Some Things Stay the Same - Part IV

I will search and conquer (with humor!)

Almaty, Kazakhstan

. . .

The Yellow Brick Road

Let’s just jump right into it as if I’ve been a supreme blogger all the while. There was once this crazy family of four, who thought it would be interesting to live in Kazakhstan for another year.

That’s us. The Family Jones.

Forget village life however - that was only once in a lifetime. We set-up apartment keeping in Pavlodar, in northern Kazakhstan, about 2hours from the Russian/Siberian border. This apartment came with all the amenities we went without in the village – washing machine, insta-radiator heat, indoor plumbing, food varieties. We soon found it easier to make FRIENDS too! A small group of Peace Corp volunteers were about the city doing good works – I clicked instantly with Shannon Huett. Also, there were English teachers from the U.S. and lovely locals with hearty English skills. I even got a terrific job teaching English in 2 Kazakh schools. Thebabes went to a Russian speaking private school – it was tears and wailing in the beginning then sweet submission. Nathan took on a hefty teaching job 6 days a week and threw himself into it.

Nice life.

Then we were asked if we’d like to relocate, for a month, to another Kazakh city in the south. Taraz. Oooooh . . . milder winter weather, a southern city, a trip to Uzbekistan, a little adventure. Indeed it seemed interesting and we made preparations to move, in 1.5 days, on December 20th.

Our days became long and languid again. No school. We only had one friend. I tried to home school and then got bored. I went running regularly. Thebabes&I needed to renew our visas, they were set to expire on 21Jan. So after a month-ish, we applied for Uzbek visas and left for Uzbekistan (UZ)!

It was quite involved getting across the border – we drove in three different taxis, 3-4 hours each, through the countryside in search of the international border crossing. It took us all day. Zoe threw-up all over me.

We loved Tashkent instantly. It’s like the New York City of Central Asia, I said. The subway systems were strikingly beautiful. Yes, beautiful. The city felt like a city. More sedentary. The infrastructure was fantastic. We found fun restaurants but our hotel was a DIVE of the grayest, yuckiest kind for $20 a night. We submitted our passports quickly to the Kazakh Embassy and waited and bided our time in museums and long walks.

Something went wrong with the paperwork. There would be a delay while Nathan’s office in Pavlodar resubmitted it to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We decided to hit the road and leave the dingy hotel for other cities!

We took a speedy train to Bukhara – an ancient silk road city that is remarkably preserved. People still live and work and create their art there. OH! What art! I was in my aesthetic paradise only with very little money. woewoewoe! We spent 4 days in Bukhara, feeling a little like locals, it’s so small and everyone came to recognize us and we them. Nice.

Samarkand is only a few hours from Bukhara via that fast train and we arrived in high anticipation. This city is legendarily beautiful! The TILES, the TILES which enamor all the ancient buildings . . . I couldn’t get enough! We walked around for 4days snapping photos with my camera phone. David of the Old Testament is entombed there. So on a lovely Sunday afternoon, in the light rain, we walked toward the rainbow in the sky and his tomb.

Things were not going well with the visa process though. We returned to Tashkent and waited for another two weeks. We found a better hotel at the train station for $25 a night and we were very comfortable but we felt increasingly anxious as we approached the expiry date of our UZ visas.

We waited right to the day before our UZ visas were to expire, but NO Kazakh visas were forthcoming. We had visas to no other country either. We were told that you could get one month visas on arrival at airports so we were left with flying out of UZ into Kyrgyzstan (KG). Getting Kyrgyz visas was seamless (and reasonably priced).

Nathan decided to take the KZ visa matter into his own hands and got in touch with good old Stan Tours in Almaty, KZ. Also, we were able to stay with Allen and Lori Palmer of Provo who were are in Bishkek for 9months on a Fulbright Teaching Scholarship at the University of Central Asia in Bishkek. They were terrific to us and after a week . . .

We had our one year KZ VISAS!

In total it took us over ONE MONTH to get these buggers.

