Doing our part for world peace.

We'll get to the world peace part in a minute but first a recap of Saturday. We went to the baby house in the morning and told Murat that we needed to go to the market after. We decided to hit the new and improved Astana market to stock up. On the main floor (which was all it used to be) we hit the dry goods: bread, milk (okay not really dry but you get the idea), eggs, crackers, yogurt , toilet paper etc. Down below the main store through the new separate entrance is my version of heaven. Food, food and more food. The building itself is shaped like a 'v' - to the left on one side was all the unprepared meat, chicken and fish on the other side of the left was all the salads, munti (like dumpling), meat cutlets smothered with cheese, mushrooms, etc, chicken rolled with curry, red peppers, parsley (you get the idea) as well as 50 different salads. Salads here are not a green affair - well not usually. There are kimchi like versions, beet salads, seaweed salads, carrot salad, rice noodle salads and a variety of other indistinguishable mixed ones.

We loaded up there and hit the right side of the 'v' - ahhhh. A heaven of pastries, cakes and tortes graced one side while the other had 100s of kinds of rolls - some filled with meat, cheese, potato or cabbage, pizzas, etc that gradually they gave way sweet ones filled with apples or chocolate, caramel, cream - a gluten free nightmare but it was a glorious sight to behold. And the smell - I could have stood there inhaling the smell of all those treats all day long. Needless to say we did some damage there....will go back once our stock pile runs out - which may take a while. Kurt went for a run along the river when we got back and then I went for a walk. Went down by the Mitchet and it was right about sunset so I took a few pictures of it and some new buildings going up across the street. On the way home I passed by the Bayterek where three couples were getting wedding pictures taken. It's the place to be photographed after your wedding. I said congrats in Russian to the couples and snapped a picture or two of some of the couples. Last night we took our crew out for dinner to Vespucci on Respublika. We had been there a few times two years ago with the Brabsons and really enjoyed it. I guess they have a new chef because it wasn't as good. Our poor waiter - must have been his first day on the job as I ended up pouring everyone water and reminding him what we needed. After we walked to the Sweet Fairy Tale Cafe and got everyone treats to bring home to their families for dessert. At that point my stomach started telling me that not all was well. Think it was the beef, pickle and mushroom salad I had. Thankfully, Kurt and I had only minor intestinal issues and the night was restful. Today we took Serik to the Duman, which is a large entertainment center. For those of you who've followed the blog since last time it's where I rode the bull. There is an aquarium in there (the most landlocked aquarium in the world - 3000 km from the ocean (I think)) as well as many kid rides and different displays that replicate New York, China, Greece, Kaz, etc. Here comes the world peace part: We made our way into the aquarium and started checking out the fish, alligator, turtles, piranhas,etc. As we were browsing we noticed a tour group that had just come in. It was a group of Asian men all in suits. Kurt said, 'I think they're Chinese'. I noticed that the tour guide was speaking in Russian and said so. Kurt said, 'yeah but they have a translator.' Hmmm. A minute or two later some Russian women who had been near us ran up to one of the men and asked to take his picture. I said to Kurt, 'who do you think that is?'. So while all this is going on I decided to try to take a picture too because - who knew who he was could be someone important. I was not able to get the snapshot and decided to ask a Russian guy standing there if he spoke English. He did. I asked who they were. He said they were a delegation from North Korea and that one was the head of the North Korean Parliament. Huh - wow?! I said Kurt you have to go over there so I can take a picture. I mean seriously, how often do you run into North Korean Prime Ministers and Representatives. Kurt obliged me and here is the official picture. Now this guy is not the main dude and to be honest I have no idea who he is but he was the one who took the picture with the Russians. At that point I decided that I had to get a picture of the head of Parliament. We decided he was the main guy in front who the tour guide and the interpreter were speaking directly to. He was also constantly being photographed by what looked like a N.K staff photographer. So... here he is viewed from the side. As we got to the shark feeding area they were right behind us. They crowded around the rail to look at the large fish and sharks. Everyone else had gotten out of the way but Serik decided that he still wanted to look. So he pushes his way through all these important NK delegates all while mommy and daddy are calling for him to come here. (He's the one in the blue shirt right behind Serik looking at him) He went right next to the Prime Minister (or whatever he's called there) - the PM noticed that I was trying to get Serik out of there (while at the same time trying to take pictures of the scene) and smiled benevolently down at him and me. Seemed like a nice guy - all things considered. After that Serik got to play in a climbing thing and run around like a little maniac. It was a great way for him to expend some energy. We came home had him take a nap and then went to the American/Ukrainian couple's apartment for dinner. They're the same ones who hosted the play date last week. More later.