Saturday we went to lunch at the American Cafe', which was actually quite American and came complete with a western motif and a full statue of Jar Jar Binks in the corner of the room....Who knew he was such an American icon???? After that we walked to what everyone here calls the old square for the Street Ball tournament. This was basically an "And 1" tournament....a really BAD "And 1" Tournament. Those of you who know me well, know that I'm no basketball player, but I could have teamed up with Abby, (who actually is quite good at basketball,) and together we could have dominated. Jake and his 2 friends came in 2nd, but only because of bad officiating. Seems like it was similar to this year's NBA finals as far as bad calls, (GO MAVS!!!)
My new friend Timor and his rap group Maranatha preformed, and quite honestly were the best group on the stage that day. They also had a 30 minute Hula girl techno limbo romp!!! The PA was horrific and everyone sounded as though they were talking through a "Mr. Micrphone." Ben had the time of his life in the park adjacent to the stage. There were 2 weddings going on, and a nice little pond with swans and such. Ben kept climbing up and down on the little retaining wall next to the pond, and was COVERED in dust and soot since there is nowhere in this city that is safe from the dirt and pollution.
That night we went to a local family's house for a traditional Kazak meal, complete with a lo-rider table so we could all sit on the floor. Now I grew up in the south and thought I knew something about hospitality, but I had NO IDEA how to treat a guest until sat. night. We arrived and were welcomed in and brought to a sort of sunroom outside and offered drinks. Then the 1st of 5 courses started rolling. The 1st was Barsok bread. It's kind of like a funnel cake without the powdered sugar. Ben thoroughly enjoyed it. Next came 2 salads, one of which was like a tomato and cucumber salad, the other was similar to a potato salad. Neither of which I'm really a fan of. I did try the potato salad, in which everything was cubed, including, potato, ham, carrots, peas, hard boiled eggs and some sort of mayonaise based sauce. Then came the Main course....Bisch Bar Mak (sp) and Plaf. Plaf, was pretty much rice pilaf, including some vegetables and some chunks of beef. It was EXCELLENT!!!!! Bisch Bar Mak literally means 5 fingers since that's how you're supposed to eat it. They actually said Ben was a "real Kazak man," since he dug in with his hands. It was made of flat noodles, onions, and meat. This is the fun part....can you guess the meat???? There was a hint in the subject line...that's right....hello folks, I'm Mr. Ed!!!!! It mostly had beef in it, but the delicacy in it was the horse meat. I've never been an adventurous eater, but I'll be honest with you all....Horse meat is AWESOME!!! It was a little greasy, but tasted incredible. I raved over it so the matriarch of the family went to get me some more. This was a mistake. She brought out a tray with horse intestines on it. The way they prepare the horse meat is to stuff it in the intestines and cook it up.......I think I just threw up in my mouth a little bit just thinking about it. I of course, in not wanting to dishonor my host, watched her cut about half of the intestine up and slide it onto my plate which I then consumed while trying to smile. A little side note here...
Abby's experience with this part of the meal was GREAT...she was diving into her Bisch Bar Mak, and got a piece of meat that was more fat than meat. Not knowing what might offend our host, she found a way to pack the piece of fat as far up in her cheek as possible, and finished the entire meal with a piece of fat hidden in her mouth. The next course was a lovely soup.....lovely until we realized what it was!!!! This alleged soup was actually just the grease from when they cooked the meat. I thought I had lucked out by chasing Ben around the yard and missed this course, but NNOOOOO. They had a hot fresh bowl waiting for me as soon as I sat down. Jake warned us to all eat this very quickly...we now realize this was because the grease would start to congeal across the top if didn't drink it quickly. The final course was dessert....THANK YOU JESUS!!!!!! This was also Ben's favorite part of the meal. This family absolutely loved Ben and Eva, and treated them so sweetly, including giving Ben candy and cookies o' plenty. You all know how this goes against EVERYTHING Abby holds dear to her, so through tightly clenched teeth, she approvingly nodded each time they offered him yet another cookie. By the end of this course he was literally high on sugar....couldn't hardly stand up and he was laughing at everything!!! They had chocolates, cookies, and fresh fruit for dessert and it was great. The dad came in later from work and was so kind. He was a very jolly fellow who Ben took to very easily in his drunken state.
Next their middle daughter Saule' played a little ditty on the Dombre, the traditional instrument of Kaz. It's a 2 stringed lute like instrument, or for Barry a 2 stringed Bazuki without the hand cramps.
They then brought out hot tea for us. They had bowls of fresh blackberry jelly, which you put in the bottom of your tea cup. They then pour piping hot tea over it. Abby had her tea this way, while I went for the more traditional milk and sugar. There was also this grain that we put in our tea that basically was kind of like cereal. It tasted like an ice cream cone.
This evening BY FAR was the best time we've had outside of holding Millie in the orphanage. It was so cool to experience the way another culture lives even for such a brief moment. They were some of the kindest, most welcoming people I've met in my life.
Sunday, Ben finally slept into until 5:30am...WOOHOO!!!! We went to a family group with several american families who are all here, uh.....teaching english? It was a great time of fellowship. It was awesome to see people on the front line especially with what MM has been trying to do with the Go Foundation. After a bible study and food, Abby proceed to whip the mess out of me in a basketball game called knock out. i've never played before, but that wouldn't have helped me win....she's WAY better than I am!!!
Monday.......Ben slept till 6:30!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Finally we got to go see Millie again!!!! She was a bit stand offish, but we were warned this could be the case. Sometimes the babies get mad when you spend a whole week with them, then stand them up for the weekend. She's basically learning to trust us. We also think she was sleepy. She conked out on Abby once again and when she woke up she seemed to be her old self again. Hopefully tomorrow she won't have to warm up to us. 2 of the other families will be going to court tomorrow to try and convince the judge that they didn't fly around the world for a vacation, but that they really love these babies. Pray for them and that they would have favor in the judge's eyes. We may hear when our court day is scheduled for on tomorrow also. Please be in prayer for this as the court date is when the judge decides whether or not we're fit parents and can also choose to waive the waiting period that comes after the court date. We are having the time of our lives, but I'm seriously jonesing for some Whataburger!!!! Oh yeah, and that little tour, and just being at home and all that stuff!!!!!
Thanks for keeping us covered!!!! Can't wait for you all to meet her!!!!!!
Mike, Abby, Ben, and Millie
P.S. the official soundtrack for Mike's trip to Kazakhstan is Leeland's The Sound of Melodies. This album is absolutely amazing and I recommend everyone of you buy it or download it LEGALLY!!!!!
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