The Quest for Snow, and the Creatures We Meet Along the Way - by McP

Early this morning Alina and I set out to find some bananas to make lunch with. Oddly enough, the two larger grocery stores within walking distance of our apartment do not carry fresh produce. The places to look are with the small, streetside vendors. There we have found some of the freshest and best fruits and vegetables. We walked on Ghambul Olitza behind the ballet theater, crossed Furmanov, and found them. On the way back, I decided we should cross the VERY busy Furmanov Olitza at an intersection, and not just on the crosswalk without a light that we first crossed. We did, but about halfway across the wide street I noticed a car coming too fast to stop at the light. I pulled Alina and told her to run and she did but quickly fell. Since I was holding her hand she never hit the ground, as I basically picked her up with one arm (the bananas in the other!) and carried her the rest of the way, midair.

When we got to the other side, I realized that I had badly sprained or strained my lower back! I was in agony! Alina was o.k., as even as she fell she had never touched the ground. But for me I really messed up my back, I fear.

Not wanting to cancel our plans, we bid farewell to Alison and Cal, and climbed into Emil's car. He rarely knows in advance where we plan to go! I pulled out my "Lonely Planet Guide to Central Asia" and pointed to an area known as "Alma Arasan", high in the Tien Shan Mountains Southwest of Almaty. I wanted the kids to see snow, and the unusually warm autumn in Almaty makes it unlikely at the apartment.

We drove up into the mountains, through giant dams created not to stop water - but for the purpose of stopping the frequent mudslides that they experience here. As I mentioned before, Almaty is built on a huge slope at the foot of these mountains, so I suppose it is on the result of a series of ancient mudslides!

Actually, we experienced a mild earthquake here last week! Alison, Cal, Mac and I were in our living room. Alison started noticing the sofa move across the floor! She mentioned it to me, and I saw everything else rattle and shake (the chandelier, the t.v., everything!). Alina was in another room and I shouted for her to come be with us - so that at least we would all be together. The rumbling stopped. We didn't think much more about it until we compared notes with another American family from San Francisco (America's experts on earthquakes). They thought it was one as well. Emil confirmed it today, telling me that it was just under 4 on the Richter Scale.

In any event, we went up into the mountains, and the first stop we made was a place which is aptly called the "Falcon Farm." In Kazakhstan there is a rich tradition of hunting with the help of birds of prey. A traditional Kazakh hunter would go out with his falcon or eagle and the bird would go and get rabbits or other small creatures and bring it back to its owner. I wondered if they ever took on one of those crazy looking squirrels?




The man who owned the place told us that the bird show was only on the weekends, but then I guess he saw the look on Mac's face, and offered to let him "hold" one of the giant birds! Mac quickly accepted, although Alina would have nothing to do with it. The birds we saw were HUGE! They were tethered on perches, some in cages but most just out in the guy's yard. There were falcons, eagles, huge owls and even a giant turkey buzzard. On the other side of the complex were amazing regional hunting dogs of unusual varieties.

The owner suggested a giant eagle as the one for us to hold. It looked so big, I hesitated to let Mac hold it. I took the glove and let the bird sit on my left arm while Alina nervously joined Mac and I for a picture. There wasn't a moment that I didn't expect the bird to reach over and bite my nose or ear off, or pluck out my left eye. But he was indeed a gentle bird.




The owner then suggested a huge owl for Mac to hold, and after seeing the eagle Mac quickly agreed on the owl. It was a great experience for him, and Mac went on and on for the rest of the day about how he was going to train "birds of prey" as a career choice.



I suggested that Emil try holding the same bird I did, as it was so gentle. Emil handed me his camera phone to snap a photo. I started to, but the bird started attacking Emil's jacket on his shoulder with it's huge beak! The owner kept saying that the bird was just "playing" with Emil. I was glad that Mac did not hold that one, as I imagine such "play" would have started Alina screaming, and would have ended up with me punching an eagle out.

Before we left, we took a look in a barn where the guy was raising thousands of rats! This is, of course, food for the birds.

We drove further up the mountains, to an unusual place that Emil said was the actual "Alma Arasan" on the map that I suggested as our destination. It was a barren looking place (we had been on dirt roads for an hour) with evidence of recent rock and mudslide action.

We found a place with crude picnic tables, and Emil stopped. He never eats with us, but what he did not realize was that Alina had insisted that we prepare for him a lunch as well. So, Emil got his first peanut-butter (rare here) and banana sandwich (even rarer together, I'm sure). When I told him it was a variation of an Elvis recipe (The King would acually add mayo and FRY the sandwich!), he seemed to get into it more, and eventually said that he liked it. That made Alina very happy.

Our quest was snow (in Russian,"cnyk"). Emil, now energized with his first ever peanut-butter and banana sandwich, drove on up the mountains until we reached the first line of snow. Alina and Mac were very excited, although I forgot to bring their gloves.

On the way up, we stopped at the remains of a small "yurta". This is the traditional Kazakh home, back when the majority of the country was involved in nomadic herding. When an area became less attractive for grazing, the yurta would come down and be moved to better fields. The original mobile home, I suppose. The ones I have seen in museums are quite comfortable inside and decorated with traditional Kazakh wool rugs. As I shot this photo, an old truck rumbled up the mountain. Emil said it was an old military truck of the old Soviet Army, now used by the National Observatory up the mountian to haul supplies up the very narrow and fragile roadway.




When we reached the snow, just on the sides of the dirt trail our road had become, the kids jumped out and started having great fun! Before long we were joined by a donkey (all livestock is free-range here, apparently). He was very friendly and followed the kids around as they played in the snow. Before we left, I broke out an extra banana we brought and started to give it to our new friend. The minute food became part of the equasion, the donkey's whole family joined us, including a cute little baby donkey. The kids were thrilled, yelling "dasvidanya" (Russian for "goodbye") to the donkeys!


After an exhausting day, Alison took Cal out to meet another American couple at a favorite restaurant of ours. Alina and Mac had big plans. Thanks to St. Nicholas librarian Kelley Mitchell, we participated in a webcast where the kids could see and talk to their classmates and participate in the chapel services at their school, which happen each morning. All of the children looked amazed when they learned what was 8:00 a.m. Monday morning to them was 7:00 p.m. Monday night to us!

It was a wonderful experience for all of the children, and Alina got to see and speak to her classmates. Mac's turn is Wednesday.

Overall, I think it was one of the kids best days here. But now that things have settled down, I am feeling my back start to ache again! I guess the secret is to keep moving, and with these kids, you know I will! - McP