Cinco De Mayo

Laura, Joseph and I would like to wish everyone a happy Cinco de Mayo from Uralsk! We actually have a few birthday wishes to send back home and around the world. Starting from today we want to say happy birthday to Emily in California and to my god daughter Maia in Pennsylvania! Yesterday my co-worker Marta and on Monday was my cousin Joe’s birthday in Ireland!

Today was another beautiful day here as it probably reached around 75 degrees. This morning it seemed like the Chagala was a bit busier than usual in the restaurant with some new faces from Germany and even the USA. We have learned that the oil industry has brought a lot more activity and money to this area of Kazakhstan over the past 3-5 years.

Our visit this morning to the baby house was a bit different than usual. Of course we got things set up and ready to go for Joseph’s arrival and when he came he was as cute as usual and met us with a smile. Here he is in what we call his Elvis lip pose (what do you think Ter?) It seems that he can pull off just about any look with those eyes and cute cheeks. Not long after this photo our adorable baby Joseph became Cranky Joe. Cranky Joe did not cry but was fussy and just had us up and down trying to get him happy. When all toys, books, and even blowing raspberries failed we started to notice that his head was a bit sweaty and he was just not himself. Olga went to get the doctor to take a look at him which she did. She returned to the music room with Joseph and announced that he had……chicken pox! She then pointed out a few spots on his head and said they would put some ointment on him. Well this was at the end of our visit and so it was a bummer for sure – of course worse for him. The doctor said we could return in the afternoon so we took off to meet Igor.

After our morning session Olga informed us that we would be meeting with the other Olga (II) after our afternoon session with Joseph to prepare us for pre-court which was now scheduled for tomorrow as Monday was a court holiday. Because of this meeting we decided to do a quick dash to the Moscow open market to look for a few gifts including a new pair of shoes for Joseph. We got this done, got back to the Chagala for a pizza and then back to the baby house. Obviously there was no going outside this afternoon and although he was not as cranky, he was in a quiet mood. As a result we do not have any photos to share (I did get some of the pox but we will spare you those). After our cuddling time with Joseph we headed back to the Chagala to meet Olga and Masha who is the interpreter who will go with us to court.

Our meeting with Olga only lasted about 20 minutes or so as she went through the potential questions we may be asked. They are traditionally directed primarily to the husband but a few to the wife. They are to be about our understanding of the procedure, why did we come to Kazakhstan and other such basic information. Even though it is pre-court we are to get all dressed up – suit and tie for me - and bring along photos of us with Joseph. The proceedings should take about 20 minutes and that will be it until the actual court date which will be set tomorrow. After Olga and Masha left, Laura and I had a few Baltica beers, some Krack and headed to the Dixie Pub for some American grub. Laura ordered the chicken fajitas; I the pasta Bolognese and dva beers. Sorry for the dull blog day but the pox took their toll on our day – enjoy cinco de mayo!