The end of school year

We haven't been writing lately mostly because our life got super busy, and we were traveling but we'll try to catch up on our adventures.

The kids finished school at the end of May. All of them did awesome and overcame the challenges that came their way. Nika had to pass two final exams (math and Russian), and she got 5 (A) in both. She also participated in the National math competition among the 5^th and 6^th graders and she took 2^nd place. Somehow I didn't take any pictures of Nika at the end of her school year.

The twins finished the school year with flying colors and were ready for the summer break. 

The last day of school. Lexa and Sophie.

The last day of school. Sophie and Lexa.

Lina graduated from the 4^th grade and from the elementary school. This post is mostly about her graduation.

Last year Nika graduated from the elementary school and had a big graduation ceremony. This year it was Lina's turn. It was a bit of a pain in the lower regions for the parents to say the least. We had to pay for decorations, the flowers for the administration that didn't even show up to the event, for the choreographer who was supposed to teach the kids two kinds of dances including waltz but only practiced once with them, for the certificates of achievement and other things. They also give teachers big presents at the end of the year (and a few times during the year), and of course the parents had to pay for those as well. With all of that they allowed only 10 parents from each class (there were seven 4^th grade classes with 30 kids in each) to come to the graduation. Ridiculous! After all the money they asked us to put into this thing, they wouldn't even allow the parents to see their own kids in the program! They were afraid that too many people would show up, and they didn't want their VIP visitors to have a bad impression. Well, it turned out that none of the VIP visitors came, and 2/3 of the hall was empty because the parents thought they weren't allowed to come. Things like that happen all the time here, and it makes me really frustrated.

The kids though put up a good graduation program, and those that came enjoyed it. I am really proud of their accomplishments. Here are some pictures.   

"Good bye, Elementary School"

Lina in her ball gown, all ready for the graduation.

Lina with her 4th grade teacher, Kseniya Viktorovna

4 "V" class

Dancing waltz

Dancing flash mob dance

Our little graduate

Looking at her school pictures

Good bye, 4th grade!

Lina with both of her teachers (Aizhan Alpysovna taught her last year, and Kseniya Viktorovna  taught her this year)

Last day!

The Cost of Nostalgia

On Saturday I was doing the grocery shopping - that's usually my job for Saturday, so it wasn't unusual.  Yulia had already picked up a lot of the groceries, so I only had potatoes on my list of produce.  I bagged up a few kilos of the usual potatoes and then saw some nice new potatoes in the bin next to it.  I decided it would be nice to make new potatoes and white gravy with peas for the kids.  That was a favorite of my Grandpa Jack Crane. He liked it in the early summer when he had fresh new potatoes and peas from his garden.  I had to make do with canned peas, but I was willing to do that to give my kids a taste of my childhood.

New potatoes in the bag.

It wasn't until I was at the checkout counter that I realized that the peas were VERY expensive.  I knew that the cost would be higher, but not as high as it was.  You can see the price on the bag - 6305 tenge.  That is $19.00!  It turns out I had bought new potatoes from France!  They are illegal in Russia because of the counter-sanctions and we assume that each of the potatoes got to fly first class in its own seat to get here.

New Potatoes and white gravy with peas.

I made the meal and it was a hit with the kids and with Yulia and my mother-in-law, Ludmila.

This is why Yulia always sends me shopping with a slight sense of trepidation!

Moscow Sheremetova Airport - April 24, 2016

During the last week of April I flew to the United States to give a talk at Coastal Carolina University.  They arranged the travel, so I flew on Aeroflot to the US and American Airlines from NY to South Carolina (two separate carriers, two separate trips and itineraries).  Normally I fly Lufthansa and United through Frankfurt, but I was through Moscow.

On my way back through Moscow, I had a 12 hour layover at Sheremetova.  I hadn't been there since we visited Krasnoyarsk in 2012 - while I was writing my dissertation - and I had never spent that much time in an airport alone (we did that much time in Istanbul on our way to KZ (see post here), but that was with the family).  The University paid for me to get a hotel, so I checked into a little mini-hotel right in the terminal for eight hours.

My micro hotel.

My micro hotel after I'd used it for sleeping and was getting ready to go wait in the terminal.

While I was out wandering, eating and reading and waiting for my flight, I ran into our friend from church and co-worker who was also on his way back to Astana.  He was on the flight an hour before me.  It is a small world when you live in Astana.

Anyway, I took some fun pictures at the airport to commemorate my time there. Enjoy!

