Self-portrait. 
Tuesday was even colder and rainier than Monday. We could see our breath while waiting outside. Apparently this isn’t normal weather for Taraz in late April. Maybe we brought it with us.
Symbat was her usual hesitant self when she first came to the room today, but again she warmed up quickly. With an upcoming 5-week time period between bonding and court we’re a bit worried that she won’t recognize us when we get back. Today though she was a happy kid, crawling all around and giving lots of smiles. We got more laughs and sounds from her today as well. She still hasn’t said anything that sounds like a word to us yet, but then again she’s only 13 months old. She does anticipate being tickled though, and will start laughing even before you start to tickle her.
Symbat was her usual hesitant self when she first came to the room today, but again she warmed up quickly. With an upcoming 5-week time period between bonding and court we’re a bit worried that she won’t recognize us when we get back. Today though she was a happy kid, crawling all around and giving lots of smiles. We got more laughs and sounds from her today as well. She still hasn’t said anything that sounds like a word to us yet, but then again she’s only 13 months old. She does anticipate being tickled though, and will start laughing even before you start to tickle her.
We were asked for the name we will give her in America today. So I guess we’re locked in. Alina Symbat Docter. Alina is a form of Helen; we wanted to give her a family name as our other girls all have family names. As a bonus, Alina means “beautiful” which is what Symbat means in Kazakh. We were having a hard time finding a name that worked, and when Kara found Alina on Sunday morning it just seemed to fit. We might nickname her Ali, but we’re not sure yet. Quentin likes the idea of calling her Alina better, whereas Kara loves nicknames so she’s more partial to Ali. We’ll see how that turns out.
For lunch today we walked through the rain to Bosfor, a restaurant we’ve not tried before. None of their menu was in English, so it was interesting. I looked up how to say, “I want meat,” and “What would you recommend?” in Russian. She pointed to something and I said, “I’ll have it.” Turned out to be bits of what I think is beef in a great sauce. Very tasty. At many restaurants they will ask you about a “garnish.” They say it as “garnit.” They’re basically asking you if you want a side dish. Most places offer rice, fried potatoes (French fries), mashed potatoes, some sort of vegetable, and a few others. It comes free with some meals, with others you’ll pay 100-200 tenge for it. If you say no garnit and they insist, it probably means your meal comes with it. Also, if you want a Coke don’t order “Coke” as to them it will sound like “sook” which means juice. Coca-Cola (or just cola) will do the trick.
We’ll probably stay in the hotel for the rest of the day. Tomorrow’s weather is supposed to be better, and we’re thinking we’ll walk to Tsum (department store/mall) to see what they have to offer.
For lunch today we walked through the rain to Bosfor, a restaurant we’ve not tried before. None of their menu was in English, so it was interesting. I looked up how to say, “I want meat,” and “What would you recommend?” in Russian. She pointed to something and I said, “I’ll have it.” Turned out to be bits of what I think is beef in a great sauce. Very tasty. At many restaurants they will ask you about a “garnish.” They say it as “garnit.” They’re basically asking you if you want a side dish. Most places offer rice, fried potatoes (French fries), mashed potatoes, some sort of vegetable, and a few others. It comes free with some meals, with others you’ll pay 100-200 tenge for it. If you say no garnit and they insist, it probably means your meal comes with it. Also, if you want a Coke don’t order “Coke” as to them it will sound like “sook” which means juice. Coca-Cola (or just cola) will do the trick.
We’ll probably stay in the hotel for the rest of the day. Tomorrow’s weather is supposed to be better, and we’re thinking we’ll walk to Tsum (department store/mall) to see what they have to offer.
No comments:
Post a Comment