*Lesson #1: Don’t go to UZ for anything that involves various government(s) cooperation. UZ is for shopping and bowing down before the architecture!

*Lesson #2: KG = kindness & efficiency.

*Lesson #3: Live in your own country.


So, we’re broke as can be but back in Pavlodar, KZ. It’s been a little over a week since our return. I really love Pavlodar.

I got the best greeting from my friend Victoria yesterday on the ploshid, out in front of the library. It was a greeting I’d dreamed of having in this country. One where someone calls out my name in happy recognition and moves toward me in eager embrace. Victoria clung to me and kissed my cheeks over and over again.

And it was bliss.

Next blog project: PHOTOS (courtesy of my camera phone)

#1 Marketplace in Samarkand

#2 I swoon Bukhara

#3 Uzbek Art

. . .

Desi Candor

While eating a tasty pasta dinner Des explained, “Sometimes the smell eats for me.”

“Mom, you know what? I love you so much and I don’t want you to DIE!”

“I’m gonna be a dad who takes care of my kids – and tackles and tickles and not be smiley in pictures and stay home with my kids and take them to school.”

“Mom! I have a surprise for you, a ball made out of toilet paper and water!”

“I was just trying to defend myself against Zoe. She was an ANIMAL, she was a dragon trying to blow fire at me!”

“My nose is full of snod”

On his 3rd day of attending an all Russian school, DPJ asked, “Dad? Why do I have to go to school if all I do is sit there and do NOTHING ALL DAY?”

“Aren’t we going to watch ‘Sounds Excusting’?'” I had told him earlier that day that we would be watching ‘The Sound of Music” that evening.

“Zoe looks so cute in the morning – she looks like a rockstar!”

Zoe: Desi? Can you be Boots and I’ll be Dora?

Desi: No.

Zoe: Mom? Can you be Boots and I’ll be Dora?

Desi: But mom’s too big. Maybe, though, she can be a huge GORILLA boots! {Des, of course, later agreed to be Swiper.}

After being tickled DPJ exclaimed, “JOY!JOY!JOY! JOY knocked me OUT!”

While sitting at dinner Desi decides to turn a boring meal into an imaginary feast at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It was quickly established that he would be Harry and Zoe Hermione. They both look at me. “How about I be Nearly Headless Nick!” I say with a chortle. Des looks at me for a moment (not even smiling) and says solemnly, “No, Snape.” I choked on my white bread.

While practicing writing his English alphabet one night, DPJ happily observed, “I’m happy I'm not dead yet, it’s fun being on this world.”

“Her hands feel like smooth macaroni.” Des observed of Zoe during a morning cuddle.

Des seems to have a very high body temperature and usually runs around shirtless while indoors. Nathan grabbed him one afternoon and observed, “I bet you don’t wear a shirt so I can squeeze your belly.” Des countered, “No, so the hotness can fly off my body.”

“Run for your lives and jump into the UNIVERSE!”

On a long train ride to southeast Kazakhstan we shared a train cabin with another American, A.C. from Atlanta, GA. He asked Desi at one point in their conversation, “Do you play sports?” Des responded enthusiastically, “Yeah! Basketball High School Musical!” For weeks he’d been replaying the first scene from High School Musical 3. We have an inflatable beach ball and he bounds around the living room singing and ‘playing basketball’.

Zoe: Can you stop kissing me please?

Des: But I can’t! You’re so cool!

“Dad, you’re a tremendous goofball.”

On trying to open the front door to our apartment in Taraz, Des capitulated, “I can’t! It’s too hard for me – that’s because I never do Pilates workout.”

Zoe is usually the first to rise in the morning and begins to chatter with me very eagerly. Des mumbled over to us one early morning, “How about you be sushed up.”

“I love mysister Zoe more than pizza!” It was Zoe’s 4th birthday and we were on our way to a much anticipated pizza restaurant in Taraz, KZ.

“Zoe? Why does you hair look like cabbage?” She had ponytail braids for a day and we had just taken them out.

