In which cleanliness proves next to godliness.
It's been a few days, but Owen finally thinks this water thing is okay. Now that he's stopped smelling like day-old formula, his parents have to agree. He does have a penchant for drinking the bath water out of his floating toys, though, and at first we were alarmed.
That's not purified! Is it safe to drink?
Then, of course, we realize that he's the only Kazakh in the house. It's safer for him than for any of us!
Squeaks McCleanliness smells like lavender now. We'll buy him some Brut aftershave when we get back to the States...
In other matters of hygiene, Owen's parents finally had a reason to bathe today. We were going to the Green Market!
You'll remember from a few weeks ago our story of the adventure at the bazaar, the open air market where Robin bought her ochin Russkaya coat. The Green Market is very near and similar to the bazaar, but it focuses more on food goods. You can see Robin outside the entrance at left.
The first thing that you notice is the absence of refrigeration. Of course, what man-made refrigerator could out-cold the Siberian winter sweeping through the stalls? Meat and even ice cream sits exposed to the elements, frozen more solid than it will be when we get it home and "safely" into the freezer.
Speaking of meat, we won't spend much time there. Robin, Protectress of All Life, paled a bit at the huge axes struck solidly into logs and awaiting the next installment of Barnyard Massacre. Many a cow, chicken and horse met a grisly end at the Green Market, my friends. You can, of course, purchase their bits and pieces for a tasty supper. We recommend squinting your eyes, though.
More appealing were the stands of fruit, breads, cheese and VEGETABLES! At home neither of us really crave the greenery. After a month of frozen green beans and gurgling stomachs, though, the enormous raw carrots looked terrific!
You'll be pleased to know that the proprietors of said produce have a keen eye for the goods. Yes, I made another girlfriend at the Green Market. (Inna asked, "Robin, how do you stand it?")
I was trying to explain in pantomime that I wanted five potatoes, not five KILOS of potatoes, when a young Kazakh woman nearby realized I was an American.
I'm sure the gargantuan red coat didn't give me away at all.
"How're you doing," she called out over the fruit stand.
"Good! How are you," I answered her.
She smiled. "How're you doing," she asked again.
I repeated my answer and she repeated her question. Three times. Finally I smiled and waved and said "Dosvedanya!" She gave me an apple.
Call me Adam.
You can just see her peeking over the oranges in the picture of me in front of the carrots and beets. (Note: As a Special Treat today, I've linked several of the pictures to larger versions so that you can see blown up detail. Just click on one of the photos at the left to supersize it.)
We discovered all of this excitement at the indoor part of the market. Outdoors several other booths stand completely exposed to the elements. Inna tells us that the food outside can be cheaper-- partially because it is of lower quality and partially because the sellers are eager to be rid of their stock. As tough as they are, even the Kazakhs want to get out of this cold. And it's warmer than it has been!
Some of the delights outside include grain products that have been thoroughly pecked through by flocks of pigeons, bootleg Russian music blaring through speakers wrapped in cardboard against the cold, and the aforementioned ice cream.
I cannot tell people enough that the ice cream here is spectacular. We bought two tubs.
After the Green Market, the McCalls wanted to visit the bazaar. We warned them to be careful about cramming ALL of the excitement into one day. They, however, wisely noted that there are three new families arriving in Kokshetau this week and we may run into more difficulty vying for Oleg and Inna's time.
We were game for whatever took us someplace that didn't have blank white walls.
At the bazaar we managed to snap one quick picture of the hats. Unsurprisingly, the sight of a camera brought out our Kazakh friends asking to have their photos taken. Inna told them the camera was broken.
Pity. They may be the only thing left in Kokshetau we don't have a picture of...