I saw drinking fountains in Russia for the first time - and they were being used as garbage cans....

This pigeon was just chilling in the terminal - it was quite empty that late at night!

I wonder if the signage was always an upside down Ukrainian flag, or if it was just a delicious irony.

I am amazed at all the adventures that we are having living on this side of the world - even the small ones.

Spring Break Trip to Sri Lanka Part IV - Colombo, Elephants, and Coming Home

Our last day in Unawatuna was on Sunday - Easter, and we spent the day mostly relaxing at the hotel pool.  There are a few LDS church branches in Sri Lanka, but none south of Colombo, so we just did Easter at the hotel.  I had brought some Peeps candy from the US so the girls were excited about that fun part of the holiday.  We also went to the beach one last time in the late afternoon.  The waves were really high.  I went swimming, but it was a bit too rough for the girls to even wade into.  They were happy finding a variety of cool seashells along the shore.

Showing their findings at the beach

Watching crazy papa swimming in crazy waves

Crazy papa swimming in crazy waves

Monday we checked out of our hotel and had a taxi drive us to Colombo.  We were awake for the ride and it was in the light, so we got to see the Sri Lankan countryside.  We passed rubber plantations, water buffalo, and lots of other fun things.  Colombo was crowded when we arrived. School was getting out so there were lots of school children in their white uniforms walking on the streets and riding in tuk-tuks.

Tea plantation on our way to Colombo

A view from the car on our way to Colombo

A huge statue of Buddha up on the hill

We arrived at the hotel and the girls were in heaven.  It was a five-star hotel and was very fancy.  We were given cold towels and a cold drink while we checked in.  Our baggage was brought up to our adjoining rooms on the sixth floor overlooking the pool on one side and the ocean across the street on the other.  It was nice.

Girls checking out their new room

A view from our room window

We hadn't eaten since breakfast, so we went next door to the food court at a mall and tried authentic Sri Lankan food from a place called pot-o-clay.  The food was very good, but much too spicy (some of it) for the girls (and mostly for Yulia, too).  The girls were glad we had eaten at the other restaurant in Unawatuna since they loved that food so much.

Sophie and Lexa at the local supermarket happy to get some treats to bring home

Ordering food at pot-o-clay

Spicy!

In the evening we went swimming in the pool.  It was neat because huge bats were flying over the pool (coming in to roost, or going out to hunt, we weren't sure) along with a bunch of birds.

In the pool again

It was a really nice pool

Tuesday morning we got up early and got in an SUV that we had arranged.  We drove to the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage to see the elephants there.  We got there after feeding, but right when they drove the elephants across the street to bathe in the river.  It was quite a sight to see more than 40 elephants of all ages out in the river bathing, playing, laying, and acting mischievous.  We watched them for over an hour before heading home. The orphanage was about a two hour drive into the mountains, and Sophie - our carsick kid - had a rough time.  We had to pull over a couple of times on the way up and once on the way down for her to throw up.  She made it into the bag or out of the car each time, so that was good.  We gave the driver an extra tip.

A big group of school kids going to a tour to the elephant orphanage

Elephants bathing in the river

Watching the elephants from the viewing area

They are really amazing creatures!

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Helpful sibling. May be a little too helpful!

These two baby elephants were playing with each other the entire time.

That group that is going away were trying to escape three times.

Here is one escapee

And two more

But they were intercepted each time and brought back

Here is one of the mahouts (elephant trainers) washing one of his elephants

Girls watching the elephants

Some views of Colombo city on our way back to the hotel

For the afternoon we just ate pizza and relaxed.  We put the kids to be at 8:00 since we had to be on the road by 1:30 to be at the airport by 2:30.  The drive to the airport was quiet and pretty quick.  We checked in without problem, but after waiting in a lot of lines and going through security three times.  We ate a snack at the burger king while we waited for our flight to board - $40.00 for four drinks, two sandwiches and four orders of fries - so that was our most expensive meal to food ratio of the whole trip. We traveled home without any problems and arrived in Astana about 30 minutes ahead of schedule.

Waiting for the parents to check out at 1:30 in the morning

Ready (or not) to board the first plane.

Vacationing is a hard work! 

Flying home to Astana

Can't do without a selfie!

It was cold (about 1 degree Celsius) and raining when we arrived.  A far cry from the sun of Sri Lanka.  It was nice to be home, though.

Overall we had a very nice trip to Sri Lanka.  We didn't see whales, but we saw sea turtles AND elephants and had a nice time together.  We are blessed to be able to do so many fun things together as a family.