On a sick day at home Desi sighed, “Ohhhh . . . I wish I could have some broccoli.”

Des regularly stumbles and bumbles when walking. On our first day out in Samarkand, UZ Des crashed pretty hard and observed, “I’m the tripper around here.”

Zoe en Voice

“ I want to take a bath, OK? That’s my point!”

“Hey! Yours bum! That is yours big giant BUM!” Then she slapped me on the behind.

“I think superhero’s mommy help them clean up – why not you don’t?”

“My other girl will be named Ini and the other one is named Lunch. My boy is named Jackson and my other is Jeffy.”

The first thing Zoe said to me one morning was, “Mommy, we’re bestfriends!” And we hugged and kissed tightly and then she pulled away and said, “That was tough love.”

“I pinched mommy’s cheekmonk”

While remembering a memory back home in NYC she referred to it as, “The Happy Jones Place.”

Zoe has quite a vocabulary for calling names, mostly to DesmondJones. The majority are words she makes up when angry and it’s pretty clear they are intended as an insult. Her frequent one is Lizard. “You LIZARD!” There are also: Fuffer, Fuffet, Malpomb, Kaseba, Undol, Wizard, and Stish. {None of these are Russian words, btw}

“I ate it all gone to my throat!” She often announces this when she’s proud to have eaten her food.

Both mybabes are in school now. So 5days a week, we have those parting moments where I earnestly attempt to send them off with words of encouragement (wisdom!). It was somewhere in the third month of attending school (Dec) when Zoe asked me shortly, “Mom? Could you not say ‘rememberwhoyouare’ everyday?”

“1 . . . 2 . . . 3 . . . 8 . . . 44 . . . OUT!” Z’s countdown before she pulls the plug out of the tub.

While opening a cupboard in the kitchen Zoe asks, “Can I have some I love you treats?”

“I’m growing up to be a grown up!”

Des and Zoe were mumbling the other day after Nate left the apartment before they were ready to leave (he went down early to dump the trash). Des grumbled while trailing down the stairs after N8, “Dads macaroni.” Zoe agreed, “Dad’s a bad guy.”

During a joint bath time, D&Z had taken to playing a game where one placed a hand over the others face and then pushed it under the water. I told them that the game was too dangerous and asked them to stop. I repeated myself a few times. Finally, Zoe had had enough of my parental supervision and spat at me, “If you say that again I’m going to hurt you!”

During our cuddle on the morning of her 4th birthday, Zoe happily declares to the universe, “I LOVE my mom and dad and Desi and Grandma and Grandpa and other Grandma and Grandpa!”

During dinner one night, Zoe tapped on DPJ’s shoulder and said, “You’re a genius!”

“Mom! Snap out of sleeping and play with me! Snap out of it! Snap out of it!”

“I love you mom and I don’t want to kill you either.”

Early one morning after Zoe cuddled up with Nate, a little air escaped from her behind. Nathan asked her, “Did you come in here to fart?” Zoe reasoned, “Oh, I guess all bums do that sometimes.”

After telling Zoe about how as a girl I shared a bedroom with my sister Holly, she sighed and said, “You have a spell on you.” I was surprised and repeated her statement with a question. She covered her face and sadly explained, “You’re a grown up and I didn’t see you as little.”

After squeezing Zoe’s cheeks together and calling her a chipmunk, she said, “I’m not a chipmunk, I’m your sweetie!”

The Irony is . . .

After such a long, unblogger like silence the next time I post is to say, “previet” or “hello” because as I presently tap this keyboard (on my new laptop!) I am settled back into the country of Kazakhstan. The very one I saluted a farewell in my last post over 5months ago.

Oh, the funny timeline of blogging.

But we’ll get to that later. What I’d like to document first is the SUMMER OF MY DREAMS! 3months of peoplepeoplepeople. It was bounteous. I saw nearly everyone I wanted to see and spent a lot of time with my family – for good or bad as I was still reeling and recovering from the social isolation of the previous year and a half. It made me a little awkward, a little self-absorbed – perhaps even a little hard to be around.

