Is it spring yet?

Today is 20^th of March. A lot of our family and friends in America are well on their way into spring and in some places into summer but this is how 20^th of March looks here in Astana, the second coldest capital in the world! 

NU Campus on March 20th

 Awesome! I have to say though that during the day it warms up to about -5C (23F), so it feels like spring! And tomorrow we are heading straight into summer… we are going to Thailand for the spring break! Tropical weather sounds pretty good to me right now. We all love snow, and this winter has been pretty mild (or that is what we were told) but we think we are ready for some really warm weather now.

They are ready to put on swimsuits instead of winter coats!

This morning I took the girls to Khan Shatyr  (the big shopping mall that looks like a huge tent) to get some swimming gear for our trip, and right across from Khan Shatyr they were setting up the yurts for the celebration that starts tomorrow – Nauryz – Kazakh New Year. 

Tired of winter!

Setting up the yurts for Nauryz celebration.

Because we are leaving for our awesome vacation tomorrow, we’ll miss most of the celebration but we’ll probably see some of the festivities before we leave tomorrow. However it will be another post.