Life in Kazakhstan - by McP

(Above: With the unseasonably warm Autumn here, we have had a great problem with mosquitos. "Central heat" really means something here - with the government determining when the heating gets turned on, and the radiators in the apartments cannot be individually controlled. Therefore, the only "thermostat" is to open the window, which brings the mosquitos in. It's a nightly Hobson's choice between being roasted or being eaten alive. I went to a sporting goods store and then rigged up these fancy tents over the children's beds. I bought the only two mosquito nets in Almaty. Alison is somehow immune - they either don't bite her or she does not have a reaction when they do. That leaves ME as the main course!)




(Above: Alina tries the national sport of ice skating at the Ramstore. In Russian the name "Ramstore" is literally written "PAMCTOP". Alina said "Skating is harder than it looks!", but she got much better after some time on the ice.)





(Above: Check out the interesting squirrels in Panfilov Park! They are orange and the tufts on their ears make them look like rabbits. We got a children's book for Cal that has a squirrel character that looks like this one!)