Sorry.

Of course, there are picturespicturespictures and since my titanic expectations of a HIGH SPEED INTERNET CONNECTION have been realized (!!) I hope my blog will sparkle with more images. Well, that is, images from my cell phone. We’re a little camera challenged.

It feels good to be blogging again and I hope it will seem less like a tragic Charles Dickens or Thomas Hardy tale, as my sister-in-law put it after reading our last KZ coverage. She wept and couldn’t see for scrolling.

Sorry.

Lets get started . . .

When we landed the beginning of June, my sister Heidi drove us straight to her lovely place in Connecticut.

She made this her very own self. With love, lots of love!!

.

My wonderful babes had their first bath in the USA!

!

Just before my first shower, my sister Heidi and I posed for a pic. She literarly provided all needful things for us -- hot&cold running water, comfortable beds, gorgeous food (i couldn't stop staring at the contents of her fridge), a bag full of clothes for the babes (!), more food, shopping excursions, and a trip to the SPA for me. {All women should be able to spend a day at a SPA at least once in their lifetime. I mean it -- and I'm not the pampered type. ohmeohmy!} THANKS SISTER!

Our first meal was BBQ salmon -- I dreamed about it for months!

!

We took a daytrip to NYC to see friends and our old neighborhood.

:::sniffle:::

Zoe hooked up with her old friend Emelia Fugal. It was sweet.

Des and Porter Brien couldn’t believe they were together again. It was bliss.

After a week in CT we hurried to meet our anxious family in UT!!

Oh, the HAPPINESS!!

Once we settled ourselves in Cedar City we enjoyed all the normal things kids do . . .

scootering!!

Bikeriding!! ohmyheart!!

Swimming lessons – it’s summertime!!

Cooking in mymothers kitchen TOGETHER.

Campfires -- SuperAunties making a SuperMarshmallow stick!

All my sisters, thesuperaunties, were together for a few days . . .

This is Hailey

This is Holly

This is Heidi

and this is Heather (me)

{I mixed up the birth order, just for fun.}

Lots of garden time – we loved the garden!

Went to see (Great) Grandma Grace in SLC -- She'll be 101 years old this month.

Oh, and I turned 37 on July 4th.

Whew!

and that was just June!

I plan on fully indulging with more pics.

Dos Vadanya

Woke at 5am this morning – FRIDAY! I can’t believe the day has come. I looked out toward the steppe last night, and the land and I spoke. We came to an understanding. How could one not when the evening was so warm and breezy and scented with lilac? The sun was setting and the cows had just come home and the children were in and out of their gates and my neighbor down the street was at the well filling her buckets and my family had just eaten and we were rosy and happy after a full spring day outside. Our last full day.

I smiled.

Goodbye good place. My 16months are up. I did it.

Goodbye lace curtain that hangs in our doorway. The flies usually found their way in anyway, but I loved feeling that the great outdoors was a cool, smooth walk through you.

Goodbye old sink with the prodigious drip. I am being generous. I really thought it was mean of you to grudge us free flowing water.

Goodbye Sultanat. Thank you for being our friend. Go forth with that flour tortilla recipe and the Indigo Girls strumming in your head.

Goodbye butter made-fresh from hardworking hands.

Goodbye big open sky – you thrilled mydaughter with your alternating populations of clouds, moon, sunsets and those big black&white birds. She couldn’t take her eyes from you.

Goodbye fizzy water. Will icecubes sufficiently satisfy us with your flat counterpart?

Goodbye market merchants. Thanks for those occasional smiles and for eventually understanding my Russian. I only speak the language of commerce.

Goodbye general rubbish – my son couldn’t get enough. He has combed the land and brought back enough odds&ends from several households. He loves your old teapots and chipped dinnerware, cigarette boxes and tall green glass bottles. And anything metal.

