More technical problems - No Phone!!

6/27/2007 02:08:00 AM Edit This 0 Comments »
So our technical problems at the apartment continue. Monday I plugged in the phone line on the computer to try to get on the Internet to check emails but I heard in Kazakh, Russian and English "you're phone does not work due to non-payment." Well that kinda ticks me off since I am paying more for this apartment than I do for my mortgage. So I call Zina to ask the Landlady to pay her phone bill with some of those crisp new 100 American dollar bills that I paid her for our lovely apartment. It's getting harder every time that I haul water after using the toilet or take a cold shower not to become an ugly American. But have no fears. I promise even if we are without any water and electricity not to cause an international incident since I want to get out of here with Alexis in my arms. As my friend Paul says, keep my eye on the prize. And what a price she is. We have been practicing with Lexie in the stroller since she's never seen one let alone ridden in one. At first she wasn't too happy about it but she's getting better. She really just wants to be held all the time and who can blame her since she was not held much before we got here. We just have 8 more days until we can take her out of there for good. We leave Aktau two days later for the big city of Almaty if everything goes well. As long as the judge doesn't change her mind and Flora can get Lexie's new birth certificate with her new name on it and me as her mother - how cool is that - then we can leave Sat July 7th as planned. Then we wait for her Kazakh passport to be issued here in Aktau and for Flora to bring it to us in Almaty. After that we deal with the American Embassy before we can leave. So we're still looking at 3 weeks before it's all said and done but we're getting closer.
I'm going to attach some pictures of the open market that we go to every few days to get some fresh fruits and veggies. The pink single story building is the Open Market - so it's not really open but that's what they call it. These pictures make it look much nicer than it is but the produce is great. I'm including my "newspaper lady" that I meet when we first went there. I printed the close up picture of her and gave it to her when we went back. Zina said when I handed it to her she said "who is that woman?" I guess she doesn't get in to look in may mirrors. Isn't she beautiful. I also gave the lady standing in front of her stand with the orange dress on her picture and she came out to give me a big hug. Whenever you can interact with the locals they are very nice and courteous. It's just in the stores or on the street when they don't know you that they seem so rude. They will push in front of you in line or take a shopping cart right out of your hands if they want it but when we go to the same shops then everyone is very nice. It's quite the contradiction. The last pictures are of what people wear. Notice the older lady on the right with her hat & bag. Then the girl to her right wearing heals with jeans.