Aigerim
Yea, remember her? We took an outing yesterday.
The clouds were low, like to the street, but that keeps in alot of heat. We'd learned we'd cooked her the day before ( a few times), even though we had her dressed just like the caregiver had when she arrived at the hotel on Wednesday.
So we had on one layer, a heavier sleeper, and then tied Grandma's gold raincoat so it shielded her from shoulders past her toes. Aigerim had on a hat and her hood.
This is important. If you've read the bazillion other Kaz blogs, EVERY foreign parent gets scolded at least once for underdressing the baby. Wait, our blog too. And that was by Galina! We have the episode, inadvertently, on video and the only thing that is exactly clear to me is that it is strictly forbidden for a baby to have on only ONE layer. The problem is I don't then know when that rule holds, and for the times it is in force, how many layers you are then supposed to use.
The adults bundle differently than we do. They sit behind vegetable stands all day in the rain, snow, wind, cold. Hmm, more like we'd dress for a Nebraska football game or a mountaineering expedition than our normal commuter-in-heated cars to nearby parking lots garb. They can stand in line for the bus, for food, for the next walk to the forced relocation in what they are wearing, for hours, and must stay warm and dry. Mitch and I had what we considered normal clothes for the weather conditions in Karaganda, but when we walked for a mile, it was inadequate. People dress more like we dressed back when we walked to school or university.
So yesterday it was a major compliment when our stroller expedition got an ENTHUSIASTIC approval, AN APPROVAL, from a vigorous apple-doll babushka (who ought to know and who weilds the approval) who used hand gestures, arms raised high, voice high and approving, eyes sparkling, hands clapping, to indicate we were doing absolutely right by the baby.
We had the baby bundled correctly. This may be a first for any foreigner. If you aren't familiar with the baby dressing rules, this is nothing. If you are in the know on the subject, you know that we were just awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for baby bundling.
Yay.
OK it is 11:22 am Lola has phoned and will be coming to the hotel. Mom received her phone call up in the room and Aigerim and Mom visited to deliver me the message. The women workers in the business center are very kind, getting sucked into flirting with baby Aigerim, which is great since this is our new Isla del Robinson Crusoe. We don't exactly know why Lola is coming to the hotel. She asked Mom if I had changed our air tickets yet, i.e., had I reached my US travel agent to rebook my tickets (it is nearly midnight on friday) and had I gone to the Lufthansa Office somewhere here in Almaty. Mom, who misses some of the subtleties of this business, had no trouble replying confidently to that question.
I gotta go. Aigerim is a dear and I am using up Mitch's HD video tapes during my nightly wakings (mine, neither Marie wakes at all during the night) to journal the days events. Even speaking, it takes nearly an hour. I will add new HD tapes to the shopping list.
Talk to you later
Bobi
The clouds were low, like to the street, but that keeps in alot of heat. We'd learned we'd cooked her the day before ( a few times), even though we had her dressed just like the caregiver had when she arrived at the hotel on Wednesday.
So we had on one layer, a heavier sleeper, and then tied Grandma's gold raincoat so it shielded her from shoulders past her toes. Aigerim had on a hat and her hood.
This is important. If you've read the bazillion other Kaz blogs, EVERY foreign parent gets scolded at least once for underdressing the baby. Wait, our blog too. And that was by Galina! We have the episode, inadvertently, on video and the only thing that is exactly clear to me is that it is strictly forbidden for a baby to have on only ONE layer. The problem is I don't then know when that rule holds, and for the times it is in force, how many layers you are then supposed to use.
The adults bundle differently than we do. They sit behind vegetable stands all day in the rain, snow, wind, cold. Hmm, more like we'd dress for a Nebraska football game or a mountaineering expedition than our normal commuter-in-heated cars to nearby parking lots garb. They can stand in line for the bus, for food, for the next walk to the forced relocation in what they are wearing, for hours, and must stay warm and dry. Mitch and I had what we considered normal clothes for the weather conditions in Karaganda, but when we walked for a mile, it was inadequate. People dress more like we dressed back when we walked to school or university.
So yesterday it was a major compliment when our stroller expedition got an ENTHUSIASTIC approval, AN APPROVAL, from a vigorous apple-doll babushka (who ought to know and who weilds the approval) who used hand gestures, arms raised high, voice high and approving, eyes sparkling, hands clapping, to indicate we were doing absolutely right by the baby.
We had the baby bundled correctly. This may be a first for any foreigner. If you aren't familiar with the baby dressing rules, this is nothing. If you are in the know on the subject, you know that we were just awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for baby bundling.
Yay.
OK it is 11:22 am Lola has phoned and will be coming to the hotel. Mom received her phone call up in the room and Aigerim and Mom visited to deliver me the message. The women workers in the business center are very kind, getting sucked into flirting with baby Aigerim, which is great since this is our new Isla del Robinson Crusoe. We don't exactly know why Lola is coming to the hotel. She asked Mom if I had changed our air tickets yet, i.e., had I reached my US travel agent to rebook my tickets (it is nearly midnight on friday) and had I gone to the Lufthansa Office somewhere here in Almaty. Mom, who misses some of the subtleties of this business, had no trouble replying confidently to that question.
I gotta go. Aigerim is a dear and I am using up Mitch's HD video tapes during my nightly wakings (mine, neither Marie wakes at all during the night) to journal the days events. Even speaking, it takes nearly an hour. I will add new HD tapes to the shopping list.
Talk to you later
Bobi
posted by Bobi @ 11:19 PM
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