Goodbye Catholic Church friends. You must have reserved the entire village supply of smiles. Thank you for overlooking my children’s rudeness. Thank you for always showing us such kindness. We will never forget you.

Goodbye afternoon naps. I was the only one in the house who took them regularly. Worked like a charm – time passed and I am going home.

Goodbye Rosa – Can you know how your constant concern for us made us feel? Your regular phone calls from Pavlodar? We hope all your dreams come true – excellent people like you should have no other fate.

Goodbye $70/mo rent for this 5-room house. We paid off one credit card. 16months of not worrying about money has changed us. We like it. A LOT.

Goodbye lovely vegetable gardens – you’ve caused me to dream new dreams. I can’t get enough of your order, you’re perfectly raised dirt morsels. Rich dark-brown mingled with vibrant green are the fecund colors of the universe!! It makes me drool.

Goodbye Evelyn. You represented what I wanted to be and feel here – positive, happy, alive. Thanks for your freshness, for your thoughtfulness, for coming to see us and bringing SUCH LIGHT!

Goodbye 28.8 dial-up speed. You belong in the 1990s. Go back and take that monstrous virus with you.

Goodbye banya – Saturdays will not be the same without you. I will reallyreallyreally miss your hot vapors and that bundle of birch branches slapping my skin.

Goodbye LeRoy and Anne Welling – You gathered us to you and made us feel like we were home. It brings me to tears!! You approach life with such love and generosity – we have been taking notes. we want to BE LIKE YOU!! Thank you!


Goodbye . . .

Remember these faces?

Coming soon to a city near you . . .

Desmond P. Jones

{Two front teeth missing!}


AND


Zoe D.K. Jones

{Wait till you hear her little voice!}

Put away your breakables and open up your arms! These babes are ready for some LOVING!

Desi Candor

Zoe: I’m going to put on my ballerina dress now!

Des: I’m going to put on my handsome dress!

“I’m happy it’s a long time away.” After talking about growing up and leaving mommy

“Remind me cause I’ll forget – my mind is just a little mind after all.”

After Des finished telling me a really long story he asked me, “What was your favorite part? Was it when I stopped crying?” I asked him why he was crying in his story (the details were fuzzy) He answered, “Because I coughed and my back stung me in pain!”

Des marched happily into the kitchen and asked, “Can I have 7 gulps of water please?”

“I don’t know which girls I will marry. When I walk around the village I’ll look.” After thinking for a bit he then asked, “When Zoe grows up will she get married?”

“Shall we celebrate the day the Piepers came?” He proposed this idea the day after they left us – we were all so rejuvenated by their visit!! And he loved playing with baby Sophie a lot!

On our way back from the market a large hay truck rambled past us and as they did so a man leaned out the window and shouted something in our direction. I turned to Des, which I do more often now, and asked him what the man said to us. Des said, “I don’t know – he spoke a Russian I didn’t understand.”

We picked up a surprise treat/toy box at the market. There was a small piece of wrapped gum included with the picture of a woman’s face on it. Des mumbled as we walked home, “I don’t like women gum but I’m grateful for what I have as the old saying is . . . “

On a particularly droll day that found me on my bed for most of it, Des and Zoe talked me into getting down the bag of summer clothes. After they’d tried everything on, they joined me on the bed for a tickle session and Desi in high-hyper-happiness exclaimed, “Ahhh. . . this is so much fun! This is such a FUN day! This is my FAVORITE day ever!” I’m so glad they have different ways of evaluating a day.

“Won’t it be great to have a mom cat someday and then we can get lots of CAT KIDS!”

We usually spend a lot of time in my bed in the mornings – cuddling and talking about their dreams, about the day, about what we’ll do when in nyc/ut . . . One morning Desi began to tell me about a dream where he was drinking really yummy milk. Then he summed up his feelings, “I loved that milk dream. It was the best dream! I’m so glad I had a dream about MILK!”

