the one who picked up baby Cholepan five days after birth. Since she only had a last name, the nurses named her. I guess Cholepan had naming rights and decided to named her after herself! Here’s the pre-elbow shot of Cholepan Sr.

Through Anna, we ask about Deanna and how she got her name. Cholepan Sr. confirmed Deanna was not her given name from the birth mother. She arrived to the baby house with only a last name. Since she looked more European than Asian, the nurses decided to give her the name Deanna. She is affectionately called Princess or Lady D by the staff. Cholepan said Nina Deanna is a beautiful name. She approves.

We arrive back at the apartment and head out to lunch and the local park. We visit the cathedral again and light a candle for my dad who would have been 72 years old earlier this week. I miss him very much. There are a lot of people in the cathedral today. It is beautiful.

Moving through the park, we visit the World War II Memorial (picture at top). We see the eternal flame. This place is the place to go for wedding pictures. We see at least six different wedding parties. Nothing says “party” like the eternal flame at a war memorial.

That’s all we have for today. We see Nina again tomorrow. In the meantime, here are some fun (?) facts and observations including some pictures from around town and comments on Borat.

There are approximately 15 million people in Kazakhstan. Most are of local Kazakh origin (nomadic tribes of Turkish/Mongolian descent) with a large minority Russian/Ukrainian. There are small pockets of Koreans, Jews, Kurds, and other people groups. Kazakh and Russian are spoken. English is spoken by the younger people in varying degree as it is a requirement in schools. The Muslim/Christian mix is 50/50. The government encourages high religious tolerance and it seems to be working here.

The Soviets seriously damaged parts of the country during the Cold War. Nuclear bombs were tested in parts of Kazakhstan without regard to the people living there! Also, in an effort to promote agriculture, the Soviets re-directed rivers that fed the Aral Sea to irrigate the desert. They attempted to grow cotton and other crops and didn't seem to mind that they killed the 4th largest lake in the world and the entire industry and communities surrounding it. The Aral Sea is considered a major ecological disaster and has been sinking since the start of the Soviet program in the 60's. Here is a photo of the mess (I didn't take this one :).

Pringles are $5 per can. Diet Coke is $1.00 for a 1 liter bottle. Bottled water is $0.10 for 2 liters. Some stuff is really cheap. Some stuff is really expensive. Overall we would say things are typically slightly less expensive when compared to home.

Most women wear beautiful fur coats that are either all fur or have fur trim. They are surprised that Americans do not wear fur. We eat animals, don't we? What is the problem with wearing their fur? It doesn't register with them. Here is a picture of two typical Kazakh women crossing the street. Not sure about the dude we are following.

What are the most popular vehicles in Almaty? Based on what we can see, the top 3 are Toyota, Toyota, and Toyota. The Toyota Land Cruiser SUV is very popular now that we are staying in the fancy part of town. We see very few Hondas, but many Mercedes, Subarus, and Mitsubishi. Kia is also emerging as the South Korean's have a presence here.

Twenty years ago in the Soviet era, all Kazakhs were driving Russian pieces of junk (the Russians never figured out how to make a car).The Kazakhstan people caught on after the fall and it is all about the imports today. Sometimes you see the old Russian vehicles limping along, especially in the country.

But in the city, it is all about the luxury and we see many high end Lexus SUVs, Mercedes, BMWs, ... Haven't seen many American made cars except a few Escalades and Chryslers.

The Kazakh president is posted on the baby house bulletin board, and on many buildings and billboards. He is well-liked and Kazakhstan has prospered under his leadership with 10% econonic growth each year. He maintains a good relationship with Russia and encourages cultural and religious tolerance in his country which is a bit of a melting pot. He is the only president the country has known as it emerged after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.

What about Kazakhstan's most famous pseudo-export to the US? What about Borat and his Cultural Learnings of America for Make Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan? I have searched the cities and countryside in my spare time for the birthplace of Borat. Sadly, I have learned that Borat isn't actually from Kazakhstan. He is a half-Jewish actor from England and has never even set foot in Kazakhstan No wonder why he doesn't look anything like the Russian or Kazakh locals. You can imagine my disappointment. I feel like Pee Wee Herman after he was told the Alamo has no basement.

Kazakhs either don't know or care about Borat or think his humor is ridiculous. In any event, their attitide seems to be that any press is good press. He has certainly raised the awareness of little know Kazakhstan in the West. Not sure if that is a good thing for Kazakhstan, but it is what it is.

Lastly for today, here's another trolley racing a BMW for my Uncle T.