Sunday aaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Good morning all. I hope you enjoy your Sunday as much as I did mine. We'll start with the weather. Sweatshirt required if there is a breeze, otherwise a T-shirt was fine!! We are all pleasantly surprised by the warmth and sunshine. We expected freezing, windy, and rainy weather in October. Hopefully I am not jinksing (sp?) our luck.

We spent our morning leisurely doing laundry and checking emails. Then around noon we went for a long walk to see the Russian Orthodox Church. Every evening we notice the top gold spires shining in the setting sun as we drive home from the orphanage. So today we decided to investigate. The church is beautiful outside and in. I don't think I've ever been inside of a Russian Orthodox Church before. Inside, the front is all gorgeous brown wood with colorful pictures and statues throughout. The sides are paintings of saints. It was quite a busy place. No pews, just open area, but people were coming in and out crossing themselves respectfully and placing candles at various paintings of saints. This was all very interesting, the thing that humbled me while inside were the 10 women of all ages (including a little girl)on their knees washing the floor with rags and picking up dirt with their fingers as people walked past them. They were all wearing babushkas, and never looked up. What a beautiful way to demonstrate service to God. I just stood there and took it in. It was a very Holy place.

We needed some fresh bread from the Bread Lady so we headed back through a typical Karaganda neighborhood instead of on the busy street where we walk and drive everyday. It was a glimpse of real life here in Kaz. On a Sunday afternoon, many people are strolling about. Children were playing in the courtyards of the building complexes. I took photos of interesting buildings and the hot water pipe system so you can get a better idea of what it is like. Yes, they do insulate it, but the insulation is torn off here and there. (After getting a better look at the pipes, I know why my water was brown today. Tomorrow it will be clear again, I hope).

Well after such a long walk, I was so hungry, I could eat a horse! So I did! I had a horse sandwich for dinner. At the market I bought some horse meat. The type I bought is like a smoked ham. It even tastes like ham. Which I was surprise at, I thought beef. You can also get a horse sausage which is served at special occasions like weddings and anniversaries, but it has to be cooked. Horse is also cooked like we cook beef and served with veggies in a broth on top of flat pasta. It is on the menu here at the hotel restaurant and I plan to try it before I leave. Why do they eat horse in Kazakhstan? It is a staple here just as beef is for us. Kazakhs were nomads for most of their existence and so they relied on the foods that were available. Horse is one of them. Did you know that Kazakhs were the first to domesticate the horse. The horse is very important here. They have many rodeo type ceremonies. In one of them they ride around trying to get a goat head away from their opponent. True fact. I picture it like polo, but with a goat head not a ball.

Anyway, I ate horse. And it was delicious. I'm sure I'll have it again tomorrow for lunch. You know, you just can't let yourself think of Mr. Ed. "Wilbur" .