While eating bread and butter: “I’m gonna marry this piece of bread!" Then he added seriously, "Do you want to write that down? I’ll get you a pen.”

“I’m not awesome, I’m crazy!”

To Zoe: “You’re stinking in pink!” Too much pink.

Whenever thebabes do something nice to each other, I usually turn to the one who received the good deed and say, “Who’s the greatest brother/sister in the world?!?” When I recently repeated this cheer because Zoe had done something generous, Desi added, “. . . and Zoe’s the greatest girl in the world!”

After some very bold demonstrations fo Hulk-like anger, DPJ paused sweetly, “I have something interesting to say: the Hulk is green like the Grinch.”

After being told we were having borst for dinner, Des said in a hushed, slow voice, “ohhh nooo . . . that’s bad . . . “

One after noon we were listening to a satellite radio station on the television when Desmond protested, “I want to watch regular TV, all these adult songs are obnoxious! So Zoe&I turned it off and gave each other a high-five”

While Des&Zoe were cuddling on the bed when D suddenly pulled back and said, “Zoe’s elbow smells like throw-up.”

This gum tastes like old cheese.

I’m gonna rip your laugh off to a sad grin.

Zoe en Voice

While looking at a freckle on her arm she said, “I have polka-dots!”

“Is he a superhero?” She was pointing to the picture of Joseph Smith on the Teachings of the President’s of the Church Manual.

Zoe will point at the two of us and say, “We are GIRLS! and Desi and dad are boys.” She loves to make this happy little point regularly.

While playing with Desi, I overheard her say, “Thank you Batman! You’re a genius!”

Zoe walks up to Desi and I holding a sock, “This is a wet sock. It’s actually wet&wet&wet.” Des and I laugh and Desi says, “How did you learn how to say ‘actually?’”

“I think it’s so interesting to sleep.”

After drinking a cup of milk and immediately coughing, she explained when she could talk again, “That milk just snuck up my nose!”

“Thank you for this lovely breakfast!”

After scratching her elbow, Zoe said, “I wish bugs not eat my elbow!”

Des and Zoe were having a little mock battle – Des was saying, "You’ll never defeat me!” and Zoe retorted, “Darth Vador – You’re a bad guy! You ever not feet me!”

I asked Zoe what her full name was: “Kathleen Zoe Dinana Jones!”

Zoe looked at Oleg the cat and asked, “Can I call him Rum Punch?”

Zoe looked out the window one evening and shouted with happiness, “The sunset is here!! Should we go outside?!”

All I do is stare at the calendar

PakahPakah-KZ-countdown is:

- 2 more mondays

- 2 hot&steamy banya sessions

- 2 in-home sacrament meetings

- 2 more hand-wringing laundry sessions (!)

- 1 more borst night (I’m the only fan)

- 1 more trip to the catholicchurch for a roll on the lawn and tearful goodbyes

- several more evenings watching the cows come home

- 4-5 more excursions to the steppe to watch mybabes chase the sunset!

Also, it looks like we’ll return to NYC and I’m stunned . . . can it be? I’ve wanted it so much! Nathan received a writing fellowship and though he’s a little torn about returning to a life of DEBT he emailed his acceptance. Honestly he would love to stay – he’s applied for a few jobs/fellowships here in KZ and Kyrgyzstan. Before I can even entertain such notions I must get HOME first.

AGREED?

Funny story: the Department of Education here in the Pavlodar oblast (i.e. state) called to speak with Nathan about working for them. They asked some questions about the different classes he’s taken and taught over the years. He explained his research and his anticipated anthropology degree. They asked about my work as well. Then the woman said she’d call back – and just a couple of hours later she called to announce, “The Department of Education would like to offer you a job teaching biology next term.” Nathan had to stifle a laugh and explain that he absolutely could NOT teach biology. The woman countered that surely he’d taken biology classes (yeah, undergrad, over a decade ago!) when Nathan convinced her that he couldn’t teach she then asked, “Well, can your wife teach biology then?” Oh boy.

Moving on.